Background
John Lafayette Camp was born on February 20, 1828 on a farm near Birmingham, Alabama, United States. He was the son of John Lafayette Camp and Elizabeth (Brown) Camp.
John Lafayette Camp was born on February 20, 1828 on a farm near Birmingham, Alabama, United States. He was the son of John Lafayette Camp and Elizabeth (Brown) Camp.
He was graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1848.
In 1849 Camp moved to Texas, locating at Gilmer, in Upshur County. There he taught school and practised law, soon taking his place as the leading attorney of that section of east Texas.
During the next ten years he established an enviable reputation as a lawyer and was a prosperous cotton planter. When the Civil War broke out he left his wife and five children to enlist in the Confederate army. He was at first captain of an Upshur County company, but was soon elected colonel of the 14th Texas Cavalry. His regiment served in the Missouri campaign, also in Louisiana and Arkansas. He distinguished himself at Murfreesboro, and participated in the battles at Richmond, Cumberland Gap, and Chickamauga. His last battle was at Altoona, Georgia. He was twice wounded and twice captured and was imprisoned for many months. In 1866 he was elected by the first Texas district to serve in the national Congress, but was not permitted to take his seat. He was a delegate to the Texas constitutional convention of 1866, where he advocated measures which, following the presidential plan of reconstruction, would have restored Texas to her former place in the Union. As a delegate to the national Democratic convention in 1872 he advocated cooperation with the Liberal Republicans. In 1874 he entered the state senate, where he was an administration leader. He advocated the more rapid settlement of the frontier portion of the state through the encouragement of railroad building by donation of state lands, and led the campaign for a new constitution. Before the legislature had decided to favor a convention, a joint committee of Senator Camp and two representatives prepared a constitution, adoption of which was proposed as amendments, and which was admitted by all to be superior to the existing constitution. In 1878 Camp was appointed by Gov. Hubbard to be judge of the district court sitting at Jefferson, Marshall, Palestine, and Tyler. In 1884 he accepted an appointment from President Cleveland as registrar of the land office of Arizona, hoping the change of climate would improve his health; but, this not resulting, he resigned after two years of service. He then moved to San Antonio, where he died in 1891.
He was married in 1851 to Mary Ann Ward, daughter of Dr. William Ward, well-known east Texas physician.
