Author: Cameron, William
Biography:
CAMERON, William (1751-1811: ODNB)
He was likely born at Inverkeithing, Fife, to William Cameron and Elspeth (Flockhart) Cameron on 20 Aug. 1751 and baptised on 25 Aug. He studied at Marischal College, Aberdeen, where he was taught by James Beattie (q.v.). He earned his MA in 1774 before entering the Church of Scotland. With several fellow ministers, he set about revising the scriptural paraphrases used in the church, and these were published in 1781. Ordained to the parish of Kirknewton, Midlothian, in 1786, he married Agnes Montgomery on 5 Sept. 1788; the couple had ten children. His other publications include a sermon, The Abuse of Civil and Religious Liberty (1793), Ode on Lochiel’s Birthday (1796; 7 pages), and A Review of the French Revolution (1802). His “As o’er the highland hills I hied” was included in James Johnson’s Scots Musical Museum. He is generally accepted as author of Poetical Dialogues on Religion (1788) although the fact that contemporary reviews complain of the book’s coarse language and expression casts some doubt on the attribution. He died on 17 Nov. 1811 and is buried in Kirknewton cemetery. (ODNB 21 Aug 2018; ancestry.co.uk 21 Aug 2018; LPS; SM) SR
Other Names:
- the late Reverend William Cameron