Sources for the Locations of Early Campbell farms in New York

I was recently asked about sources for the locations of Campbell properties in Montgomery and Deerpark, New York.  These properties were farmed by our Campbell relatives during the period 1760-1805.  Many of the records are not easily accessible.  Here is a summary.  Hopefully others will add to it.

First Samuel Campbell Property in New York - purchased about 1760
The sources for determining the location of the original property of Samuel Campbell (b abt 1700) in Wallkill, NY (later renamed Hanover and then Montgomery) are:

1) Samuel's 1773 will (copy also at ancestry.com or familysearch.org).  He bequeathed property to son Daniel...so we know it stayed in the family for awhile.

2) 1779 tax assessment for Hanover Precinct (at NYS Archives and on-line at ancestry.com in my personal tree) that shows Samuel's sons Nathan and Levi living on a farm close to the Wood, Perry, and Haines farms...believed to be the same farm because....

3) The earliest record in Ulster/Orange Counties, New York mentioning any of our Campbells is a deed from Samuel Tuthill of Morris County, New Jersey to John Perry of Wallkill, Ulster County, NY dated 4 Dec 1760. (Ulster Co., NY Deeds vol. GG, page 38)   Daniel Campbell (presumed to be the son of Samuel Campbell) signed as a witness to the deed. This was a deed for 100 acres in what is now Montgomery, Orange County, NY (then Wallkill, Ulster Co.) which was a part of a grant to William Brauser (Brashier). Subsequent deeds for property adjoining John Perry's land mention in the property description that they also bordered land belonging to one "Cammel." (Benjamin Wood to Abraham Wood 2 Feb. 1784 Ulster Co. Deeds, vol. II page 26, Israel Brown to Benjamin Wood 2 Nov 1783, Ulster Co., Deeds, vol II page 23) These "Cammel" lands appears to be part of the 50 acres that Samuel Campbell left to Daniel in his will of 1773. (the deeds are in the Ulster Archives at Kingston)

4) [Authors Note: The conclusion below that the 'Benjamin Haines' property adjacent to John Perry's Farm is the Haines property on Coleman Road is incorrect.  Read more here.] In the 1790 census, Benjamin Haines is listed next to John Perry, Benjamin Wood, and the Campbells.  41°32′4″N 74°11′4″W.  The Haines house is still standing and is likely in the same area as the Campbell Property.  It sits on Coleman Road, west of  Berea Road, north of 17K.  It is in the Brashier grant.

Rt 208 Property - sold in 1793
The second property of Samuel Campbell is pinpointed exactly by the 1793 deed.  The original deed is at the Newburgh Historical Society.  I have placed transcriptions and images in my public folders which are linked to many articles.  (I just noted that this article contains a few errors (new findings since it was written) but is 99% correct.  I will update it soon.) Samuel bequeathed this property to his son Samuel in 1773.  It had a home with multiple rooms.  He bequeathed the choice of any of the  rooms to his wife, Meary (Mary?).  More on this property at this link. 

Looking south from the highest point on the Rt 208 farm.  The highest point is at the northern tip of the farm.  This is where I thought the family burial area might be, but I saw no trace.  There is now a water storage tank there (right behind where I took this picture).  The road leading south in the distance is Rt 208.  It was referred to as "the road to Goodwill Church."  The church still stands about a mile down the road.  Goodwill Church is where Jemima (daughter of Joel) was married and perhaps other Campbells.  (Church records do not exist).  The house on the left is where I think the old Campbell house was.  I spoke to a man who had lived in the house for awhile (it is now unoccupied and is listed as historic and cannot be torn down....so it will probably fall down.) and he thought it had sections dating to the 1700s.  The small barn to the left of the house (not in the picture) has stone work that dates it to the 1700s.  At the base of this hill there is a small stream that flows left to right and passes under Rt. 208.  See below.

This small stream flows west and passes under Rt 208.  In the Hanover Precinct records of the 1700s a "Campbell Bridge" is mentioned.  Because the Campbell property was on both sides of this important "road to Goodwill Church" it is likely that the bridge over this stream was the bridge referred to.  The photo is looking east from Rt 208.

Neversink River Property (farmed by Joel's son Jonathan and perhaps others abt 1795 - 1805)
This property in Deerpark was (once again) not recorded and perhaps never rightfully purchased.  It is in an area that would have flooded often and may have been good for grazing but not for a home or farm.   I determined its location from surveys of adjoining properties done by Peter Gumaer in the 1790-1810 period.  Those surveys are at the Minisink Valley Historical Society and also in the book "A Journal of the Records of Peter E. Gumaer."  I also posted quite a bit about that property on the old Joel Campbell Family website.  I hope to repost it here soon.  A map showing the location is found at this link.

More DNA - Edward Campbell (1746) of North Carolina and Tennessee

A previous blog discussed the Y-DNA signature of a common male ancestor shared by all paternal descendants of Joel Campbell.  Joel was born in about 1735 and is the grandson of Robert Campbell who was banished from Scotland to New Jersey in 1685.

Another previous blog discussed a possible relationship with an Aaron Campbell of Alabama based on the Y-DNA signature of one of his descendants.

This blog discusses another possible relationship based on Y-DNA.

Background:
The Campbell Y-DNA Project contains data from a participant that differs from ours (Joel Campbell - 1735) in three out of the 37 markers tested.  Officially the difference is a "genetic distance of four," which is not that close of a match.  Their most distant known ancestor is "Edward Campbell (1746)."

The software at FamilyTreeDNA puts the probability of  Robert (Joel's grandfather) being a common ancestor at 31% and the probability of Archibald (Joel's great grandfather) being a common ancestor at 44%.

FamilyTreeDNA TiP comparison of "Jay" (8 generations from Joel) with descendant of Edward Campbell (1746)

As a comparison, Aaron Campbell, who was discussed in a previous post, has descendants with whom we have a 52% chance of sharing Robert as a common ancestor, and a 67% of sharing Archibald as a common ancestor.

That said, Edward's descendant shares the unique DYS447 marker with us and perhaps for that reason is grouped with us in the Campbell DNA Project spreadsheet.

Edward's Line

I attempted to contact the descendant of "Edward Campbell (1746)" three years ago.  My e-mail must have been lost into the ether.  When I resent the note a few days ago he responded immediately.

Edward (1746) is located in Cumberland, NC in the 1790 census.  You can see his public ancestry page here:  http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/10174202/person/37920623 From there he moves with his large family to Tennessee in about 1805.  

Edward's whereabouts prior to 1790 is not as clear.  Although ancestry.com  indicates his birthplace as Cumberland, there is conflicting information.  Some of his children state their father was born in NC, others in Scotland.

An Archibald Campbell who is living in Cumberland, NC in 1760, leaves a will in 1763 that names wife Mary, children Alexander, Edward, and Katherine.  This makes it likely that this line goes through Archibald.  

Archibald Campbell is believed to have come from Virginia.  A "Tax Poll" of 1750 in Augusta Co., VA lists the names "Archibald, Alexander, and Edward Campbell."  They match the family described in the 1763 will..

The probability that a Virginia line of 1750 is an offshoot of our Robert Campbell is very low.  We have no evidence that any of Robert's sons moved out of NJ prior to 1750. 

Edward Campbell of New Jersey

There is good justification that we are related to an Edward Campbell who was born in New Jersey and lived in Hanover, NY (now Montgomery) with all of our known Campbell ancestors (who were also born in NJ).  He is not a brother of Joel.  His likely relationship is "cousin to Joel."

Edward served in the local militia along side Joel and Joel's known brothers and sons.  It is believed that he is the Edward Campbell who resided in Wallkill, NY in the 1790 and 1800 census.  [Note that this Wallkill is not the same as the "Wallkill" where Joel lived in 1767.  See my blog on this topic:  http://joelcampbell1735.blogspot.com/2014/05/are-wallkill-hanover-and-montgomery.html]

In the 1810 census only his wife, Mary, is listed.  It is presumed that he died between 1800 and 1810 in Wallkill.  My public ancestry.com page for him is here:  http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/5558856/person/24214566397

Therefore, this Edward is not the same Edward that was living in North Carolina from 1790 to 1805.  

Nonetheless, there could still be a common ancestor between these two lines in the recent past based on the Y-DNA similarities.

More Y-DNA - The Story of Aaron Campbell of Alabama "1765"

A previous blog discussed the Y-DNA signature of a common male ancestor shared by all paternal descendants of Joel Campbell.  Joel was born in about 1735 and is the grandson of Robert Campbell who was banished from Scotland to New Jersey in 1685.

Robert Campbell was known to have two brothers, both of whom are thought to have been banished. Their fate is unknown.  Their paternal line (if it exists) shares the same Y-DNA signature as Robert and his paternal descendants.

Robert had at least four sons.
1) Nathaniel, believed to be the eldest, may have had a son named David.  They lived in the Newark Mountain area of New Jersey in the 1760s.  Paternal descendants have not been identified.
2) John.    A John Campbell Jr, is listed as a member of the Newark Mountain Society and is likely the son of this John.  John Jr married Rebecca Baldwin (the Baldwin family was one of Newark's founding families).  William Shaw's History of Essex County states that John Jr had at least three children, Esther, Charity, and Rebecca.  Esther married Moses Smith.  We know of no paternal descendants.
3) James.   James, John, Nathaniel, and Samuel had farms in the area of Newark Mountain.  Their relationship is assumed from that circumstantial evidence.  (Note that other unrelated Campbells came to the area in about 1760.  The Campbell Mills (see Paper MillPlayhouse at 40.728100, -74.309128) and Campbell Pond (40.737452, -74.304394) at Millburn, NJ are thought to be named after these unrelated Campbells)
4) Samuel.   Samuel is the father of Joel and seven other sons.  He has many paternal descendants.  Of the eight similar Y-DNA signatures in the "Campbell Project" at FamilyTreeDNA.com, seven are known descendants of Samuel.

The previous blog described how very recent paternal ancestors (within the last 10 generations) share very similar Y-DNA signatures.  Participants in the Campbell DNA Project with similar Y-DNA signatures, likely share a common recent ancestor.  If the genealogical paper trail has gone cold,  these leads can point to new avenues of research.

Unfortunately, there has only been one real lead coming out the of Campbell DNA project related to our recent Campbell line.  I had thought there would be tens if not hundreds of paternal ancestors popping up from the other unknown paternal lines (see *).   Why not?  It could be that these lines "daughtered-out," meaning they have no living paternal descendants.  Or it could mean they are not as "into" genealogy (eg. have not submitted DNA samples for testing) as the descendants of Joel, many of whom became genealogically diligent Mormons.

Four Generations of  Paternal lines from Archibald Campbell:
Archibald* (banished?)
Robert (banished)
Samuel
Samuel, Daniel, Nathaniel, Joel, Levi, Nathan, Reuben, Jonathan
John*
John*
Benjamin*? (see story below)
James*
Nathaniel*
David*
John* (banished?)
David* (banished?)

*unknown paternal lines

The "Campbell Project" has produced one interesting result.  Row 2 is the Y-DNA sample from a living paternal descendant of an Aaron Campbell who lived in 1765 in Bibb County, Alabama.  This participant is an exact match to a known descendant of Samuel Campbell, but this participant and Aaron Campbell are not descendants of Samuel.

Once again it is interesting that my Y-DNA signature is closer to this participant's than to one of my known relatives with whom I share a 5th ggfather.  This is just a reminder that the DNA markers do change randomly.  Statistically they seldom change, but they do change.  "When" they change and with "whom" they change are random.

I know that this descendant of Aaron Campbell and I do not share a common ancestor in the last 9 generations (he is not a descendant of Samuel).  Plugging that information into the FTDNA calculator, there is a 52% chance we share Robert as a common ancestor, and a 67% we share Archibald as a common ancestor.

If I had a complete 37 marker match with this descendant of Aaron Campbell the probabilities would be 59% that we share Robert as a common ancestor and 74%  that we  share Archibald as a common ancestor.

I would not pay a lot of attention to the exact numbers.  What the markers suggest is that it is highly likely that we share a recent common paternal ancestor.  Where did Aaron Campbell come from?  How did he get to Alabama?

Interestingly, there was an Aaron Campbell living at Newark Mountain.  On August 3, 1758, Aaron and Moses Campbell were baptized in the Mountain Society.  They were the sons of Benjamin Campbell who was also baptized at the same time.  The other Campbell who had three daughters baptized during that period was John Jr.  Could Benjamin have been John's brother?  The Wickes' list of  "Members in Communion to the Mountain Society prior to 1756," included a John Campbell.  Could this be the patriarch who raised both his sons (John Jr and Benjamin) in the Mountain Society leading to the baptisms of his grandchildren, Aaron, Moses, Esther, Charity, and Rebecca?

Clearly a lot more work needs to be done here, but it suggests Aaron and maybe even Benjamin and his family were led southward, eventually to Alabama.  Although the relationships are not confirmed it is a great example of how Y-DNA testing can lead us to living descendants of common ancestors.

Wickes, Stephen M.D., History of the Oranges in Essex County, NJ from 1666 to 1806, Ward and Tichenor, Newark, 1892 (available at books.google.com)

Ramapo Torne

The entrance to one of the most important passageways of the Revolutionary War was guarded by the peak called "Ramapo Torne."

The passageway was called "The Clove." It led from New Jersey through the "Highlands" to the storehouses at Newburgh and Fishkill. It also led to the ferry at Fishkill that connected the colonies of New England with the rest of the rebels.

Today that passageway is the route of trains and cars. The New York Thruway (I-87) uses that route to get from New York City to Albany.

Location of the Clove. North of New York City and West of the Hudson River, ©2015 Google

Entering the Clove at its southern opening, every driver stares straight ahead at the peak called "Ramapo Torne." Soon the road swings left and passes to the west of the ridge.

Entrance to "The Clove" at Suffern, New York.  This area was referred to as Ramapo during the Revolutionary War.  ©2015 Google

In January of 1777, the militia companies of Ulster County were stationed close to the base of this hill. They were on alert for British forces that had captured New York City the previous fall. Included were some men from the regiment of Jonathan Hasbrouck. No musters exist, but it is likely that Joel Campbell or some of his sons were at "Ramapo" as they were in Hasbrouck's Newburgh regiment. The forces were led by Brigadier General George Clinton who would be elected the first governor of the state of New York before the year was over.

On the 12th of January 1777, Colonel Hasbrouck listed his officers who were on duty at Ramapo.  He named two captains,  one of whom was Bondawine Tarpening who led the company of which the Campbells were members.  That company had 22 privates on guard, 16 AWOL, 6 cooks, and 2 sick.

On the 16th of January, Hasbrouck received orders to relieve his 100 men at Ramapo with 100 fresh men. The companies of Tarpening and Robinson were to be replaced with other companies. It was not unusual for a person of means to pay another person to serve in his stead. It could have been that a younger Campbell entered into one of those arrangements and continued at Ramapo as a replacement for a member of another Newburgh company of militia.

By March, the recruiting for regular troops for the "1777 Campaign" was in full swing.  In the meantime, other troops had been "levied" for shorter durations. One group of Ulster County Levies of Militia was at Ramapo under Colonel Pawling. One of his captains was James Milliken of Hanover. His normal militia company contained Joel's brothers, Levi and Samuel. The muster only lists officers, so we do not know if they were part of the Ramapo guard on this date. Milliken would not see the end of the year as he would be one of the many casualties at the Battle of Fort Montgomery.

By summer, the post at Ramapo was being guarded by regular troops. The militia's role had changed to building the obstructions on the Hudson River and the Forts Clinton and Montgomery.

British ships started sailing up the Long Island Sound in the middle of July. George Washington feared an attack on Connecticut or Westchester, New York. He moved the main Army up to The Clove at Ramapo. From there he could move quickly either back down to New Jersey and Philadelphia or across the Hudson River to Connecticut.

Here in The Clove, George Washington conferred with General George Clinton. I like to think that they rode to the top of Ramapo Torne. There they could have rested on the rocky outcrops, baked hot by the July sun. Below they could see the encampments of their troops, resting from their march, cooking food, or bathing in the Ramapo River. In the distance they could watch the sails on the Hudson River all the way down to New York City.

View South from Ramapo Torne. I-87 bridge over Ramapo River is visible on the right.

Zoom of New York Skyline from Ramapo Torne.

Camp Ramapough marker behind Mt Fuji at 41.129496, -74.171845.  It reads, "This tablet marks the site of the post  at Ramapough or Sidman's Bridge...in honor of the Officers and Soldiers of the Revolutionary War who were stationed here from 1776 to 1781."

Ramapo Torne from hill now occupied by Mt Fuji Restaurant.

Another plaque located on the other side of I-87 at about 60 Torne Valley Road, 41.130020, -74.165311.

Y-DNA of Joel Campbell (born circa 1735)

Seven known paternal descendants of Joel Campbell's father (Samuel) have submitted their DNA for genetic-genealogy testing using the Y-DNA methodology.  In addition, two results closely matching those of Samuel's descendants are also in the "Campbell Project" database at FamilyTreeDNA.  This article is a short description of what this means for genealogists of the Joel Campbell line.

Y-DNA Results for seven known relatives and two possibly related.  Click here for larger version.

Legend:  The grey row are my results.  The light blue row is a known relative, but interestingly differs in two of the 37 markers.  More about this below.  The purple column is the DYS447 marker. The result of "26" for the DYS447 marker seems to be almost unique to our recent line.  The yellow boxes highlight results of other participants which differ from mine.

Y-DNA
The Y chromosome is passed from father to son virtually unchanged.  Mutations in certain segments of the chromosome occur randomly every 300-1000 generations.  Mutations are a reshuffling of the order of building blocks of the chromosome.  There are only four building blocks which are abbreviated as A, T, C, and G.  Y-DNA research has identified chromosome segments where short sequences of the building blocks are repeated multiple times.  The Y-DNA Test counts the number of times the sequence is repeated.  These segments are called Short Tandem (adjacent) Repeats or "STR"s.

For example, the third column in the table above is the segment called DYS393 (DNA Y chromosome Segment #393).  The repeating sequence is  AGAT.  This sequence repeats 13 times in the Y chromosome of the nine persons tested.  In the general population this sequence repeats in the range of  9 to 17 times.  The mutation rate of this occurrence is about once every 1000 generations.

The likelihood of a common paternal ancestor can be calculated by testing for multiple markers.  In the above example, all nine of the participants were tested for 25 segments.  All segments are a match (except for a single segment of one participant (blue row) who is a known relative).  If the mutation rate of each segment is one in 500 generations, then the combined mutation rate of all 25 together is 25/500 or about one in 20 generations or about one in 500 years.  By testing even more markers the probability of a common ancestor can be estimated with more accuracy.

Eight of the persons above have been tested for 37 STRs, three have been tested for 65, and one has been tested for over 100 STRs.

Don't get too overwhelmed by all of the numbers, but if you are fascinated by this, you can read a lot more at the website of the International Society of Genetic Genealogy (http://www.isogg.org/) , the blog of CeCe Moore (http://www.yourgeneticgenealogist.com/), and at many other sites you can find just by following the links from these sites.

Well....what can we learn from the data?

Are we really Campbells?  Yes! The genetic data indeed shows that our Campbell heritage is genuine.  We did not adopt the name.  Just as the genetic signature has been passed down from father to son, so has the surname.  Our Y-DNA markers are too similar to other known original Campbells to be not part of that clan.

How recent is our common ancestor with the Dukes of Argyll?  The Dukes of Argyll, leaders of Clan Campbell, trace their lineage back to Cailean Mor Caimbeul, one of the earliest attested leaders of the Clan.  He died around 1300.

Our relation to that line can be determined through Y-DNA.  One benchmark we have is the Y-DNA results of a direct paternal descendant of the 4th Duke of Argyll.  FamilyTreeDNA has an algorithm that estimates the probability of a common ancestor existing between two study participants.  If I compare my 37 markers with the 37 markers of the descendant of the 4th Duke there is a genetic distance of "3."  That means that three of the STRs have a number of "repeats" that differ by one.  The FTDNA algorithm uses the mutation rate of each STR to estimate the likelihood of a common ancestor.  In this case I know that I have no common ancestor with this other person in the last 11 generations (that is going back to Archibald who is the father of Robert, grandfather of Samuel, and great grandfather of Joel).

The results show that there is almost an 80% chance that we share a common ancestor within the last 16 generations.  That takes us back to the year 1500 and the 4th Earl of Argyll.  The probability goes up to 93% within the last 20 generations.  That takes us back to about 1400 and the 1st Earl of Argyll.

It certainly appears that we are direct descendants of MacCailean Mor!

Screenshot of FamilyTreeDNA TiP Report for Most Recent Common Ancestor.  Click here for larger version.

Probabilities and random mutations   The data always reminds me that "mutations happen."  My 37 markers differ from my known relative, Tony Campbell, by two.  That is only one less than I differ from the Dukes of Argyll.  Hey, mutations may on average only happen every 500 generations, but with millions of people and hundreds of markers, they are happening all of the time.  Clues to our very recent relatives may be in the genetic data even when there is a genetic distance of two.
  

Coming up:  Finding the Descendants of the other sons of Robert (circa 1670) and Archibald (circa 1640) and In Search of the Maternal Descendants of Abigail Campbell (circa 1735).

The Commons of Argyll Part II - Fencible Men

The Commons of Argyll is a very short book.  It is a transcription of some of the Inveraray Sheriff Court Records.  The first part of the book is a list of names of suspected rebels in the uprising of 1685.   (See previous blog)   The second part is a list of names of "fencibles" in the shires of Argyll and Tarbet.

Of particular interest to descendants of Archibald Campbell (the great grandfather of Joel...namesake of this blog) is the status of his village of Kildalvan in 1692, the date of the census of fencibles.

In 1685, the area of Kildalvan was ravaged and plundered.  Many homes in Argyll were destroyed and the livestock confiscated.  The laird of Kildalvan, John Campbell, was listed among the "common" rebels, but apparently he was not banished as were his tenants.   Those tenants were Archibald Campbell and his three sons.  Campbell of Kildalvan did lose his lands, livestock, and tenants.

Only four years later the tide had turned significantly.  In 1689 King James II abdicated and William and Mary acceded to the throne.  The 10th Earl of Argyll (the son of the leader of the Argyll rebellion in 1685) returned to Scotland with the new royalty.  His lands, titles, and lines were restored.

Lord Neil Campbell (the 10th Earl's uncle), who had emigrated to New Jersey at the same time as the Henry & Francis sailed, returned to participate in the restoration of Campbell lands.

John Campbell of Kildalvan sought restitution, even asking for compensation for his lost tenants. Those tenants included Archibald Campbell and his three sons who had been banished from the kingdom.  One of the sons was Robert Campbell, grandfather to Joel (namesake of this blog.)

Campbell of Kildalvan was restored to his lands, but all was not peaceful in Scotland.  In May of 1692 the fencibles were called out "for putting the Countrey in a posture of Defence against an Invasion of French and Irish Papists."

Fencibles were generally considered to be all able-bodied men between sixteen and sixty years of age.  The returns for fencibles from Argyllshire were preserved in the papers of the Inveraray Sheriff Court.  Two men were enumerated as fencibles in the village of Kildalvan in the parish of Kilmodan or Glendaruel, Argyllshire:  Gilbert and Duncan Smith.

Image from list of Fencibles in The Commons of Argyll

Does this mean that Campbells were no longer living in Kildalvan?  If they were, it appears they consisted only of the widows and young orphans of the banished Campbells and not of men of fencible age.  It also gives credence to the likelihood that Archibald and all of his three sons were truly banished to a place from which a return was unlikely.  By 1692 the climate in Scotland was very favorable to Campbells.  It would seem likely Archibald and his sons would have returned if that option were available.

Fencibles came from nineteen villages in the parish of Kilmodan.  No village had more than six fencibles listed.  Were the villages dotting this valley small?  It appears they seldom contained more than two to five families.

James Campbell of Glendaruel was listed as the Captain of the sixty-four fencibles from the parish of Kilmodan.  Campbell of Kildalvan was not listed.

The fate of any Campbell relatives of Archibald and his three sons is sadly unknown.  Surely there were some relatives who survived and stayed in Scotland.  Did they stay in Kildalvan or did they move to other villages now that their men were banished?  DNA testing has so far not detected any current resident of Scotland who could be related through Archibald or a close paternal ancestor of Archibald.

The Commons of Argyll

2015 marks the 330th anniversary of my Campbells in America.

Joel Campbell, the subject of this blog, descended from Robert Campbell who arrived in Perth Amboy, New Jersey in December of 1685.  Robert was Joel's grandfather.

Earlier in 1685, Robert Campbell had been part of a rebel army in Scotland.  He was joined by his father and two brothers.  They were all captured, imprisoned, and banished from Scotland.

In the Inveraray Sheriff Court Records is a thirty-three page list of names of the rebels from the shires of Argyll and Tarbet.  "It is neither signed nor dated, but it appears to have been drawn upon for the list of rebels forfeited on the 12th October 1685 which is given on pages 18 to 22."

The small town of Inveraray was the center of Clan Campbell.  The clan leader had his main castle there, as he does even today.  It sits in the shire of Argyll.

Duncan MacTavish transcribed these court records in 1935 and published them as The Commons of Argyll.  The title comes from the proclamation of the occupying general, John Murray, Marquess of Atholl.

June 1685
"Whereas we are informed that many of the commons of thes two shyres of Argyll and Tarbet have been forced and prest by the rebells to joyne with them    Therefore by vertew of our Commission of Livtennentrie we doe hereby grant protection for ther lives goods and gear to all such commons Provydeing alwayes that they come in and lay down arms and compear befor us or befor the governor of Inverarey or any other governor or governors of garisons to be by us appoynted and hereby impowered to give protections to such personse  They always taking the benefit of this indemnitie Betwixt and the twentie day of this moneth of Juny  And to the effect that they may not pretend ignorance   We hereby recommend to the ministers of the rexive paroaches of thes two Shyres schoolmrs or readers in ther absence or to any oyr loyall persons within the same who can read to make publict intimatne hereof on the nixt Lord's day after these come to ther hands after Divine Service  And that they return cerificates yrof under ther hands to our Sherif deput."
--ATHOLL

Many of the "commons" or tenant farmers in these shires had been "prest" or forced against their will to join the rebel army.  Robert Campbell testified that he indeed was "prest" along with his father and brothers.

The only reference to them in The Commons of Argyll is on page thirteen where the rebels of the "Kilmeden or Glendaruell paroch" are listed.

"Kildalvine - Archibald Campbell and three sons all banished furth of the kingdome"

Their laird and master is listed separately as "Kildolvein - John Campbell of Kildolveine." [MacTavish states that items in italics were entered in the original list by a different hand.]

In rereading The Commons of Argyll a few observations can be made which may or may not be significant regarding Robert Campbell and his family.

1.  The entry for Archibald and his three sons (one of which was Robert) states they were banished.  Out of the hundreds of names in this list only one other had the "banished" notation.  However, we know from the Privy records that hundreds of rebels were banished.  Is this record inaccurate?  Or were the banished rebels mostly from shires other than Argyll and Tarbet?  It seems unlikely as these shires were the ones where Argyll recruited most heavily for his rebel army.

2.  The sons of Archibald are not list separately by name.  This is very unique in the list. In fact, only one other record in the entire list does not include the proper name of the rebel (p. 14 "his boy").  Were the sons' names unknown to the list maker?  Could they have been the only rebels from Argyllshire imprisoned outside of Inveraray (and hence did not "compear" in person before the governor in Inveraray)?  It seems a bit odd.

3. Many of the names have the word "prest" written after them.  This word was always entered in a "different hand."  Did this indicate a judgment as to whether they were truly forced into the rebel army?  For the parish of Kilmodan, the home of Archibald and his sons, nine of sixty-one names were tagged with the "prest" designation.  Did this mean that even though Archibald and his sons said they were forced into service (according to their depositions in the Privy Council Record), that the "courts" determined they were not "prest"?

4.  We know two of the names of Archibald's sons from the Privy Council Records:  John and Robert.  How common were these?  Was the Robert Campbell banished on the Henry & Francis the same Robert Campbell from Kildalvan?  There were at least two Robert Campbells in prison at the time the Henry & Francis sailed.  Luckily, "Robert" was not that common of a name.  Four other Roberts are listed in The Commons of Argyll and there is no indication they were imprisoned or banished.  [Robert Campbell of Orchard; Robert Campbell in Uig, Parish of Kilmun; Robert Campbell in Leckimor; Robert Campbell in Catteltoun.]

"John", however, was a very common name.  There are thirty-three "John Campbells" in The Commons of Argyll.  Tracking a "John" Campbell would be very difficult.

Robert Campbell's name appears on several occasions in the Privy Council Records in close proximity to a David Campbell.  It has been postulated that David was the third brother.  A David Campbell is on one of the Henry & Francis passenger lists.  Duncan Beaton (Campbell Genealogist) says that David Campbell is known to be from Falkirk, not Argyll.  Interestingly, there is no "David Campbell" listed in The Commons of Argyll.