James E. Campbell

Who was James E. Campbell?

James Edwin Campbell was a Democratic politician from Ohio. He served as the 38th Governor of Ohio.

Campbell was born in Middletown, Ohio where he attended the public schools and then Miami University. He served in the Union Army as a member of the Mississippi River Squadron during the Civil War. He was a master's mate on the gunboats Elk and Naiad until his health gave out and he returned home emaciated.

James Campbell was admitted to the bar in 1865 and began practicing law in Hamilton, Ohio two years later. Campbell was married to Maud Elizabeth Owens of Hamilton, Ohio on January 4, 1870. They had four children. He was a Republican who voted for Lincoln and Grant for President, and after 1872 became a Democrat. After serving as a prosecutor in Butler County, Ohio from 1876–1880, Campbell was elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives twice from Ohio's 7th congressional district and once from the third district, a seat once held by his uncle Lewis D. Campbell, serving from 1884-1889. In the 49th Congress, he was chairman of the House Committee on Alcoholic Liquor Traffic.