He was born in
New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, the son of James Grant Cameron and Jessie Sutherland. He was educated in New Glasgow. He moved to Boston in April 1869. For three years he was writing on the subject of freedom, especially the struggle which was taking place in Cuba. In the fall of 1882, he enrolled in Queen's College in
Kingston, Ontario, where he won a poetry prize in 1883 for "Adelphi". He is sometimes considered one of the
Confederation Poets. He married a 12-year Ella Amey on 22 August 1883. He was the editor of the
Daily News in Kingston, Ontario, from March 1883 until his death of heart failure on 17 September 1885 at
Millhaven, Ontario. The couple had had one daughter, Jessie Cameron Alison. In 1887, his brother, Charles L. Cameron, edited and published a selection of Cameron's poems under the title
Lyrics on Freedom, Love and Death (Kingston, 1887). ==Recognition==