Our Cameron History begins with our first recorded ancestor, John McPhail of Ayeon. We have not found the date of birth or death of our John McPhail only the christening records of his two children to establish him as our first ancestor. In the 1708, Parrish records show, "John McPhail in Ayeon had a child bap. July 28 called William" and in 1710, "John McPhail in Ayeon had a child bap. Septer 26 day called Isobell". When the son William McPhail later changed his name before marriage to William Cameron alias McPhail it established John McPhail as our first ancestor and William Cameron alias McPhail as our first ancestor named Cameron. William Cameron alias McPhail, named his first son, James Cameron alias McPhail. Both later dropped the alias McPhail concurring with the disappearance of all aliases by the 1770s.
Greg Blackburn who lives in New Zealand and is a relative of Diana Mackie provided her with a very good study of the use of patronymic names and aliases that we will apply to our ancestors history to explain the name change. The use of aliases made their first appearance in 1741 and disappeared by 1770s as noted. When William McPhail changed his patronymic name of McPhail to William Cameron alias McPhail it showed a past relationship to the ancestral Cameron family name. There would have been implicit community awareness of each specific 'family' descent line and its significance. We don't know why William Cameron alias McPhail named his first son, James Cameron alias McPhail, instead of John Cameron alias McPhail which should have been the case if he followed the rigid Scottish custom of naming the first born after the grandfather John McPhail. It does indicate perhaps a past ancestor of John McPhail with the first name of James whom we have not found.
Clan McPhail was a major sept or subunit of Clan Cameron of Lochiel whose home was in the western highlands of Scotland. Clan McPhail began their history in Inverness Parish, which is located half way between the western highlands and the home of our ancestors in Inveravon Parish, Banif-shire in Eastern Scotland. Today Clan McPhail has languished and does not even have a Clan Chief. John McPhail or his ancestors may have emigrated to Inveravon in search of better farming. In all probability they may have sought a better life in an area with more crofts available in what was becoming the home of whiskey distillers. With the many nearby Cameron families in Inveravon Parish and feudal Clan loyalty it is possible that the McPhail family may have assumed the Cameron name out of strong relationship to other Cameron families and the Clan McPhail loyalty to Clan Cameron of Lochiel.
We should also review conditions in Scotland in the early and middle 1700s, the time of our first ancestors and the status of Clan Cameron of Lochiel. The early 17th century saw the beginning of the First Jacobite Rebellion known as the "Rising". The first attempt in 1715 to restore James Edward to the throne ended swiftly in defeat. New attempts were made by the British to control the unruly 'North' as roads were built and new regiments raised. However in 1745 Bonnie Prince Charles arrived from France to try and establish his father as King. Despite previous victories at Prestonpans and Falkirk the Risings ended in the disastrous 1746 Battle of Culloden. In that battle 400 out of 650 to 700 Cameron of Lochiel men where slaughtered in the front lines. These men were regarded as one of the strongest Jacobite units and as elite. It is evident that they stood to fight and did not retreat as the other units did in the confusion of the battle, which was marked by little communication between the Scottish regiments. The British troops had spent the winter of 1745 in Aberdeen before marching north to Culloden through Banff which was close to where William McPhail lived in Inveravon. After the battle in Inverness to the West, the British soldiers took what they wanted and persecuted many of the clans including Camerons. The Camerons of Inveravon fortunately escaped this persecution. Also in the early 1700's there were numerous illicit distilleries hidden in the hills to avoid excise taxes and it was an era of constant fighting, burning and killing. As producers of the grains needed by the distillers, the farmers avoided this conflict and were able to prosper.
Both the father John McPhail and the son William Cameron alias McPhail spent there lives on the Ayoun croft. It was a small farm consisting of a house, a one story barn and a small plot of land. Indications are that both father and son struggled to make a living on the small farm possible accounting for the son's late marriage to Anne Grant. William Cameron did not marry until he was 46 years old in 1754 when he married Anne Grant, then only 18. It is shown on the tenant record in Ballindaloch Castle that William Cameron paid his rent in 1763 for Ayoun. His son James Cameron alias McPhail, when he married, was able to rent a small farm at Auchbreck, 10 miles south. This farm is near Dalchirach where Jame's wife Anne Hay was born and is probably the reason for moving to this area. No christening record is found for the first 3 children of James but children 4-6 where born at Auchbreck. James then moved to the much larger croft, Garline Farm, near Ayoun and his father and raised all his family there. It is believed that Anne Hay through her family may have enabled James to rent the Garline Farm croft.