Timothy J. Campbell
American politician (1840-1904)

Timothy John Campbell (January 8, 1840 – April 7, 1904) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He served four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives during the late 19th century.
Life
Born in Mullahoran, County Cavan in Ireland (then a part of the U.K.), he emigrated to New York City.
State legislature
He was a member of the New York State Assembly (New York Co., 6th D.) in 1868, 1869, 1870, 1871, 1872, 1873, 1875 and 1883.
He was a member of the New York State Senate (6th D.) in 1884 and 1885.
Congress
He was elected as a Democrat to the 49th United States Congress, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Samuel S. Cox, was re-elected to the 50th, and was elected again to the 52nd and 53rd United States Congresses, holding office from November 3, 1885, to March 3, 1889; and from March 4, 1891, to March 3, 1895.
Campbell earned a touch of immortality of an attributed nature. He is reported to have said to President Grover Cleveland, upon Cleveland's saying he would not support a bill on the grounds that the bill was unconstitutional, "What's the Constitution between friends?" (Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 16th ed.)
Death
Campbell died in New York City on April 7, 1904.
References
United States Congress. "Timothy J. Campbell (id: C000103)".
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Timothy J. Campbell” as american politician (1840-1904). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as american politician (1840-1904). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1385159. VIAF identifies the subject as 18723625. The Library of Congress control number is no2009159445. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1840, 1904, 1868 and 1869.
Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Timothy J. Campbell”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Timothy J. Campbell primary sources, Timothy J. Campbell archive and Timothy research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Timothy J. Campbell”?
- Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
- How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Timothy J. Campbell” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.