Alexander Campion1

#518, (circa 1826 - 14 March 1874)
RelationshipGrandfather of Anna Margaret Donovan
Father*John Francis Campion2 (s 1797 - s 1875)
Mother*Elizabeth _____2 (c 1801 - )

Family

Margaret Breen b. c 1828, d. 1892
Children 1.John A Campion1 (1850 - 1913)
 2.Michael James Campion12 (1853 - 1857)
 3.Elizabeth Helen Campion (1857 - 1860)
 4.Margaret Alice Campion+8 (1860 - 1947)
 5.Elizabeth Ellen Campion16 (c 1864 - )
 6.Mary Bridget Campion (1866 - 1895)
 7.Maria Anne Campion16 (1871 - 1897)
He was a merchant and farmer.3
1871 census records for Prince Edward Island are lost except some entries for Lots 34 and 36.4 
Birth*circa 1826He was born circa 1826 at Souris, Kings Co., Prince Edward IslandG.5 
20 January 1844He attended a meeting of subscribers to the Repeal Association with John Francis Campion and Elizabeth _____ on 20 January 1844.6 
Marriage*before March 1850He married Margaret Breen, daughter of ____ Breen, before March 1850 at Prince Edward IslandG.7,8 
September 1849He and Margaret Breen traveled in September 1849 from PEI aboard the schooner Euphemia to Boston, Massachusetts.9
10 December 1852He and James Campion traveled on 10 December 1852 from PEI aboard the Speed to Massachusetts.10
1861He and Margaret Breen appeared on the census of 1861 at Souris, Lot 45, Prince Edward IslandG.11
Death*14 March 1874He died on 14 March 1874 at Lot 45, Kings Co., Prince Edward IslandG.12 
Burial*17 March 1874He was buried on 17 March 1874 at St. Mary's Church Cemetery, Souris, Prince Edward Island.12
Daily Examiner, June 26, 1913:
"Mrs. Pierce, née Harris, 2nd daughter of Moses Harris, age 93, was last survivor of passengers on the Santo Domingo which sailed from Queenstown, Ireland June 1, 1823, for Miramichi, NB, but was wrecked on East Point the following August." [CG]

Source: Shipping Notes from the 1800's - P.E.I. Submitted by Christine Gorman, Gary Carroll and Fran Macphail. "…miscellaneous shipping notes, including notices of vessels launched, and of disasters at sea from P.E.I. newspapers from 1824 to 1871." http://www.islandregister.com/shippingnotes.htmll

Ten Farms Become a Town Thurlow, Ann (Souris: Town of Souris 1986), 14-15
"Some Irish families came to the Island, not by choice but by chance. The St. Domingo, a small sailing vessel on her way from Wickford, Ireland, to Quebec went on the rocks off the north shore of the Island, near East Point, on June 3, 1832 [sic, prob. should be 1823, see next citations]. There was no loss of life. All but one of the young families, English soldiers stationed in Ireland married to Irish girls, decided to settle in Elmira. Family names: Campion, Harris, Pierce, Price, Hughes, Tierney and Drummond, as told by Tommy Harris, great, great, grandson of Mrs. Moses Harris, last survivor of the ship wreck, who died in 1886 at age 104. The names of some of the descendents [sic] of the survivors of the St. Domingo are found in Souris East and Souris West today."

Historical Sketch of Eastern Kings MacDonald and Stewart (P.E.I.: self-published 1972), p. 6
"The schooner, Santo Domingo, left Wickford, Ireland, on June 23, 1883 [sic, should be 1823, see next] for Newfoundland with a load of immigrants but came ashore on the north side of Prince Edward Island near East Point. William Pierce's grandmother was on this boat. She was Mary Harris, daughter of Moses Harris and only two years of age. Moses Harris, was the great-great grand-father of Thomas (Tommy) Harris, (The Willie Harris Family). On board, also, were many of the first settlers to Elmira whose names are listed in the account of the Elmira District."

Historical Sketch of Eastern Kings MacDonald and Stewart (P.E.I.: self-published 1972), p. 58 (possible migration of Alexander's parents in 1823):
"Elmira. This district was first known as Portage because of portage from North to South Lake. The name was changed to Elmira in 1872 after Elmira, New York by George B. MacEachern, a school teacher, and father of Charles MacEachern.
The first settlers here included people by the names of Pierce, Murphy, Campian [sic], Price, MacMahon, Harris, Druhan, Bailey and Hackett. They were of Scottish descent, but sailed from Wickford, Ireland, on June 23, 1823 on board the Santo Domingo which left for New foundland [sic] but went ashore on the northern side of P.E.I, near East Point."13,14,15 
ChartsAncestors of Anna Margaret Donovan

Citations

  1. [S1429] New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949, online FamilySearch.org. Death Record of John A Campion, son of Alexander Campion and Margaret Breen, 1913, q.v.
  2. [S1488] Historical Note for John Francis and Elizabeth Campion.
  3. [S71] Lovell's P.E. Island Directory 1871 (Montreal: John Lovell, 1871), page 259, Souris. Hereinafter cited as Lovell's P.E. Island Directory 1871.
  4. [S1485] The Island Register, online www.islandregister.com, http://www.islandregister.com/ceninfo.html
  5. [S842] Massachusetts Deaths 1841-1915, online FamilySearch.org, index and images, Mary B Campion, d. 17 Jun 1895, at home, age 27y, 11m, 19d; cause pulmonary phthisis; single, b. PEI, father Alexander Campion b. Souris PEI, mother Margaret Breen b. Ireland . V 456, p 239; film number 961517; digital folder 4225012, image 229/790.
  6. [S2584] Terrence M Punch, Erin's Sons: Irish Arrivals in Atlantic Canada 1761-1853 (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2008), I: 134. Alexander, John and Elizabeth Campian [sic], of Gowran, Kilkenny, attended a meeting of 35 subscribers to Repeal at Mr. Egan‘s home in Chatlottetown PEI on 15 Jan 1844, citing The Palladium, Charlottetown PEI, 20 Jan 1844.
  7. [S520] VWH, Marriage record not found in FamilySearch, Prince Edward Island Marriage Registers, 1832-1888; 1844-1850, 1850-1852, 1852-1857.
  8. [S33] Prince Edward Island Baptism Card Index, 1721-1885, Public Archives and Records Office of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, Queens Co., Prince Edward Island. Online FamilySearch.org.
  9. [S241] Boston Passenger and Crew Lists, 1820-1943, online Ancestry.com, original records National Archives, 7 Sep 1849, schooner "Euphemia" arr. Boston from P.E.I; "Burthen 56 tons"; Alex. Campion (24), Margaret Campion (23) [wife or sister of Alex.], Bridget Campion (16) [poss. sister of Alex.], Johanna (18) [poss. sister of Alex.], Elizabeth (48) [poss. mother or Alex.], George (15) [poss. brother of Alex.]; all farmer, of P.E.I.; intend to become inhabitants of U.S.
    Total of 38 pax on board incl. McNeil, Henderson, McCoit, McDonald, Hayes, Dooley and Ryan.
    Source Citation: National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at Boston, Massachusetts, 1917-1943; Microfilm Serial: T938; Microfilm Roll: 31
    Ancestry.com. Boston, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1820-1954 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2006.
    Original data: Boston, Massachusetts. Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Boston, Massachusetts, 1820-1891. Micropublication M277. RG036. 115 rolls. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
  10. [S241] Boston Passenger and Crew Lists, 1820-1943, online Ancestry.com, original records National Archives, Schooner Speed whereof Cook is Master, 59 tons, from PEI for Boston, arr. 10 Dec 1852; James Campion (30), trader, of and returning to PEI; Alex Campion (28), seaman, of and returning to PEI. Total five pax (Peter Price, Donald McDonald, Charles McEachen [sic])
    National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at Boston, Massachusetts, 1917-1943; Publication Number: T938; Roll: 42.; img 361/395.
  11. [S70] 1861 Prince Edward Island Census. Alexander (21-45), merchant; Margaret (21-45); m (5-16) [John]; f (16-21) [?], f (<5) [Elizabeth Ellen or (prob.) Margaret Alice]; five total persons, 3 single persons; one death in family in past year, one birth in family in past year [Margaret Alice]; all Roman Catholic. One horse, 2 neat cattle and 3 hogs. In the past year they had produced 200 barrels of cured herring or alewives, 80 quintals of cured codfish/hake and 40 gallons of fish oil; one boat.
    Neighbors John McKinnon, shoemaker; Donald Steel, blacksmith; James and Sarah Kennison, mariner; Donald and Susannah Desmond, shoemaker; James and Teresa McLaughlan, shoe maker; Roderick and Mary McDonald, mariner.
    Note: based on the occupations, this is probably in Souris proper.
  12. [S147] St. Mary's Church Cemetery (Souris), Field visit, Collection of Vincent W and Donna F Hartnett, Birchrunville, Pennsylvania.
  13. [S1214] Adele Townshend, compiler, Ten Farms Become A Town (Souris, Prince Edward Island: Town of Souris, 1986), 14–15: "Some Irish families came to the Island, not by choice but by chance. The St. Domingo, a small sailing vessel on her way from Wickford, Ireland, to Quebec went on the rocks off the north shore of the Island, near East Point, on June 3, 1832 [sic, prob. should be 1823, see next citations]. There was no loss of life. All but one of the young families, English soldiers stationed in Ireland married to Irish girls, decided to settle in Elmira. Family names: Campion, Harris, Pierce, Price, Hughes, Tierney and Drummond, as told by Tommy Harris, great, great, grandson of Mrs. Moses Harris, last survivor of the ship wreck, who died in 1886 at age 104.
    "The names of some of the descendents [sic] of the survivors of the St. Domingo are found in Souris East and Souris West today."
  14. [S1215] Miss Mary MacDonald and Mrs. Clinton Stewart, Historical Sketch of Eastern Kings (Prince Edward Island: self-published, 1972), p. 6: "The schooner, Santo Domingo, left Wickford, Ireland, on June 23, 1883 [sic, should be 1823, see next] for Newfoundland with a load of immigrants but came ashore on the north side of Prince Edward Island near East Point. William Pierce's grandmother was on this boat. She was Mary Harris, daughter of Moses Harris and only two years of age. Moses Harris, was the great-great grand-father of Thomas (Tommy) Harris, (The Willie Harris Family). On board, also, were many of the first settlers to Elmira whose names are listed in the account of the Elmira District."
    p. 58: "Elmira. This district was first known as Portage because of portage from North to South Lake. The name was changed to Elmira in 1872 after Elmira, New York by George B. MacEachern, a school teacher, and father of Charles MacEachern.
    The first settlers here included people by the names of Pierce, Murphy, Campian [sic], Price, MacMahon, Harris, Druhan, Bailey and Hackett. They were of Scottish descent, but sailed from Wickford, Ireland, on June 23, 1823 on board the Santo Domingo which left for New foundland [sic] but went ashore on the northern side of P.E.I, near East Point."
  15. [S1216] The Examiner, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
  16. [S42] 1881 Canada Census.