Thompson Campbell's parents immigrated to the United States in 1801, and settled in
Kennett Square, Chester County, Pennsylvania for ten years. He attended public schools, studied law, and was
admitted to the bar in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He later moved to
Galena, Illinois, and engaged in mining.
Political career Campbell served as the
Illinois Secretary of State from 1843 until his resignation in 1846. He was a delegate to the state constitutional convention in 1847. He was elected as a
Democrat to the
32nd Congress in 1850, and was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1852. He was a delegate at the
1852 Democratic National Convention and was appointed
United States land commissioner for California by
President Pierce in 1853 and served until he resigned in 1855. At the
1860 Democratic National Convention, he served as a delegate in
Charleston, North Carolina and became an
elector at large on the
Breckinridge ticket. During the
Civil War, he served in the
California State Assembly as a member of the
Union Party and was a delegate to the
1864 Republican National Convention.
Death He died in San Francisco, California on December 6, 1868, and is interred in Laurel Hill Cemetery. ==References==