Aeneas Cameron
| Aeneas Cameron | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1757 Parish of Kirkmichael, Grampian, Scotland |
| Died | 1822-09-08 Montreal, Quebec |
| Occupation | Fur trader; North West Company clerk and post manager; military paymaster |
| Father | |
| Mother | |
| Siblings | |
Aeneas Cameron (c. 1757 – 8 September 1822) was a Scottish-born fur trader who managed several North West Company posts in the upper Ottawa and Timiskaming country during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and attended the annual NWC rendezvous at Fort William as a partner of the company.
Early life
Cameron was born around 1757 in the parish of Kirkmichael, Grampian, Scotland, the son of Alexander Cameron, a farmer, and Grace Grant Cameron. His maternal uncles, John and Francis Grant of Jamaica, and a family connection to William Grant, a merchant of Three Rivers, gave him an introduction to the networks of Scottish merchants active in the Canadian fur trade.[1]
He travelled to Jamaica under the sponsorship of Richard Dobie, arriving from Quebec in December 1786. Finding plantation work unsatisfying, he returned to Quebec in the spring of 1788 and secured a position as clerk at Fort Abitibi under the North West Company's trading network.[1]
Fur trade career
By around 1792, following Dobie and James Grant's sale of the Timiskaming posts to Grant, Campion and Company, Cameron assumed management of the Grand-Lac post. In the autumn of 1793 he took charge of Fort Timiskaming, replacing Grant as the post's officer-in-charge. He acquired a business interest in the operation in 1793, though disputes over salary and partnership terms were not resolved until October 1798, when he signed formal partnership agreements.[1]
In 1800 Cameron took part in planning an overland expedition to James Bay intended to challenge the Hudson's Bay Company; the expedition was led by Alexander McDougall. During the summer of 1805 he travelled overland through the region to assess the trading operations, returning by ship in 1806. On that return he directed the abandonment of all posts in the area, judging them economically unviable. Though his decision reportedly drew criticism from North West Company partners at the annual rendezvous at Fort William, it was later recognized as strategically sound.[1]
Cameron retired to Montreal around 1806. He was admitted to the Beaver Club in 1807, a mark of standing among the NWC fur trade fraternity. From 1806 until 1812 he managed financial operations for McTavish, McGillivrays and Company, the NWC's Montreal supply arm. He sold his partnership share in 1815 for £11,000.[1]
War of 1812
During the War of 1812, Cameron was commissioned as a captain and served as paymaster of the Corps of Canadian Voyageurs, a unit drawn largely from the fur trade workforce of the St Lawrence and Great Lakes country.[1]
Personal life
While stationed at Fort Timiskaming, Cameron maintained a relationship with an Indigenous woman; their daughter, Margaret Cameron, later married Chief Factor Allan McDonell.[1]
Death
Cameron spent his final years boarding at Thomas Holmes's establishment in Montreal and worshipped at the Presbyterian St Gabriel Street Church. He died on 8 September 1822 in Montreal. His will, dated 24 June 1818, directed his estate primarily to his nephew Angus Cameron of Timiskaming, who had himself served as a North West Company partner.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Elaine Allan Mitchell."Elaine Allan Mitchell, "Cameron, Aeneas," Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 6."[website].Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 6 (University of Toronto/Université Laval).1987.University of Toronto/Université Laval.Link.(Rights: copyrighted | Access: open)
Sources cited in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography
External links
- ↑ "Hudson's Bay Company Archives, E.41/1–3."[record].E.41/1–3.Provincial Archives of Manitoba; microfilm at Archives of Ontario.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ W. S. Wallace (ed.)."Documents Relating to the North West Company."[book].1934.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ E. A. Mitchell."Fort Timiskaming and the Fur Trade."[book].University of Toronto Press.1977.Toronto and Buffalo, N.Y..(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ W. S. Wallace."The Pedlars from Quebec and Other Papers on the Nor'Westers."[book].Ryerson Press.1954.Toronto.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)