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The Campbell House
 

Virginia CampbellVirginia Campbell,
Circa 1885
Oil portrait
Attributed to Alban Conant
Campbell House Museum collection

Portrait Description
Dressed elegantly, head turned slightly to one side, Virginia Campbell stands with her hand resting on the back of a draped chair. Her clothing, as well as the details of the room, indicates status and wealth. This portrait, commissioned by her sons after her death, shows Virginia as a matron. It is likely that the artist drew inspiration from the Campbell’s parlor, for the painted border and heavy curtains at the dark window are features of the Campbell House today. 

Wife and mother
Virginia Jane Kyle was the second daughter of Hazlett Kyle and Lucy Ann Winston Kyle.  Virginia’s father passed away when she was eleven years old, after which Virginia and her older sister Eleanor were sent to the Freeman’s Finishing School in Philadelphia. While at school, the two girls often visited their cousin Mary Kyle Campbell, wife of Robert Campbell’s brother, Hugh. Robert and Virginia met at their home—he was thirty-one and she was thirteen. The two began a long correspondence and courtship. Six years later they were married at her mother’s house in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Over a period of twenty-two years, Virginia would have thirteen children and perhaps as many as six miscarriages and still births; only three sons would live past the age of eight.  In 1854, Robert and Virginia Campbell bought a house at 20 Lucas Place—then the most fashionable and elite neighborhood in St. Louis.  Now 1508 Locust Street, the home would remain in the Campbell family until the last son died in 1938. Their surviving letters indicate that they supported each other in their respective roles with a great love for each other and their children.  

The Campbells entertained frequently in their Lucas Place home.  In 1873, Virginia held a formal dinner and reception for President Ulysses S. Grant while Robert was delayed in Philadelphia on business.  What is particularly notable about this is the fact that Virginia hosted the party alone.  Victorian customs typically dictated that a woman did not host events without her husband. Virginia demonstrated a willingness to move beyond the bounds of convention throughout her life. She died on January 30, 1882, at the age of sixty.

Challenging Her Role, Making a Difference
Virginia Campbell fulfilled her traditional role. A devoted wife, mother, and a model hostess, she managed a large household and a staff of servants. Accounts indicate she also challenged the norm. In an 1843 letter to her husband, Virginia talks of taking her infant son to Wheeling accompanied only by a maid. Traveling without a male escort was seen as both improper and very dangerous for women at the time. In a letter, Virginia tells Robert that her mother, Lucy, was very upset she had not even hired a nurse.  

A leader in historic preservation, Virginia was a Vice Regent for Missouri of the Mount Vernon Ladies Association between 1879 and 1882. This organization saved and preserved George Washington's Mount Vernon house and estate. Virginia's sons honored their mother's interest after she died by donating a pair of Chippendale-style mahogany stands once owned by Washington and also by supporting the  recreation of Washington's deer park on the Mount Vernon estate.

In many ways Virginia was unusual for a nineteenth-century upper middle class woman. She had a strong interest in national and civic affairs and she independently supported many philanthropic causes. At the same time, she fulfilled her role as spouse, partner, and mother.  Virginia Campbell was a Victorian woman well ahead of her time.



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