Campbell, James V. (James Valentine), 1823-1890

Professor of law, University of Michigan and Judge of the Supreme Court of Michigan; author of Outlines of the Political History of Michigan, 1876.

From the description of James Valentine Campbell papers, 1803-1886 (Detroit Public Library). WorldCat record id: 662615525

Campbell was born on Feb. 25, 1823 in Buffalo (N.Y.). His father, Henry, brought his family to Detroit (Mich.). in 1826, and served as a county judge in Mich. and N.Y. (State). James was educated at Flushing (N.Y.) and graduated from St. Paul's College (1841). He was admitted to the Detroit bar in Oct. 1844. In 1857 he was elected as one of the justices of the newly formed Mich. Supreme Court, holding the office until he died. Campbell was a member of the Board of Education and president of the Young Men's Society in 1848. In 1859 he was chosen Marshall Prof. of Law in the new Law Dept. at the University of Michigan (UM). He served as Dept. chair for many years. Campbell was the first recipient of the degree of Doctor of Laws from the UM (1866). In 1876 he published his book, Outlines of the political history of Mich., copies of which are in the Central Michigan University libraries. He died on March 26, 1890 at Detroit. Bingham served as Representative from Livingston County, 1837-1842; a member of Congress, 1847-1849 and 1849-1851; Governor of Mich., 1855-1859; and U.S. Senator, 1859-1861. Trowbridge served on the UM Board of Regents, 1839-1842, and as Alderman and Mayor of Detroit, 1834. Williams served as a Delegate from St. Joseph County to the Constitutional Convention of 1850; as Senator from the 16th District, 1861; Acting Lt. Governor, 1861; and as Michigan State University's first president. Richard was elected over Williams to serve as Delegate to Congress in 1823. For further information on Richard, see his papers which are also housed at the Clarke Historical Library. (Information from Mich. biography, v.I-II).

From the description of Papers, 1823-1881. (Clarke Historical Library). WorldCat record id: 47154603

University of Michigan professor of law, Detroit, Michigan, attorney, Michigan Supreme Court justice.

From the description of James V. Campbell papers, 1830-1941. (University of Michigan). WorldCat record id: 34422022

Robert Navarre (1709-1791) was born in France, educated in Paris, and traveled to Canada sometime before 1729. In 1736, he became tax collector for the Domaine d’Occident at Detroit. In 1743, the French regime at Detroit appointed Navarre sub-intendant, a judicial position responsible for settling legal disputes concerning land and property. He held the post until 1759. Navarre continued to work as a notary after the British took control of Detroit. Being fluent in several Native American languages, he also acted as a translator between the British and local Indian tribes. Later in life, Navarre retired to his farm in southwest Detroit and died in 1791.

Navarre is the attributed author of the Journal of the Pontiac Conspiracy, an account of the Ottawa chief's 1763 siege of Detroit, in which a force of Ottawa, Ojibwa, Potawatomi, and Huron Indians attempted, unsuccessfully, to drive the British from the area. Pontiac finally abandoned the siege on October 31, 1763.

From the guide to the Robert Navarre Journal of the Pontiac Conspiracy, Navarre, Robert, Journal of the Pontiac Conspiracy, 1763, (William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan)

While called the James V. Campbell papers, this collection is actually a collection of papers of Campbell's family, prominent in legal affairs in Detroit, Michigan, during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Henry Munroe Campbell (1783-1842), and his wife Lois Bushnell Campbell (d. 1876), brought the family to Detroit in 1826. Henry M. Campbell was born in the upper Hudson River Valley of New York, moved to Buffalo and then in 1826 to Detroit. He worked as a merchant, banker, and judge. Henry and Lois had five children, Valeria (1815-1895), Henry Munroe (1821-1835), James Valentine (1823-1890), Lois, and Elizabeth.

Children of Henry M. Campbell:

Valeria Campbell (1815-1895) was a teacher in Detroit and during and after the Civil War served as secretary of the Soldiers' Aid Society of Detroit, later known as the Michigan Soldiers' Aid Society and the Michigan branch of the U.S. Sanitary Commission.

James Valentine Campbell (1823-1890) was born in Buffalo, New York, and came to Detroit with his family in 1826. He was admitted to the bar in 1844 and entered partnership with Samuel T. Douglass. Campbell served as secretary of the Board of Regents of the University of Michigan 1845-1846, justice of the Supreme Court of Michigan 1857-1890, and Marshall Professor of Law at the University of Michigan 1859-1890. In 1849 he married Cornelia Hotchkiss Campbell (1823-1888). Together they had six children, Henry Munroe (1854-1926), James Valentine (1856-1894), Charles Hotchkiss (1858-1927), Douglass Houghton (1859-1953), Edward DeMille (1863-1925), and Cornelia Lois (known as Nellie).

Elizabeth Campbell Douglass in 1856 married Samuel Townsend Douglass (1814-1898), the law partner of James V. Campbell. Douglass moved from Fredonia N.Y. to Detroit in 1837, where his cousin Douglass Houghton was a leading physician and State Geologist, and entered the law office of Henry N. Walker and Asher B. Bates. In 1840 Bates retired and Douglass became Walker's partner. In 1844 James V. Campbell became a member of the firm now called Walker, Douglass and Campbell. Elizabeth (Campbell) Douglass and Samuel T. Douglass had three children: Mary Campbell Douglass, who attended the University of Michigan, 1874-1876, and married Frederic P. Anderson of Grosse Ile, Michigan; Benjamin Douglass (1859-1911), an 1882 engineering graduate of the University of Michigan and engineer for several Detroit companies; and Elizabeth C. (Lily) Douglass.

Children of James V. Campbell:

Henry Munroe Campbell (1854-1926) graduated from the University of Michigan in 1876 and University of Michigan Law School in 1878. He became the law partner of his brother Charles and of Henry Russel. He served as a delegate to Michigan's 1908 Constitutional Convention.

James Valentine Campbell (1856-1894) was a broker in Detroit.

Charles Hotchkiss Campbell(1858-1927) graduated from the University of Michigan in 1880, and became law partner of his brother Henry and of Henry Russel.

Douglass Houghton Campbell (1859-1953) graduated from the University of Michigan in 1882, and received his Ph.D. there in 1886. He later studied in Germany and became professor of botany at Stanford University.

Edward DeMille Campbell (1863-1925) graduated from the University of Michigan in 1886 and became professor of chemistry there. He was blinded in a laboratory accident in 1892.

From the guide to the James V. Campbell papers, 1830-1941, (Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan)