Article, JOHN THOMAS CAMP At age seventeen, JOHN THOMAS CAMP, weighing only 92 pounds, joined the Confederate Army; and family tradition holds that he was captured by the Union forces and later fought with the Union troops. He was residing in Polk County, N. C. at the time of his marriage to MARGARET JANE CLEMENT on February 21, 1867, in Spartanburg, S. C., the ceremony being performed by E. Wall, Esquire. MARGARET [CLEMENT CAMP], born on December 17, 1844, Spartanburg Co., S. C., was the second of four children born to ISHAM CLEMENT (1805, S. C. - 1882, S. C.) and MARIAH (FOSTER) COLLINS CLEMENT (1805, S. C. - 1892, S. C.) of the Boiling Springs community in Spartanburg County. ISHAM and MARIAH’s family included: 1. JOHN C. (1842), 2. MARGARET 3. LOUISA (c. 1845/46), 4. ALBERT P.(1847), Together with a half-brother and half-sisters born during her mother’s earlier marriage to THOMAS COLLINS: 1. ELIZABETH ANN COLLINS (BISHOP) (1827) 2. JAMES A. COLLINS (1831), 3. SARA THOMAS COLLINS (MCDOWELL) (1833) 4. MARILLA COLLINS (c. 1835 - died young) 5. MARY COLLINS (c. 1837 - never married) Mr. COLLINS died in 1838, according to some sources. The first CLEMENT in America came in the 1600’s, from London to Virginia Colony, but the given name is uncertain. Shortly thereafter, the name of WILLIAM CLEMENT, Sr. (1670, Eng. - 1760, Va.) appears. He was married to ANNE TAYLOR. Their son WILLIAM, JR. married a second time, ANN WALKER. WILLIAM, Jr’s son EDMUND WALKER CLEMENT (1769, Va. - 1845) married Elizabeth Harris. Their son JOHN CLEMENT (1785, S. C. 1858) married MARGARET FORBIS. JOHN’s son was ISHAM CLEMENT who married MARIAH FOSTER. (Interview, W. P. Clements, Lubbock, 1968). JOHN THOMAS and MARGARET CAMP farmed in Spartanburg County, where all fifteen of their children were born,including three sets of twins: 1. GEORGE ISHAM CAMP (1867 - 1920) 2. JAMES MADISON CAMP (1869 - 1915) 3. WILLIAM HENRY CAMP (1869 - 1869) 4. THOMAS BOMAR CAMP (1870 - 1939) 5. JOHN CROWELL CAMP (1872 - 1948) 6. JOSEPH DOYLE CAMP (1873 – 1937) 7. LOYAL DEAN "Doc" CAMP (1875 - 1953) 8. SALLIE CAMP (1877 - 1967) 9. OLLIE CAMP (1877 - 1929) 10. EVA CAMP (1881 - 1963) 11. CLIFF CAMP (1882 - 1957) 12. ETHEL CAMP (1882 - 1960) 13. JUDDIE BRITTON CAMP (1883 - 1885) 14. DARO CAMP (1885 - 1969) 15. ELLA MAE CAMP (1887 - 1974) Page 1 of 3 ** PAGE BREAK ** Article, JOHN THOMAS CAMP (See related stories.) In 1877, the Camps purchased two acres of land on Brannon Road, but sold it two years later for three times the purchase price! In 1880, JOHN THOMAS purchased twenty-five acres on Pacolet River for $125. Then, in 1883 he purchased 100 acres of farm land on Lawson’s Fork of Pacolet River; but the death by scalding, of two- year old JUDDIE BRITTON four days after his mother MARGARET’s forty-first birthday, caused the grief-stricken parents to decide to leave the area of their birth, and start life afresh in the West. They sold their acreage in December, 1886. Relatives of MARGARET’s, JOSEPH HARLAN MCDOWELL, his wife and their six children had left Spartanburg in 1884, and had moved to Wolfe City, Texas. They wrote letters to their family in South Carolina, telling of the land of opportunity; thus, JOHN THOMAS and MARGARET decided to make a change in their lives, which confirmed their earlier decision. JOHN THOMAS, MARGARET, and their thirteen surviving charges set out for Texas in a chartered box car in late 1887 or early 1888. They arrived in Lamar County, Texas with only $40, staying there for a short period, before settling in nearby Hunt County. The Camps stayed with the FRANK WALKER family, west of Wolfe City; then they purchased some farm land, together with a house, northeast of Wolfe City after which. they united with a Missionary Baptist Church. While gathering his first Texas cotton crop in early October of 1889, Mr. CAMP was overcome by heat. He died nine days later, at age 46, on October 16, of kidney failure, and was buried in Mt. Carmel Cemetery, southeast of Wolfe City, near the grave of BOOKER BOMAR from New Prospect, Spartanburg County, S. C., who had died only six months earlier. Mr. CAMP's lonely grave is situated near the original entrance to the cemetery, next to the road that directly approaches the Chapel. Mrs. CAMP and the five older sons continued their farming operations. In 1899, though, the Camps pushed northwestward to the Texas Panhandle, to Wellington in the County of Collingsworth. Once again, they followed the MCDOWELL family. The Camps were actively involved in church and community affairs in the area. In 1908, the petite Mrs. CAMP suffered a stroke that left her partially paralyzed. She also was annoyed by rheumatism; and she and some of the younger children went to Brawley, Calif. in the fall of 1911, near a niece and two nephews of hers, MARY CLEMENT, LEWIS CLEMENT, and OTTIS CLEMENT, children of her brother JOHN C. CLEMENT. The climate was quite mild there and better for her health. She sustained a severe stroke on April 2, 1912 and died two days later. Her body was returned by train to Wellington, and she was the first person to be buried in the south-side of Fairview Cemetery, southwest of Wellington. Several of her family were later interred in the CAMP Family plot. One by one, the children either married or sought a life of their own. J. C., DOC, EVA, and ETHEL married natives of Hunt County, but all settled elsewhere; and none of the CAMP descendants chose to live there. Occasionally, some of the family will visit the area to learn more about their rich heritage, and walk the land that was once a part of the lives of their ancestors. Page 2 of 3 ** PAGE BREAK ** Article, JOHN THOMAS CAMP ###### # # ##### ####### # # ##### ####### # # # # ## ## # # # ## # # # # # ## ## # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # ###### # # # # #### ##### # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # ## ### # # # # # # ###### # # ##### ####### # # ### ##### ####### # # Transcribed from original documents by Brent R. Brian & Martha M. Brian. This document and others can be found on our website: BMGEN We claim COPYLEFT on the documents that we publish that are our original work. COPYLEFT “rules” can be reviewed on the web site: GNU Free Documentation License In short, use what you like. But if you use our stuff, mention us as the source. Brent R. Brian Martha M. Brian BrianMitchellGenealogy@gmail.com Page 3 of 3 ** PAGE BREAK **