Biography of Simon Cameron (1843-1897)
Simon was born on November 13, 1843 at Tealaggan (Tealagan), in Kirkhill Parish, Inverness-shire, Scotland, the second child born to John Cameron and Isabella Dallas.

In or around 1855 he joined his parents and siblings in making the journey from Scotland to Canada, where they initially settled in Cobourg, Ontario.  The Cameron family resided in Cobourg for a few years, but in 1863 moved further west, to homestead in Bruce County, Ontario. 

As a young man, Simon left Bruce County along with his brothers Roderick and Charles Angus, and made his way to the Manitoba frontier to homestead.  For a while he resided in Woodside, near his brothers Kenneth and David, but eventually settled in Portage La Prairie.  On December 5, 1885 he married Eliza Stanton Collins, the daughter of Richard Levi Collins and Jane Stanton, at Knox Presbyterian Church, in Portage La Prairie. 

Simon was employed by the M & NW Railway Company, and by all signs he was a creative gentleman.  In addition to mechanical labor, Simon also developed a specialized automatic railway switch.  According to family records, this switch was supposed to be put through the patent process, but it seems that his invention was either disapproved or the patent was absconded with.

On Tuesday afternoon, May 18, 1897, Simon met a tragic demise.  Along with fellow railway employee Harry Phair, Simon was attending to a damaged floor in a refrigerator car.  In order to access the damage, they raised the car off the tracks using jack screws.  As the flooring required extensive repairs, the car was not secured against the heavy wind that was blowing to the extent that it should have been.  Consequently, the wind blew the car off its jacks and it fell, pinning the two men to the rails.  Fellow employees were soon on hand and lifted off the weight, but not before both men suffered significant injuries.  Harry Phair was situated with his back across the rail and he broke one leg below the knee.  Simon sustained massive internal injuries, which were so severe that he passed away the following morning, May 19th, at 6:30AM .

Simon and his wife Eliza had no issue.  After his death, she lived her remaining years in Portage La Prairie.