People/prospector

John 'Cariboo' Cameron

John 'Cariboo' Cameron (1820–1888), prospector, from Canada. Linked to gold.

The lucky break

His company's claim on Williams Creek struck rich at 22 feet on 22 December 1862.1

The downfall

His first wife died of typhoid in October 1862 and he carried her body home, which fed rumour about how he got rich. He died poor at Barkerville.1

Legacy

The village of Camerontown was named after him and the Cameron Claim became one of the largest operations in the Cariboo.1

Story cards

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Where next

People

Rival ofBilly BarkerTwo Cariboo claims struck rich within months of each other on Williams Creek.1,2

Places

Worked atBarkervilleHis company's claim struck rich on 22 December 1862. He died poor at Barkerville.1

Sources

  1. CAMERON, JOHN (1820-88) Dictionary of Canadian Biography
  2. BARKER, WILLIAM Dictionary of Canadian Biography

From the Prospector Trails mining history dataset: each fact links to the source it was checked against. Figures are as the source gives them, in the money of their day. Not investment advice.

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Cover photos from Wikimedia Commons: Super Pit, Kalgoorlie by Kgbo, CC BY-SA 4.0; Underground mining equipment by Kaupo Kikkas, CC BY-SA 4.0. Pictures: Gold prospectors constructing a long box with a filter for panning gold. Process print after H.M. Paget, 1899., Henry Marriott Paget (Public Domain Mark 1.0).