Quick Facts
Biography
Donald Cameron of Lochiel (1769–1832), 22nd Chief of Clan Cameron
Biography
Donald Cameron was the son of Charles Cameron of Lochiel, 21st Chief of Clan Cameron, and Martha Marshall.
After Culloden, Gentle Lochiel the 20th chief of the clan went into exile and his lands were sequestrated by the government. Charles Cameron, son of the Lochiel of the 'Forty-Five', was allowed to return to Scotland, and lent his influence to the raising of the Lochiel men for the service of government.
In 1784 the estates of Lochiel were returned to Donald Cameron (grandson of Gentle Lochiel) under the general act of amnesty. He was only 15 at the time and had grown up in France and London. When he left school, he travelled and got into serious debt. In order to raise money he borrowed against some of the Cameron lands which would come under his control in 1790 when he turned 21. In 1790 he visited Lochaber country for the first time. Shortly afterwards he disclosed to his guardians the deal he had done. They were not pleased. The deal was successfully challenged in court and declared null and void. Donald was judged unfit to manage the estate - which was handed over to a trust until 1819. Donald Cameron didn't stay in Lochaber for long. His wife wasn't happy there and eventually left him. He left Lochaber soon after and never lived there again.
In 1801 the trust began evicting tenants from the Cameron land. This was the beginning of the Cameron Clearances. Donald Cameron continued the evictions in 1819 when he regained control of the estate.
In later life he lived in Toulouse, France, estranged from his wife and children. He died there in 1832 at the age of 63.
Family
In 1795 Cameron married Anne, daughter of Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Abercromby and Mary Anne, daughter of John Menzies and Ann, daughter of Patrick Campbell. They had children:
- Mary Anne Cameron (died 1850)
- Reverend Alexander Cameron
- Matilda Cameron (died 1894)
- Donald Cameron of Lochiel, 23rd Chief of Clan Cameron (1796–1858)
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