My Great-Grandparents, William Floyd Campbell and Elizabeth S. "Bettie" Carneal

William Floyd Campbell

William Floyd Campbell, about 1940

William Floyd Campbell is my great-grandfather (my Dad's paternal grandfather) and was born on February 22, 1876 in Caroline County, VA. He was the oldest son of Robert Lee Campbell and Fanny S. Mills. His birth date information comes from his World War I draft registration and his death certificate, and is supported on multiple censuses. However, in the 1900 census where the month and year of birth for each person is listed, William Floyd's birth date is listed as February 1877.

He was listed as a member of Robert Lee Campbell and Fanny S. Mills's household in the census on June 4, 1880 in District 29, Caroline County, Virginia along with Emma D. Campbell (his sister), Jeter Dallas Campbell (his brother), and Robert L. Campbell (his brother). William Floyd was 4 years old and born in Virginia.

He bought land and an existing farmhouse in Caroline County, VA sometime around 1895. The house previously belonged to Tom Reynolds, according to the WPA report from September 1937 on the structure.

The general location of the land William Floyd Campbell bought; needs evaluation

In the 1900 census, William Floyd was listed in the household of Elizabeth S. "Bettie" Reynolds on June 21, 1900 in Caroline County, VA along with Alfred Rixey Reynolds (Bettie's son), Aubrey D. Reynolds (Bettie's son), Robert L. "Bob" Reynolds (Bettie's son), and Fannie Carnell [Carneal] (Bettie's step-mother, although she is listed as her mother-in-law). He was 23 years old and listed his occupation as farmer. His relation to Bettie S. Reynolds (head of household) was boarder. Bettie's husband, Thomas Reynolds, had died a few years before the census. The farm they lived on at the time of the 1900 census is assumed to be the same one William Floyd had purchased in 1895 from Bettie's husband.

William Floyd Campbell and Elizabeth S. "Bettie" Reynolds (Carneal) were married a couple of months after the 1900 census, on August 8, 1900 in Caroline County, VA.

William Floyd was listed as one of the "principal farmers" in the community of Knopf, VA (located near Milford and no longer in existence) in 1910 and again in 1916. His main crops were tobacco, corn, wheat and potatoes.

William Floyd and Bettie Campbell and their family were listed in the 1910 census on April 28, 1910 at Knopf Road in Caroline County, VA. In this census, William Floyd is erroneously listed as William F. "Cammel" (it's hard to read), instead of "Campbell". The family consisted of William F. (34), his wife Bettie S. (40), daughter Pearl L. (8), son Thomas F. (my paternal grandfather (7), daughter Ester (4), and step-sons Alfred R. Reynolds (18) and Robert L. Reynolds (14). This was William Floyd's first marriage and Bettie's second, and they had been married for 10 years. Bettie said she had 6 children, of which 6 were still living. Alfred and Robert were children from her first marriage to Thomas Reynolds. Everyone and their parents were born in Virginia. William Floyd's occupation was farmer on his own general farm. Alfred and Robert were paid farm laborers on the farm. Pearl, Thomas F., and Robert had all attended school within the last year.

Bettie and William Floyd Campbell, about 1915 at their home in Caroline County, Virginia.
(this picture was provided by my Dad's first cousin, Betty Schools)

William Floyd registered for the World War I draft on September 12, 1918 in Bowling Green, Caroline County, VA. On his registration, he stated he lived in Knopf, Caroline County and he was a farmer. He was described as tall, medium build, with grey eyes and dark hair, and had no obvious physical deformities.

World War I draft registration for William Floyd Campbell

 William Floyd and Bettie Campbell and their family were enumerated in the 1920 census on January 28, 1920 in Caroline County, VA.  The family consisted of William F. (43, head of household), Bettie S. (53, wife), Pearl M. (18, daughter), Thomas F. (17, son), and Esther E. (12, daughter).  William Floyd's occupation was farming on a general farm, and Pearl's occupation was public school teacher.  A niece of William Floyd and Bettie, Minnie E. Carneal (15), also lived with the family.  Esther and Minnie had attended school within the last year, Pearl and Thomas had not. Everyone in the family indicated that they could read and write. The farm they lived on was owned free of any mortgage, and I believe it was still the farm William Floyd had purchased from Tom Reynolds around 1895.  The family's next door neighbors were the Lindley family and the Robert P. Beazley family.

William Floyd and Bettie Campbell were listed in the 1930 census on April 9, 1930 on a farm (believed to be the same farm) in Caroline County, VA. William Floyd was 54 and Bettie was 63. He indicated he was 25 when first married; she was 21 when first married. His occupation was still farmer on his own general farm, and he was not a veteran. Interestingly, Bettie's entry for whether she could read and write was left blank by the enumerator. They did not own a radio, and there were no other family members living with them.

William Floyd lived in Caroline County, VA on September 2, 1937 in the old farmhouse he purchased in 1895, as described in a report from the Works Progress Administration of Virginia Historical Inventory. I have an old picture of the house from the WPA report and a description of its construction. It was called "The Campbell Home" in the report, which stated that Floyd bought the house from its previous owner, Thomas Reynolds - Bettie Carneal's first husband - about 1895. That would be around the time Tom Reynolds passed away.

Photo of "The Campbell Home", 1937, from WPA Report and Library of Virginia

 

 

 

 He was listed in the household of Maynard Hall Dyson (44, his son-in-law) in the 1940 census on April 1, 1940 in Bowling Green, Caroline County, VA along with Esther Evelyn Campbell (33, his daughter) and Evelyn Hall "Pinky" Dyson (4, his granddaughter). Floyd was 64 and widowed at this time. In 1935, he was listed as living with Maynard and his family in rural Hanover County, VA. This contradicts the 1937 WPA report on the Campbell home that stated he was living in Caroline County in 1937, although he could have still owned that property and lived with the Dyson family in Hanover County. William Floyd had a 7th grade education. He didn't list any salary working for 52 weeks in 1939 as a laborer on the farm. He had worked 60 hours the week before the census, and didn't receive any other income for 1939.

William Floyd died from coronary occlusion, with significant conditions such as exertion following chronic myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and previous coronary attacks, at 1:30 PM on July 30, 1941 at the age of 65 in Caroline County, VA. On his death certificate, his residence was given as Caroline County, Virginia, his date of birth was Feb. 22, 1876, and he was born in Caroline County, Virginia. His occupation was farmer. His father's name was listed as Robert L. Campbell, born in Caroline County, Virginia and his mother's maiden name was listed as Fanny Mills, born in Louisa County, Virginia. The informant on the death certificate was his son-in-law, Maynard Dyson, from Milford, Va. His doctor, John E. Broaddus, MD from Bowling Green, Va  attended him from July 29 until July 30, and last saw him alive on July 30. Interestingly, when I told my Dad about this, he was positive that his grandfather William Floyd was much older, in his 70s, when he passed on. At the time his grandfather passed, my Dad would have been 11 years old.

William Floyd was buried on August 1, 1941 at Wright's Chapel United Methodist Church in Ruther Glen, Caroline County, VA. The funeral director was Davis & Pegg, Bowling Green, Va.

William Floyd Campbell's gravestone, from findagrave.com

My grandfather, Thomas Floyd Campbell, had the picture below of his father standing outside in front of two children sitting on a bench. According to my grandfather, William Floyd was well-known locally for the watermelons he grew on his farm. My Dad told me his grandfather would set them in the shade of a tree covered in wet burlap sacks to cool them off and get them ready to eat.  My Dad says that the two children in the old picture with William Floyd are two of my Dad's first cousins - R. W. Jones and Evelyn Dyson.

William Floyd Campbell, with R.W. Jones and Evelyn Dyson in background

My Dad also told me that after William Floyd's wife Bettie died, he moved in with his daughter, Esther, and her husband Maynard Dyson and family. This would support William Floyd's listing with the Dyson family in the 1940 census. After he started living with the Dyson's, the farm was supposedly sold to a black family and was almost totally destroyed by fire sometime in the early 1940's(?). A big white oak tree in front of the house may have survived the fire.


Elizabeth S. "Bettie" Carneal

Bettie S. Campbell (Carneal), 2nd from left, with her children from left - Pearl, Thomas Floyd and Esther

 Elizabeth S. "Bettie" Carneal, my great-grandmother and my Dad's paternal grandmother, was the daughter of Archibald Thomas Carneal and Mildred Ann Wash, and was born in January 1865 in Virginia. This was the month and year given for her in the 1900 census and also in the register of births for Caroline County database on Ancestry.com. Other estimated birth dates include 1864 (from her age in the 1870 census), 1866 (from the 1880, 1920 and 1930 censuses and her tombstone), 1870 (from the 1910 census), and 1877 (from her death certificate where her son-in-law, Andrew B. Jones, was the informant). The January 1865 birth date from the 1900 census seems most likely, since the other census birth dates are estimated and her death certificate contained erroneous data - such as her age at death being "about 59".

She was listed as a member of Archibald Thomas Carneal and Mildred Ann Wash's household in the 1870 census on August 9, 1870 in Caroline County, VA along with Archer Dick "Archie" Carneal (her brother), Charles Lewis Carneal (her brother), Roberta Jordan (a servant), and Jeanett Carneal (her brother, although listed as her sister in this census). Bettie was 6 years old and born in Virginia.

She was listed as a member of Archibald Thomas Carneal and Frances J. "Fannie" Mills's household in the 1880 census on June 14, 1880 in Madison District, Caroline County, VA along with Archer Dick "Archie" Carneal (her brother), Charles Lewis Carneal (her brother), Mildred Ann Carneal (her sister), and Jeanett Carneal (her brother). Bettie was 14 years old, daughter, single, at home, had attended school, and was born in Virginia.

Bettie married her first husband, Thomas H. Reynolds, on December 24, 1887 in Caroline County, Virginia. They had three sons, Aubrey, Alfred and Robert. Thomas was born in November 1860 in Caroline County, Virginia and passed away on February 10, 1896 in the same county. 

As mentioned above for William Floyd Campbell, Bettie appeared in the census on June 21, 1900 in Caroline County, VA. She is listed as 35 years old, born in Virginia in January 1865, widowed and living with her mother-in-law (should be step-mother) Fannie Carnell [Carneal] (78), her three sons by her first marriage to Thomas Reynolds: Aubrey D. Reynolds (11), Alfred R. Reynolds (9), and Robert L. Reynolds (5), and my great-grandfather, William Floyd Campbell (23), living there as a boarder. She was a farmer, owned her farm, and had 3 children of which all 3 were still living.

Bettie's information for the 1910, 1920 and 1930 censuses when she was married to William Floyd Campbell is described above.

Bettie died at 1 pm on July 7, 1936 at the age of 71 in Woodford, Caroline County, VA of cerebral softening from a stroke suffered in 1933. Her death certificate stated her usual residence was Woodford, VA and she was married to Floyd Wm Campbell (should be William Floyd Campbell). Her age was estimated to be "about 59" and her birthplace was given as Woodford, VA. Her occupation was housekeeping in her own home. Bettie's father was listed as Arch Carneal, born in Woodford, VA, and her mother was listed as  Mildred Waste, born in Beaverdam, VA. (Waste appears to be a variation on Wash or Walsh.) The informant was Andrew Jones of Whites, VA, who was Bettie's son-in-law married to her older daughter, Pearl. (By comparing the handwriting, most of the death certificate appears to be filled out by the doctor; the mother's name and birthplace were filled out by someone different, as was the funeral and burial information.) Her doctor was also John G. Broaddus, MD of Bowling Green VA, who attended her from June 20, 1936 until July 7, 1936, and last saw her alive on July 5, 1936.

Bettie was buried on July 9, 1936 at Wright's Chapel United Methodist Church in Ruther Glen, Caroline County, VA. Her grave is located next to her husband's, William Floyd Campbell. The undertaker was Hugh Pegg of Bowling Green, VA.

Bettie S. Campbell's gravestone, from findagrave.com

Children of William Floyd Campbell and Elizabeth S. "Bettie" Carneal

William Floyd Campbell and Elizabeth "Bettie" S. Carneal had the following children:

Pearl Lennon Campbell, born April 26, 1901, Caroline County, VA; married Andrew Broaddus Jones Sr, June 17, 1930, Henrico County, VA; died May 21, 1943, Richmond, VA.

Thomas Floyd "Floyd" Campbell (my paternal grandfather), born September 22, 1903, Caroline County, VA; married Mary Elva West (my paternal grandmother), June 11, 1929, Richmond, VA; died November 19, 1991, Newport News, VA.

Esther Evelyn Campbell, born January 12, 1907, Caroline County, VA; married Maynard Hall Dyson, about 1935; died June 16, 1988, Bowling Green, Caroline County, VA.


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Steve Campbell.

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