John Acton Campbell was born December 25, 1836 in Wayne County, Ohio, the son of John S. Campbell (1799-1872) and Mary Ann (Brown) Campbell (1804-1846). John Acton lived as a boy in the village of Easton, Ohio. After he moved to Butler, Indiana, he married Mary Adelaide Jadwin on June 18, 1861. She was born August 3, 1842 in Carroll County, Ohio, the daughter of Andrew Jadwin (1802-1860) and Mary Ann (Packer) Jadwin (1808-1860). They had six children: Irene May, Marvale Florian, Orla Edwin, Arvilla Blanche (died at age 2), Romaine Claire and Emlin Verne. Mary (Jadwin) Campbell died August 22, 1882 and was buried at Butler. John married Catharine Grace Champian on July, 31, 1883; they had two daughters: Stella, who died in infancy, and Florence Eleanor, born in 1887. After his mother Mary died, Emlin V. Campbell lived with an uncle, Peter Helwig. John Acton Campbell died November 11, 1905 and was buried at Butler. Read his 1881 Essay about his railroad trip from Butler to his childhood home in Ohio. In 1866 John Acton Campbell became one of the three original Trustees of Butler, which was called Norristown until 1868.