David Wilson Campbell
Barry, Navarro County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(May 4, 1812 - April 4, 1879) A native of Georgia, David Wilson Campbell migrated to Texas in 1835. He served in the Texas army the following year during the Texas War for Independence. A pioneer farmer in Navarro County, he gave ten acres of land to the Harmony Methodist Church in 1845. Part of that acreage was used for this cemetery where many Campbell descendants are buried. Campbell was married three times and had children from each marriage. Recorded - 1978
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
David Wilson Campbell left Georgia for a still-young, still-contested Texas in 1835, arriving just as the fight for independence from Mexico was breaking open. He shouldered a musket with the Texas army in 1836, then traded soldiering for the plow, breaking ground as one of Navarro County's early farmers. In 1845 he deeded ten acres to the Harmony Methodist Church, and a corner of that gift became the family cemetery where generations of Campbells now rest.
Why it matters
His life traces the arc of Anglo settlement on the Texas frontier — from revolutionary soldier to community-building farmer — the pattern that turned raw prairie into county, church, and burial ground.
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Related people
- · David Wilson Campbell
Related events
- · Texas War for Independence
Themes & tags
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