Corrick Abbey Graveyard
The Campbells of Corrick: From Aughalane to America – The Global Journey of the CampbellsAt Corrick Abbey lie the enduring markers of the Campbell family of Aughalane, their stones anchoring a tale that stretches from County Tyrone to the expansive American West:
- Ann Campbell of Aughalane (d. 1876, aged 83), memorialised by her brother H. Campbell of St. Louis, USA.
- Generations of Campbells – Hugh (d. 1756), John (d. 1792), Andrew (d. 1796), James Alexander (d. 1823), Elizabeth (d. 1824), and others – whose collective epitaph reflects a family rooted deeply in place and faith.
- Later burials include Elizabeth Campbell (d. 1851), widow of Hugh, and Jane Campbell (d. 1897), wife of Robert B. Campbell of Letterbratt.
When the last Campbell brother, Hazlett Campbell, died in 1938, a vast fortune remained – but there were no direct heirs. This triggered a legal saga as American courts sought distant kin. A Special Master was appointed to travel to Tyrone, interviewing potential relatives and gathering testimony in an attempt to settle the estate. For a time, Aughalane’s descendants and neighbours became part of an international search to determine who, if anyone, might inherit the Campbell millions.
Eventually, civic leaders in St. Louis stepped in to preserve the family home and belongings. In 1943, the Campbell House Museum opened to the public, becoming one of the most authentic Victorian-era house museums in the United States. Meanwhile, Aughalane House was carefully relocated to the Ulster American Folk Park, where it stands today as a memorial to Irish emigration and frontier enterprise.
The Campbell headstones at Corrick Abbey are more than memorials – they are the roots of a story that spans continents, fortunes, and centuries. They remind us how a Tyrone family’s pioneering legacy left its mark on both sides of the Atlantic.