Johnson N. Camden

Who was Johnson N. Camden?

Johnson Newlon Camden was a United States Senator from West Virginia. Born in Collins Settlement, Virginia, he attended school in Sutton. He was appointed as a cadet to the United States Military Academy at West Point from 1846 until 1848, when he resigned. He studied law, was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Sutton in 1851; he was appointed the same year prosecuting attorney for Braxton County. In 1852 he was elected prosecuting attorney for Nicholas County and engaged in the development of petroleum and in manufacturing in Parkersburg in 1858. He was president of the First National Bank of Parkersburg at its organization in 1862, and was an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for Governor of West Virginia in 1868 and again in 1872.

Camden was elected as a Democrat to the U.S. Senate and served from March 4, 1881, to March 4, 1887; he resumed the practice of law at Parkersburg, and was again elected as a Democrat to the Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of John E. Kenna, and served from January 25, 1893, to March 4, 1895. While in the Senate, he was chairman of the Committee to Audit and Control the Contingent Expense and a member of the Committee on Railroads. He continued former business pursuits, and died in Baltimore, Maryland; interment was in Odd Fellows Cemetery, Parkersburg.