[1] Cameron was born in Glengarry County, Upper Canada on July 25, 1825 to Duncan Cameron (c. 1764–1848), a prominent fur trader with the North West Company who represented Glengarry in the Upper Canadian House of Assembly during the 9th Parliament, and Margaret MacLeod.

[1] In 1852, during the Australian gold rushes, Cameron chartered a ship to take supplies and passengers from New York to Australia.

Cameron generally focused on trade routes between New York and Australia, linking with New Zealand, England, and certain areas in Asia, transporting kerosene and farm machinery as well as Australian wool.

Among the horses bred at Clifton Stud was Glenelg, the 1869 Travers Stakes winner and a four-time Leading sire in North America.

[8] Together, they were the parents of two sons and five daughters, including:[9] In New York City, Cameron lived at 149 Second Avenue, in Staten Island, he lived at Rosebank, where he had Frederick Law Olmsted design his gardens,[29] and in Canada, he has a home in Tadoussac, Quebec, which had been owned by the former Governor General of Canada, the Marquess of Dufferin and Ava.

[1] In declining health, Roderick Cameron was visiting England when he died on October 19, 1900,[3] at the Hyde Park Hotel.