Mini Biographies of Scots and Scots Descendants

William Cameron was born in Scotland, and lived there until he served his apprenticeship as a machinist. He then came to Chicago in 1897. Mr. Cameron was a recognized authority in the manufacture of high-speed automatic can manufacturing machinery. He held patents to numerous developments in the mechanical engineering field. His greatest development was the invention of the air tester which separates the perfect cans from faulty ones at a speed of 300 per minute. Although always prominent in the activities of Scots, he never was interested in Golf. Aside from his professional activities his main interest was concentrated on game bird growing on a 1,300 acre preserve he maintained in Indiana. Mr. Cameron, was a past chief of Clan Campbell, and held numerous offices in the Masonic Lodge. He lived at 824 Bonnie Brae, River Forest, Illinois. He was survived by his wife and four children, Allan, William, Jean and Kenneth. Funeral services were held in the River Forest First Presbyterian Church with internment at Forest Home Cemetery. The cause of death was pneumonia. He was at home at the time of death. At the time of his death he was owner and president of the Cameron Can Machine Company. They had offices in Paris, London, Hong Kong and New York, and had agents all over the world. Mr. Cameron served one term as President of the Illinois Saint Andrew Society in 1934. He died before completing his term as President. he had failed to place the Scottish Home in his will, but his family came with a memorial to honor their father. His son, Allan M. Cameron, presented the Board of Governors with a check for ten thousand dollars. It was the miracle needed for the Home to survive the difficult years of the Great Depression.