bought at Belle Ville in McIntosh County, Georgia, where he established an association of black landowners to own parcels. Effectively, he established colonies on these islands. A Georgia politician In 1867, to help freedmen vote, Campbell was appointed to the Board of Registration in Georgia. He and another Black registrar were poisoned; the other registrar died, according to Campbell. He joined the Georgia Educational Association, a launching pad for several Black political careers in the Reconstruction era. He was elected state senator in Georgia in 1868. He also campaigned for his son Tunis Gulic Campbell Jr. to be a state representative. Both won, only to be expelled from office because a majority of white Georgia legislators agreed that even though blacks had the right to vote, the Georgia constitution prohibited them from holding office. (See Original 33.) Campbell Sr. was able to return to office in 1871, but lost a bid for re-election in 1872. During his time as state senator, Campbell served on the Senate's Petitions and General Education committees. His post-legislative work as Justice of the Peace enraged former slave owners (a Black with authority over whites). "Campbell would be indicted on multiple charges in the mid-1870s, largely trumped up by those who saw the opportunity to finally oust him from the Georgia political arena... a judicial lynching.". He served hard labor on a Georgia prison chain gang. When released, he left Georgia for good. He published in 1877 a pamphlet about his experiences: Sufferings of the Reverend T. G. Campbell and His Family in Georgia, Death He died in Allston, Boston, Massachusetts, on December 4, 1891. Writings References Further reading Eric Foner (ed.), Freedom's Lawmakers: A Directory of Black Officeholders During Reconstruction (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1996). "Tunis Campbell (1812-1891)", New Georgia Encyclopedia. Edmund L. Drago, Black Politicians and Reconstruction in Georgia: A Splendid Failure (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1982). Russell Duncan, Freedom's Shore: Tunis Campbell and the Georgia Freedmen (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1986). 1812 births 1891 deaths African-American abolitionists African-American state legislators in Georgia (U.S. state) Republican Party Georgia (U.S. state) state senators People from Bridgewater Township, New Jersey 19th-century American politicians African-American politicians during the Reconstruction Era Original 33