John Charles Campbell (14 September 1867 – 1919) was an American

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

and

reformer A reformer is someone who works for reform. Reformer may also refer to: *Catalytic reformer, in an oil refinery *Methane reformer, producing hydrogen * Steam reformer *Hydrogen reformer, extracting hydrogen *Methanol reformer, producing hydrogen ...

noted for his survey of social conditions in the southern

Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ca ...

n region of the United States during the early 1900s. He served a term as president of Piedmont College from 1904 to 1907.

Background

Campbell was born to Gavin and Anna Barbara Campbell, and grew up in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. He graduated from Williams College in 1892 and received a bachelor of divinity degree from Andover Theological Seminary in 1895. Campbell studied education and theology in New England before traveling to the Southern United States. There he outfitted a wagon to serve as a mobile house as he interviewed

working people The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colo ...

, particularly

farmers A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mi ...

. Campbell married first wife Grace H. Buckingham, who died in 1905. In 1907 he married folklorist Olive Dame of

West Medford, Massachusetts West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

. After Campbell's death, his wife Olive established the

John C. Campbell Folk School The John C. Campbell Folk School, also referred to as "The Folk School", is located in Brasstown, North Carolina, along the Cherokee County and Clay line. It is a non-profit adult educational organization based on non-competitive learning. Origin ...

in 1925 in

Brasstown, North Carolina Brasstown is an unincorporated community located mostly within Clay County, North Carolina, United States, though roughly one third of Brasstown is within the adjacent Cherokee County. Etymology The name, "Brasstown," was given to several hist ...

References

External links

Inventory of the John Charles Campbell and Olive D. Campbell Papers, 1865-1965
in the Southern Historical Collection, UNC-Chapel Hill. {{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, John C. 1867 births 1919 deaths American educators American folklorists Williams College alumni People from La Porte, Indiana Piedmont University