Campbell, Thompson

CAMPBELL, Thompson, a Representative from Illinois; born in Ireland in 1811; immigrated to the United States with his parents, who settled in Chester County, Pa.; attended the public schools; studied law; was admitted to the bar in Pittsburgh, Pa.; moved to Galena, Ill., and engaged in mining; secretary of state of Illinois from 1843 until he resigned in 1846; delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1847; elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-second Congress (March 4, 1851-March 3, 1853); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1852 to the Thirty-third Congress; delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1852; appointed United States land commissioner for California by President Pierce in 1853 and served until he resigned in 1855; returned to Illinois; delegate to the Democratic National Convention at Charleston in 1860; elector at large on the Breckinridge and Lane ticket in 1860; returned to California and served in the California house of representatives as a member of the Union Party in 1863 and 1864; delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1864; died in San Francisco, Calif., December 6, 1868; interment in Laurel Hill Cemetery.