By Diane Euston
It is certainly clear that the people who chose Kansas City as their home in the early days of its existence were tenacious, hard-working pioneers who could imagine a future despite the nearly impassable bluffs which covered a large portion of the newly-platted town.
Even though the Town Company founded Kansas City in 1838, lots weren’t sold until 1847. In 1850, only some semblance of a town could be seen; there were few businesses along the riverfront, including a hotel and a few warehouses.
Although not a member of the original Town Company, one man and his wife arrived in Kansas City in 1855 after purchasing one of the original 14 shares of the Town Company. Over just shy of 50 years, the Campbells made their lasting mark on Kansas City. Despite a modest upbringing in Ireland, both John and Charlotte Campbell’s stories are more than a few streets named in their honor – their story is one of dedication, numerous tragedies, true love and the quintessential growth of the American West.
Robert Campbell
Before John and Charlotte ventured to Kansas City, there was another Scots-Irish Campbell who paved the way before them. The youngest son of Hugh (1748-1810) and his second wife, Elizabeth Buchanan (1762-1851), Robert Campbell was born in 1804 near Plumbridge, County Tyrone in a house his father built in 1786 called Aughalane. They claimed relation to the Duke of Argyll.
His familial situation was better than most in Ireland; his father was a minor landlord and also rented portions of land from larger landowners.
Robert had no formal education, and because he was not to inherit property, his prospects in Northern Ireland were limited. He followed his older brother, Hugh (1796-1879) to America, settling in St. Louis in 1822. Hugh conducted business first in North Carolina and later in Philadelphia, marrying Irish-born Mary Kyle.
Robert’s health suffered, and after he developed tuberculosis, a doctor told him to spend time in the west where the air was cleaner. He quickly landed a job in the fur trade in the Rocky Mountains, working under Jedediah Smith. There, he met famed mountain man and explorer, William Sublette (1799-1845).
In 1832, Robert Campbell and William Sublette started a partnership under the name “Sublette & Campbell” selling goods to traders out west. Robert was a natural businessman and kept extremely detailed records which exist today. These records included how much he bought items for in St. Louis and how much profit he gained from reselling them.
Clay Landry, an expert on mountain men trading, said, “[Robert] bought 100 pounds of flour for a dollar, and he was selling [it] at rendezvous for a dollar a tin cup full!” In a short amount of time, Sublette and Campbell turned from mountain men into wealthy businessmen.
The men could see that fur trading wasn’t sustainable long-term, so they shifted gears. They opened a dry goods store dealing in “staple and fancy” products in 1836 in St. Louis and remained partners until 1842. His connections in the fur trade built his successful business career in St. Louis, supplying posts out west such as Bent’s Fort and the Mexican trade.
Robert, 38, married 19-year-old Virginia Kyle, cousin of his brother’s wife, in 1842. The couple had 13 children; only three would live to adulthood.
Men such as William Sublette and Robert Campbell were enterprising businessmen, always looking for investments. In November 1838, Sublette, familiar with both Westport and Independence trade, joined 13 other men as one of the original founders of the Town Company that purchased 263 acres of land; they called it the Town of Kansas.
The Connection Between Two Campbell Lines
John Campbell, namesake of Campbell St. in Kansas City, was born in 1820 and lived in Plumbridge, County Tyrone, Ireland with parents Joseph Campbell and Margaret Glass. His older brother, William was born two years earlier and a younger brother, Andrew joined the family later.
John was educated in the common schools and was always curious. He was “very fond of hunting and fishing,” both traits which remained with him for his entire life.
Despite most accounts of the history of Kansas City identifying John Campbell as Robert’s nephew, John Campbell was not directly related to Robert. The two Campbell families lived about one mile from one another and would remain intimately connected in their adult lives. In fact, a 1927 letter from a relative of Robert’s called John Campbell’s family “a very inferior clan.”
The connection between John and Robert was more than their hometown in Ireland. At the age of 18, John’s older brother, William, emigrated to St. Louis and began working for Robert Campbell as a clerk in about 1836. The two even lived together.
Standing about six feet tall with dark hair and grey-blue eyes, John followed William to America, mistakenly thinking his brother was living in Philadelphia with Robert’s older brother, Hugh.
Hugh wrote to his brother, Robert:
John Campbell, the brother of William who lives with you, arrived here yesterday. . . He wishes to go to St. Louis + is without money. I believe he is a carpenter + looks like a good young man. William has not written home for two years.
John traveled to St. Louis and, with the help of Robert, secured a position in Weston, Mo. where he engaged in trading in 1843. In a short amount of time, Robert called on John and instructed him “to purchase horses and mules” for American explorer, John C. Fremont.
On May 29, 1843, Fremont’s party departed from Westport Landing, the future site of Kansas City, with John in tow. He followed the expedition until about September when he left them at Fort Hall in the southeastern portion of Idaho and returned to St. Louis.
When the Mexican War broke out in 1846, John entered military service with the Laclede Rangers under Col. Doniphan and Gen. Kearny. He rose to the rank of quartermaster sergeant, returning to St. Louis in 1848.
William continued working for Robert, and in about 1848, the two joined forces and opened R&W Campbell, merchants on First Street in St. Louis. Meanwhile, John, while working for his brother and Robert, went on a trading expedition up the Missouri River to current-day Montana for two years, returning in November 1850.
Robert apparently was just as impressed with John as he was William. In June 1851, Robert chose John to be the master of a wagon train traveling to make a treaty with the Indians near Fort Laramie. Both Robert and John were part of the council attended by 10,000 Native Americans.
In December 1852, tragedy struck. William, John’s older brother and Robert’s business partner, died at 33 after a lengthy illness. He left one third of his business interests to his parents back in Ireland and willed the rest to his two surviving brothers.
Charlotte Campbell
After the tragic loss of his brother, John opted to return to Ireland on a visit. While there, he met Robert’s beautiful niece, Charlotte. Born in 1832 and the daughter of Robert’s older brother, Andrew (1794-1869), Charlotte was described by her father at 10 as “a neat quiet sensible little lady.”
At 22, Charlotte was “well educated and of decided literary tastes.” Growing up near Plumbridge at Letterbratt House, Charlotte had a more privileged life than the average Irish. Regardless, her father, Andrew had a tough time managing the lands and often relied upon his younger brothers, Hugh and Robert, to send him money.
The seventh born of 10 children, Charlotte couldn’t rely upon her father for an inheritance, but the tall, blue-eyed, dark-haired 21-year-old found that a future across the ocean may be to her benefit. When John came to visit his parents in the small village of Plumbridge, he was welcomed by all – including Robert’s brother and his niece, Charlotte. On Feb. 14, 1854, John married Charlotte at the Presbyterian church, officially uniting him to his employer, Robert’s family.
Robert’s oldest sister, Anne, wrote to her brother three months later:
[Charlotte] was a modest quiet girl when she was here. I do think and hope her husband will still love and esteem her; he was always our favourite of that family.
The newlyweds traveled to St. Louis first, and after Charlotte got pregnant, the couple moved to the Harris House Hotel in Westport so that John could be closer to the Mexican trade. John would travel often to Santa Fe for Robert Campbell’s business.
The couple welcomed their first child, William Lee, in 1855 at Harris House. Just shy of five months later in March 1856, Anne wrote to her brother again:
[John] was always a favorite with his mother and I’ve thought there was something very noble in John even when a little boy. Give my kind love to [John] & Charlotte; I am so happy to hear that she has a fine little child. I hope it will live for a blessing to them.
Life for Charlotte in those first few years of marriage couldn’t have been easy. She was, for the most part, living on the edge of the frontier in a hotel while her husband conducted business thousands of miles away.
Investing in Their New Home of Kansas City
A decision that may have been a fleeting thought at first would prove to be life changing for both John and Charlotte. Likely with the money inherited from his late brother, William, John made a large purchase that would seal the Campbell family’s permanent residence in Kansas City.
In 1845, William Sublette passed away from tuberculosis, and the executor of his will was his old friend and former business partner, Robert Campbell. Sublette still held shares in the Town Company, and Robert bought these shares from the estate for $600.
When lots in Kansas City were sold, Robert purchased two full city blocks between 4th and 5th from Wyandotte to Main St. for $300; he continued in 1847 to purchase land in the heart of what would be Kansas City.
Ten years later in 1857, Robert sold almost all of the acreage and his original shares in the town to John for a whopping $50,000. The large investment John made solidified the future for his growing family. He built a three-story warehouse for $32,000 on the riverfront where trade supplies were stored.
John and Charlotte were then Kansas Citians; he, along with other early investors, founded the Chamber of Commerce. The family moved into a home on the southwest corner of Pearl St. (1st) and Walnut with impressive views of the Missouri River. Charlotte helped found the the Southern Presbyterian Church, later renamed Central Presbyterian Church.
By 1860, he was elected an alderman for the First Ward and focused on land development. He also set out to build a house to match his new position as real estate developer. On the easternmost edge of Kansas City at the northeast corner of 3rd and Campbell surrounded by a white picket fence, John and Charlotte built the showplace of the entire town. With four stories and 14 rooms, the home matched the Campbell family’s status in society.
A 1927 article in the Kansas City Star called the Campbell home “Kansas City’s first real success in landscape architecture.” Fruit trees on their land (a whole city block at the time) covered the bluff, and leading up to the house was a sidewalk bordered with lilacs, rose bushes and irises. Poplar trees surrounded the property.
Finished in 1861, the home had a cupola and was colonial style with dark red brick and a slate roof. The trim was painted white and the house faced the Missouri River.
The house opened to a central hall on the second floor, painted light pink, with windows accented with red glass imported from Europe. A French spiral staircase made of mahogany led to a second-floor porch. Oak hardwood floors flowed throughout the home, and white walls accented their impressive artwork, including paintings of John and his brother, William created by George Caleb Bingham.
There was a parlor, dining room and butler’s pantry. Mantles and hearths were made of Carrara marble from Italy. The library was a showpiece; both John and Charlotte enjoyed reading the classics.
Silver in the home was specially made for the Campbells. Pieces were inscribed with the letter “C” and the coat of arms for the House of Argyll.
Although Robert Campbell and John were no longer attached in business ventures, their personal relationship continued to flourish. He would often visit them in Kansas City, and John and Charlotte would spend winters in St. Louis. They stayed in the Planter’s Hotel, built by Robert.
In June 1861, Robert wrote to a niece back in Ireland:
Charlotte is very comfortably situated at Kansas city and when I was last there had got into a very excellent house which John had just built and she felt quite comfortable- She had two fine boys and since then has added a daughter to her family.
Joining their oldest son, William was a son named John (called Jack) and a daughter name Lizzie. In 1863, another daughter named Margaret was born.
To show his love of his family, John named two streets near the home after them: Charlotte and William. Charlotte stretches miles of Kansas City today, but William St. was later changed to Holmes.
Family Tragedies in Midst of Change
Tragedies hit Charlotte and John over the years, especially with their own children. Between 1867 and 1878, the couple lost five of their eight children. Their ages at their deaths ranged from 15 down to just over one year old.
The three remaining children, William (b. 1855), Jack (b. 1858) and Margaret (b. 1863) were well-educated. William and Jack attended Kemper Military School while Margaret went to school in St. Louis. William became a doctor and Jack a lawyer. Margaret married Jesse Newport Johnson in 1884.
The Campbell mansion, once a showpiece in Kansas City, became too much for aging John and Charlotte. The home was sold in 1883 and made into a railway hospital until it was demolished in 1903.
Still stricken with tuberculosis, John built a cottage in the early 1880s in Saline County in Sweet Springs that grew in time as a resort town. The Queen Anne house, known as the Campbell Cottage, stands today at 1217 Columbia Ave. and was used as a summer getaway.
Even with the successes of their three surviving children, tragedy was still on the horizon. On Aug. 27, 1886, Jack Campbell, a successful lawyer, shot himself in the head in his rented room at 4th and Charlotte. He was 27 and had been drinking in the days prior “but not to very great excess.” The Kansas City Star reported, “The deed is thought to have been unpremeditated and was probably the result of a temporary hallucination resulting from indulgence in the drink.”
The Lasting Legacy of the Campbells
Robert Campbell, the man who built a life in America through hard work and determination – starting as a fur trader and ending as a leading St. Louis businessman – died in 1879 in St. Louis, leaving his wife and three surviving children. His mansion, built in 1851 at 1508 Locust St., still stands today. The Campbell House Museum is a time capsule of history with carefully preserved family heirlooms and archives showcasing Robert Campbell’s place among American history.
Surprisingly, this isn’t the only Campbell home to survive the test of time. The birthplace of Robert Campbell and his brother, Andrew built in 1786 still stands today. It was moved to Ulster American Folk Park – a tourist destination which tells the story of the Irish who chose to immigrate to America. The house regularly hosts reenactments that feature Robert Campbell’s travels as a fur trader in the American West.
Without Robert Campbell, it is unlikely that John would have risen to the status he did, and John certainly wouldn’t have landed in Kansas City without Robert’s guidance.
John’s impact on Kansas City was not lost to its residents. In 1878, a biography described his influence on the city’s progress. “Though one of the wealthiest citizens in Kansas City, he is a plain, quiet, unassuming gentleman; warm-hearted and true to his friends, and pleasant and agreeable to everybody.”
John Campbell passed away in March 1900 in Kansas City at his home at 504 Olive St. His daughter, Margaret, later recalled, “[My parents] were sweethearts all through their married lives of 46 years. And just a moment before [my father] died, at the age of 80, as mother bent over him, he opened his eyes and said to her, ‘My love, my love, after all these years,’ and closed his eyes in death.”
After the loss of her beloved husband, Charlotte moved into rooms at Washington Hotel with her daughter, Margaret. In an article in the Kansas City Star, Margaret recalled, “I proposed one day that I should get a motor car, and she threw up her hands in horror at the very idea. She said, ‘Maggie, you must never get into one of those dreadful things. If you do I shall surely die of fright. They are dangerous.’ And I did not get into one until after her death.”
Charlotte peacefully passed away in 1907 and was buried next to her husband and children at Union Cemetery.
Today, thousands of people live on Campbell and Charlotte Streets in the city, and their namesake is a testament to the people who chose this place as their home. Like so many stories of Kansas City’s past, we are deeply intertwined with the history of St. Louis. The Campbells didn’t just have an impact on the development of the two largest cities in Missouri – they had an impact on the larger American story of the expansion to the west.
Diane writes a blog on the history of the area. To read more of the stories, go to www.newsantafetrailer.blogspot.com.
This piece would have not been possible without the archives and letters preserved by the Campbell House Museum that shed tremendous light on the lives of John and Charlotte.