12 Facts About Evelyn Cameron

Evelyn Cameron was a photographer and diarist of the American West, who documented her life as a pioneer near Terry, Montana from the late 1890s onward.

Evelyn Cameron is best known for her photography chronicling the early life of settlers in Eastern Montana, depicting cowboys, sheepherders, weddings, river crossings, freight wagons, ranch work, badlands, eagles, coyotes and wolves.

Evelyn Cameron was the eighth child of her father's second marriage, with three surviving older brothers and one older sister.

Evelyn Cameron received the traditional education given to young women of the upper class, and could speak Italian, German, and French.

However, Evelyn Cameron was noted for preferring outdoor activities, such as horseback riding and hunting to traditional domestic activities, even before her move to the wilds of Montana.

Ewen Somerled Cameron was a family friend of the Flowers, and a hunting companion of Evelyn's oldest brother, Percy Flower.

Over a decade Evelyn Cameron's senior, he was a Scotsman inhabiting the Orkney Islands, dedicated to ornithology, hunting and equestrian pursuits.

Ewen and Evelyn Cameron began their first journey to Montana in 1889, arriving across the Atlantic Ocean in New York City in September, shortly after Evelyn Cameron's twenty-first birthday, on which she inherited a generous trust from her deceased father's will and became financially independent from her family, who disapproved of her venture to America with a married man.

Evelyn Cameron was introduced to photography by a boarder at their ranch house, and in July 1894, Ewen purchased their first camera.

Mr Colley added to Evelyn Cameron's knowledge of photography and was a partner in her experiments to improve her work, by practicing different shutter times and processing methods.

Evelyn Cameron was frequently requested at public gatherings and life events, to photograph weddings, family portraits and, by her husband, wildlife.

Evelyn Cameron garnered national acclaim for the area through the work of former Time-Life Books editor, Donna Lucey.