James Campbell (industrialist)

James Campbell
One of the wealthiest landowners in Hawaiʻi
Born	(1826-02-04)February 4, 1826 Derry, Ireland
Died	April 21, 1900(1900-04-21) (aged 74) Honolulu, Hawaii
Occupation	Carpenter, Businessman
Spouse(s)	Hannah Barla Abigail Kuaihelani Maipinepine
Children	Abigail Campbell Kawānanakoa + others
Parent(s)	William Campbell and Martha Adams

James Campbell, Esq. (February 4, 1826 – April 21, 1900) was a Scots-Irish industrialist in sugar cane processing, who became one of the largest landowners in the United States Territory of Hawaiʻi, and a real estate developer. He was an immigrant to Hawaiʻi from Ireland. At the age of 51, he married for a second time, to a young woman who was a daughter of Hawaiian aristocracy. They had eight children, four of whom survived to adulthood. One of their daughters married into the ruling family, and their grandchildren were heirs to the throne of the kingdom of Hawaii.

He established the Estate of James Campbell for his heirs, which continued for more than 100 years as one of the largest landowners in the islands. In 2007 more than 170 heirs agreed to rework it as the James Campbell Company; only three cashed out.

James Campbell was born on February 4, 1826 to Scotch-Irish William Campbell (1788–1879) and Martha Adams (1794–1871) in Londonderry, Ireland. Campbell was the eighth of twelve children. At the age of thirteen, Campbell boarded a ship leaving Ireland for Canada. He joined his brother John in New York City and worked for him. For two years in the United States, Campbell followed in his father's footsteps as a carpenter.

In 1841 he joined a whaling crew bound for the South Pacific; the vessel was shipwrecked in the Tuamotu Islands. Campbell and two shipmates were the only ones to survive by clinging onto debris and floating to a nearby island. They were captured by natives and held prisoner. Campbell persuaded the chief he could be useful by using his skill to make repairs, and their lives were spared. After a few months he escaped on a ship bound for Tahiti, where he settled and lived for several years.

In 1850, the young Ulsterman boarded another whaling ship which reached the port of Lahaina on the Hawaiian island of Maui. Campbell took up carpentry again to make a living. In Lahaina he married Hannah Barla, who died in 1858, when he was about 32.