DUANE
Duane's take
Now, I'm tellin' this one straight from the official Texas Historical Commission marker, so let's get into it together. April 22, 1856 — that's when Thomas Mitchell Campbell came into the world, born near Rusk in Cherokee County. His parents were Thomas Duncan and Rachel Moore Campbell, and if young Thomas was goin' to make something of himself, he was goin' to have to earn it the hard way.
He financed his own education by workin' for the county clerk up in Longview. No shortcuts, no silver spoon — just a young man with ambition and a ledger book. By 1878, Campbell had done it.
Admitted to the Bar, opened his law practice in Longview, and married Fannie Bruner that very same year. Not a bad twelve months for a country boy from Cherokee County. Then came the railroad.
In 1892, Campbell was named receiver for the International and Great Northern Railroad, and that appointment pulled him southwest to Palestine. He didn't just survive that assignment — he rose to general manager of the line, a post he held from 1892 through 1897. By then, Palestine was home.
Now here's where the story takes a turn most politicians wouldn't dare attempt. In 1905, Thomas Mitchell Campbell — a man with zero prior political experience — announced himself as a candidate for Governor of Texas. Not a county commissioner.
Not a state legislator. Governor. Just walked right up to that door and knocked.
And they tried to stop him. Strong opposition met him at the Democratic Party's 1906 convention. But Campbell had something those opponents hadn't counted on: a march tune. "The Campbells Are Coming." His supporters rallied to that rousing song, and when the votes were counted, Campbell won the election by a large margin.
He became Texas' second native-born Governor. The first, as it happened, was a man Campbell had known since boyhood — Governor James S. Hogg, born in 1851 and gone by 1906.
Two boys from the same part of Texas, and both of them would sit in the Governor's chair. You can't plan a thing like that. Campbell's first term was no quiet stretch of ribbon-cuttin'.
His administration was marked by strong anti-trust legislation, a pure food law, and prison reform. Then in 1908, the people of Texas sent him back for a second term. When that term finally expired, he returned to Palestine and took up a banking and law career.
He wasn't finished reachin', though. In 1916, Campbell ran for the United States Senate. He lost.
Sometimes the door doesn't open, no matter how hard you've knocked before. Thomas Mitchell Campbell died in Galveston and was laid to rest in Palestine's East Hill Cemetery — the same town that had taken him in when the railroad called, the same town he'd always come back to. Born near Rusk.
Buried in Palestine. And in between, a life that proves sometimes the man with no political experience is exactly the one the moment was waitin' for.
What the marker says
(April 22, 1856 - April 1, 1923) Born near Rusk in Cherokee County, Thomas Mitchell Campbell was the son of Thomas Duncan and Rachel (Moore) Campbell. He financed his education by working for the county clerk in Longview. In 1878 Campbell was admitted to the Bar and opened his law practice in Longview. He married Fannie Bruner the same year. Campbell moved to Palestine in 1892 after he was named receiver for the International & Great Northern Railroad. He was general manager of the line 1892-97. In 1905, without prior political experience, Campbell announced as a candidate for Governor. He received the Democratic nomination despite strong opposition at the party's 1906 convention. Rallying supporters with the rousing march tune, "The Campbells Are Coming," he won the election by a large margin and became Texas' second native-born Governor. The first was Campbell's boyhood friend, Gov. James S. Hogg (1851-1906). In 1908 Gov. Campbell was elected to a second term. His administration was marked by strong anti-trust legislation, a pure food law, and prison reform. When his term expired, Gov. Campbell returned to a banking and law career in Palestine. In 1916 he ran for the United States Senate but lost. He died in Galveston and was buried in Palestine's East Hill Cemetery. (1975)