Jean Cameron

Jean Cameron of Glendessary ( – 1772) was a member of the Scottish gentry and a Jacobite, said to have been involved in the Jacobite rising of 1745, during which Charles Edward Stuart attempted to reclaim the British throne for his father. Popularly known as Jenny Cameron, or Bonnie Jeanie Cameron, she became a Jacobite heroine after a number of sensationalised accounts of her life and deeds during the rising were published. Background Jean Cameron was the daughter of Allan Cameron (d. ) of Glendessary, who had previously been involved in the 1715 Jacobite rising. The Camerons of Glendessary, who held land in Morvern, were a junior branch of the family of Cameron of Lochiel, hereditary chiefs of Clan Cameron, descended from Allan Cameron of Lochiel, XVI Chief. Jean was further connected with the Camerons of Lochiel through her mother Christian Cameron, a daughter of Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel, XVII Chief by his third wife. She had two brothers: John (c.1715-1758) the senior brother and heir, and Allan. Few details of her life can be established; she is said to have married an Irish army officer called O'Neill, but was widowed and returned to Scotland.