Robert Lemuel Campbell #1

Autobiography of Robert Lemuel Campbell - 1858-1936

[This autobiography is very long therefore it will be posted in several parts each numbered]

In the year 16 March 1855, William Campbell and Ruth Nicholls were united in marriage at Chatham, Kent, England. Soon after their marriage William Campbell was drafted to the Isle of Malta and his wife was sent to him at a later time, time not known. But on the 5th of February 1858 a son [Robert Lemuel] was born at Fort St. Alma at Malta, also another son who lived six months but he died on 4th March 1861. [Editor's Note: The son who died was named James] Some time in the year 1862 he, William Campbell was drafted to Southampton or Portsmouth to Fort Blockhouse. In the year 1865 he was released from the English Army. from there he went back to Chatham, the family following soon after, and lived with Grandma Nicholls for a while, Father looking for work. Finding no work there, he went to Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppy got work part time in the dockyard. He rented a house near the railroad station in Blue Town, but the money he got at the dockyard and in mending shoes was not enough to support the family and pay rent. So things go bad and he helped himself to a cow head, for which he was arrested and given 21 days in jail. During that time Mother applied for help as she was near confinement. So her children and she were sent to the Institution at Minster, which was named Sheppy Union which was also located on the Isle of Sheppy. When Father served his time he found out where Mother was. He came to see her and wanted Mother to come out and leave the children there until he could provide for them, and Mother would not do it. So they separated and he has not been seen since.

Mother was placed in the hospital and confined and unable to work, she made herself generally useful that the Doctor got her work for the aged and those that came in to be confined and helped in other ways, that when they built a larger hospital she was matron. The children were separated in different departments. The first child was sent to the boy department and the girl was sent to the girls department, likewise the younger ones, Robert L. Campbell was in school part of the time and worked in the field or gardens the rest of the times.

It was there I got what education I have got in regards to reading and writing and arithmetic. Sometimes in winter months I worked with Charles Coletrip making mats and sometimes with Tuker Hart mending shoes. Saturday afternoon I helped Mrs. Murton getting cloths ready for each department, about 6 pm one person would come and get them for each department. But once we were short of a man teacher so the teacher of the girls department had to teach both schools. Her rooms were between the boys and girls school rooms, the door to go to either department, so she appointed my chum Alexander McTaveish to look after the boys and his sister to look after the girls department. We had open fireplaces, some of the boys would get pieces of cement rock and throw them in the fire and when they got hot they would burst open and make a loud noise. It happened this day a larger piece was thrown in and it sure made a noise. She came into the room and wanted Mc to tell her who put the rock in the fire but he could not tell for he did not know, and no one would tell so she got her cane and she beat him until she gave out then she left her cane on the table and went to her room Mc was crying and I took the cane and told Mc she would not beat anyone else with that cane again. Mc did not want me to do it, but I broke it in three pieces and threw it in the fire. Soon after that she came in to get it and could not find it. She looked everywhere at last she got angry and she was going to report the class to Mr. Murton so I told he that I burned it. She wanted to know why I burnt her cane. It told her because she beat my chum with it. While this was going on the Reverend, Mr. Bryant came in and she told him about it. He gave me a good talking to and when he got nearly through he told me to find a verse in the Bible and repeat it to him when he came again. I surely looked the Bible over to find a verse that was not very long. When I came on (Jesus wept) that was just right, so when he came again which he did every month or so, he brought out his little book and after looking in it for a while, he called me by name and asked me if I had done what he told me to do, so I repeated the verse before the school. The boys laughed and he got angry and went out and reported the case to Richard Murton. He came back with Mr. Murton and after giving us a talking to he told me I would be taken out of the school and he would put me in prison three days without anything to eat. I was locked up for three days and by that time I was surely hungry. When he let me out, the sun was shining very warm and I staggered about as if my legs would not hold me up. I was taken out of the school and put under the Porter's care, Mr. Sainsbury. He treated me very kindly and I liked him and took interest in the work. The work was to look after everything that came into the store house and keep account of everything or persons going out. Mr. and Mrs. Murton could not leave the place until they reported to Mr. Sainsbury and every two weeks when the guardians came, I had to make a note of it and how long they stopped and where they visited. I also got supplies for the cook, cut up the bread and butter for them that was allowed butter, mostly aged and those in the hospital and officers. All was allowed so much and when any orders were to be filled I had to walk to Sheerness and deliver the orders to the different stores. Everything went along fine while I was there until 1872, when my Uncle Lemuel Nicholls met with the guardians to take me out. They gave me a nice suit of clothes and under-clothes and let me go with my Uncle. I went to his home as he lived at New Brompton near Chatham, Kent. Aunt Emma was not very sociable so Uncle Lem took me to Rochester one Sunday Morning where the shipping was and went from vessel to vessel to get me a job as cabin boy.

At last he came to a Brigateen nearly ready to go to sea. The captain hired me and Uncle Lem was to get me my clothes or send them down before the vessel left, but they never got there and I made three trips to Newcastle, North of England without any other clothes than the ones I went aboard with that Sunday afternoon. Some of the men after that got me some more clothes and when on the fourth trip the Newcastle for coal, I was invited to a candy putt with some others, and they gathered together I could not tell what they was talking about I could hardly believe we were in England, but after several more trips up there I began to catch on. The vessel's name was EROS of Rochester. Being short of clothes, I asked the captain about some money and he told me that the company sent my wages to my uncle. I asked leave to go to New Brompton and was granted this request. In going there I had to pass the Chatham dockyard. I saw a notice on the gates, "Young men wanted For the Navy" so I applied. They sent me to the doctor to be examined.

I passed the examination and he gave me a letter to take to the Captain of the Dockyard which I did and he took me to a steam vessel going down the river and told the captain of that vessel to see that I was delivered to the Navy Barracks at Sheerness and gave him the letter that I had received from the Doctor at Chatham Dockyard.

When we arrived there I was taken in a boat to the barracks and turned over to the officer in charge. I stayed several weeks there, got my outfit, and soon after that was sent to the gunboat, Sylvia which was going to do some surveying in the Mediterranean Sea and from there to China and Japan. When everything was ready to steam, Captain Arthur came aboard and about fifty sailors from the barracks and we left Sheerness early the next morning.

(Navy adventures to be continued next time)