Cameron, Bennehan, 1854-1925

Bennehan Cameron, planter, railroad executive, industrialist, and promoter of good roads, of Fairntosh and Stagville plantations, Durham County, N.C., and Raleigh, N.C.

From the description of Bennehan Cameron papers, 1866-1962. WorldCat record id: 31693259

Bennehan Cameron was born 9 September 1854, at Fairntosh Plantation, Orange (now Durham) County, N.C., the ninth child and second son of Paul Carrington (1808-1891) and Anne Ruffin (1814-1897) Cameron. He attended Hughes School, Cedar Grove, N.C., 1866-1868; Horner Academy, Oxford, N.C., 1868-1871; Eastman's Business College, Poughkeepsie, N.Y., summer 1871; and the Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Va., 1871-1875. He then studied law and was admitted to the North Carolina State Bar in 1877. In 1881 he took over the management of his father's plantation at Stagville, Durham County, and, after his brother Duncan's death in 1886, ran Fairntosh Plantation as well. At Stagville Cameron established a dairy, while Fairntosh became the center of his horse-breeding activities.

Cameron was active in both state and national agricultural and political organizations. From 1877 to 1897 he was a member of the North Carolina Adjutant General's staff; from 1891 to 1925, a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of North Carolina; president of the North Carolina Agricultural Society, 1896-1897; and vice-president, 1901-1906, then president, 1907-1909, of the Farmers' National Congress. He served in the North Carolina House of Representatives, 1915-1916 and 1919-1920, and in the state Senate, 1917-1918 and 1921-1922. He was active in the Good Roads movement and was first vice-president, 1918-1919, then president, 1920-1925, of the Bankhead National Highway Association. He was also interested in railroad construction and was instrumental in the consolidation of the Seaboard Air Line system. Among his other business interests were the Rocky Mount Mills, a cotton textile mill, the Morehead Banking Company, Durham, N.C., and the First National Bank of Durham.

Bennehan Cameron married Sallie Taliaferro Mayo (1865-1932) of Richmond, Va., in October 1891. She was the daughter of Peter H. Mayo, tobacco merchant and member of General Robert E. Lee's staff. Bennehan and Sallie had four children, including: Paul Carrington (1892-1895); Isabella Mayo (1899-1983); Anne Ruffin (28 January-2 July 1902); and Sallie Taliaferro (1903-1985). Cameron died June 1, 1925, at Raleigh, N.C., and is buried at St. Matthews Episcopal Church, Hillsborough.

Because so much of the collection involves members of the Cameron family, a genealogical chart is included in the Appendix.

From the guide to the Bennehan Cameron Papers, ., 1866-1962, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.)