Soldiers’ Story: Dr. Jabez Campfield

Dr. Jabez Campfield (born 24 Dec 1737) was the first doctor in Morristown, a surgeon in the Continental Army during the Revolution, and a civil servant who left a lasting legacy to Morristown. He grew up in Newark, graduated The College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) with bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and studied medicine in Newark under Dr. William Burnet. He married Sarah Ward and moved to Morristown in 1765 to set up his medical practice.

During the Revolutionary War he served on the Committee of Safety, and as soon as the fighting arrived in New Jersey in 1776 he was quick to join the Morris County Militia under his neighbor, Colonel Jacob Ford. During his brief time in the militia, his unit fought the first battle of Springfield and marched in the “mud rounds” or the “march across the Jerseys,” guarding the rear flank of the Continental Army as they raced from Fort Lee to safety in Pennsylvania, with Cornwallis and his troops on their tail.

He joined the Continental Army in early 1777 as a regimental surgeon in Spencer’s Additional Continental Regiment, and when it dissolved in 1781, he continued to serve in the 2nd Continental Light Dragoons. He stayed in the Army until it was dissolved in 1783, serving during the Sullivan campaign through Pennsylvania and western New York, in many major battles such as Ash Swamp, Short Hills, Brandywine, Germantown, Newtown, and the second battle of Springfield, and at winter encampments including Valley Forge and both major encampments in Morristown. He kept a diary while on the Sullivan Campaign, which is now preserved at the New Jersey Historical Society.

During the winter encampment in Morristown in 1777, smallpox swept through the Army and the town, and George Washington ordered the inoculation of all soldiers. As a doctor on the Army’s medical team, Dr. Campfield was deeply involved in inoculating the entire army. His house was used as his medical office, and his extensive gardens were a source of medications for his patients and the soldiers billeted in the area.

When the Army returned to Morristown for the winter encampment of 1779–1780, Surgeon General Dr. John Cochran was billeted at Dr. Campfield’s house, using it as the Army’s medical storehouse and meeting place. During this time, Dr. Cochran’s niece, Elizabeth Schuyler, joined him at the house—where she was courted by her future husband, Alexander Hamilton.

Dr. Campfield rejoined the military a few years after the war. He was a Captain in the Morris County Squadron, New Jersey Cavalry from 1798 until 1807.

Though Dr. Campfield continued his medical practice until around 1792, he gradually shifted it to his son William and became heavily involved in civic leadership. He was the first Surrogate of Morris County in the new United States (not appointed by the Crown) for 18 years. He also served on the Town Committee, was Judge of Elections, Tax Collector, and Justice of the Peace.

He instituted an early lending library, donated his book collection, and served as its librarian. This library eventually became the Morristown and Morris Township Library. He also founded the Morris Academy, a well-respected school that lasted until the early 1900s, serving twice as its president.

As a member of the building committee of Morristown’s First Presbyterian Church, Dr. Campfield helped erect its second building in the 1790s. The building was so beloved that when it was replaced in the mid-1800s, its steeple was placed in the burying yard, where it remains today.

Dr. Campfield trained many young men to become doctors, helping establish early medical practice in the region. He was an incorporating member of the Medical Society of New Jersey, and when it faltered in the early 1800s he helped reunite rival factions to save it. The society still exists today as the oldest professional society in the United States.

Queens College (now Rutgers University) awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1792. He was also an original member of the Society of the Cincinnati in the State of New Jersey and a Freemason, with membership predating George Washington’s Masonic meetings in Morristown.

Dr. Campfield died in Morristown on 20 May 1821. He is buried in the burying yard of the Morristown Presbyterian Church, across from the Morristown Green. No headstone marked his grave for many years. A new veteran’s headstone was dedicated on 28 May 2023.

Images

Portrait of Dr. Jabez Campfield, held by the Morristown Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution at Schuyler Hamilton House Museum

Churchyard of the Presbyterian Church in Morristown

Plaque attached to Dr.Jabez Campfield’s gravestone

Dr. Jabez Campfield’s medical case, a saddle bag to be carried when he made house calls on horseback, is on display at the museum at Washington’s Headquarters, Morristown National Historical Park.

Dr. Jabez Campfield’s home still stands at 5 Olyphant Place in Morristown, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Morristown Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution have owned and preserved it since 1923. They operate it as the Schuyler Hamilton House Museum and open it to the public on Sundays 1-4PM.

Excerpt from 1817 Manuscript Map of Morristown drawn by Louisa Mccullough, held at the Caroline Rose Foster North Jersey History and Genealogy Center at the Morristown and Morris Township Library, https://cdm16100.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16100coll10/id/2/rec/27

Sources

This biography draws upon an extensive repository of documents relating to Dr. Jabez Campfield held by the Morristown Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution. To access these materials, contact the chapter at morristownchapterdar@gmail.com. The following represents a small subset of the chapter’s holdings:

• Campfield, Jabez, “The Diary of Dr. Jabez Campfield,” Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society, 1873.
• Canfield, Frederick A., A History of Thomas Canfield and of Matthew Camfield, 1897.
• Daughters of the American Revolution, “Jabez Campfield,” GRS database.
• Heitman, Francis B., Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army, 1914.
• Rogers, Fred B. & A. Reasoner Sayre, The Healing Art, 1966.
• Toner, J. M., Medical Men of the Revolution, 1876.
• Wickes, Stephen, History of Medicine in New Jersey, 1879.
• General Catalogue of Princeton University, 1908.
• History of Morris County, New Jersey, 1882.
• History of Morris County, New Jersey: 1710–1913, 1914.
• History of the First Presbyterian Church, Morristown, NJ.
• Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Application Files, S34163 Jabez Campfield.