Luther J. Campbell, superintendent of the Stubblefield Home at Walla Walla, has proved very efficient in that difficult position, displaying the rare combination of executive ability and marked kindness and patience. He was born in Monticello, Piatt county, Illinois, October 9, 1870, a son of George W. and Margaret R. (Gibson) Campbell, the former a native of Salina, Ohio, and the latter of Sangamon county, Illinois. They were married in Sangamon county as the father had located there in young manhood, and there he engaged in farming for many years. His death occurred in August, 1907, but the mother is still living and makes her home with a daughter in Springfield, Illinois.
Luther J. Campbell passed his boyhood and youth under the parental roof and after completing the course offered in the public schools became a student in the Central Normal College. In acquiring an education he displayed unusual persistency of purpose and great energy, for he worked his way through college, completing the four years' course on a capital of one hundred and eighty dollars which he earned. He boarded himself, living chiefly on graham mush sweetened with syrup, and in order to further decrease his expenses he did his own laundry work at night. Most young men would never consider for a moment undergoing such privations, but he realized the benefit of an education and determined to fit himself for something worth while. After his graduation with the class of 1892 with the degree of B. A., he took up the work of teaching and for sixteen years followed that profession. He then turned his attention to the land business and was also for some time advertising manager of the Farm Home. On resigning that position he and L. E. Frost founded the Berkshire World, a stock paper which is now published in Chicago. His residence in the northwest dates from 1910, when he removed to Hermiston, Oregon, where for fifteen months he devoted his time to the study of orchards and irrigation. In 1911 he removed to Walla Walla and during that winter was the principal of Bernie school. In 1911 he was appointed probation officer and served for fifteen months in that capacity and on the 1st of January, 1913, took charge of the Stubblefield Home, which was founded in pursuance of the terms of the will of the late Joseph L. Stubblefield, who left one hundred and fifteen thousand dollars for its establishment and maintenance. The institution is a home for aged and dependent widows and dependent children and since its establishment in 1902 has admirably served its purpose. It is under the direction of three trustees appointed by Mr. Stubblefield, namely C. M. Rader, E. A. Reser and F. M. Stubblefield. Mr. Campbell's knowledge of human nature and administrative skill gained through his years of teaching and in his work as probation officer admirably fit him for the discharge of his duties in the important position of superintendent of the home, and the friction so often found in such institutions is happily lacking.
On the 23d of May, 1893, Mr. Campbell was married to Miss Margaret J. Wallace, of Brazil, Indiana, and they have a daughter, Beryl C., the wife of V. O. McWhorter, who is in the government service at Dubois, Idaho.
Mr. Campbell is a stanch democrat and is commendably interested in public affairs, although not an aspirant for office. He belongs to Columbia Lodge, No. 8, K. P., and both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. In all the communities in which he has resided he has made a highly creditable place for himself, and all who have come in close contact with him hold him in warm regard.
JAMES EMANUEL BERRYMAN.
James Emanuel Berryman, deceased, was well known as an early settler and prosperous farmer of Walla Walla county. His birth occurred in England, May 18, 1834, and he was a son of Richard and Martha Berryman, who were also natives of England. In 1841 they came with their family to America and established their home in Wisconsin, where both passed away. In that state our subject received a limited education and there he remained until 1854. Desiring to seek for gold, he then went to the sea coast and took passage on a ship bound for California by way of the Horn. On the voyage the ship was wrecked and he had the misfortune to lose all of his possessions. For some years he remained in California, following mining, and then went to Australia, but after two years spent in the search for gold in that country he returned to California.
In 1861 Mr. Berryman came to Walla Walla county, Washington, which at that time was unsettled save for the fort, a saloon and a blacksmith shop; but the lure of the mines was still upon him and he went into the mountains of Idaho, making his way first to the Elk City mines and then to Florence, where he was one of the party that discovered the mines there. In 1862 he went back to Wisconsin for a visit and subsequently returned to England, where he was married. Not long afterward, in 1863, he brought his bride to America and located in Wisconsin, working in lead mines. The following year he made his way to Montana, in which state he was engaged in mining for some years. In 1869 he came again to Walla Walla county and this time took up his permanent residence here. He made his home in the city of Walla Walla for ten years and served as a member of the police force. He became the first street commissioner, moved houses, built bridges and did other such work. During this period, however, he again started out in search of gold, spending some time in the Powder River country, at Butte, Montana, and near Florence, Idaho. In 1878 he filed on a homestead and a timber claim in Walla Walla county and also bought railroad land. There were the usual hardships of the pioneer community to contend with, but he knew that such fertile soil and salubrious climate could not fail to attract settlers, and that in time land here would become highly valuable and the country the equal of the older east in all that pertains to civilization. He raised wheat and herds of cattle and horses, and from time to time he gave evidence of his faith in the country by investing in land. His widow now owns fifteen hundred and sixty acres of improved land, a quarter section of which is located on Dry creek. He built the first schoolhouse in his neighborhood and this is still known as the Berryman school.