Monday, June 22, 2015

Williams Washington Camp

Williams Washington Camp was born December 11, 1800, in Georgia. His unusual given name comes from his mother's maiden name; Margaret Williams. This did not prevent many people from using his name incorrectly.

While traveling in Alabama he met Diannah Greer, a wealthy Southern Belle. They married there in 1822 and later moved to Tennessee in 1832. They had a large home near Dresden Tennessee on 95 acres. They, with the help of many slaves, raised cotton, cattle and ran a blacksmith shop. He also joined the Campbellite church and soon became a preacher there.

Various biographies disagree on the details of his conversion. One claims that while living in Alabama, they heard of the Mormon Church, but they did not join the church until after they moved to Tennessee. Another says that they first heard about the church in Dresden, Tennessee where Williams saw two missionaries holding a street meeting. Williams approached the missionaries when they were done and asked to know more. He arranged for them to speak at his church.
Williams decided to be prepared in case there was any trouble and he placed an armload of hickory saplings just inside the door. When it came time for the meeting, Williams took his place by the door. Only a few came to hear the preaching. The meeting was just beginning when there came a knock and as Williams opened the door he could see a troublesome mob with pails of tar and several bags of feathers. The leader, which was one of his own Campbellite members, said in a burly voice that they had come to give those "blankety blank" and "you too" a little dose of real religion. Williams said they better not try it. As the leader stepped through the door, Williams soundly tapped him with a hickory stick and he fell to the floor as if he were shot! Others tried but each was treated to the same firm tap. After eight or ten unsuccessful tries, the mob took their stunned leader and their pails and feathers and left with their little dose of real religion. (Shauna S Pusey, History of Williams Washington Camp)
Williams was baptized "right after the meeting" on August 1st 1841.

Each of the biographies have problems. One claims David Patten and Joseph Smith visited the Camp home in Tennessee. However, Patten had been dead 3 years by the time Williams joined the Church and Joseph Smith never visited Tennessee. Others disagree on the date of his baptism, sometimes by years.

Williams' wife Diannah waited about a year to be baptized on 12 May 1842. I find it interesting that that same summer Williams Camp assisted Amasa M. Lyman on his mission to collect money for building of the temple and the Nauvoo house (Amasa Lyman's Journal, MS, No. 4 1842, p 32-34). Perhaps it was Elder Lyman's visit which prompted Diannah to join the church. One biographer, however, wrote that it was during a visit to Nauvoo that Dianna was baptized by John Taylor.

Brother Camp shows up in Abraham Smoot's mission journal beginning on May 14th 1844. Brother Camp offers shelter to  the missionaries, opened his home for for preaching, accompanied Elder Smoot, preached himself at least once, and even provided armed protection for the next 30 days.
Abraham O Smoot May 18, 1844
... I had secured ready a subject to my congregation before the truth of it was witnessed. A pistol was fired at the window like a thunder storm and was followed in quite succession by a shower of brick bits against the window glass. The congregation seemed much frightened & immediately began to leave the house. I hastened to inform them that if they wished to stay that I would protect them, from the fact that I knew had such mobs would abscond as soon as they had executed their diabolical designs. Brother Camp too offered the people protection by standing guard around the Court-house, while I would preach the words of eternal life, which I did in as plain manner as possible, for the space of one hour, then closed and returned to Brother Camp's house and spent the night. (Abraham O. Smoot, Missionary Journal, p 195)
Also Brother William Camp, ... somewhat noted as a fighting character, arose and called on the fleeing people to stop. He told them if they would only sit and listen to the preaching he would go out and look after the persons who were creating the disturbance. About two thirds of the audience again became seated, and he went outside and procured a shot-gun with which he patrolled around the court-house the remainder of the evening,... (A. O. Smoot, "Early Experiences of A. O. Smoot," Early Scenes In Church History, Eighth Book of the Faith Promoting Series. p 23)

The next night at another meeting at the same court house, an unnamed lawyer tried to stop the service. But after being prevented from doing so by a number of Freemasons in the crowd, he was forced to listen to the entire sermon in silence.
...at the close of the meeting Mr. camp took vengeance on the lawyer by knocking him down and kicking him around the courthouse yard (C. Elliott Berlin "Abraham O. Smoot, Pioneer Mormon Leader" p 32)
On May 27th Williams Camp was appointed Joseph Smith's elector for the district in the upcoming presidential election (Time and Seasons, Vol. V, No. 12, p 574).

On June 14th, Williams Camp made his last appearance in Smoot's journal. Williams sold a horse to Smoot for him to use for the remainder of his mission that summer. Smoot left for Benton county, and never returned to Dresden.

Williams was a blacksmith by trade. Just before the family moved to Nauvoo, he was fixing a wagon with the help of Ike, one of his slaves. His daughter Catherine was there as well. According to Catherine a mob of 15 men arrived with panted faces. They said they were there to give him some tar and feathers. William responded by first throwing or swinging the hammer he was using at them, which reportedly knocked down two of them. Then he picked up hot "irons in every direction and went after them." Ike and Catherine hid behind the bellows. In short order Williams had routed the mob and returned to the shop. When he got back he said
"Ike, you black rascal, why didn't you help fight those men?" Ike didn't look up but said, "Well, Massa William, I thought you was enough for them few men." My father laughed but said no more to him. (Catherine Ellen Camp Greer, Autobiography, BYU)
Williams' relationship to slavery appears to be more complex than stereotypical. His daughter Catherine recalls he offered Ike and his family their freedom if he helped him make it to Nauvoo. Yet, Ike shows up in one family story that happened at Nauvoo. When the family went to Salt Lake they reportedly took only three slaves with them, leaving the rest behind. One biographer wrote that he freed the slaves, telling the ones with him in Salt Lake that they should consider themselves free. Another wrote he sold some and sent the rest to the home of his father-in-law. On a later trip from Salt Lake to Tennessee, the family returned with four more slaves. The exact fate of each of Williams' slaves is a subject for another day, perhaps by someone with experience in this field. (Yes, I'm talking about you, Amy)

Some sources claim that Williams took his family to Nauvoo in 1843. Another says that as early as 1842 he had two homes, one in Nauvoo and another in Tennessee, and that he moved back and forth for a few years. Another says the Camps arrived in Nauvoo in the midst of the turmoil surrounding Joseph's death. According to Williams' daughter they spent two summers in Nauvoo (probably 1844 & 1845) and then resettled in Iowa.

In June 1850 they joined a wagon train heading for Salt Lake City, arriving in September of the same year. On a trip back to Tennessee in 1852, Diannah went to settle her father's estate while Williams served a mission to Texas. Diannah became ill delaying their return. It took them two years to get back to Utah. Williams spent the rest of his life in Salt Lake where he died on November 21st 1875.

15 comments:

Amy T said...

Very funny, Bruce.

Thanks for the bio. Camp was a complicated character. I'll send you a few notes about him when I'm at a computer. I'll be at the Utah State Archives this week pulling all the legal files on him (and many others) so let me know if there's anything you need at any of the archives.

Bruce said...

Wow, a trip to Utah State Archives for me? You shouldn't have. [wink]

I first stared looking at Williams after you asked about him in a previous post about Richard Camp (his son). After doing some initial research I could see why you were interested.

Of course, I'm more interested in what happened in Tennessee. So if you see any clues along those lines.....

Ardis said...

No help to offer here, except to note the impressive amount of research you always do, with a great case study of the ambiguity of records and the difficulty of reconciling conflicts. WWC is a new character for me. Thanks.

Barbara said...

Just read some interesting things that William Clayton wrote in his journal about Williams Camp in 1852, while they were crossing the country to begin their missions, from September 1852.

From: Intimate Chronicle, Journals of William Clayton, Kindle

Magson said...

Williams Washington Camp is my great-great-great-grandfather. Thanks for the interesting information about him! I've shared the post to my dad, so I'm sure he'll pass it around the family too.

Bruce said...

Thanks for taking a moment to comment. I hope you enjoy. As always if you have something you want to add or find something I should know about feel free to share.

Unknown said...

Hello Camp Famiky historians:
I descend from Williams Washington Camp's brother, Ira Malcolm Camp, who stayed in Texas and had a large family there.
We moved to Arizona from Texas in 1992 and I am trying to round up a list of email addresses of my Camp cousins here in Arizona.
Most seem to descend from Lacy Greer, is this correct?
Were any Camps ever Bishop in Concho? I heard the first Bishop there was a Camp. The Camp surname melts away as most surviving heirs here in AZ appear to be along his daughters' lines.
Eleanor

Unknown said...

Hello, so it seems that Williams Washington Camp is my 4th great grandfather through his daughter Mary Wenthworth(sp)Camp Wray. Thanks for the information on him. Appreciate it.

Bruce said...

You're welcome. Glad you found something you could use.

Unknown said...

Hi my name is Nancy Cottrell Camp. My husband is a great great grandson of Williams Washington Camp through Amelia Evans his eighth wife. They had 4 children but only 2 lived to adulthood. Williams Peter Camp (his great grandfather) and Desert Camp Moon who was adopted. Amelia Evans was in the Willie handcart company. She arrived in SLC in late Sept/Oct. And married Williams in February. They were later divorced and she married William Davis (Davies). They moved to Idaho.

Ned Thomas said...

My grandmother, Margaret Camp Peterson, was the daughter of Williams Peter Camp and Ann Morse Camp. Williams Peter Camp was an early settler in Pleasantview, Idaho. He was the son of Williams Washington Camp and Amelia Evans. He had a sister named Deseret, and his youngest daughter was also named Deseret (Deseret Camp Moon). She was my grandmother's younger sister, and I knew her personally. She was a very nice lady and a great genealogist.

Our family is planning a visit to Nauvoo, IL, next week, and we hope to share much of this family history with our children. Thank you for the additional information.

Families4Ever said...

My husband's family is descended from. Williams Washington Camp's daughter Catharine, who married back into the Greer line, and that line settled in Arizona. We are from all over the Midwest, but this is so fun to read about. Thanks everyone for what you contribute.

KTC John said...

I, too, have written a little history on Williams Washington Camp. Perhaps there is a nugget in it that has not heretofore surfaced. At some future time someone may be able to compile a respectable documented history from all that is coming to light piece by piece. He needs to be added to the Church Data Base on Pioneers.
Here is my history that is online at: https://johnenslen.com/JohnEnslen/camp.html

John E. Enslen
Wetumpka, Alabama

Anonymous said...

I am a descendant of WW Camp , he is my great great grandfather . I have been to Tennesse , and had physical eyes on the home he built there. I went to the county recorder and also the Cemetery and saw the headstones of their loved ones. The home had been moved from its original location and was in disrepair. From what I was told the city moved it from its original location . I remember peeking inside and seeing two stairways on each side , leading to a landing . Unfortunately it was probably built with slave labor , I can never forget that , built on others blood , sweat and tears. Having lost a child I know acutely what it feels like to have the heartbreak of losing a child, poor Diannah was said to have depression most of her life. I feel acutely tied to my ancestors , when I see records and biographies, they come alive , I try to search out facts , but I definitely feel their sadness

Unknown said...

I too am a great great granddaughter of WW Camp. I am curious as to his parents Cecillous (Cecil) Camp and Margaret Williams and how they landed in Georgia where WW Camp was born.
I've researched on them but keep hitting a brick wall.
If anyone has information I would appreciate it.

Thank you in advance.