William E. Cameron

Infobox Governor
name= William Evelyn Cameron


caption= Portrait photograph of Governor William E. Cameron
order=
office= Governor of Virginia
term_start=1882
term_end=1886
lieutenant= John F. Lewis
predecessor= Frederick W. M. Holliday
successor= Fitzhugh Lee
birth_date= November 29, 1842
birth_place= Petersburg, Virginia, USA
death_date= January 25, 1927
death_place=Louisa County, Virginia, USA
party= Readjuster Party
spouse= Louisa Cameron
profession= Politician, Lawyer

William Evelyn Cameron (November 29, 1842ndash January 25, 1927) was a soldier, lawyer, journalist, and politician. He served as Governor of Virginia from 1882-1886. He was the candidate of the Readjuster Party headed by William T. Mahone.

Early life and career

William Evelyn Cameron was born in Petersburg, Virginia. His parents were Walker Anderson Cameron and Elizabeth Page Walker Cameron. He attended local schools, then a military academy in Hillsboro, North Carolina.

Cameron briefly attended Washington College in St. Louis, Missouri, and received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.

When the American Civil War started, he abandoned his preparatory studies and joined the Confederate Army, serving throughout the war.

After the war, Cameron returned to Petersburg, where he married Louisa Clarinda Egerton (1846-1908) on October 1, 1868. They had three children. He initiallybegan practicing law. However, he decided to pursue a career in journalism and edited newspapers in Petersburg, Norfolk and Richmond, Virginia.

In 1869, Cameron fought a duel with Robert William Hughes, after Cameron criticized Hughes in print for the opportunism of changing his political views from pre-war Secessionist to post-war Republican. According to one account, "the parties met at Chester Station, on the Petersburg Railroad; but, before they could exchange a shot, the police made their appearance, and caused a flight of the parties. They passed into North Carolina, where they fought on the 12th of June with pistols. Cameron was hit in the breast at the first fire, the ball striking a rib and glancing. Hughes demanded another fire, but the surgeons declared that Cameron could not deliver another shot, and the affair ended 'to the satisfaction of all parties.'" [cite book
last=Mott
first=Frank
title=American Journalism: A History of Newspapers in the United States Through 250 Years, 1690-1940
publisher=Routledge (accessed via Google Books)
date=2000
isbn=0415241448]

Political career

Cameron served as mayor of Petersburg from 1876 to 1882. In 1881, he was the candidate of the Readjuster Party headed by William T. Mahone and was elected governor of Virginia. During his term from 1882-1886, he attempted to implement his party's programs of debt reduction and racial integration in certain areas.

After his term as governor ended in 1886, Cameron briefly left Virginia, before returning and resuming a career in politics as more conservative politician. Cameron represented Petersburg in the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1901-1902. He served as editor of the Norfolk "Virginian-Pilot" newspaper from 1906 to 1919.

William Evelyn Cameron died on January 25, 1927 at the home of one of his sons in Louisa County, Virginia. He was buried at Blandford Cemetery in Petersburg.

Notes and references