Year: 1933
Elsie J. Campbell was born on February 13, 1930, in Roanoke, Virginia, the daughter of Roy Campbell and Ruth Brown Campbell. During the early years of the Great Depression, the Campbell family made their home at 1305 Jackson Avenue SW. Her father, Roy Campbell, worked as a sandman motor for the railroad, one of the many laborers whose work supported the operations that made Roanoke a thriving railroad city. Elsie’s life was very brief. She died on August 6, 1933, at just three years old from ileocolitis, an intestinal illness that was often difficult to treat before the development of modern antibiotics and medical care. Though her time was short, Elsie was a beloved daughter whose life was part of the story of a young family living and working in Roanoke during a difficult era. Today her name remains as a quiet reminder of the children whose lives were lost too soon and whose memory is preserved through the historical record.
Notes / sources: