Name: Elizabeth Campbell
Birth: 1676 in Argylshire,Scotland
Death: 1742 in Albemarle,Virginia
Much of the information below refers to Mary Campbell, but it appears that Magdalena Woods mother was actually Mary's sister, Elizabeth Campbell. I am now relying on the geneological research done by Celia Becker, as described in the following email, dated Sun 2/4/2007.
Dear Cousin Tom;
I descend from Magdalena’s closest sister, Martha. You descend not from Mary and Michael but Samuel and Elizabeth Woods through their daughter Magdalena. Michael Woods will was proved in Albemarle County, VA in 1761. He did NOT have a (surviving) daughter named Magdalena. However, Michael was a brother of Samuel Woods and Elizabeth, Samuel’s wife, was a sister of Mary Campbell. The will of the 3rd Baron of Auchinbreck indicates two daughters married two Woods brothers. Additionally, you will find that a third sister married another person who lived in between the two Woods brothers, and at least three brothers of the girls also emigrated and lived in the same area. I descend from both Elizabeth Campbell and Samuel Woods and Samuel Wallace and Elizabeth Woods—a sister of Michael and Samuel—and Gilbert Campbell (one of the brothers of Elizabeth and Mary) and Prudence Osmun. Gilbert’s brother James also lived near them and left a will dated and proved in 1753 which gave his age, making his birth year 1682. Gilbert was a little younger.
Have you ever read through the Augusta County records: _Chronicles of the Scots-Irish_ by Chalkley? They are on-line. You’ll find the inheritance lawsuits regarding her children vs. each other and the Bowyers make interesting reading. Also, the land records from 1739-42, and the lawsuits involving them. They lay out the relationships pretty well, and bolster the the wills.
Also there is a website with a fair amount of Campbell information, although it loses track of the American lines at times and didn’t incorporate the data from the 3rd Baron of Auchinbreck’s will. However, it does show the relationships of the various Campbell houses back in Scotland. It is http://www.stirnet.com/HTML/genie/british/cc4aq/campbell01.htm There are essentially 12 sections of this Campbell site, relating to the detail of the different houses, so the “01” will change to “02, 03, etc.” as you go through the site’s links to the various lines from the first one. It’s a little complicated, but has a lot of information that’s generally, pretty well documented, though some of the dates are clearly guesses. Let’s put it this way. We know that James Campbell’s mother, Harriet, a daughter of the Earl of Balcarres, was indeed married WELL before 1678/79, since we have sound data on a grandson of hers through her son James being born in 1682. From the records of the unfortunate 1st Earl of Balcarres (he supported Charles I and died in exile for his support), and his widow’s second husband (the father-in-law of her youngest daughter, Sophia who was married to a son by his first marriage in 1678…), Harriet/actually Henriette—named for Charles I, wife, Henriette Marie of France, was married about 1658 to the 2nd Baron (Campbell) of Auchinbreck.
James Campbell, 3rd Baron of Auchinbreck had as his second wife, Susan Campbell, a daughter of the then Earl of Cawdor. James Campbell died in 1752, as a prisoner of Dunbarton Castle, imprisoned there by the Duke of Argyll, his distant kinsman, after James had been one of the three lords who persuaded Bonnie Prince Charlie to return to Scotland and try to reclaim the throne for the Stuarts. When the rebellion failed, the very aged Baron Auchinbreck was imprisoned for the rest of his life, which ended about 7 years later. According to the Duke of Argyll’s narration in the Clan Campbell films produced a few years ago (in the late 1990’s), James Campbell, 3rd baron of Auchinbreck was “over 90” when he died. He was born about 1660, or a little earlier. He also ended up forfeiting some of his estates in punishment for his support of the Stewarts. He lost the main family home at Inveraray, which had been in the Auchinbreck line for nearly 300 years. The Duke of Argyll took that property for himself (since it had originally come from the Lord of Argyll), and destroyed the mansion that stood there and replaced it with the current famous Inveraray Castle. He also destroyed most of the village adjacent to the castle, since the citizens had supported their Lord. He sent some of the villagers overseas and others to coastal towns. A few families only were allowed to remain.
Part of this story was in the film history of the Campbells partly narrated by the then Duke of Argyll, who supplied considerable documentation. Another person had obtained a copy of the will of James Campbell and sent me the basic data from it. The names of the spouses of the daughters and their first names line up with the data, and wills of Augusta County describing sisters and brothers of several generations.
James Campbell’s father was Sir Duncan Campbell, whose father, Archibald Campbell of Knockmellie, was a brother of his son’s Auchinbreck predecessor. The nephew inherited the title from an uncle who died without sons. So, our Auchinbreck Campbells came from the line of Knockmellie, which was a cadet house of Auchinbreck. Both were out of Argyll, at the same time as the Campbell of Cawdor line was created. Ironically, though, the first baronet of Auchinbreck was a son of a daughter of the first Campbell Lord of Cawdor, and thus his parents were close cousins. The wife of Archibald, was a daughter of the Tutor of Cawdor”—the tutor” was essentially a steward and guardian of the heir, and the next in line should the heir and his father—the tutor’s brother die. In other words, Archibald’s wife was a grand-daughter of another Cawdor Campbell, and thus our James married about a third cousin of his when he married Susanna, but the Auchinbreck and Cawdor lines were already closely related, several times, back to the first baronet. The Auchinbrecks were as much Cawdor as Argyll, and even had a Breadalbane Campbell marriage.
It gets even more tangled with the Wallaces, who were of the line of Craigie and Failford, AND had two recent marriages with the Campbells of Loudon. If you recall your colonial American history, you might remember, that it was a cousin, then, of Peter Wallace, Lord Campbell of Loudon, who briefly replaced Braddock as being in charge of the British in the French and Indian War. He fared only slightly better than Braddock and was recalled back to the Isles for his defeats. (At least he lived—and didn’t lose nearly as many men as Braddock had!) When the first lord of Auchinbreck was established, he was a fourth cousin of the Lord of Loudon.
One thing it helps to remember is the Woods, Campbells and Wallaces, all followed a naming tradition. This tradition was slightly skewed if a Woods, Campbell, or Wallace married into a less affluent/important family. The Woods, Campbell, and Wallace names of parents then predominated. Samuel McDowell, Magdalena Woods McDowell Borden Bowyer’s oldest son, born in 1735 was named for Magdalena’s father: Samuel Woods. John McDowell’s father was Ephraim McDowell. Some sources in Kentucky say that Samuel McDowell’s middle name was Ephraim. Also the British laws of the day, required that both parties in a marriage be at least 21. There were very substantial fines for violations, which the authorities loved to collect. Also a minister performing an underage marriage was fined an equal amount and could lose his license to perform marriages and other fee collecting rituals. Thus, studies show that over 90% of persons complied with the law. According to the testimony in Augusta County trials, Magdalena was the second wife of John McDowell and she married him about a year before emigrating. Her son, Samuel was born in Pennsylvania after they emigrated. She was married in 1732/3. She was just over 21, so she was born in 1710/11. She died in 1800, at age 90—not 100. She was buried at Thornhill, the estate that started out the land paid to John McDowell by the Bordens for surveying and helping to bring in settlers (all relatives of him and his wife—mostly his wife) to the Grant so the Bordens could retain it. The house was built by Benjamin Borden Jr.—Magdalena’s second husband, who had been interested in her even before her first husband died. There was a minor scandal about the 2nd marriage, but none of the local families ever blamed Magdalena. Essentially, Benjamin put her into a situation where she could not refuse his offer of marriage, even though it was less than one year after John McDowell died. It was not that something had necessarily happened, but Benjamin made sure that it appeared there had been a compromising situation. The family made sure that the Bordens paid, though. The third husband, John Bowyer had come into the area as a younger son of a decent family and a school teacher and some-time accountant and estate manager. Magdalena’s 2nd husband, died just as suddenly as the first, and none of her children were grown yet. Her household and estate were “a mess.” John Bowyer brought order to it and enlarged the house. He never had any children with her. Yet, it was his relatives who eventually inherited Thornhill, but not a lot else. That’s what the inheritance lawsuits were all about. First the McDowell children had to sue to get all of their lands, then Magdalena and Benjamin Borden’s only surviving daughter and her spouse had to sue John Bowyer.
In identifying all the parties to the suits, the testimony laid out a lot of relationships. Additionally, two wills among the sons of Peter Wallace and Martha Woods identify Magdalena as Martha’s sister and the aunt of famous Captain Adam Wallace (the tragic hero of the Waxhaws Massacre, killed by Tarleton’s men). The account of the Waxhaws was mostly given to the Williamsburg Gazettle by Henry Bowyer, a nephew of John Bowyer who had been with Captain Adam Wallace and he also laid out some of the relationships in his accounts. He had been given Captain Wallace’s sword, silver shoe buckles, and silver belt buckle and other personal effects and was given permission to return home, since he was wounded, instead of being made a prisoner of war. Tarleton had been knocked out during the charge on the Americans when his horse was shot out from under him and rolled on top of him as both fell. His men, believing he’d died took their revenge on the Americans and hacked them to pieces, literally, when they tried to surrender having already lost a large number in the surprise charge of the British (it took well over a minute to load and fire a round, far less time than for the British and Tories to cross the field on horseback). Tarleton came around a bit too late. His men had killed 113 Americans and more died in the next 24 hours. He was shocked and also realized that this incident would damage his future career. Adam Wallace, was by the colonial and British manner of recognition, a “gentleman” , entitled to wear silver. In those days, gentlemen officers did not slaughter enemy gentlemen officers. Adam Wallace’s cousins were still titled Scottish nobility, at the time, and had more or less made their peace with the Duke of Argyll and the Hanovers. He should have been captured and then ransomed or traded. Soooo, Tarleton tried to make amends by sending the person still standing whom he could identify as a close kinsman of some kind home with Adam’s personal effects and an apology for his death at the hands of his men. Needless to say, the Wallace, Woods, Campbells and all their various and sundry kin weren’t terribly happy about Tarleton, and his men’s errors. That incident led directly to the Battle of King’s Mountain in which 1100 Tories, and a few British officers (notably Patrick Ferguson) were slaughtered. Literally all able-bodied kinsmen of Adam Wallace were at that battle.
If you ever tour the site of the “Guilford Courthouse” Battle site, (it occurred a few months later), and sit through the slide show-history, it discusses the connections between Waxhaws, King’s Mountain, Guilford and Yorktown. One of the more interesting incidents at Guilford Courthouse was the death of Adam’s brother, Andrew. Andrew foresaw his own death and told his fellow officers about it and they tried to prevent it. They were not successful, and his death happened exactly as he foresaw it. It was a unit connected to Tarleton, again, that attacked the unit in which Andrew Wallace served. Anyhow, Adam apparently had some sort of premonition also. He also had prepared his will just before he went to the Waxhaws.
As you can see, there actually is a lot of documentation about these families—more than some people want to believe. It’s just not all in one place. I’ve spent over 40 years working on these lines (I started as a teenager, with a little help from my mother and her mother). I majored in history and anthropology in college, so I understand and believe in primary source and valid secondary source documents and do check sources on materials I find that present history allegedly based on primary and secondary sources.
Some of the data in the Campbell lines, for instance, on the Campbell website, is filled out a little better by searches of the marriage families’ websites. The Cunninghams of Glencairn, for instance, and others have excellent sites as well that cite primary sources.
The Woods were allied with the Bruces, and intermarried with the Bruces. They had lands on both sides of the Scottish border, and through the Bruces came to acquaintanceship and intermarriage with other Scottish families in southwest Scotland. Originally, the Woods, themselves were Strathclyde Britons who were split by the Saxons: some ending up in Scotland (which then included Yorkshire, most of Lancastershire, etc.), and some in eastern Wales. Then under Henry VIII, the two branches were more or less joined again and he made a Welsh Woods Viscount Halifax, in Yorkshire. Essentially, though the Woods are as Celtic as any Scottish family—just more traveled.
I hope this helps some.
Cecilia L. Fabos-Becker
Lady Mary Campbell:
!RESEARCHER: Carol Mallicoat file 15 Sep 1984.
Lady Mary Campbell, dau of James Campbell and Susan Campbell.Lady Mary was of the Royal House of the Duke of Argyle and of the famous Campbell Clan, on of the most powerful clans in Scotland at that time.
CAMPBELL - WOODS Lineage
Burke Peerages, 1929, pp 134-136
Campbell of Argyle & Cawder (Calder).
1. King David I of Scotland; whose son
2. Prince Henry, Earl of Northumberland
married Adeline (Ada), daughter of william, Earl of Warren andIsbel De
Vermandois, daughter of Hugh the Great, Commander of 1stCrusade 1096;
3. David, Earl of Huntingdon, Crusader
married Maud, daughter of Hugh de Kyveliock de Moschines, fromLady
Godiva and Earl Palatine of Chester; their daughter
4. Isabel de Huntingdon
married Robert de Brus (Bruce) Earl of Annandale; their son
5. Robert Bruce, Earl of Annandale and Earl of Huntingdon (via hismother)
married Isabel, daughter of Gilbert de Clare, Magna CartaSurety, son of
Richard de Clare, Magna Carta Surety, and Amecia Moullent; son
6. Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick via his wife, born 1253
married Marjory (Martha) de Carrick, daughter & co-heir of SirNeil
Kennedy, Earl of Carrick; their son
7. Robert Bruce, "THE BRUCE", King of Scotland, b. 1274, d. 1329
married (1st) Isabel, daughter of Donald, Earl of Mar; theirdaughter
8. Marjory Bruce
married Walter, High Stewart of Scotland (took the nameStewart); son
9. John Stewart - King Robert II (as the Scottish people hatedJohn Baliol
and would not accept another king named John)
married Elizabeth, daughter of the Earl of Strathoarn; theirson
10. Robert Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany
married Margaret, daughter of John 2nd, son of Sir PatrickGraham of
Kincardine; their daughter
11. Marjory Stewart, changed to Stuart
married Sir Duncan Campbell, 1st Lord of Lochow; their son
12. Archibold Campbell, Master of Campbell
married Elizabeth Somerville, daughter of John, 3rd Lord ofCarnworth;
13. Sir Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyle
married Isabel, daughter of Sir John Stewart of Lorn; their son
14. Sir Archibold Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyle, killed at FloddenField
married Elizabeth, daughter of John Stewart, 1st Earl ofLennox, from
Murdock, 2nd Duke of Albany; their son
15. Sir John Campbell of Calder (Cawder)
married Muriel (d. 1575), daughter of Sir John Calder; theirson
16. Sir Archibold Campbell of Calder (Cawder) d. 1551
married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir James Grant; their son
17. John Campbell of Cawder
married Mary, daughter of William Keith, 4th Earl Marshall ofScotland;
18. Sir John Campbell of Cawder
married Jean, daughter of Sir John Campbell of Glenarchy;their son
19. Sir Colin Campbell, Tutor of Cawder
married Elizabeth, daughter of David Brodie; their daughter
20. Margaret Campbell
married Sir Archibold Campbell of Knockmollie, W. R. C.; theirson
21. Sir Duncan Campbell, 4th Baron Campbell (d. 1700)
married Harriet, daughter of Alexander, 1st Earl of Balearres;their
22. James Campbell
married (2nd) Susan, daughter of Alexadner Campbell of Calder;their
23. Mary Campbell (Lady Mary) b. 1690
married (ca 1705) Michael Woods (b. 1684) Son of John Woods;their son
There are two lines to trace the line from Michael Woods to Archibold
24. Michael Woods, Jr. (d. 1777)
married Ann Lambert; their daughter
25. Jane Woods
married William Buster (Bustard) d. 1795; their son
26. Claudius Buster (b. 1766, d. 1828)
married 29 December 1789, Isabella Woods (b. 1762, d. 1839);their son
27. Archibold Buster
married Elizabeth Black Henderson
24. Archibold Woods, (b. 1706, d. 1768), son of Michael and MaryCampbell
married Isabella Goss (b. 1716, d. 1766); their son
25. Michael Woods (b. 1735, d. 1808)
married (2nd) Margaret Trimble (b. 1740, d. 1801); their daughter
26. Isabella Woods, (b. 1768, d. 1839)
married Claudius Buster (b. 1766, d. 1828); their son
27. Archibold Buster
married Elizabeth Black Henderson
!RESEARCHER: Odessa La Rosh file 9 Jun 1991.
Lady Mary Campbell lineage:
Archibald Campbell, b. 1651 Scotland, d. 25 Sep 1703 Scotland, he son of:
Archibald, 9th Earl, b. 16 Feb 1629 Scotland, d. 30 Jun 1685 Scotland, he so
of: Archibald, b. 1607, d. 1661 Scotland.
!RELATIONSHIP: Ruth Petraek. WOODS-WALLACE COUSIN CLUES. (1973)
p. 24. "Campbell Lineage"
22. Sir James Campbell married, as his second wife, Susan, daughter of
Alexander Campbell of Calder (Cawder). Their daugher (hisfifth) was:
23. Mary Campbell. She married Michael Woods and they migrated
to Pennsylvania and then to Albemarle Co., VA.
p. 27. "THE CAMPBELLS"
Mary Campbell, wife of Michael Woods, has contributed her sare of
perplexity to the family history, although she could hardly be held
responsible. It is just that Mary comes from a family that had so many
branches (tribes or septs), family genealogy becomes tangled in confusion.
With the various intermarriages between people with this same surname,
probably only a born Scotsman, preferably a Campbell, could trace the lines
Mary had a distinguished pedigree that stemmed from the House of ARGYLE,
although contrary to what other publications have said, I do not believe that
she was the daughter of the Duke of Argyle.
In my research, I find it far more likely (and it does fit with the
Campbell Descent Chart) that her father was one Sir James Campbell, the fifth
Baronet of ARCHINBRECK (Burke's PEERAGE 1930, page 432). Her motherwas Lady Susan Campbell of CAWDER. Lady Susan was the second wife of Sir James. Robert Bruce and his wife Isabel (see lineage chart) were Mary's fourteenth great grandparents (example: if someone was your
great-great-grandfather, he would be referred to as your second great
grandfather). King Robert was succeeded by the son of his second wife (David
II). However, on David's death, the crown reverted to son of his halfsister
(Marjorie Bruce Stewart) and he became King Robert II. He and his wife,
Elizabeth Mure were Mary ('nee Campbell) Woods twelfth great grandparents.
The oldest son of King Robert II and Elizabeth, ruled as King Robert III.
However, Mary descends, at this point, through a younger brother of King
Robert III, who became the Earl of Fife and the First Lord Campbell. He and
his wife, Margaret Graham, were the great grandparents of the First Earl of
Argyle (Sir Colin Campbell) the second Earl of Argyle was Sir Archibald
Campbell and Mary'sgreat-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather.
Sir Archibald's oldest son (another Sir Colin Campbell) became the third
Earl of Argyle. Another younger son, Sir John Campbell (from whom Mary
descended) married Muriel Cawder and Mary's next ancestors were Cawder
Campbells, not Argyles.
Sir Archibald Campbell, the second Earl of Argyle was the leader of the
army of James IV before he was cut to pieces by the English cavalry in the
disastrous Battle of Flodden. However, just prior to this, Sir Archibald had rendered a coveted favor to Rose of Kilravock. In payment, he was to receive the custody of Muriel, infant heiress of the thane dome of Cawder.
However, as Campbell methods in dealing with their fellow Scotsmen were
notoriously unscrupulous, the child's suspicious grandmother, Lady Kilravock
thrust an iron key into the blazing fire and quickly branded the baby on the
thigh before handing her over to Sir Archibald's representatives.This act
was to serve two purposes: it insured the tiny girl's life; and it also
thwarted any attempts that might be made to substitute the heiresswith an
imposter. Mary's father, Sir James Campbell of Archinbreck and her mother,Lady Susan Campbell of Cawder, both descend from Sir John Campbell and Muriel of Cawder.
The next four generations continue as Cawder Campbells until inthe fifth,
one Margaret Campbell married Sir Archibald Campbell of Knockmellie. the
son of this couple, Sir Duncan Campbell (who married Harriet,daughter of th
Earl and Countess of Balearras) became the fourth Baronet of Archinbreck. He
had inherited the title from his uncle, sir Dugald Campbell (the third
Baronet of Archinbreck). The first Baron of Archinbreck was created by King James VI andconferred on Sir Dugald Campbell, January 24, 1617.
Sir James Campbell, Mary's father, was married three times. He first
married Lady Jean McLeod. Their children were Duncan, Dugald, Jane and Anne
(#1). Duncan's son, became the sixth Baronett of Archinbreck.
Sir James next married Lady Susan Campbell of Cawder (already discussed)
and their children were: James, Gilbert, Alexander, William,Susannah,
Elizabeth, MARY, and Anne (#2).
His last marital venture was with Lady Margaret Campbell,daughter of a
Carradale Campbell. Children born to them were: James (#2), Donald,Margaret
The villainous reputation of the Campbells should not be judgedby today's
standards. Between 1200 and 1700, very slight importance was placed on life
by families and races. It was a time when the strong triumphed over the weak
when brother killed brother without remorse; sons murdered fathers and
fathers murdered sons, all to gain or retain power. While the methods of the Campbells might have, at times, seemedbrutal and open to qustion, they were usually victorious in obtaining theircoveted goals. It is natural for those who are not so successful to feel a strong animosity towards those that prosper. However, living in the erathat they did, did the Campbells really have a choice in the course they took? Certainly, it is preferable to be the conqueror than to be theconquered. The Campbells first came into prominence when they usurped the lands of Pershireshire and Argyleshire that had been held for centuries by the MacGregors. Unfortunately, for the MacGregors, they unjustly gained a reputation for turbulance and they were finally ousted. It wasn't until 1775 that the name was restored to their descendants.
SEPTS OF CLAN CAMPBELL-- Bannatyne; Denoon; London; MacDermid;MacGibbon; MacIvor; MacKessock; MacNichol; MacOwen; MacTavish; MacUre; Thomas;Thompson Ure; burns; Caddell; Calder; Connochie; MacDiamid; MacGlasrich;MacKellar; MacKissock; MacOran; MacTause; MacThomas; Tawesson; Thomason.
It should be mentioned that Calder and Cawder are one and thesame.
According to Burke's PEERAGE, nothing is known about what happened to
Mary's brothers, James, Gilbert, and Alexander. It is interesting to
speculate about the possibility that they, too, might have been early
American pioneers. It is even within the realm of probability that they came
to the Colonies with the Woods and Wallaces. We do find a James, Alexander
and Gilbert Campbell that were early settlers in Pennsylvania and Virginia.
This will be discussed in depth later.
LAST MINUTE NOTE OF AUTHOR IN REGARD TO GILBERT CAMPBELL-- As I note on page 98 there was...or seemed to be a close relationship between Gilbert Campbell and Richard Woods...also the McDowells and Lapsleys. I had assumed that this might have been because he was a brother of Mary Campbell. Disregarding this, I now think the the factor might have been that Richard Woods had married Elizabeth Campbell (daughter of Gilbert). In the will of Gilbert Campbell (1750) he names a daughter Elizabeth Woods and another Lettice Woods (she may have been the wife of Charles Woods). Thisis not proven (the marriage) but Richard Woods DID MARRY AN ELIZABETH. (not to be confused with Richard Woods who married Elizabeth Stuart).
Father: James Campbell b: 1664 in Auchinbreck,County Argyll, Scotland
Mother: Susan Campbell
Samuel Woods b: 1682 in Dunshanglin Castle, County Meath, Ireland
14 DEC 1734
in Donegal,Lancaster County,Pennsylvania
- Magdalena Woods b: 1710 in Dunshauglin Castle,Meath,Ireland