SAMUEL CAMPBELL, “Sam” was born on March 12, 1878, on Little Bay Island in Newfoundland Canada, to Alban and Martha Campbell. He had numerous brothers and sisters who settled in both Canada and the U.S.
He and his older brother, John Robert Campbell (1873-1966) immigrated to Eagle, Alaska, via Dawson, Canada in 1905. In 1910 they were living near Tofty, a mining settlement with a population of 600, near Manley Hot Springs, that is now a ghost town. They listed themselves as miners and prospectors when registering for the draft in WWI from the Ruby district.
In 1918-1819 they were living in Long, a settlement on the Yukon River, 30 miles from Ruby, where Sam was postmaster and had a business, Campbell & Co., selling general merchandise. While his brother continued to prospect in the Ruby/Nulato area for the rest of his life, Sam Campbell moved on to Multnomah Oregon in 1930, working as a laborer on the railroad. Within a few years, he was in Seldovia, working as a dock hand at the Anderson Dock.
He lived in Seldovia when he registered for the World War II draft in 1942 at the age of 64.
He died in Seldovia October 22, 1946. He is buried in the Seldovia City Cemetery, Plot #35.
Tribute to Sam Campbell by R.C. Morris, a friend for more than 40 years.
I knew Sam Campbell for 40 years and I never saw an ugly trait in his makeup. He was a true friend to man or beast. He loved flowers and as a student of nature he was always happies when nature was at its best.
He cherished the glory of the morning sun and he idolized the pleasant laughter of happy children. He lived alone, never showing his inner thought to others, but he loved all mankind.
No one ever heard him speak of his fellow man except with respect. He would rather do a kind deed for someone else than earn a day’s wages. Independent and self-willed always, he could not be swerved from a goal he had set for himself.
Like most of Alaska’s old-timers, Same loved the territory – the rugged hills and lonely creeks. Sam was present on many a stampede, and he had worked at almost every placer mining camp in the interior. Those of us he left behind sympathize with his brother John and his sister in Oregon who with us mourn his loss. Alaskans and Seldovians in particular have lost a true friend.