Campbell, John Saxton

  • DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN BIOGRAPHY ARTICLE: Pierre Poulin, “CAMPBELL, JOHN SAXTON,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 8, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/campbell_john_saxton_8E.html
  • DCB profile notes:
    • Businessman, justice of the peace, and seigneur; b. c. 1787, son of Archibald Campbell, a merchant, and Charlotte Saxton; m. first 11 March 1817 Jane Hamilton in London; m. secondly Mary Carne Vivian; d. 25 April 1855 in Penzance, England.
    • John Saxton Campbell was apparently not born at Quebec, for his birth is not recorded in the parish registers of the town. But since his younger brother Archibald is listed there as born in 1790, he was probably at Quebec from the age of two or three. Campbell came from a well-to-do family. His father, a loyalist who had immigrated to the province of Quebec after the American revolution, prospered in the timber trade. In light of the attractive prospects at that time for the export of Canadian forest products from Quebec to England, Campbell decided in 1811 to assume the management of his father’s business. By 1808 he was active in business and had become an inspector of staves at the port of Quebec.
    • At that time Campbell was one of the important figures in the town. From 1826 to 1828 he had served as an adviser to the Quebec Committee of Trade. Like other prosperous merchants, he was interested in the field of banking. Elected a director of the Quebec Bank in 1828, he remained in this office until 1831. He also sat on the board of directors of the Quebec Savings Bank in 1829 and 1830 and from 1835 to 1841. On 14 Oct. 1830 he had received a commission as justice of the peace which was renewed three years later. Campbell lived on a vast estate on the Grande Allée, just opposite that of the well-known timber merchant William Price*. In his spare time he took an interest in literature; moreover, he was listed as one the founders of the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec in the royal charter incorporating it in 1831.
  • Son of United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=12261
  • Find A Grave: Cannot locate