1837–1879

Introduction

Born: 1837, Kil­mal­lie (near Fort Will­iam), Scot­land.

Died: March 3, 1879, New Ed­in­burgh, Ot­ta­wa, On­ta­rio, Ca­na­da.

Buried: Ca­ta­ra­qui Ce­me­te­ry, Kings­ton, On­ta­rio, Ca­na­da.

Biography

Emigrating to Ca­na­da in 1858, Ca­mer­on at­tend­ed Queen’s Col­lege, Kings­ton, On­tar­io, where he gra­du­at­ed, then stu­died for three years at the Theo­lo­gic­al Hall and in Glas­gow.

Ordained in 1865, he went to In­dia as a mis­sion­ary for the Church of Scot­land, but lat­er was com­pelled to leave due to ill health.

He tried to work in Aus­tral­ia for a time, but re­turned to Ca­na­da in 1875 and took charge of a con­gre­ga­tion at New Ed­in­burgh, in the Pres­by­te­ry of Ot­ta­wa.

In a brief time his health again gave way, and he had to re­sign his work, dy­ing short­ly af­ter­ward.

Works

Poem

The Here and the Hereafter

It is not always May,
Nor does the sun forever cloudless shine;
Dark shadows aye
On earth with brightest sungleams intertwine.

The morning streams
From orient mountains with its flood of light;
Yet soon those beams
Shall waiting stand before the gates of Night.

The flowers of Spring
Shall fall and wither where they sweetly rose;
The larks’ light wing
Shall drop at length in silence and repose.

All things must die,
Or change, or wither, or be lost in gloom;
Beneath the sky
There’s but one certain destiny—the tomb.

And yet not all!
Athwart the clouds soft rays of sunlight stray;
And where they fall
They fill the soul with never-ending day.

The flowers which grow
Within the Christian’s heart nor fade nor die;
But bright below,
Shall brighter bloom around the throne on high.

Charles Innes Cameron
Kingston, Ontario, 1862

Sources

Lyrics

  1. Oh, Fair the Gleams of Glo­ry

Help Needed

If you can help with any of these it­ems,