Zearing, Iowa 1956 History

completed the ownership of 160 acres by the purchase of forty acres from a man named Miles White.

The 160 acres constituted the NE¼ of Section 12, Lincoln township.

We are indebted to Clara Grimm of the Drake University library staff, Des Moines, Iowa, for her help in obtaining information about the John Campbell family. May we also say that without the help of Amy Noll of Des Moines, obtaining information about the early settlers in Lincoln township would have been very difficult.

John Campbell, m. Maria Miller, May 22, 1855. From the D. A. R. Register, vol. 8, Iowa, page 36. (Marshall county).

The marriage record at the Marshall county court house contains very little additional information. The record does state that they were married by Rev. William C. Smith. Smith was very prominent in the early history of Marshall county.

John Campbell, age 30, native of England

Anna Maria Miller Campbell, wife, age 19, native of   Pennsylvania

Clerk of the District Court Lake E. Davisson, Clerk

Nevada, Iowa October 15, 1953

In answer to your inquiry concerning the will of John Campbell, I will state that the files and records for that period are incomplete. We presume that they have been that way since the court house burned in the 1860's.

John Campbell did not leave a will. The documents on file do not state the date of his death. The widow, Anna Maria Miller Campbell, was appointed Administratrix of the estate by the court on March 17, 1859. At the same time she was appointed guardian of the two children, Frank Andrew Campbell, and Mary Jane Campbell.

The estate consisted of a small amount of personal property, 160 acres of Story county land, and 160 acres of Mitchell county land. The mortgage on this property amounted to $1,152.26. The court ordered the property sold at public auction at the court house door in Nevada to satisfy the mortgage. The sale was held on September 17, 1859.

As to the date of death, a claim filed against the estate by James R. Howard of Marshall county, Iowa, stated that Howard had sold hogs and pork to John Campbell on September 4, 1858. Howard sold two hogs at $6.50 each and eight pounds of pork at