Infant daughter of Mary Campbell

Black female, stillborn on 6 January 1899 in Pensacola, Florida. Her mother was Mary Campbell; the father was not named. According to the death record, Mary was born in Florida. The child was buried in the Escambia County Poor Farm cemetery by Robinson & Pou.

The only Mary Campbell living in Pensacola at the time of the infant’s birth was Mary E. Moffett Campbell. According to Alabama marriage records, she was not officially married to Walter Campbell until 24 August 1899; however, the fact that she gave her name as Campbell probably indicates the child’s father was Walter.

If this Mary Campbell is indeed Mary Moffett Campbell, she was born about 1891 in Wilmer, Mobile County, Alabama. Her family was Henry I. Moffet and her mother was Susie Broadnax, both of Alabama. Her Moffett (also spelled Moffet) family was quite prominent in that part of Mobile County – Moffetsville is named for them – and is well documented, on Ancestry.com and elsewhere. See the following links:

Moffetville Cemetery, Mobile County, Alabama (Find a Grave)

Homestead National Historical Park entry for William Beard

Walter Campbell’s family history is not so well documented. He was born George Walter Campbell on May 15, 1874 in Alabama to Fannie and Sidney Campbell. The earliest record in which I can find the family is the 1880 Federal Census, where a Fanny Campbell was enumerated in Tallassee, Elmore County, Alabama. She was a Black woman of 25 years, the head of her household. She worked as a washerwoman. She was born in Alabama, her father in North Carolina and her mother in Virginia. She had three sons: George W., 6; James, 3; and Willis, 2. It was indicated that she was married, though there was no husband enumerated in the household. Other census records indicate Willis was born much later than this, about 1885, but this does seem to be the correct family.

By the 1900 Federal Census, Walter was living at 164 Guillemard Street in Pensacola with his wife, Mary. He was 25, she 22, and they had been married for two years. She had born no children. They were both born in Alabama of parents born in Alabama. He worked as a switchman for L & N Railroad.

Walter appeared in the 1903 Pensacola City Directory living at 618 Guillemard St. and working as a switchman. It does not appear that his mother had come to Pensacola at that point. Walter, his brother Willis, and his mother Fannie Campbell appeared in the 1907 Pensacola City Directory living at 618 Guillemard St. Fannie was a laundress; Willis and Walter were both laborers. The Directory indicates that Walter was the homeowner and Fannie and Willis were boarders. Mary was not mentioned.

Walter Campbell was enumerated in the 1910 Federal Census, living at 1018 Guillemard Street in Pensacola. Also in the household was Mary Campbell, his wife; Fannie Campbell, his mother; Willis Campbell, his brother; and John Moffett, his brother-in-law. Walter was born in Tallasee Falls, Alabama (which may refer to the textile mills as there does not appear to have ever been a municipality named “Tallasee Falls”); he indicated his father’s birthplace was unknown but his mother was born in Elmore County, Alabama. Walter was 37 at the time of the census and worked as a switchman on the L & N Railroad. He and Mary had been married for 10 years. Mary was born in Wilmer, Alabama, but whomever gave the family’s information to the census worker apparently did not know where Mary’s parents were born. She was 30 years old. She indicated she had never given birth to a child. Fannie Campbell was 60 years old and widowed after 40 years of marriage. She had given birth to 4 children, two of whom were still living. Elmore County, Alabama was listed as her birthplace; her father was born in North Carolina and her mother in Richmond, Virginia. Willis Campbell was 25 years old and single, also born in Tallassee Falls, Alabama. Interestingly, “Do not know” was put as the birthplace of his mother, who was presumably Fannie. Willis, unlike the rest of the family, was enumerated as being completely illiterate, and did not work outside the home. John Moffat was 22 years old and single, born in Wilmer, Alabama. He worked as a switchman for L & N as well.

According to an article in The Pensacola Journal for 4 October 1916, Walter Campbell’s home at 1418 N. Hayne St. was damaged by a fire that swept through the area the day before.

Willis and Fannie appeared in the 1920 Federal Census in Pensacola, living on East Blount St. Fannie was listed as the head of the household, 61 years old, born in Alabama of a father born in North Carolina and a mother born in Virginia. Willis was 35 and single, born in Alabama of two parents born in Alabama. Neither worked outside the home. Next door were Walter and Mary Campbell. Walter was 40, owned his home, was born in Alabama of two parents born in Alabama and was still working as a switchman at the L & N Railroad yards. Mary was 32, born in Alabama of two parents born in Alabama, and did not work outside the home.

Mary E. Moffett Campbell died on March 15 or 16, 1920 (Her death certificate says 16, but her gravestone says 15.) She died of pneumonia, for which she had been treated for ten days. Her occupation was given as domestic, but I believe this was meant to indicate keeping her own home as no record shows her ever working outside the home. The informant on her death certificate was Walter. She was buried in the Moffet Cemetery in Wilmer, Alabama.

There is a death certificate for a Willis Campbell who died on 14 December 1921. His residence was given as 217 W. Intendencia St., his age was 50,  and his occupation was laborer. I do not believe this to be Walter’s brother, as the 1921 Pensacola City Directory lists two Willis Campbells: one on W. Intendencia Street and one at 1418 Hayne, which was also the residence of Walter and Fannie in 1921. Also, the Willis who died in 1921 was about 15 years older than Fannie’s son. That said, I can find no further evidence of Willis Campbell in the records after 1921.

On 19 December 1922, Walter was involved in an accident at his workplace. The article in The Pensacola Journal identified him as a flagman, but apparently a grave injury was sustained “when a switch engine struck a truck near Goulding.” He died on 29 December 1922. According to his death certificate, he was living at 1418 N Hayne St. in Pensacola. His occupation was switchman. His mother was Fannie Campbell, born in Alabama, and his father was Sidney Campbell, also born in Alabama. The informant on the death certificate was Elizabeth Campbell at the same address. (I have not yet identified Elizabeth’s relationship to Walter.) He died of an embolism or clot in the brain that appears to have been caused by a compound fracture. He was buried in Flomaton, Alabama by Morris Undertakers. He was 47 years old.

In the 1930 census, Fannie was still living at 309 E. Blount Street. She was 72 years old. The census indicates she had been married at 14. (This, combined with her estimation of 40 years of marriage in the 1910 census, puts Sidney’s death at about 1904.) She took in sewing and also had a lodger in the household. She died on 13 January 1935 from septicemia from an ulcerated leg, caused by a burn several years earlier. The informant on her death certificate was Bessie C. Hudgins of N. Alcaniz St. In 1939, Bessie would marry John Wilbert Moffat, Mary Moffat Campbell’s brother, but at the time there was no identifiable family relationship. Bessie gave Fannie’s birthplace as Montgomery, Alabama, but she also gave Fannie’s age as 64 and knew nothing about Fannie’s parents. Fannie was buried in Zion cemetery by Morris Funeral Home.

I have not been able to positively identify Sidney in any records.

FAMILY:

Mother: Mary E. Moffet Campbell

Father: Walter Campbell

Grandparents: Sidney Campbell, Fannie Campbell, Henry I. Moffet, Susie Broadnax Moffet

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SOURCES:

Death Record of Child of Mary Campbell. Pensacola births and deaths, 1891-1910, Escambia County (Florida) Health Department. Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1973.

Death Certificate of Mary E. Campbell (No. 3122). Florida Certificate of Death, Florida Deaths, 1877-1939. Database. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 21 Feb 2024. Index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City.

Household of Fannie Campbell. Year: 1880; Census Place: Tallassee, Elmore, Alabama; Roll: 12; Page: 45D; Enumeration District: 068. Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. 1880 U.S. Census Index provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints © Copyright 1999 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. All use is subject to the limited use license and other terms and conditions applicable to this site. Original data: Tenth Census of the United States, 1880. (NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Death Certificate of Walter Campbell (No. 12821). Florida Certificate of Death, Florida Deaths, 1877-1939. Database. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 21 Feb 2024. Index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City.

“Flagman’s Funeral.” The Pensacola Journal, 31 December 1922, p. 10.

Household of Fannie Campbell. Year: 1930; Census Place: Pensacola, Escambie, Florida; Page: 23B; Enumeration District: 0024; FHL microfilm: 2340050. Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002. Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, 2,667 rolls.

Death Certificate of Fannie Campbell (No. 763). Florida Certificate of Death, Florida Deaths, 1877-1939. Database. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 21 Feb 2024. Index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City.