ROBERT J. CAMERON: lives at Uniontown; is a farmer; was born in Madison County, N.Y., 1831; came to state and county in 1852; was married April 7, 1863, to Esther Le Fever. Children Franklin, Helena, Clara, Anna, Bernice and Warren L.
A. G. Walling, History of Southern Oregon, 1884, page 502


    THEODRIC CAMERON: an early pioneer of this county, arrived in 1852, he has since been engaged in the mercantile and mining business; is a native of Madison County, N.Y., and now postmaster at Uniontown, on Applegate Creek, where he keeps a general merchandise store.
A. G. Walling, History of Southern Oregon, 1884, page 502


    Hon. T. Cameron having closed his business at Uniontown, the post office at that place, which he has attended to so long, will be abandoned during the week. This will prove quite an inconvenience to the people living in that vicinity. Somebody should take it upon himself to act as postmaster there.
Democratic Times, Jacksonville, June 3, 1892, page 3


HON. [THEODRIC] CAMERON is an Oregon pioneer of 1852, one of the reputable farmers, merchants and statesmen of Jackson County. Mr. Cameron is the descendant of Scotch ancestors and was born in Peterboro, New York, June 1, 1829. His parents were James and Emeline (Kendall) Cameron, both natives of the Empire State. The Kendalls trace back to English ancestors and were among the early settlers of New York. The family consisted of eight children, the subject being the eldest. He remained at home until ten years of age, going to school and working on the farm, when the family removed to Van Buren County, Iowa. In 1851 he engaged in farming one year on his own account. The next year he left home, crossed the plains with an ox team to the Willamette Valley, and in the fall of the same year located in Jackson County. He followed mining for the first year and has been interested in that pursuit to some extent ever since. He took up a donation claim at what is now known as Eagle Point and farmed there four years. He then sold out and engaged in the bakery business at Sterling. He also carried on farming on Applegate Creek for two years, subsequently engaging in the merchandise business at Uniontown for thirty years. He gave the town its name and was postmaster there for fifteen years. He has always been a staunch and steadfast Republican and was elected to the state Assembly in 1885 for two years, and to the Senate, in 1890, for four years. He is a man of retiring disposition, and one who has never sought office. Whatever position he has ever held has never been sought by him. His property at Uniontown consists of 500 acres, about 100 of which is devoted to general farming. He owns mining property in Josephine County, and is associated with his brother, Zachary, and George Simmons, in the Waldo placer mines, of Josephine County, which are supposed to be the most valuable placer mining property in the state.
    He was married March 3, 1892, to an estimable lady of refinement and culture named Mrs. Mary Krouse, née Bilger. She is of German extraction, born in Canada and reared in New York state. Mrs. Cameron has an interesting family of three children by a former marriage, namely: Ella A., Frank O. and Margaret E. A.
    Mr. Cameron belongs to the A.F.&A.M., blue lodge and chapter.
Rev. H. K. Hines, An Illustrated History of the State of Oregon, 1893, pages 1009-1010


    CAMERON, THEODRIC, of Jackson County, is one of the oldest Republicans in Southern Oregon and has upheld the standards of the party against a Democratic majority for many years. He is a native of Madison County, New York, and came to Oregon in 1872, and has been engaged in mining and merchandising. He is a familiar figure in county and state conventions, and is a leader of the party. In 1894 he was the nominee for the senate, and this year is the nominee for county treasurer.
Republican League Register, Portland, 1896, page 189




    HON. THEODRIC CAMERON. A representative business man of Jackson County, Hon. Theodric Cameron, of Jacksonville, has been actively associated with the development and advancement of both the agricultural and mining interests of Southern Oregon. Possessing excellent business capacity, sound judgment and quick perceptive faculties, he has been invariably successful in his undertakings, and as an honest, upright citizen has gained the good will and respect of his fellow men, who have elected him to offices of trust and responsibility in the administration of city and state affairs. A native of New York, he was born June 21, 1829, in Madison County, which was also the birthplace of his father, James Cameron. As his name indicates, he is of pure Scotch ancestry, his paternal grandfather having emigrated from Scotland to the United States, becoming one of the early settlers of Madison County, N.Y.
    Born and reared in New York state, James Cameron lived there until 1839, when he migrated westward with his family, located in Van Buren County, Iowa, where he cleared and improved a farm. Coming to Oregon in 1869, he located in Uniontown, Jackson County, where he lived retired until his death, in 1880, at the age of seventy-four years. He married Emeline Kendall, who was born in New York, near Rochester, and died in Uniontown, Ore. Of their family of five sons and three daughters, Theodric, the subject of this sketch, was the oldest child.
    Obtaining a limited education in the common schools of New York and Iowa, Theodric Cameron remained at home until after attaining his majority. Energetic, and full of vim and energy, he then determined to see for himself what success might be attained by industry and perseverance in the newer countries of the Pacific Coast. Starting across the plains with ox teams, he crossed the Missouri River May 7, 1852, journeyed by the Platte River route, and arrived at Foster, Clackamas County, Ore., August 14, 1852, after a trip remarkable for its quickness and comfort. Locating at once in Jackson County, Mr. Cameron was engaged in mining on Jackson Creek for two years. Taking up a donation claim of one hundred and sixty acres at Eagle Point, in the fall of 1853, he followed farming the ensuing two years, and from that time until 1858 was engaged in the bakery business at Sterlingville. The next two years he was engaged in agricultural pursuits in the vicinity of Applegate. Forming a partnership with U. S. Hayden in 1861, Mr. Cameron was engaged in mercantile pursuits on Applegate Creek, in Uniontown, for nearly thirty years, having an extensive and lucrative trade in general merchandise. Selling out his interests in the firm in 1892, he has since resided in Jacksonville, devoting his attention to his private interests, which are many and valued.
    During his residence in Oregon, Mr. Cameron has been more or less interested in placer mining. In 1872 he opened up the Sterling mine, which proved among the most productive in the county, and owned it until 1875, when he sold it to a Portland company, receiving $25,000 in cash.
    Buying out the interests of an English mining company on Galice Creek, Josephine County, in 1883, he developed and equipped a good mine, which was in his possession until he sold out in 1898. In 1880 Mr. Cameron, in company with George Simmons and Frank Ennis, purchased nine hundred acres of land in the Waldo mining district, and opened up and equipped the Simmons-Cameron mine, a placer mine, yielding a fine grade of gold. In mining as in mercantile pursuits, Mr. Cameron has always been successful, fortune always smiling upon his efforts. He still maintains an interest in agriculture, and owns a good farm of three hundred and ten acres on Butte Creek, near Eagle Point, Jackson County.
    In March, 1871, in Jacksonville, Mr. Cameron married Mrs. Mary (Bilger) Krause, who was born in Ontario, Canada, and came to Oregon with her uncle. By her first marriage, Mrs. Cameron had three children, namely: Margaret E. A. Krause, living at home with her mother and stepfather; Frank Otis Krause, of Klamath Falls, Ore., and Ella L., wife of Walter C. Lang, of Oakland, Cal. Mr. and Mrs. Cameron have one child, Charles Donald Cameron, a bright, active lad, in the eleventh year of his age. In 1901 he was page of the Oregon State Senate at the age of eight years. Following in the political footsteps of his father, Mr. Cameron is an uncompromising Republican. In 1885 he was elected representative to the state legislature, and served two years. In 1890 he was elected state senator, and in 1896 was honored with a re-election to the same high position. In both terms of the senate he served on the committees on mining and railways. He has taken an active part in the management of municipal affairs, and as a city councilman has served a number of terms. He was made a Mason at Jacksonville thirty years ago, and has since contributed his full share in advancing the interests of the order. He is now a member of Warren Lodge No. 10, A.F.&A.M.; of Jacksonville Chapter No. 4, R.A.M.; Oregon Consistory, No. 1, of Portland, Scottish Rite, having taken thirty-two degrees, and Al Kader Temple, N.M.S.
Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon, Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904, pages 229-230


    The many friends of ex-senator and Mrs. T. Cameron in this section were very much shocked on Saturday to learn of the death of Mrs. Cameron, at Klamath Falls, whither she had gone to be with her daughter-in-law, Mrs. Otis Krause, who has been very ill.
    Mrs. Cameron suffered from an attack of intestinal trouble and an operation was necessary to relieve her. She never rallied from the shock and died soon after the conclusion of the operation.
    The same day Mr. Cameron, who had been telegraphed for, left Medford with Miss Vickers, the trained nurse, but on arriving at Lairds was met with the intelligence of his wife's death. The remains were immediately prepared for shipment and arrived here on Sunday night's delayed northbound train. The body was taken to Jacksonville, where it was interred on Tuesday under the auspices of Adarel Chapter, O.E.S.,and Ruth Rebekah lodge, both of which orders Mrs. Cameron was a prominent member.
    Mrs. Cameron, whose maiden name was Bilger, came to Southern Oregon in the latter part of the '70s, with the family of the late John Bilger, her uncle. She was born near Burlington, Iowa, on February 16, 1859, and at the time of her death was forty-five years, one month and three days of age.
    Mrs. Cameron was first married to Frank Krause, well known as a newspaper man in Southern Oregon, in 1879. Mr. Krause died some years afterward. In 1892 she was married to Hon. Theo. Cameron, to whom the loss of his faithful loving helpmeet comes as a severe blow.
    She leaves three children, as the result of her first marriage: Otis Krause, of Klamath Falls, Mrs. Ella Lang, of San Francisco, Calif., and Miss Margaret Krause, of Jacksonville. Also a son, Donald, from the last marriage.
    At home and abroad, in social and domestic life, Mrs. Cameron was ever the well-bred, gracious lady, and her loss will be severely felt in social circles in Jacksonville, as well as by the members of her family and her many friends.
Medford Mail, March 25, 1904, page 1


Medford Mail Tribune, May 6, 1910, page 5


Medford Mail Tribune, May 8, 1910, page B1


    The funeral of Robert J. Cameron, who died at his home on the Applegate Friday morning, was held in this city Sunday afternoon. Mr. Cameron was an old and respected resident of the Applegate region, having crossed the plains with his bride in 1865, residing on his farm ever since.
    He was a native of Madison County, New York, having been born June 27, 1831, and at the time of his death was aged almost 79 years.
    He leaves a widow and six living children: Frank Cameron, Mrs. L. L. Jacobs, Mrs. W. D. Hanley, Mrs. [Anna C.] Cater, Miss Bernice Cameron, and Dr. W. L. Cameron. The deceased was a brother of Zach Cameron of Uniontown, and of ex-Senator Theo. Cameron of this city, and of Mrs. Ellen Wells of Ashland.
    The funeral was conducted by the Masonic lodge of this city, the beautiful and impressive ceremonies being performed in a touching manner, after which interment was made in Jacksonville's beautiful "City of the Dead.''
Jacksonville Post, May 14, 1910, page 1


    Former State Senator Theodric ("Todd") Cameron, a Jackson County pioneer and long prominent in mining, mercantile and political circles of Southern Oregon, died Jane 9 at Oakland, Cal., where he was visiting his son, Doen Cameron. He was born in Madison County, New York, June 21, 1829, of Scotch ancestry. In 1839 he came west with his family, locating in Van Buren County, Iowa.
    In 1852 he crossed the plains with ox teams, traveling by the Platte River route, and arrived at Foster, Clackamas County, Or., August 14, 1852. Locating at once in Jackson County, he was engaged in mining on Jackson Creek for two years.
    Mr. Cameron took up a donation land claim of 160 acres at Eagle Point in 1853 and followed farming until 1858, when he engaged in the bakery business at Sterlingville. Then he farmed for two years on the Applegate.
    Forming a partnership with U. S. Hayden in 1861, Mr. Cameron was engaged in mercantile pursuits on Applegate at Uniontown for nearly thirty years. Selling out in 1892, he has since resided in Jacksonville, devoting his time to the management of his extensive interests.
    In 1872 Mr. Cameron opened up the Sterling mine, which proved most productive, and sold it to a Portland company in 1875 for $25,000. He then developed the Old Channel mine, in the Galice district, the Simmons Cameron mine, in the Waldo district, and other mines.
    In March, 1871, he married Mrs. Mary Krauss, who died several years ago. He is survived by one son, Charles Donald Cameron, of Oakland, and a brother, Zack Cameron, of Medford.
    Mr. Cameron was prominent in polities. He was elected state representative as a Republican in 1885 and in 1890 and 1896 elected state senator. He was a member of Warren lodge, No. 10, A.F.&A.M. of Jacksonville Chapter, No. 4, R.A.M., Oregon Consistory, No. 1, of Portland, Scottish Rite and Al Kader Temple, N.M.S.
    His remains will reach Medford Thursday evening and the funeral will be held at Masonic Hall, Jacksonville, Friday afternoon at 2:30 o'clock, under auspices of Warren lodge, No. 10. Interment Jacksonville.
Medford Mail Tribune, June 10, 1914, page 4

Last revised September 25, 2024