William Campbell

As printed in 1906

William Campbell, who has been a promoter of farming and stock-raising interests in Henry county and is now living retired in a beautiful home on West Monroe street in ]Mount Pleasant, was born

[This passage is too damaged in the scanned book to reproduce. See the original book.]

William Campbell, the third in order of birth in a family of nine children, acquired his education in Orange township. Ashland county, Ohio, and by reading and observation in later life. His youth was passed on his father's farm and he assisted in its development and improvement until thinking to find other occupation more congenial he learned the trade of a plasterer, which he followed for about thirty years. He took contracts for plastering and employing a large number of men was thus enabled to cover an extensive field of labor. He did much work all through that.section of the state, being accorded an extensive patronage that enabled him to retain many workmen in his.service. He first came to Iowa in 1854. and here continued in the plastering business, being accorded much of the important work in this locality, one of his last jobs being the plastering of the Harlan house built by Senator Harlan.

Mr. Cami)bell was married in December, 1857, to Miss Elizabeth Spearman, a daughter of James Spearman, who was a farmer and old settler, coming to this section of the state when it was largely a new and undeveloped region. Mr. Campbell afterward returned to Orange township. Ashland county. Ohio, where he gave his attention to farming upon a tract of land which he owned, but wien he had spent six years in his native state he came again to Hemy county and purchased the Spearman homestead, thereon his wife was reared, about four miles southeast of Mount Pleasant, in the Pleasant Hill neigiiborhood. The farm comprised three hundred and seventy acres and had been developed and improved by Mr. Spearman. There Mr. Campbell successfully carried on g'general agricultural pursuits and the dairy business. He was the first cheese manufacturer in the county, and he had on the farm about one hundred cows of his own. and at times as manv as one hundred and thirty-five head. He also added to his land two fami amounting to three hundred and twenty acres. For a time he purchased milk from the neighboring farmers and did an extensive dairy and cheese business and the cheese factory is still conducted by his sons. He was also interested in the sheep industry\% having driven six hundred sheep from Ashland county, Ohio, with which he first stocked his farm. There is no man who has been more interested in improving the grade of stock raised and few have assisted so largely in this work and thereby promoted so efficiently the welfare of the agrictural class. Mr. Campbell ahvays owned and raised fine stock and he into-

As printed in Biographical review of Henry County, Iowa, containing biographical and genealogical sketches of many of the prominent citizens of to-day and also of the past .. (1906). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.