Family History

Origins of the Surname

Variations of the Surname

Coat of Arms & Motto

Ancestral Lineage

Ancestral Locations

Source Documents

Website Resources

Family Images Gallery

Family history

    Very little is known about the Campbell family line with the exception of our 8^th great-grandmother Nancy Campbell.   It is likely that she was born in Lowlands area of Scotland sometime around 1685.  Her family probably migrated to Ulster Plantation in what is now  Northern Ireland sometime prior to 1700.  It was here she met and married Michael Dickson.  Her son John Dickson born 1704 in Newry, County Down is our 7^th great-grandfather.

     Based upon the fact that only two children are known to have been produced by Nancy it is most probable that she died in Ulster after 1710 and prior to 1715 when it is believed that Michael and her sons emigrated to America.

Origins of the surname

·       An Introduction to the Name

·       Meaning of the Name

·        History of the Name

·                          Early Immigrants to North America With This Surname

·                           More About Surname Meanings & Origins

An Introduction to the Name

 With the passing of generations and the movement of families moved from place to place many of the original identifying names were altered into some of the versions that we are familiar with today.  Over the centuries, most of our European ancestors accepted their surname as an unchangeable part of their lives.  Thus people rarely changed their surname.  Variations of most surnames were usually the result of an involuntary act such as when a government official wrote a name phonetically or made an error in transcription.  Research into the record of this Campbell family line indicates that the variations, meanings and history of this surname is most likely linked to that area of Europe where the Scottish culture and language is commonly found. 

Meaning of the Name

     Most of the modern family names throughout Europe have originated from with of the following circumstances: occupation (i.e., Carpenter, Cooper, Brewer, Mason); habitational (Middleton, Sidney, or Ireland) or topographical (i.e. Hill, Brook, Forrest, Dale); nicknames (i.e., Moody Freeholder, Wise, Armstrong); status (i.e. Freeman, Bond, Knight); and acquired ornamental names that were simply made up.

     Campbell is an ancient Scottish nickname from the Gaelic cam ‘crooked’, ‘bent’ + beul ‘mouth’. That it was originally a nickname can be seen by a charter of 1447, which records Duncan le Cambeli, the first Lord Campbell, the "le" being the Scottish "lie", meaning "so called", or "known as". The surname was often represented in Latin documents as de bello campo ‘of the fair field’, which led to the name sometimes being ‘translated’ into Anglo-Norman French as Beauchamp.

History of the Name

Surnames as we know them today were first assumed in Europe from the 11th to the 15th century. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to a many variants of the original spelling.

     The Campbell surname was first found in Argyllshire, Scotland.  Clan tradition has it, that the Campbells were originally known as "Clana Duibhne" or "O'Duine", from one Diarmid O'Duine of Lochow.  For centuries they were the most powerful influence in Argyll and the West of Scotland.  In the 13th century Archibald Campbell obtained the Lordship of Lochlow through his marriage with the daughter of the King's treasurer, and for a long period thereafter, the Campbells of Lochlow formed one of the chief branches of the clan.

     The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Gillespie Cambel, which was dated 1263, in the "Exchequer Rolls of Scotland".   The aforementioned Cambel held the lands of Menstrie and Sauchie in 1263, and he was also a witness to a charter, by King Alexander IIl of Scotland, 1249-1286, erecting Newburgh in Fife into a burgh in favor of the monks of Lindores.   About 1390, Duncan Campbell witnessed a charter by Duncan, Earl of Levenax, and is believed to be the first name bearer to introduce a "p" into the name, influenced by the erroneous theory that "Cam(p)bell" comes from the Norman-French "de Campobello" i.e., "of the beautiful plain". 

Early Immigrants to North America

Variations of the surname

Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to unfold and expand often leading to an overwhelming number of variants.  As such one can encounter great variation in the spelling of surnames because in early times, spelling in general and thus the spelling of names was not yet standardized.  Later on spellings would change with the branching and movement of families.  Spelling variations of this family name include: Campbell, Cambell, Cambel, Camble, Cammell, and many others.   

The complexity of researching records is compounded by the fact that in many cases an ancestors surname may also have been misspelled.  This is especially true when searching census documents. The Soundex system was developed in an effort to assist with identifying spelling variations for a given surname.  Soundex is a method of indexing names in the 1880, 1900, 1910, and 1920 US Census, and can aid genealogists in their research.  The Soundex Code for Campbell is C514.  Other surnames sharing this Soundex Code: CAMBELL | CAMPBELL | CANFIELD | CHAMBLEE | CHAMBLESS | CHAMBLISS | CHAMPLIN | CHUMBLEY |

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Coat of arms

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

COAT-OF-ARMS

     There are at least 44* known coat-of-arms designs for the Campbell family.   The most common of these, (Figure 1), is the oldest and has been used by the Dukes of Argyll, since 1445.  It features a Quarterly: first and fourth, gyronny of eight gold and black, the Crest being a boar's head couped gold.

      The Coat-of-arms shown in figure 2 illustrates the application of a horse head and a ship.  For example, the arms of the Campbell family of Craigie, County Argyll contains the head of a horse, and a ship, (figure 5),  is found in the arms of the Campbell family of Hallyards, County Perth.

     The armorial bearings of the Carter-Campbell family, (figure 3), are held by the head of the family, now resident at Craigenputtock, Dumfriesshire, Scotland.  It represents the union of two land owning families in 1864: the Carters of Castle Martin, County Kildare, Ireland and the Campbells of Possil Lanarkshire, Scotland.  The original arms of the Possil Campbell family is shown in figure 6.

     Figure 4 shows the most common of the Campbell clan badges.  It incorporates the boar’s head on the clan tartan surrounded by a belt with the clan motto “Ne obliviscaris” which translates to “Do not forget.”

MOTTO(es)

There are many, many Campbell family mottoes listed by Burke**.  The motto if the aforementioned Carter-Campbell family is “Fit via vi” meaning “A way is made by labour.”  Another motto as used in figure 5 is “Fac et spera”, translated as “Do and Hope. ”

* Burke, Sir Bernard, The general armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales: comprising a registry of armorial bearings from the earliest to the present time,  published by Harrison & sons, 1864, pages 162-165.

**Ibid, pages 1162-1185.

Fig. 3

Fig. 4

Fig. 5

Fig. 6

A Coat of Arms is defined as a group of emblems and figures (heraldic bearings) usually arranged on and around a shield and serving as the special insignia of some person, family, or institution.  Except for a few cases, there is really no such thing as a standard "coat of arms" for a surname.  A coat of arms, more properly called an armorial achievement, armorial bearings or often just arms for short, is a design usually granted only to a single person not to an entire family or to a particular surname.  Coats of arms are inheritable property, and they generally descend to male lineal descendents of the original arms grantee.  The rules and traditions regarding Coats of Arms vary from country to country. Therefore a Coat of Arms for an English family would differ from that of a German family even when the surname is the same.  The art of designing, displaying, describing, and recording arms is called heraldry. The use of coats of arms by countries, states, provinces, towns and villages is called civic heraldry.   Some of the more prominent elements incorporated into a  coat of arms are :

Crest - The word crest is often mistakenly applied to a coat of arms.  The crest was a later development arising from the love of pageantry.  Initially the crest consisted of charges painted onto a ridge on top of the helmet.

Wreath or Torse – The torse is a twist of cloth or wreath underneath and part of a crest. Always shown as six twists, the first tincture being the tincture of the field, the second the tincture of the metal, and so on.

Mantling – The mantling is a drapery tied to the helmet above the shield. It forms a backdrop for the shield.

Helm or Helmet - The helmet or helm is situated above the shield and bears the torse and crest. The style of helmet displayed varies according to rank and social status, and these styles developed over time, in step with the development of actual military helmets.

Shield or Arms - The basis of all coats of arms.  At their simplest, arms consist of a shield with a plain field on which appears a geometrical shape or object.  The items appearing on the shield are known as charges.

Motto - The motto was originally a war cry, but later mottoes often expressed some worthy sentiment. It may appear at the top or bottom of a family coat of arms.

Direct ancestors

Descendant Register

Generation 1

Nancy Campbell-1 was born on Abt. 1685 in Scotland. She died on Bet. 1710-1715 in (Ulster) N.  Ireland. She married Michael Dickson on Abt. 1702 in Newry, County Down, (Ulster) N. Ireland,  son of Joseph Dickson Jr.. He was born on 1682 in County Down, (Ulster) N. Ireland. He died on  Bet. 1756-1766 in Duplin County, North Carolina.

Children of Nancy Campbell and Michael Dickson are:

John Dickson, B: 1704 in Newry, County Down, Ireland, D: 25 Dec 1774 in Dulpin  County, North Carolina, M: Abt. 1730 in Ireland.

William Dickson, B: Abt. 1710 in Newry, County Down, Ireland, D: 01 Jan 1775 in  Newberry, Ninety Six District, South Carolina.

Generation 2

Additional information about our DIRECT ANCESTORS  as well as a complete listing of individuals with this surname may be reviewed by clicking on the following LINK.

MMPS Surname Locator

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Ancestral locations

Researching the locations where our ancestors lived has provided us with valuable evidence needed to fill-in the gaps in our family trees.  It has also led us to many interesting facts that enhance the overall picture of each family group.  The names of states and counties on the following list were derived from the known places where the persons in the “Direct Ancestors” list (see above) were born, married, and / or died.

COUNTRY

STATE

COUNTY / SUBDIVISION

UNITED KINGDOM

SCOTLAND

NORTHERN IRELAND

County Down

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ANCESTRAL LOCATIONS

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Source documents

The documents contained herein have been located during our research of this family, and used as evidence to prove many of the facts contained within the database of this family’s record.

     Most of these documents can be considered as primary or secondary.  Primary evidence is usually defined as the best available to prove the fact in question, usually in an original document or record.  Secondary evidence is in essence all that evidence which is inferior in its origin to primary evidence. That does not mean secondary evidence is always in error, but there is a greater chance of error.  Examples of this type of evidence would be a copy of an original record, or oral testimony of a record’s contents.  Published genealogies and family histories are also secondary evidence.

     Classifying evidence as either primary or secondary does not tell anything about its accuracy or ultimate value.  This is especially true of secondary evidence.  Thus it is always a good idea to ask the following questions: (1) How far removed from the original is it, (when it is a copy)?;  (2) What was the reason for the creation of the source which contains this evidence?; and (3) Who was responsible for creating this secondary evidence and what interest did they have in its accuracy?

SOURCE:  Greenwood, Val D., The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy, 2^nd edition, Genealogical Publishing  Co., Baltimore, MD 21202, 1990, pgs. 62-63

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SOURCE DOCUMENTS

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General Surname Resources

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