Cooke, John Esten, 1830-1886

Novelist, historian, lawyer, and Confederate Army Officer, of Millwood (Clarke Co.), Va.

From the description of Papers, 1840-1896. (Duke University Library). WorldCat record id: 19490602

Virginia novelist and historian.

From the description of Letter to William E. Quimby [manuscript], 1883 March 22. (University of Virginia). WorldCat record id: 647807855

From the description of Papers of John Esten Cooke, n.d. (University of Virginia). WorldCat record id: 32959014

Virginia author.

From the description of Letter of John Esten Cooke [manuscript], 1882 May 12. (University of Virginia). WorldCat record id: 647826965

Author, historian, and Confederate army officer.

From the description of John Esten Cooke papers, 1846-1886. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 145381243

John Esten Cooke (1830-1886), Virginia novelist.

From the description of John Esten Cooke letters, 1861-1862. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 38475768

American novelist.

From the description of Autograph letters signed (5) : Richmond, to Harper & Brothers, 1855 Jan. 2-Oct. 24. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270533417

From the description of Autograph letter signed : "The Briars" [near Boyce], Virginia, to Joseph B. Gilder, 1884 Aug. 15. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 643577598

From the description of Papers of John Esten Cooke [manuscript], 1810-1883 (bulk 1858-1869). (University of Virginia). WorldCat record id: 647807713

Author of novels and histories, Cooke dealt with the life, manners, and history of the people of Virginia, his native state, in most of his works.

From the description of War diary of John Esten Cooke [manuscript], 1864 January-April. (University of Virginia). WorldCat record id: 647835596

Writer of historical fiction.

From the description of Letter, 1875 Apr. 30, Millwood, Va., [to] W[illiam] R. Dorlon. (University of South Carolina). WorldCat record id: 32877572

Charles Campbell (1807-1876) was born on 1 May 1807, in Petersburg, Virginia, the firstborn child of parents John Wilson Campbell (d.1842), and Mildred Walker Moore Campbell. John, a bookstore owner, was also a historian. In 1831 he published the History of Virginia to 1781 . Later, he held the position of Federal Collector of Customs in Petersburg, Virginia. Mildred taught at the Petersburg Classical Academy in the 1840's. In addition to Charles, the couple also had two younger children, Alexander (Aleck) S. Campbell, and Elizabeth (Betty) Campbell Maben (d.1871).

Charles' mother, Mildred Walker Moore Campbell, was the granddaughter of Virginia lieutenant governor Alexander Spotswood (1676-1740). Mildred Walker Moore Campbell and her siblings Mary Fairfax Moore Keller, Dr. Alexander Spotswood Moore, Ann Evelina Moore Henley, William Agustin Moore, Eliza Moore McDonald, and Lavinia Moore McPheeters wrote and received numerous pieces of personal correspondence that are available in this collection.

Charles Campbell attended the College of New Jersey (later Princeton University) from 1823-1825. Upon graduation he enrolled in Henry St. George Tucker's School of Law in Winchester, Virginia. However, he suffered from chronic headaches which caused him severe physical and mental exhaustion. By 1829, these health issues would force him to leave the law profession.

Following his departure from law, Campbell worked as an engineer of the Petersburg Railroad. Later he ran a private school for boys in Glencoe, Alabama. On 13 September 1836, he married Elvira N. Callaway (1819-1837) of Monroe County, Tennessee. In 1837, Elvira died shortly after the birth of a son, Callaway Campbell (b.1837). In his distress, Campbell left his son with Elivira's siblings, Thomas and Lucinda Callaway. Later, this would result in a court case to regain custody of his child.

Following the death of his wife, Campbell worked as a clerk in the office of the Collector of Custom in Petersburg, Virginia (a position he obtained from his father John Campbell). From 1840-1843, Campbell also owned, published, and edited a Petersburg newspaper, The American Statesman . He returned to teaching in 1842 by opening a classical school in Petersburg, becoming both teacher and administrator in the Anderson Seminary. He would hold these positions until the formation of free public schools in 1870.

Campbell remarried in 1850 to Miss Anna Birdsall of Rahway, New Jersey. They had four children, Mary Spotswood Campbell Robinson (b.1852), Nanny Campbell (b.1854), Charles Campbell (b.1856), and Fanny Campbell (1858-1860's).

Charles Campbell was committed to Western Lunatic Asylum at Staunton, Virginia, in 1873 where he remained until his death on July 11, 1876. He was buried at Blandford Church Cemetery, Petersburg.

Like his father, Campbell was a historian. He began contributing to journals in 1834. Some of the journals to which he frequently contributed included; The Southern Literary Messenger or The Southern and Western Literary Messenger and Review ; The Farmer's Register ; The New Yorker ; and the Petersburg Intelligencer . His most important work, however, was the History of the Colony and Ancient Dominion of Virginia . This work built upon his father's book and concerned Virginia history from the colony's founding to the Revolutionary War.

From the guide to the Charles Campbell Papers, 1743-1896., (Special Collections, Earl Gregg Swem Library, College of William and Mary)