John Wilson Campbell was born on February 23, 1782, near Miller's Iron Works in Augusta County, VA. He was the son of William and Elizabeth Campbell. He attended the Virginia common schools and became apprenticed to a carpenter in Cincinnati after his family moved to Brown County, Ohio. While schools were rare, he was tutored in Latin by the Rev. John Dunlevy in Cincinnati, and then by the Rev. Robert Finley in Highland County. Eventually he studied law with his uncle in Virginia, and was admitted to the bar in 1808.

In 1811, Campbell married Eleanor Doak, the daughter of a colonel in Virginia. They adopted a daughter who died in 1833 during a cholera epidemic.

He began practicing law in West Union, Ohio, and later served six years as justice of the peace of Tiffin Township in Adams County. He was also named the prosecuting attorney for Adams County in 1809, where he had been the prosecuting attorney. In 1810, John Campbell was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives, and he was re-elected for the two following terms as well. He briefly served in the War of 1812.

In 1816 he ran for Congress from the Second District, defeating the incumbent and fellow member of the Democratic-Republican Party, John Alexander. Taking his seat in the 15th Congress, Campbell rose quickly and became chairman of the Committee on Private Land Claims where he held the gavel until leaving Congress.

By the time of the 1822 elections Ohio's congressional districts were increased from six to 14. The changing boundaries placed Campbell in the Fifth District, where he was elected in 1822. At the same time, the rift in the Democratic-Republican Party was widening and Campbell sided with the Republican wing, backing Andrew Jackson for President..

Campbell was re-elected to the 19th Congress in 1824 as a Republican backing John Quincy Adams. Campbell did not run again in 1826. Instead, he settled on a large farm in Brown County near Eagle Creek. In 1828, he ran for governor of Ohio, but lost the election by 2,000 votes.

President Andrew Jackson appointed him as a judge of the U.S. District Court for Ohio in 1829, where he spent the remaining years of his life. In 1831, Augusta College gave him their honorary degree of Doctor of Civil Laws. On September 24, 1833, John Campbell died in Delaware County, Ohio and was buried in the Old North Cemetery in Columbus.

Sources:
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
History of the Sixth Circuit Judges

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