Robert was the middle child of seven. His father was a coalminer and all of his sons, including Robert, followed him down the pit. The family moved from place to place around the North of England, living in Cumberland and Northumberland.
In 1861 Robert was at the family home in Medomsley in the North-East but not for long: soon afterwards he made the comparatively major journey to Derbyshire. Two years later he married Esther Ward who lived in Cavendish Square with her widowed mother and family. Robert and Esther settled in The Square and remained there for the rest of their lives.
The last time we see Robert at the age of 55 in 1891, he was still working as a coalminer, but now he’s a day labourer. He would go every day to see if there was work for him on what we would now call a zero-hours contract. His 21-year-old son Fred, though, was a groom. Maybe my Grandma Lily wasn’t the only one in the Square who was determined to keep her son out of the pit!
Father of Florence and son of Joseph and Elizabeth Cameron
Baptised Robert Cameron on 18 October 1835 in Dearham, Cumberland
Married Esther Ward on 16 November 1863
Died sometime between 1891 and 1901