Johnson Newlon Camden
| Johnson Newlon Camden | |
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United States Senator from West Virginia |
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In office March 4, 1881 – March 4, 1887 |
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| Preceded by | Frank Hereford |
| Succeeded by | Charles J. Faulkner |
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In office January 25, 1893 – March 4, 1895 |
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| Preceded by | John E. Kenna |
| Succeeded by | Stephen B. Elkins |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
March 6, 1828 Lewis County, Virginia (now West Virginia) |
| Died | April 25, 1908 (aged 80) Baltimore, Maryland |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Anna Gaither Thompson |
| Children | Johnson N. Camden, Jr., George Camden, Annie Camden Spilman |
Johnson Newlon Camden (March 6, 1828 – April 25, 1908) was a prominent industrialist, banker and railroad tycoon who was estimated to be have a $25 million at his unexpected death. Although both of his attempts to become governor of the new state of West Virginia failed, he did become United States Senator, representing West Virginia on two separate occasions.
Born in 1828 in Collins Settlement, the county seat of Lewis County, Virginia (now West Virginia), to Col. John Scrivener Camden (1798–1862) and his wife the former Nancy Newlon, Johnson Newlon Camden was the grandson of Rev. Henry Benjamin Camden. His siblings included C.S.A. Lt. Col. Edward Duncan Camden (1840–1922), William D. Camden (1842–1878), Amanda McKinley, Lorenzo Dow Camden (1844–1910) and John Scrivener Camdenn (1851–1923).
Johnson N. Camden attended school in Sutton and at age 14 apprenticed with the county clerk in Weston. In 1846, he won an appointment as a cadet to the United States Military Academy at West Point while his father represented Braxton, Lewis and Gilmer Counties in the Virginia House of Delegates for a single term (1845–46). Young J. N. Camden studied for two years until resigning in 1848, to read law in his home state.
On June 22, 1858 in Wheeling, Johnson N. Camden married Anne Thompson (1834–1918), daughter of prominent lawyer George W. Thompson, who had become a U.S. Congressman and was then a prominent local judge. They would have children Johnson Newlon Camden Jr. (1865–1942) and Annie Camden Spilman (1862–1958), although their son George died as an infant.
Camden was admitted to the Virginia bar and began his practice in Sutton, the Braxton County seat in 1851. Although his father continued to live in Lewis county, his brothers Edwin, William and Lorenzo had moved to Braxton County. Young Johnson N. Camden was appointed the same year as Braxton County's prosecuting attorney. In 1852 J. N. Camden won election as prosecuting attorney for Nicholas County.
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