John Angus Cameron (1820 - 1888)

Born 1 Sep 1820 in Summerstown, Charlottenburg, Glengarry, Upper Canada

Ancestors

Husband of Margaret Sophia (Groves) Cameron — married 20 Feb 1860 in Cornwall, Stormont, Ontario, Canada

Died 7 Nov 1888 at age 68 in Barkerville, British Columbia, Canada

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Biography

John A. Cameron was known as Cariboo Cameron due to his remarkably rich strike in the Cariboo.

John Cameron is/was a significant British Columbian.

John Cameron is Notable.

John Angus Cameron was born September 1st 1820 in Summerstown, Glengarry, Upper Canada.^[1] He was baptised September 10th 1820 in St. Andrews, Williamstown, Glengarry, Upper Canada.^[2]

In the 1850s, John Cameron was in California, apparently as a prospector and returned to Glengarry. John A. Cameron and Margaret Sophia Groves were married February 20th 1860 in Cornwall, Stormont, Ontario.^[3]

"When gold was discovered that year in the Cariboo district of the British Columbia interior, Cameron decided to go there. He arrived at Victoria, Vancouver Island, in February 1862 ... In Victoria, Cameron met Robert Stevenson, another native of Glengarry County, who backed him in his first venture in British Columbia, that of transporting supplies into the Cariboo gold district. Cameron was also a partner in a small company which in August 1862 staked a claim on Williams Creek in the Cariboo." His beloved Margaret died on October 23rd 1862. A very rich find was made his claim on December 22nd 1862. The claim soon became one of the largest operations in the Cariboo district and John became a wealthy man. His grief produced legends, partly due to his wealth.

"John A. Cameron and Christina Adelaide Wood were married on March 1st 1865. in July he laid the cornerstone of his imposing new residence, Fairfield House, at Summerstown in Glengarry County. In this period of prosperity, Cameron's often rash behaviour, extravagance, and arrogance tended to foster hostile speculation on how he had obtained his fortune. This speculation included references to the first Mrs Cameron, and there was much gossip about the contents of the mysterious sealed coffin." "His windfall melted away, Cameron returned to British Columbia in 1886 or 1887." He died a poor man at Barkerville on November 7th 1888 and was buried nearby in the cemetery at Camerontown, a village named after him."^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Royce MacGillivray, “CAMERON, JOHN (1820-88),” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 11, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed August 17, 2020, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/cameron_john_1820_88_11E.html.
2. ↑ St. Andrews Williamstown Births, entry for John Cameron, transcription, Glengarry GenWeb (Ontario)
3. ↑ Stormont, Upper Canada marriage registers, Record for John A. Cameron - Margaret Sophia Groves (1860); "Ontario, Canada Marriages 1857-1924" database online, Ancestry.ca (http//www.ancestry.ca : accessed 6 March 2008) citing FHL microfilm1030065 from Archives of Ontario microfilm MS248 reels 5-18.

See Also:

• Lindsay, F.W.. The Cariboo Story.
• Find A Grave Memorial# 18735
• Wikipedia: John A. Cameron
• Wikidata: Item Q13520197, en:Wikipedia
• This B.C. gold miner buried his wife... three times! - 'BC WAS AWESOME' FULL EPISODE
• Ontario's Historical Plaques