Left: Janet and Jessie Cameron circa 1900
In June of 1999, and at the suggestion of my mother (Rhoda Cameron) we organized a family reunion in Chester, California. The turn out was exceptional and it included Tanty Winie (Winifred Contreras Cameron) and her daughter Susan Medrano (their family tree will be posted in the near future.) Tanty Winnie received 13 priceless photos from her mother Colina Cameron Gillies who must have received them from her mother Annie Gillies. I photographed these pictures without understanding exactly who they were. I scribbled down what was written in the back of the photographs and in some cases Tanty Winnie told me who she thought they were.
It wasn't until Mario T Cameron sent the Scottish census data that I could put them in context. In fact its wasn't until tonight that I realized we had photos of all of Alexander Cameron's brothers and sisters.
It is clear some photos were mislabeled, probably due to the fact that none of Alexanders children ever knew their Scottish relatives, and as time passed, the memory of who they were became confusing. So in their best attempts to capture their family heritage, someone wrote down their recollection and wrote down the names on the back.
Incidentally, these photos are the only objects, that I know of, that were in the possession of Alexander and Annie Cameron. They have survived over a century and only a few us have been lucky to see them. A picture of Colin Cameron (Alexanders oldest brother) can be found in the previous post.
Thank You Tanty Winnie
Right: Picture of William John Cameron circa 1900
Alexander's youngest brother
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