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 1 
 
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 6 
 

 ARMORIAL BEARINGS OF THE CLAN ERASER, 
 
 With thk M.um.k Li:af Entwinkh for Canapa. 
 
 j^HttK' 
 
THE 
 
 CLAN FRASER 
 
 IN CANADA 
 
 Soupenir 
 
 oflt^e 
 
 ^irst Clnnual (Batt^erincj 
 
 Coronto, iUaij 5tlj, 189^. 
 
 BY 
 
 ALEXANDER FRASER 
 
 (mac-piiionnlaidii) 
 
 TORONTO : 
 Mail Job Printini; Co. 
 .895. 
 
J 
 
 Prefatory Note 
 
 '>-7#"<' 
 
 HE chief object aimed at by the pubH- 
 cation of this httle volume is to furnish, 
 in a concise and inexpensive form, 
 information regarding the Clan Fraser 
 not readily accessible to clansmen in 
 Canada. It is also hoped a perusal of 
 the contents will strengthen the clan sentiment, and deepen 
 the interest in the ancient clan bond and in the long and 
 illustrious history of the Clan. But the book being essentially 
 aii account of the first Annual Gathering held by the Clan 
 in the Province of Ontario, it will be an interesting 
 souvenir of that pleasant event ; and probably the hope may 
 not be too sanguine that its appearance will mark an onward 
 step in the record of the Clan in the Dominion. 
 
 The publication has been undertaken under the auspices, 
 of the newly-formed Clan -Fraser in Canada, and the thanks 
 of the editor are due to Professor W. H. Fraser, of Toronto 
 University, and to Mr. Alexander Fraser (of Fraserfield, 
 Glengarry), the IVinting Committee of the Clan ; also to 
 Mr. J. Lewis Browne, for the music to which the "Fraser 
 Drinking Song," written by Mrs. Georgina Fraser-Newhall, 
 has been set. 
 
 ToF^ONTo, February, 1895. 
 
 A. F. 
 
Contents. 
 
 P.\(iK. 
 
 Introduction g 
 
 Fraser's Hig'hianders 1 1 
 
 Sevonty-First Regiment 15 
 
 Fraser De Berry's Organization .... 16 
 
 Formation of the Clan Fraser in Canada 21 
 
 First Annual Clan Dinner 22 
 
 Toast of "The Clan," containing references to : — 
 
 Origin of the Clan, Change of Surnames 31 
 
 Origin of the Name "Fraser"— The Norman-French Theory 37 
 
 Mr. Skene's Position Criticised 3g 
 
 The Bond between Lord Lovat and the Marquis de la FVezelitre 40 
 
 Scottish Origin of the Name 42 
 
 Mr. Homer Dixon's Argument 4^ 
 
 The Frasers in the Lowlands 
 
 45 
 
 The Clan Fraser Established in the Highlands 49 
 
 Succession of the Chiefs :^o 
 
 Alexander of Beaufort -(, 
 
 Succession of the Strichen Family. c8 
 
 A Curious Prediction :^q 
 
 Reply to the Toast 62 
 
 A Guest Honored 5- 
 
 Toast of "The Clan in Canada. " 67 
 
 " "Distinguished Clansmen " --■> 
 
 In Art -\ 
 
 In Science -5 
 
 In Literature j^i 
 
 111 Theology g- 
 
 In War gg 
 
 In Politics 
 
 Organization of the Clan 
 
 Georgina Fraser-Newhall 
 
 Fraser's Drinking Song q5 
 
 Simon Fraser, Discoverer of the Fraser River 
 
 Simon Lord Lovat, beheaded on Tower Hill 
 
 Brigadier Simon Fraser 
 
 Second Annual Dinner 
 
 Constitution and By-laws of the Clan 
 
 List of Officers 
 
 Illustrations : 
 
 Frontfspiece— Armorial Bearings of the Clan. 
 
 Menu and Toast List Card 
 
 Alexander Fraser (MacFhionnlaidh) 
 
 Robert Lovat Fraser g ' 
 
 Ex-Mayor John Fraser 
 
 William A. Fraser 
 
 Georgina Fraser-Newhall 
 
 Simon, Fourteenth Lord Lovat 
 
 Brigadier Simon Fraser 
 
 90 
 92 
 93 
 
 98 
 103 
 104 
 107 
 no 
 1 12 
 
 23 
 33 
 
 75 
 79 
 94 
 
 102 
 
 10 
 
 ;i 
 
r 
 
Introductory 
 
 [HE Gael has proved himself not less a pioneer 
 of civilization, and adaptable to changing 
 conditions of living, than a lover of the tra- 
 ditions of his race, holding tenaciously by 
 ancient usages and manners, and stirred pro- 
 foundly by racial sentiment. As a pioneer he has 
 reached " the ends of the earth," possessing the 
 unoccupied parts of the world. As a patriot he 
 has established not a few of his cherished customs 
 in the land of his adoption. His love of kindred 
 is probably his most notable characteristic ; it found 
 embodiment in the clan system, under which his 
 race achieved its greatest triumphs and enjoyed its greatest 
 glories, and the bond of clanship, with its inspiring memories, 
 the true clansman will never disregard. While the clan system, 
 as such, would be impracticable in the British colonies under 
 present-day conditions, even more so than in its old home in 
 the Highlands of Scotland, its spirit lives, leavening the 
 system of government and exercising no small influence in 
 the fusio.i of heterogeneous elements into new and distinct 
 peoples. 
 
 These observations are applicable in a peculiar degree 
 to Canada, where a very large number of clansmen have 
 
 fi 
 
lO 
 
 THE IRASEKS IN CANADA. 
 
 found a second Highland home. Many of the forests which 
 rang with the clash of the claymore in the struggle for British 
 supremacy, fell afterwards to the axe of the Gaelic settler. 
 His trail lies across the continent, from ocean to ocean. His 
 energy and intelligence have been honorably felt in every 
 walk of life, and his enterprise and skill have done much to 
 develop and upbuild the Dominion. No body of people 
 occupies a more distinguished place in this respect than the 
 Erasers ; indeed, even among the clans, no name is more 
 closely identified than that of " Fraser " with the early days 
 of Canada. To tell of their services on the field, in govern- 
 ment, in commerce, in the professions, would occupy a large 
 volume, as would a similar story of other clans, and an attempt 
 to do so, in an introductory chapter, would be altogether out 
 of place, but there are a few events of importance to the 
 country in which the Erasers figured to which it will be 
 well to allude with fitting brevity. 
 
 Those who hold the Norman theory believe the first 
 of the name of " Fraser " in Scotland, " came over with 
 William the Conqueror," and they ask no better proof of the 
 antiquity of the name. If the early connection of the Clan 
 with Canada be any satisfaction to clansmen there, then it 
 may be stated with truth that the first settlers of the name 
 " came over with Wolfe the Conqueror," and their services 
 were as conspicuous in the military operations conducted by 
 the intrepid young General, who gave his life for his country 
 on the Plains of Abraham, as were those performed by any 
 brave knight, whose name may be found on the roll of Battle 
 Abbey. 
 
 The story of Eraser's Highlanders forms one of the 
 most romantic chapters in the annals of the clans, and should 
 
 I 
 
FRASER S HIGHLANDERS. 
 
 It 
 
 the time come when it is fairly and fully given to the world, 
 it will prove a valuable addition to the history of Highland 
 life and of earlv Canada. 
 
 For the part taken by the Clan in the uprising of 1745, 
 Lord Simon was beheaded on Tower Hill and the Fraser 
 estates were forfeited to the Crown. The Master of Lovat 
 appeared at the head of the Clan on the Stuart side ; but, as 
 he was young at the time and had acted by his father's com- 
 mand, he was pardoned, and in 1757, in accordance with the 
 wise, conciliatory policy of Mr. Pitt, he was commissioned to 
 raise a regiment of his clansmen, of which he was appointed 
 Lieutenant-Colonel commanding. In General Stewart's 
 Sketches a brief but interesting account of this, the old 
 Seventy-Eighth Regiment, is given, an extract from which 
 will show the strength of the clan ties then existing, and the 
 high character of the men who were raised on the Lovat 
 territory. General Stewart says : " Without estate, money 
 or influence, beyond that influence which flowed from attach- 
 ment to his family, person and name, this gentleman (the 
 Master of Lovat), in a few weeks found himself at the head 
 of 800 men, recruited by himself. The gentlemen of the 
 country and the officers of the regiment added more than 
 700, and thus a battalion was formed of 13 companies of 105 
 rank and file each, making in all 1,460 men, including 65 ser- 
 geants and 30 pipers and drummers." All accounts concur in 
 describing this regiment as a superior body of men ; their 
 character and actions raised the military reputation and gave 
 a favorable impression of the moral virtues of the sons of the 
 mountains. The uniform was the full Highland dress, with 
 musket and broadsword, dirk and sporran of badger's or otter's 
 skin. The bonnet was raised or cocked on one side, with 
 
THE KILT IN CANADA. 
 
 a slight bend inclining down to fhe right ear, over which were 
 suspended two or more black feathers. 
 
 The regiment emba-ked at Greenock, and landed at 
 Halifax in June, 1757, and followed the fortunes of the war for 
 six years. " On all c-casions," says Stewart, " this brave 
 body of men sustained a uniform character for un.shaken firm- 
 ness, incorruptible probity and a strict regard both to military 
 and moral duties." Their chaplain was a man of note as of 
 stature. His name was Robert Macpherson, but he was 
 known in the regin- -nt as An Caipeal Mor, being of large 
 physique. He exercised the traditional authority of a High- 
 lane minister, and we are told that the men were always 
 anxious to conceal thair misdemeanors from him. 
 
 The cold climate, it was feared, would prove too severe 
 to the Frasers, who wore the kilt, and an attempt, kindly 
 conceived, no doubt, was made to change the "garb of old 
 Gaul " for the trews. The proposal aroused strenuous oppo- 
 sition ; officers and men opposed the change and finally were 
 successful. The strength of feeling awakened may be judged 
 from the words of one of the soldiers in the regiment : 
 '• Thanks to our generous chief, we were allowed to wear the 
 garb of our fathers, and, in the course of six winters, showed 
 the doctors that they did not understand our constitution ; for 
 in the coldest winters our men were more healthy than those 
 regiments that wore breeches and warm clothing." A some- 
 what amusing anecdote is related of how the Nuns of 
 the Ursulinc Convent, where the Frasers were quartered 
 in 1759-60, endeavored to Induce Governor Murray to be 
 allowed to provide sufficient raiment for the kilted soldiers, 
 but, of course, without success. 
 
MILITARY CHARACTER. 
 
 13 
 
 
 At Louisburg, Montmorenci, Ste. Foye and on the Plains 
 of Abraham, the Erasers distinguished themselves greatly. 
 One of the most eloquent tributes to their prowess was spoken 
 by the Hon. P. J. O. Chauveau, the French-Canadian, at the 
 inauguration in 1855 of the Statue of Bellona sent by Prince 
 Napoleon for the monument erected on the famous battlefield. 
 The French-Canadian historian Garneau, and other writers 
 in whose veins courses the blood of the vanquished at Quebec, 
 have borne generous testimony to their military bearing and 
 good conduct. Garneau writes of the battle of Carillon, 1758: 
 "It was the right of the trench works that was longest and 
 most obstinately assailed ; in that quarter the combat was 
 most sanguinary. The British Grenadiers and Highlanders 
 there persevered in the attack tor three hours, without flinch- 
 ing or breaking rank. The Highlanders above all, under 
 Lord John Murray, covered themselves with glory. They 
 formed the troops confronting the Canadians, their ligiit and 
 picturesque costumes distinguishing them from all other 
 soldiers amid the flames and smoke. The corps lost the hjilf 
 of its men, and twenty- five of its officers were killed or severely 
 wounded ;" and the genial Le Moine, half Highland and half 
 French, says: "The Frasers of 1759 and of 1775 readily 
 courted danger or death in that great duel which was to graft 
 progress and liberty on that loved emblem of Canada, the 
 pride of its forests — the Maple Tree. If at times one feels 
 pained at the ferocity which marked the conflict and which 
 won for Frasers Highlanders at Quebec, the name Lex Sau- 
 vat^es d' Ecosse* one feels relieved, seeing that the meeting 
 was inevitable, that the sturdy sons of Caledonia, in Levis' 
 
 * It is but fair to state that Fraser's Highlanders showed no more fej-ocity than the usages of 
 war justified. There were barbarous atrocities committed, undoubtedly, but for these, the Highlandem 
 were not responsible. -A.F. 
 
14 
 
 THE FIRST SETTLERS. 
 
 heroic Grenadiers, did find a foe worthy of their steel. Scotch- 
 men, on the field of Ste. Foye. in deadly encounter with 
 Frances impetuous warriors, doubtless acknowledged that 
 the latter were not unworthy descendants of those whom they 
 had helped to rout England's soldiery on the fields of Brange 
 Crevant and Verneuil." 
 
 At the close of the war many of the officers and men 
 settled in the Provinces of Quebec and Nova Scotia, having 
 obtained their discharge and grants of land in the New World. 
 It was not long ago computed that the descendants of these 
 Highlanders in the Province of Quebec numbered 3,000 but 
 merged in the French-Canadian peasantry to such an extent 
 that even the names have lost their original form. In Nova 
 Scotia the name Fraser flourishes in every township of every 
 county. There have been many accessions to the Clan since 
 the days of the Seventy-Eighth and the Battle of the Plains 
 but at least four-fifths of those bearing the Clan name in 
 Canada to-day, trace their descent from the victorious clans- 
 men of Cape Breton and Quebec. 
 
 On the outbreak of the American War the Royal High- 
 land Emigrants were embodied, and in that regiment, com- 
 manded by the gallant Lieut.-Colonel Allan MacLean (son of 
 lorloisk), 300 men who had belonged to Eraser's regiment 
 enlisted In the interval between the cession of Canada and 
 the American War, the Lovat estate, were restored to the 
 Master of Lovat, for his eminent services (the title was kept in 
 aj^eyance), and he was asked to raise a regiment, the Seventy- 
 First, of two battalions. This he speedily accomplished and 
 soon found himself at the head of a double regiment number- 
 ing 2,340 officers and men. They behaved with the highest 
 distinction throughout the war and earned flattering encomiums 
 
SEVENTY-FIRST REGIMENT. 
 
 15 
 
 from the commanding officers. General Stewart, than whom 
 no more competent authority has written of Highland regi- 
 ments, and but few who have understood Highland character 
 better, whose Sketches have furnished facts to all subsequent 
 writers on the subject, speaks of the Seventy-First, Eraser's 
 Highlanders, thus : "Their moral conduct was in every way 
 equal to their military character. Disgraceful punishments 
 were unknown. Among men religious, brave, moral and 
 humane, disgraceful punishments are unnecessary. Such 
 being the acknowledged general character of these men, 
 their loyalty was put to the test and proved to be genuine. 
 When prisoners, and solicited by the Americans to join 
 their standard and settle among them, not one individual 
 violated the oath he had taken, or forgot his fidelity or 
 allegiance, a virtue not generally observed on that occa- 
 sion, for many soldiers of other corps joined the Ameri- 
 cans, and sometimes, indeed, entered their service in a 
 body." The Seventy- First did not leave many behind as 
 settlers, and the reference to it here is only permissible as 
 illustrating the high character of the Clan, of which the 
 Seventy-Eighth, which left its quota of settlers behind, 
 formed an important part. General Simon Eraser's inti- 
 mate connection with Canada, as commanding officer of 
 Eraser's Highlanders (1757), and in other interesting 
 respects, may suffice as a reason why a good anecdote of 
 him may be here related. When the Seventy-First mustered 
 at Glasgow, Lochiel was absent, being ill at London. His 
 absence had not, evidently, been explained to his company, 
 for they demurred to embark without their chief ; they feared 
 some misfortune had befallen him. General Eraser had a 
 command of elocjuent speech and he succeeded in persuading 
 
i6 
 
 FRASER DE KERRY. 
 
 them to embark with their comrades It is related that while 
 he W.XS speaking in Gaelic to the men. an old Highlander 
 who had accompanied his son to Glasgow, was leaning on his 
 staff gazmg at the General with great earnestness. When 
 he had finished, the old man walked up to him and, with that 
 easy familiar intercourse, which in those days subsisted 
 betw-een the Highlanders and their superiors, shook him by 
 the hand, exclaiming '' Simon, you are a good soldier, and 
 speak like a man ; so long as you live. Simon of Lovat will 
 never die ;" alluding to the General's address and manner 
 which was said to resemble much that of his father Lord 
 Lovat, whom the old Highlanders knew perfectly 
 
 The De Bekrv Organization. 
 We have now seen the origin of the Erasers in Canada • 
 they came in war, but the swords were readily turned into 
 ploughshares, and the arts of peace cultivated with a con- 
 stancy and success that equalled their intrepidity and valor 
 on the battlefield. Years rolled on, the Clan multiplied and 
 prospered, and. in the course of time, a project was entered 
 upon for the formation of a new Clan Eraser on Canadian 
 soil The leading spirit of the movement was the Hon 
 John Fraser de Berry, a member for the Legislative Council 
 of the Province of Quebec. A meeting of Frasers was held 
 m response to the following public advertisement : 
 
 ERASER CLAN. 
 THE Erasers of the Province of Quebec are respectfully requested to 
 
 ZTJ t" ''"^^"- ''"""^^ ' '^^^^'^ ^^ ^'^•' -^ the Lower Towl! 
 guebec. on Sat.rdav. the twenty-fifth day of January. ,868, at Ten 
 
 ' ° 'r ^'"■:. ; '""u' "'° -"-'^--^-n the advisability of organiZ 
 
 the '< Clan for the Dominion of Canada. organizing 
 
 John Eraser de Berrv, a. Eraser, 
 
 A. Eraser, Sr., A. Eraser. Jr.. 
 
 J. R= Eraser, p^^„^ p^^^^ 
 
 John Eraser, j, Fraser. 
 
 January 21, 1868. 
 
 
MEETING AT QUEBEC. 
 
 17 
 
 
 f 
 
 At this meeting preliminary steps were taken to further 
 the object in view, and another meeting was held on February 
 8th, 1868, of which the following report has been taken from 
 the Quebec Mei-cury : 
 
 At a meeting of the " Frasers " of the Province of Que- 
 bec, held at Mrs. Brown's City Hotel, on the 8th February, 
 1868, Alexander Fraser, Esq., notary, ex-Member for the 
 County of Kamouraska, now resident in Quebec, in the 
 chair ; Mr. Omer Fraser, of St. Croix, acting as Secretary. 
 1. It was unanimously resolved : 
 
 That it is desirable that the family of " Frasers " do 
 organize themselves into a clan with a purely and benevolent 
 social object, and, with that view, they do now proceed to such 
 organization by recommending the choice of 
 A Chief for the Dominion of Canada ; 
 A Chief for each province ; 
 A Chief for each electoral division ; 
 A Chief for each county ; 
 A Chief for each locality and township. 
 
 2. That the Chief of the Dominion of Canada be named 
 " The Fraser," and that he be chosen at a general meeting 
 of the Frasers of all the provinces ; the said meeting to 
 be held on the second Thursday in the month of May next, 
 at ten o'clock in the forenoon, in such place in the City of 
 Ottawa as will then be designated. 
 
 3. That it is desirable that the Chief of the Province of 
 Quebec and the Chiefs of the electoral divisions represented 
 at said meeting be chosen forthwith ; a ad that the Chief 
 elected for this province be authorized and empowered to 
 name the Chiefs for such divisions as are not represented at 
 present, the said selection shall, however, be subject to the 
 
i8 
 
 PROVISIONAL CONSTITUTION. 
 
 approbation of the Frasers of the division interested, who 
 w, 1 make the same known at a meeting to be called without 
 delay, by the Chief of the Province of Quebec, with the view 
 to proceed to the nomination of the Chiefs of counties com- 
 prehended in the said division. 
 
 4. That Chiefs of counties be obliged to convene also 
 without delay, a meeting by which shall be chosen all the 
 Chiefs of parishes or townships. 
 
 5. That it shall be the duty of the Chief chosen for 
 a parish or township to report to the Chief of his county as 
 early as possible, the number of Frasers residing in his 
 parish or township; and of the Chief of the county in his 
 town, to report to the Chief of his electoral division, who will 
 transmit it, together with his own report, to the Chief of his 
 province ; the said report to contain the number of Frasers 
 m his division, in order that the force of the Clan in each 
 provmce may be ascertained on the ,4th of May next, at the 
 meeting at Ottawa. 
 
 6- That it is advisable that the meeting at Ottawa, repre- 
 senting ail the Clan, be composed of all its divers Chiefs 
 from the Chiefs of provinces, even to the Chiefs of parishes 
 or townships inclusively, and any other Frasers who may 
 desire to attend at the same. 
 
 7. That the above resolutions and the nominations, which 
 are to take place this day, or which may be made hereafter 
 by the Chiet of the province, shall be considered as prelimin- 
 ary and tem,,orary, as they are made with the sole object of 
 organizing the Clan, and not to bind in any manner whatever 
 the Frasers, who will be at perfect liberty to reorganize 
 themselves completely anew at the Ottawa meeting 
 
PROVISIONAL CONSTITUTION. 
 
 19 
 
 8. That the Clan shall not be considered to exist until 
 and after the next anniversary or Dominion Day, the first of 
 July next, under such rules and regulations as will be adopted 
 at the meeting at Ottawa ; the Erasers of this meeting 
 protest energetically against any intention, which might be 
 attributed to them, of dictating their will to their namesakes 
 of this province ; they are simply attempting to organize and 
 with a benevolent object, to adopt temporarily the above 
 resolutions the better to attain that end. 
 
 9. That the sister provinces of Ontario, Nova Scotia 
 and New Brunswick be respectfully requested to organize 
 themselves, and to send delegates to the meeting at Ottawa, 
 on the fourteenth of May next, that time having been 
 selected because in all probability the parliament will still be 
 in session, and the members may attend the session before 
 dispersing. 
 
 10. That all proceedings be respectfully submitted to the 
 " Fraser " family, which is one of the most ancient, one of th- 
 most noble, one of the most influential, and one of the most 
 numerous families of the Dominion of Canada. 
 
 11. That all the newspapers throughout the Dominion 
 of Canada, who have subscribers of the name of Fraser, are 
 requested to publish the proceedings of this meeting. 
 
 After which the meeting proceeded to the nomination of 
 the following officers, who were unanimously elected : 
 I. To be the Chief of the Province of Ouebec : 
 The Honorable John Fraser de Berry. Esquire, one 
 of the members of the Legislative Council of the said Prov- 
 ince, etc., being the fifty-eighth descendant of Jules de Berry, 
 a rich and powerful lord (seigneur) who feasted sumptuously 
 
I 
 
 20 
 
 THE OFFICERS. 
 
 the E,ni,eror Charlemange, and his numerous suite, at his 
 castle m Normandy, in the eighth century. 
 
 11. For the following electoral divisions • 
 ^^^Lau.on.~T„OMAS Fka.skk, Esquire, farmer, of Pointe 
 
 /Ceun,iec.~SiMo« Fraser, Esquire, of St Croix 
 of 3^^;^;^^~— A-XA...R Fraskr, Esquire, farmer, 
 
 les La,r.„,,W.s.-\V^,uA,, p,,,,„ Esquire, of Lake 
 ot. John, Chicoutimi. 
 
 Grand'.u^U.-JuA,, Et.ennk Frasek. Esquire, Notary 
 
 Not. T ^f f ^"''^-"--Aeexanoek Phaser, Esquire,' 
 Notary. St. Roch, Quebec. 
 
 The meeting having voted thanks to the President and 
 Secretary, then adjourned. 
 
 ALEX. FRASER, 
 
 Prendent. 
 
 OMER FRASER, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
 There was a good response to the call for the general 
 meetmg, letters having been sent broadcast over the Domin- 
 jon. As chief of the Erasers of British North America, the 
 Hon. James Fraser de Ferraline, in the Province of Nova 
 Scot.a was elected. He was a scion of the Ferraline and 
 Gorthhc families of the Clan. One hundred and eleven ,sub- 
 ord„,ate chieftains of provinces and districts were elected and 
 Mr. John Fraser de Berry was appointed Secretary to the 
 New Uan Fraser," as i. was called. For various reasons, 
 ch,ef among them being, probably, its elaborate constitution 
 and the intangible purposes for which it was called into exist- 
 ence, the organization did not make satisfactory headway and 
 
CLAN ORGANIZATION. 
 
 21 
 
 IIS 
 
 in the course of not many years it fViiled to attract any public 
 attention whatever, and ceased to exist. In its brief career 
 it gathered some interesting information about the clansmen. 
 In a report drawn up by the Secretary, De Berry, whose 
 exertions on its behalf were unwearying, it is stated that 
 there were then over 12.000 persons, men, women and child- 
 ren ot the name Fraser, some speaking French, not one of 
 whom was a day laborer, or "earning daily wages." but all 
 in comfortable circumstances, many in positions of honour and 
 trust. 
 
 FORMATION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 CLAN FRASER IN CANADA 
 
 Although Mr. John Fraser de Berry's scheme failed it 
 was believed that there was room for a less pretentious and 
 more practicable clan organization in Canada, There was 
 litde diminution of the clan feeling ; the desire of those having 
 the same origin and name, the same glorious clan history, in 
 common, to enjoy a friendly intercourse, was natural and 
 reasonable, and at length it assumed a practical form. Early 
 in the spring of 1894 a meeting was held in the office of the 
 Toronto Daily Mail, at which there were present : Messrs. 
 George B. Fraser, commission agent ; Robert Lovat Fraser, 
 barrister; Alexander R. Fraser, druggist; Dr. J. B. Fraser, 
 physician ; Alexander Fraser (of Fraserfield, Glengarry) 
 Secretary to the Boiler Inspection Company ; W. H. Eraser! 
 Professor of Languages at the Toronto University ; W. A. 
 Fraser, civil engineer and contractor ; W. P. Fraser, clerk, 
 
r 
 
 ">"> 
 
 FIRST ANNUAL DINNER. 
 
 I 
 
 Dom„„o„ Bank ; Andrew Fraser, commercial traveller ■ and 
 Alexander Fraser, of the editorial staff of the Daily Mail. 
 Ino last named, descended from the Clan Mhic Fhionnlaidh 
 sept of the Stray Frasers, was appointed chairman of the 
 meeting and Mr. W. A. Fraser. also descended from good 
 btrathglass stock, was appointed .Secretary. All agreed that a 
 clan organization ought to be formed and as a first step it was 
 thought well to test the feeling of the clansmen at a family 
 d.nner, which it was decided should be held on May jth ,894 
 Those present formed themselves into a committee to make 
 arrangements for holding the dinner and the chairn,an and 
 secretary of the meeting were appointed chairman and secre- 
 tary of the committee. Invitations were sent to every mem- 
 ber of the Clan in Ontario, Montreal, New York, Buffalo and 
 Detroit, whose name the committee was able to procure and 
 about three hundred replies were received, in which, without 
 exception, an earnest hope for the success of the proposed 
 organization was expressed. The dinner took place as had 
 been decided upon, on May 5th, 1894, at Webb's Restaurant, 
 Toronto, and an account of the proceedings will now be given.' 
 
 THE CLAN DINNER. 
 Although the number that sat around the festive board 
 was much smaller than had been expected, the elements 
 requisite for a successful gathering were stronglv in e^■idence 
 and, as a matter of fact, the inaugural dinned of the Clan 
 turned out to be a most satisfactory event. Many of the 
 absentees had conveyed good reasons for their absence, and 
 hearty greetings to the assembled companv. From a large 
 
"Mor Fhaich" 
 
 ^^'•^k 
 
A chuirm s^aoilte ; chuaias an ceol 
 Aid sholas a'u talln nan /r/aM.— OrsEAN. 
 
 Soup. 
 
 Scotch Broth. 
 
 Sis'?- 
 
 Boiled Sea Salmon from the Cruives of Lovat. 
 Sgadan beag Poll-a-Roid. Pomme Natural, Anchovy Sauce. 
 
 Bread and Butter Rolled. 
 
 (Entrees. 
 
 HAGGIS 
 
 PUNCH A LA ROMAIN.. 
 
 3otnts. 
 
 Roast Beef. Spring Lamb. 
 
 t)egetables. 
 
 Mashed Potatoes. Asparagus. 
 
 French Peas. 
 
 (Entremets. 
 
 Fraser Pudding. 
 Curds and Cream. Oat Cakes. 
 
 Shortbread. Cheese. Biscuits. 
 
 Neapolitan Ice Cream. Nuts. Figs. 
 
 FRUITS. COf-TSS". 
 
 Assorted Fine Cakes. 
 Radishes. 
 Dates. 
 
'■' Smeorach Stratharaiijeig : uiseaii an //r/a/>," Sean-Fiiocai. 
 
 3. 
 
 Sauce. 
 
 6. 
 
 !akes. 
 
 8. 
 
 Ctulb Cang 5yne. 
 
 Cbc Queen. 
 
 " She wroiig-ht her people lasting good. ' 
 
 tEI?e (£I?tef. 
 
 " Tostamaid ar ceann a cinnidh ; 
 Mac-Shimi mor na Morfhaich. 
 
 " M.isUr, go on, and I will follow thoe 
 To the last gasp, with truth and loyalty." 
 
 Bagpipe Music-" Morar Sim." 
 
 Cl?e Clan. 
 
 " I tell you a thing sickerly. 
 That yon men will win or die ; 
 For douht of deid they sail not flee." 
 
 " 'N uair 'thig an cinneadh Frisealach, 
 Tha fios gur daoine borb iad " 
 
 Bagpipe Music-"Caisteal Dunaidh." 
 
 £)ur 6uest&. 
 
 " Sir, you are very welcome to our house." 
 
 Bagpipe Music— "Aird Mhic-Shimi." 
 
 " Highland Fling," by Master Norman Fraser. 
 
 d?e Clan in Canaba. 
 
 " Kindred alike, where'er our skies may shine. 
 Where'er our sight first drank the vital morn." 
 
 Bagpipe Music— "Fhuair Mac-Shimi air ais an Oighearachd." 
 
 Distingutsheb Clansmen. 
 
 " Of singular integrity and learning. 
 Yea, the elect o' the land." 
 
 (a) In Art ; (bt m Science ; (c) in Literature ; 
 (dt in Theology ; (e) in War ; (ff in Political Life. 
 
 Ulje Cables. 
 
 " Disguise our bondage as we will, 
 'Tis woman, woman, rules us still." 
 
 " And when a lady's in the case. 
 You know, all other things give place." 
 
 2)eocE? an Doruis. 
 
 Air{ronn) •'Clementine" 
 
 Deoch an doruis. deoch an doruis, 
 Deoch an doruis, 's i tha ann ; 
 Deoch an doruis, sguab as i, 
 Cha'n eil Mac-na-Bracha gann. 
 
 ©cb Sat>e il^t Queen. 
 
 The bagpipe music will be furnished by Mr. Robert Ireland, Pipe Major of the 
 48th Highlanders, Toronto. 
 
 P* 
 
r 
 
 -J 
 
' I r 
 
 FIRST ANNUAL DINNER. 
 
 ^1 
 
 number of letters it v/ould be difificiilt to make a selection for the 
 reader and the demands of space would prevent it, although 
 some of them are really worth reproducing. Of special 
 interest were the letters from Messrs. O. K. Fraser, Brock- 
 viile ; John Fraser, Wm. Lewis Fraser and Thomas Fraser, 
 New York; P. M. Fraser, St. Thomas; Donald Fraser' 
 Windsor; R. J. Fraser, Barrie ; R. M. Fraser, Goderich ; 
 Rev. R D. Fraser, Bowman ville ; Rev. J. B. Fraser, M.D., 
 Annan ; John Fraser, iMontreal ; W. G. Fraser, Buffalo ; 
 Hon. Christopher Finlay Fraser, and B. Homer Dixon. 
 K.N.L.. Toronto; the last named a Fraser on the maternal 
 side and a gentleman deeply versed in the history of the Clan. 
 The dining hall presented a very attractive appearance. 
 The table was made beautiful with a tastefully arranged and 
 selected display of flowers and plants, and appropriate to the 
 occasion there were stags' heads on the walls, and the Fraser 
 Clan tartan draped the pillars, doorway and windows. There 
 were a number of articles of interest sent by friends, such as 
 finely executed mezzo-tint pictures of Simon Lord Lovat, 
 beheaded in 1747, and of Brigadier Simon Fraser, ihe hero 
 of Saratoga ; and a water-color of the Clan arms, from 
 Mr. B. Homer Dixon ; a map of Inverness-shire, showing 
 the Clan possessions at various stages of its history, with 
 the lands in the hands of cadets of the Clan, a life-size copy 
 of Hogarth's picture of Simon Lord Lovat, the 'Mast of the 
 martyrs," a life-size copy of an engraving of Sir Alexander 
 Fraser of Phillorth, founder of the University of Fraserburgh, 
 sent by the Chairman. 
 
 The menu card, a copy of which has been reproduced 
 for this volume, will be found to have been a clever effort of 
 the artist, Mr. W. A. Fraser, Secretary of Committee. A 
 
28 
 
 LOYALTY TO THE SOVEREIGN. 
 
 representation of the Falls of Foyers is given on the cover, 
 and on the last page a Celtic armorial device surrounded by 
 the names of a number of old Fraser estates. 
 
 The Chairman was Mr. Alexander Fraser (Mac- 
 Fhionnlaidh) ; and the vice-chairs were occupied by Mr. 
 Robert Lovat Fraser, Barrister, Toronto, and ex-Mayor 
 Fraser of Petrolea. A picture of the company is given 
 on another page, which will form an interesting reminis- 
 cence of the happy gathering. From the picture, the face 
 of one who was present at the dinner is unfortunately 
 absent, that of Mr. Henry Sandham Fraser, and that of 
 Mr. Wm. Fraser, of whom a brief notice is given on 
 another page, appears, although he was not present, as he 
 would have been were it not that he was just then stricken 
 down with illness, to which, not long afterwards, he suc- 
 cumbed. The dinner was excellently served, and then came 
 the toast list with the speeches. The first toast was that 
 of : 
 
 "THE QUEEN." 
 
 The Chairman in proposing the health of the Queen 
 said :-Our Clan has invariably been a loyal one. evenTn the 
 rising which terminated so fetally on the battlefield of Culloden 
 the Clan Fraser took part, believing that they were striking 
 a blow for the rightful king. I am sure we all agree that no 
 sovereign has ever held sway over the British Empire who is 
 more worthy of the regard of men of Highland blood than 
 Her Majesty Queen Victoria. She who has given so many 
 proofs of regard for the Highland people is beloved bv them 
 m return. Her volumes of her life in the Highlands.'one of 
 which has been well translated into Gaelic and the other 
 indifferently so, bear testimony to the deep interest with which 
 
CLANSMAN AND CHIEF. 
 
 29 
 
 e cover^ 
 tided by 
 
 (Mac- 
 by Mr. 
 -Mayor 
 3 given 
 eminis- 
 be face 
 Jnately 
 :hat of 
 'en on 
 
 as he 
 :ricken 
 e siic- 
 
 came 
 s that 
 
 Oueen 
 
 in the 
 
 loden, 
 
 riking 
 
 lat no 
 
 kvho is 
 
 than 
 
 many 
 
 them 
 
 )ne of 
 
 other 
 
 ^vhich 
 
 she regards that portion of her ancient kingdom of Scotland, 
 to which we lay claim as our native land. She has gone in and 
 out among the peasantry and gentry with perfect confidence 
 in their loyalty and in their attachment to her person. She 
 
 A. 
 
 surrounded herself by faithful Highlanders, and their ser- 
 vices to her, whether in the household or in positions of 
 public preferment, have been uniformly of a high character 
 and invariable success. That she may long live and 
 rule in the hearts of her people, no body of men can wish 
 more strongly than this company that has given to her name 
 its just place of honor at the head of the toast list. 
 The toast was cordially honored. 
 
 " THE CHIEF." 
 
 The Chairman next proposed the toast of the Chief 
 He said : It is stated that a man of the name of Cameron, 
 who had fought at the Batde of Falkirk with the Royal Army, 
 his clan being on the side of the Prince, joined his kinsmen 
 after the battle, but still wore the Royal uniform in the bonnet 
 of which there was a cockade. Lord Kilmarnock, coming up 
 and seeing an armed Royalist, as he thought, suspected 
 danger to the Prince, and in an altercation he snatched the 
 cockade from the soldier's hat and trampled upon it. This 
 aroused the ire of the Camerons who saw their comrade 
 maltreated, and they resented Kilmarnock's interference, say- 
 ing, " No Colonel nor General in the Prince's army can take 
 that cockade out of the hat of a Cameron except Lochiel 
 himself" I mention this incident as affording a good 
 example of the bond of fealty by which the clansman was 
 held to his chief To him the chief was supreme in all 
 things. He was not only the head of his family, but the 
 
30 
 
 SIMON JOSEPH, LORD LOVAT. 
 
 provider and protector of the clan. His authority he 
 derived from his position, his position he secured, some- 
 times by the good-will of the clan, but generally on account 
 of birth. The clansmen considered themselves as the chil- 
 dren of the chief, and the system demanded that they subor- 
 dinate themselves to his rule. Without a chief or his 
 substitute there could be no organized clan, and it is rightly 
 understood how important was his position under the clan 
 system. Chiefs of our Clan proved themselves to be worthy 
 of the position, as a rule, and Simon Joseph, Lord Lovat, 
 the young nobleman who now holds the chiefship, already 
 gives promise of faithfully following in the footsteps of his 
 forefathers. At the celebration of his majority, not long ago 
 there was a considerable gathering of clansmen and others to 
 do him honor, and the manner in which he performed his part 
 as host on that occasion is an augury of a distinguished 
 luture. It IS said that he shows a deep interest in the welfare 
 of his people, that he is a young man of highly patriotic 
 feelings, and, as his sphere of usefulness is a wide one, he no 
 doubt, will have ample opportunity of filling the highest e.^pec- 
 tations of the Clan. Following the traditions of his house he 
 has entered the army, and, should he decide to follow arms as a 
 profession, no doubt the military genius of his race, bequeathed 
 to him through a long line of ancestors, will win for him hon- 
 orable distinction as a soldier. I now ask you to charge your 
 glasses and to drink to the health of our young chief with 
 Highland honors. 
 
 The toast was drunk with Highland honors ; the company 
 smging ■' He's a Jolly Good Fellow," after which .he piper 
 played the Clan welcome, " Morar Sim." 
 
 Mrs. Charles Gordon Fraser was at this stage introduced. 
 
TOAST OK " THE CLAN. 
 
 31 
 
 and her little boy, Master Norman Fraser, attired in High- 
 land costume, gave a spirited and clever execution of the 
 Highland fling, for which he was enthusiastically cheered. 
 
 THE CLAN. 
 
 The Chairman proposed the next toast, that of the Clan. 
 He said : — In rising to propose the toast of the evening, my 
 first duty, it seems to me, is to express my sense of the great 
 honor done me by my clansmen in asking me to preside over 
 the first family dinner of the Clan in this Province. Many 
 there be with us, who, from age and distinction and fitness in 
 every respect, ought to have come before me, and who would 
 have done greater honor to the position on such an occasion 
 as this, than I can hope to do, even with your kind 
 indulgence. The rather active part it has been my privilege 
 to take in bringing about this happy gathering may have sug- 
 gested your choice, and should I be right in this conjecture, 
 that fact but deepens the feeling with which I regard the 
 honor. But a still more arduous duty laid upon me was to 
 give the toast of the evening, that of "The Clan." I can 
 assure you it required all the courage I could muster to under- 
 take the task. The motto of the Clan was held up to me, but I 
 did not forget that Je suis prest ought to be the corollary of 
 Paratus sum, and I fear that but few could step into the 
 breach and do fuil justice to the great Clan Fraser. In 
 assigning the toast, moreover, the request was made that I 
 should give as much information regarding the Clan, as could 
 well be packed into a speech, even if the limit of time should 
 have to be extended over that which is usually allowable for 
 an after dinner effort ; but, as I understand the information is 
 intended for a wider circle of clansmen than is here, I feel 
 
32 
 
 THE CLAN SV.STEM. 
 
 assured of your patience aid forbearance while I struerle 
 throngh a narrative, the length of which under other circtm,- 
 stances would have been an unpardonable breach of good taste 
 The clan system holds an interme<liate position between 
 the patriarchal and feudal systems, 1 1 is sometimes confused 
 with the former, more rarely with the latter. The feudal 
 lordship, m its genitis and scope of operation, was diametrically 
 opposed to the salient characteristics of the clan system The 
 d.st,nct,ons need not be enlarge.l upon here, let it suffice to 
 draw attention to the fact that clanshi,, w.as a distinct form 
 of governn,ent, under well recognized and applied principles 
 I" modern literature we find the characteristic most empha- 
 sised to be the loyalty with which the clansman followed and 
 served his chief, as in the words of the quotation on our toast 
 hst • Master, go on and I will follow thee. to the last gasp 
 with truth and loyalty." That truth and loyalty, however' 
 was not born of a servile, hut of a highly patriotic feeling, fo^ 
 the bond which united chief and clansman was that of kindred 
 and common interest, and not of hire and servittide This 
 e..plains why a people so highly sensitive, fiery and impetu- 
 ous as the Celts, gave such loyal and perfect allegiance to the 
 chief of the clan. 
 
 Since the fact that we were to hold a clan gathering 
 got abroad, I have been asked for information regarding 
 the origin of the clans in the Highlands. How these 
 clans were first established authentic history does not 
 record with clearness. We are left in the task of unravel- 
 ling the origin of the clans to meagre allusions in classical 
 writings, in genealogies which, to some e.xtent at least 
 are mythical, and to tradition, ever changing with the progress 
 of the centuries. There can be no question that many of the 
 
A i.EXA Nl ) 1 ; R 1' K A s K R (A/iic- Fliioiiitlaidli ) 
 Chairman. 
 
1^ 
 
 34 
 
 ORrt;!N OF THE CLANS. 
 
 clans grew gradually from the native population after the 
 consolidation of the Scottish Kingdom. We know that tribes, 
 some bearing names of modern clans, existed in what may 
 be described as prehistoric times, in the ordinary acceptation 
 of that term, in that part of Scotland north of the Forth and 
 Clyde. Amongst these were the Bissets, the Fentons of the 
 Aird, and others, whose names still survive in the County 
 of Inverness, and who must have to some extent merged 
 into the Fraser Clan, by adopting the name of the lord 
 of the manor. I do not like to quote John Hill Burton 
 as an authority, prejudiced, as he manifestly is. and 
 unfair, as a rule, when dealing with the Highlands and 
 the Celts, but a passage from his unreliable Life of Simon, 
 Lord Lovat, will show how a surname may impose itself on 
 a community and how clans have been, to some extent, con- 
 stituted. He says : " In some instances the foreign family 
 adopted a purely Celtic patronymic from the name of the sept 
 of which they were the leaders. In other cases, such as the 
 Gordons and Frasers, the sept, probably absorbing various 
 small tribes and admitting to its bosom many strav members 
 owning strange varieties of Gaelic names, took the name of 
 the leader ; hence we find the purest Gaelic spoken bv people 
 enjoying the Norman names of a Gordon or a Cumin. But 
 whether the imported lord of the soil adopted the name of 
 the tribe or the tribe that of their lord, the unyielding influence 
 of old national customs and peculiarities prevailed, and their 
 families gradually adapted themselves m speech and method 
 of hfe to the people over whom they held sway." This prin- 
 ciple holds good in the case of the composite Fraser Clan, 
 and a curious example is afforded by an extract from the 
 Allangrange MS., with respect to the Rev. Wm. Fraser of 
 
CHANGE OF SURNAMES. 
 
 35 
 
 Kilmorack, published in that repository of Highland lore» 
 the Celtic Magazine : — 
 
 " Bishop Hay, maternal uncle to Agnes Lovat, carried 
 away by Kenneth Mackenzie (a Bhlair), Seventh Baron of 
 Kintail, when he sent away his first wife Margaret, daughter 
 of John, Earl of Ross, advised Kenneth and the lady's friends 
 that a commission should be sent to the Pope in 1491 to pro- 
 cure the legitimation of their union. This was agreed to, and 
 the following is the account of the commissioners : — 
 
 " * To that effect one called Donald Dhu McChreggie, 
 priest of Kirkhill, was employed. This priest was a native 
 in Kintail, descended of a clan there called Clan Chreggie, 
 who, being a hopeful boy in his younger days, was educated 
 in Mackenzie's house, and afterwards at Beullie by the fore- 
 mentioned Dugall Mackenzie (natural son of Alexander 
 ' lonraic ' VI. of Kintail pryor yrof). In the end he was 
 made priest of Kirkhill. His successors to this day are 
 called Frasers. Of this priest are descended Mr. William 
 and Mr. Donald Fraser.' 
 
 " The author of the Ardintoul MSS. gives a slighdy 
 different version, and says: 'To which end they sent Mr. 
 Andrew Fraser, priest of Kintail, a learned and eloquent 
 man, who took in his company Dugald Mackenzie, natural 
 son of Alexander Inrig, who was a scholar. The Pope enter- 
 tained them kindly, and very readily granted them what they 
 desired, and were both made knights to the boot by Pope 
 Clement VIII., but when my knights came home they 
 neglected the decree of Pope Innocent III. against the mar- 
 riage and consentricate of the clergy, or, otherwise, they got 
 a dispensation from the then Pope Clement VIII., for both of 
 them married. Sir Dugal was made priest of Kintail and 
 
36 
 
 chan(;e of surnames. 
 
 ™ N,e„ (da,,g,„e.) Dunchy Chai. in Glen.oW.ston. 
 
 p!;rs oM /n^r' , ''°'""' ^°" -^^ "^« '•--) -^ was 
 
 to :i H "'■"■' " ^°'" '''"''°''"' °^^°--' --'j^ 
 
 D n .U e. „ho d.ed .fnis.er of Kil„,orack ; so .ha. he 
 
 fi.th m,„,s,er or ecclesiastical person in a h'neal and 
 
 "h ch, ,„ n dgment. nothing can more entitle a n,an to be 
 
 fot,r or five generat.ons of men of piety and learning and 
 
 hat the present Mr. Wn,. Fraser (who is the fifth) has the 
 
 We see here the ease with which a MacCreggie could 
 
 econ. a Fraser, and, bearing in „,ind the principf notl'd 
 
 bv H,ll Burton, there is no difficulty in accounting for the 
 
 ong,n and growth of our Clan in the Highlands. Whether 
 
 we can tell the day of the month and the year on which Andrew 
 
 and r°H f ■■"" T' '■"'' °" '"'^ ^-'"''"^ ^-"'y - -t- 
 e '"r : ''^^'^^''"^'^y fi-d-we. at all events, 
 
 have no deep, unfathon,able problem to solve as to the fornut- 
 t.on of the Fraser Clan. We know that the founder of the 
 name ,n Inverness-shire arrived there as the head of a power- 
 
 lomans of the country, assumed possession of the lands then 
 formntg h,s estate ; that the people, who were as Celtic as 
 those m any portion of the Highlands, bearing such names 
 
OkKilN OF THE NAME. 
 
 37 
 
 as Gille-Criosd, Mac-Killvverallcke, GiU' Aindrea, etc., rallied 
 around him, accepted his authority, became his followers, and 
 gradually adopted the name. As has been remarked, some of 
 those who were thus absorbed were the Bissets and the Fentons 
 of the Aird ; there were also the Haliburtons, the Corbets, and 
 the Graemes of Lovat, whose estates fell into the possession of 
 the Eraser family. From this beginning it is an easy matter to 
 follow the fortunes of the Clan down the centuries from 1296, 
 or thereabout, until the present day. But it is not as easy, nor 
 is it as important, although interesting, to deal with the origin 
 of the name and the ancient seat of those who bore it long, 
 long ago. Yet the theories respecting the origin of the name 
 must be taken notice of as traditions of interest, at least to 
 the Clan. 
 
 We meet the name of " Fraser " in various spellings 
 in Ragman Roll, which dates A.D. 1292-97. Seventeen 
 gentlemen of the family are on the roll, and the spellings 
 given are : Fraser, Fresar, Frisel, Frisele, Freshele, de Fraser, 
 anu e Frisle. Whence derived ? A Norman-French and 
 a Celtic origin have been ascribed to it. 
 
 The Norman-French ORiciN.—Skene settles this 
 theory in a summary fashion. He accepts it as indubitable, 
 and had he refrained from giving the grounds upon which he 
 bases his opinion, his deservedly high reputation as a Celtic 
 historian might have satisfied the general reader as to the 
 truth of his z/>se dixit. But the two reasons he advances are 
 absurd. From his own words you will learn how he disposes 
 of the origin of the Clan : " Of the Norman origin of the 
 family of the Frasers it is impossible for a moment to enter- 
 tain a doubt. They appear during the first few generations 
 uniformly in that quarter of Scotland which is south of ihe 
 
I ! 
 
 38 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 I i 
 
 
 n 
 
 THE NORMAN-FRENCH THEORY. 
 
 Firths of Forth and Clyde, and they possessed at a very 
 early penod extensive estates in the counties of East Lothian 
 and of Tweeddale : besides the name of Frisale, which is its 
 ancent form, appears in the roll of Battle Abbey, thus plac 
 mg the Norman character of their origin beyond a doubt." 
 Mr. Skene s first reason is that, " they appear during the first 
 few generations uniformly in that quarter of Scotland which 
 IS south of the Forth and Clyde." Had this part of Scotland 
 been at that time inhabited by Normans, Mr. Skene's position 
 would not seem so surprising as it does ; but, as a matter of 
 fact, at the time when the Frasers, according to Skene him- 
 self nourished in the south of Scotland, the population there 
 was Celtic, and his plain reasoning is : " The Frasers first 
 appear in Scottish records as part of a Celtic population • 
 therefore they must be of Norman origin ! " Mr Skene's' 
 second reason,while not so manifestly absurd, is equally weak 
 It .s : " 1 he name of Frisale, which is the ancient form o( 
 hraser, appears in the roll of Battle Abbey, thus placing 
 the Norman character of their origin beyond a doubt." And 
 It IS on such grounds as these that Mr. Skene proceeds 
 Why, the ingenious Senachies, skilled in genealogy, if not in 
 the unravelling of charter deeds, could give an infinitely more 
 plausible statement of a continental descent. I n the first place 
 It IS now impossible to authenticate the genuineness of the Roll' 
 of Battle Abbey ; and in the second place, if the roll were 
 beyond question, there is nothing to show that the Frisale 
 whose name appears on it was the progenitor of the Scottish 
 Frasers. Mr. Skene does not pretend to prove that he 
 passed from England to Scotland and founded the family 
 there. But although he does not give us details, Mr. Skene's 
 theory can be nothing else than that Frisale, the follower of 
 
Mu. Skene's i'osition. 
 
 39 
 
 William the Conqueror, was the same who received the lands 
 held by the family in 1 109 in the south of Scotland from the 
 Scottish monarch. Let us see how this theory will bear exam- 
 ination. One sentence disposes of it completely and forever. 
 There were Erasers in possession of estates in the south of 
 Scotland before the Battle of Hastings, and from them Gilbert 
 Fraser, who figures in the Cospatrick Charter of 11 09, was 
 descended. Long before i 109 the family had possessions in 
 the Lothians and Tweeddale and farther to the north. It 
 requires no more than this statement of fact to dispose of the 
 Roll of Battle Abbey and the Frisale whose name furnished 
 the late Historiographer Royal of Scodand with an easy outlet 
 from an apparently difficult position. But supposing we allow 
 for a moment the prior occupation of the Erasers to disappear 
 from view, and with Skene begin at 1 109 with Gilbert Fraser. 
 Even then the case for Frisale would be hopelessly weak. 
 The BatUe of Hastings was fought in 1066. From 1058 to 
 1093 Malcolm Ceanmor sat on the Scottish throne ; he it 
 would be, according to Skene, who gave Frisale the grant 
 of the extensive estates of the Tweeddale Erasers. But 
 he was the bitter foe of William the Conqueror, who supplanted 
 Edgar Atheling, whose sister Margaret was Malcom's Queen, 
 and whose nephew, also named Edgar, reigned in Scotland 
 until 1 107. Is it credible that Malcolm or Donald Bane, or 
 Duncan, or Edgar, would strip their own nobles, in times of 
 very uncertain warfare, of their lands, in order to bestow 
 them upon aliens, and these aliens the feudal vassals of their 
 turbulent, warlike enemy ? No careful reader of that period 
 of Scottish history can believe that to have been possible. 
 If it be said that Alexander I. and David I. favored Norman 
 courtezans with grants of land on feudal titles, the answer is 
 
40 
 
 THE FREZEI.S OK l-KANCE. 
 
 that Alexander .„ountecl the throne not earlier than r.or 
 when the Frasers had already achieved historic pron,i„ence.' 
 While these remarks may suffice to indicate how valueless 
 are the reasons put forward by Mr. Skene, they do not touch 
 other theories pointing to a French origin prior to the reign of 
 Malcolm Ceanmor. But these other theories having been 
 rejected by Mr. Skene and his .school, we may conclude that 
 they rest their case on the statements just alluded to and 
 disposed of. 
 
 Annalists and Clan historians have, however, gone into 
 particulars of the Norman-French theory. According to some 
 the name was derived from the/«,i, or 'strawberry' leaves in 
 the,r arms, and it was related that they sprang from the Fre.els 
 of France. Others give dififerent origins ; but, before laying 
 before you the serious objections to the Norman-French 
 theory, ,t is right that I should repeat what has been in ntany 
 quarters regarded as strong circumstantial evidence in its fa^or 
 I refer to the bond entered into, as late as the first part of the 
 eighteenth century, between Simon Lord Lovat (who was 
 beheaded) and the Marquis de la Fre.eliere. Lord Lovat 
 was a fugitive i„ France at the tin,e, and he was befriended 
 by the Marquis. He wrote his life in French, afterwards 
 translated into English and published in ,796. In it he 
 
 makes the following statement : 
 
 " The house of Frezel, or Frezeau de la Fre7eliere is 
 one of the mo,st ancient houses in France. It ascends 'by 
 unmterrupted filiation, and without any unequal alliance to 
 the year ,030. It is able to establish by a regular proof si.^y- 
 four quartern,gs in its armorial bearings, and all noble It 
 has tules of seven hundred years standing i„ the abbey of 
 Notre Dame de Noyers in Touraine. And it is certain 
 
 I 
 
to 
 
 JnoI 
 
 IAlwai 
 
 Nl 
 
 '/' 
 
 '/i 
 
 /^ 
 
'0 J.H.FraserI 
 
 Ch as.Fraser| A.W.Fra 
 
 {AlBfANDERFRASERfc ' JOHN FrASER T. ALEXANDER Ff 
 
^/IlLLER I ^WKTFRASER fci GEO.B.FRASER j JAS. FR/CsER j 
 
 nHM 
 
Til?: " r.OND " OK ArFINITV. 
 
 41 
 
 that, beside these circumstances of inherent dignity, the house 
 de la Frezeliere is one of the best allied in the kingdom. It 
 numbers among its ancestors on the female side daughters of 
 the families de Montmorenci, de Rieux, de Rohan, de Bre- 
 tagne, de la Savonniere, de la Tremouille, de la Grandiere, 
 and de St. Germains. Through the houses de Montmorenci, 
 de Rieux, de Rohan, and de la Tremouille, to which the 
 Marquis de la Frezeliere is nearly allied, he can trace his 
 filiation through all the French monarchs, up to Charlemagne, 
 King of France and Emperor of the West. Down again 
 through the various branches of the illustrious house of 
 France, M. de la Frezeliere may, without impropriety, assert 
 his alliance to all the royal houses and almost all the principal 
 nobility of Europe. 
 
 " It is demonstrated by various historians, by the tradi- 
 tion of the two families, and from letters written from time to 
 time from one to the other, that the house of Frezel or 
 Frezeau de la Frezeliere in France, and the house of Frezel 
 or Eraser in Scotland, were of the same origin, and derived 
 from the same blood. The Marquis de la Frezeliere, the head 
 and representative of the Frezels or Frezeaus in France, and 
 Lord Lovat, the representative of the Frezels or Erasers in 
 the north and the Highlands of Scotlands, having happily 
 encountered each other at Paris in the second journey that 
 Lord Lovat made to France for the service of his king (i 702), 
 were therefore both of them highly gratified with the oppor- 
 tunity that offered itself of renewing their alliance and 
 declaring their affinity in a common and authentic act of 
 recognition drawn up for that purpose. 
 
 " This record was executed on the one part by the Marquis 
 de la Frezeliere himself, by the Duke de Luxembourg, the 
 
42 
 
 SCOTTISH DERIVATION OF THE NAME. 
 
 Duke de Chatlllon and the Prince de Tingrie, the three 
 worthy and illustrious children of the late Marshal de Lux- 
 embourg Montmorenci, whose heroic exploits are not less 
 glorious and celebrated than his descent is ancient and august. 
 Several other lords of the house of Montmorenci, the Marquis 
 de Rieux, and many noblemen related by blood and marriage 
 to M. de la Frezeliere, joined with the Marquis in affixing 
 their signatures to this act of recognition. On theotht • ; . '- 
 it was executed by Simon Lord Lovat, Mr. John Frasei s 
 brother, and Mr. George Henry Fraser, Major of the Irish 
 regiment of Bourke in the French service, for themselves, in 
 the name of their whole family in Scotland. 
 
 "By this deed the kindred of the two houses of the 
 Frezels or Frasers is placed out of all possible doubt. 
 Accordingly from the moment in which it was executed the 
 Marquis de la Frezeliere regarded Lord Lovat rather as his 
 brother and his child than as his remote relation ; and had 
 his re-establishment in Scotland nearer his heart than his own 
 elevation in France." 
 
 The Scottish Origin of the NAME.-Logan, author of 
 the " Scottish Gael," agrees with those who claim a Scottish 
 origin for the name. He derives it from Frith, ' a forest,' and 
 .9i^/-'seed,' 'offspring.' His theory has at least the merit of 
 great probability, and is certainly to be preferred to the Nor- 
 man-French, unless the latter can be supported by better 
 evidence than has yet been brought forward. In a most 
 interesting volume on surnames by Mr. B. Homer Dixon 
 K.N. L., published in 1857, ther^ are very suggestive notes 
 on the surname - Fraser." He agrees with Logan, and he 
 combats the Norman origin. His interest in the Clan Fraser 
 
MR. li. HOMER DIXON S ARt;UMENT, 
 
 43 
 
 is one of descent from a notable cadet family, and in con- 
 nection with the origin of the name he has kindly furnished 
 me with the following valuable statement : — 
 
 " I differ from Skene and the older writers who derive the 
 Frasers either from Pierre Fraser, who came to Scotland 
 about the year 800, and whose son Charles was made Thane 
 of Man in 814, or from Julius de Berry, of Averme in the 
 Bourbonnais, who, in the year 916, gave Charles the Simple 
 so delicious a dish of strawberries that the king changed his 
 name to ' de Fraize ' and gave him * fraizes ' for arms. 
 
 " According to the best authorities hereditary surnames 
 were not used until about the year 1000, and Arms were cer- 
 tainly not borne until after the Norman Conquest, being only 
 introduced about four score years later at the time of the 
 second Crusade, viz., A.D. 1 146, and therefore more than two 
 centuries after the date of those ascribed to Julius de Fraize. 
 
 " That the last Lord Lovat believed in his Norman 
 descent I do not doubt. Early in the last century (A.D. 1702) 
 he signed a bond of recognition with the Marquis Frezeau or 
 Frezel de la Frezeliere, declaring that their name and origin 
 were the same and acknowledging themselves as relations. 
 The Frezeaus, however, were Anjevins f )m near Saumur, 
 while the first Scotch Fraser was said to be a Bourbonnais ; 
 still both parties were probably easily satisfied with their 
 bond, which only went to prove apparently more clearly the 
 antiquity of the families, however unnecessary, for the 
 Frezeaus or Frezels were one of the most ancient houses in 
 France, and the Frasers are undoubtedly one of the noblest 
 families in Scotland. Burton, in his Life of Lord Lovat, 
 London, 147, p. 104, throws discredit upon Lord Lovat's 
 statement (Memoirs of Lord Lovat, London) of the antiquity 
 
44 
 
 THE ROMANCt; WORD " FRAvSSK.' 
 
 of the family of Frezeau de la Frczcliere, because, forsooth, 
 there is no account of the family in ' le Pere Anselme,' but 
 Moreri (Grand Dicte. Histe. Basle. 1 740) says ' the family was 
 one of the most ancient in the kincxdom ' (almost the verv 
 words of Lord Lovat), ' and one of the most illustrious of 
 the Province (Anjou), where they have possessed from time 
 immemorial the seigniory of the Frezeliere.' Moreri adds 
 that there were Chevaliers Frezel in 1030, and, commencing 
 his pedigree with the Chevalier Geoffrey, living in 1270, 
 carries it down uninterruptedly to the Marquis dela Frezeliere, 
 et de Monsieur Baron de Lasse, Lieutenant-General in the 
 army and first Lieutenant-General in the Artillery, who died 
 in I 71 I, 
 
 '• Both the Marquis and Lord Lovat were mistaken, 
 however, for the Anjevin name does 710^ signify ' strawberry.' 
 neither does that family bear ' fraises ' in their arms, but 
 Frezeau or Frezel de la Frezeliere signifies * Ash of the Ash 
 Plantation or Wood,' from the Romance word Fraysse, 'an ash 
 tree ; ' and in Auvergne there is a family styled ' du Fraisse,' 
 who bear an ash tree in their arms. Similar names to Frezel 
 de la Frezeliere are le Bastard de la Bastardiere, Freslon de la 
 Freslonniere, Raband de la Rabandiere. 
 
 " It is true that the name Frisell occurs in the Roll of 
 Battle Abbey ; but even allowing that to be authentic, what 
 proof is there that the Frisell who accompanied the Conqueror 
 in 1066, was the ancestor of Gilbert de Fraser, who possessed 
 large estates in Tweeddale and Lothian in the time of Alex- 
 ander I. (i 107- 1 174) ? 
 
 " This Gilbert, the first of the family mentioned, is called 
 'de,' but the name was more frequently written without 
 that prefix. 
 
THE Ak.MOKIAL HEARINGS. 
 
 45 
 
 " I believe that the Frasers are Scotch ab origine and 
 repeat that I consider the nai le to be GaeHc and older than 
 the arms, which were canting arms, such as we have a royal 
 example of as early as the time of Louis VII. (of i i8o), who 
 covered the shield of France with blue, the tincture of his 
 royal robes, and then charged the same with lilies, derived 
 originally from I sis, formerly worshipped in France. 
 
 " '\:\\^ /raises are quartered with three antique crowns, 
 and here again authors differ, most writers saying they are lor 
 Bisset. Even Nisbet makes this error, although on another 
 page he gives the arms of Bisset of Beaufort as ' Azme a 
 bend argent ! ' Others say they were granted to Sir Simon 
 Fraser. the ' P^lower of Chivalrie,' the friend of Wallace and 
 Bruce, for having three times re-horsed his king at the Battle 
 of Methven, in 1306. This 7nay be their origin, but if so they 
 were probably granted to or adopted by his grand nephew 
 and heir, Sir Andrew Fraser, for Sir Simon Fraser was 
 taken prisoner at this very battle, conveyed to London and 
 beheaded. It is worthy of note, however, that the Grants, 
 near neighbors and often allied to the Frasers, bear three 
 antique crowns, though of a different tincture. Hugh, fifth 
 Lord Lovat, married a daughter of the Laird of Grant, by 
 whom, however, he had no issue. He died 1544." 
 
 In another note Mr. Dixon says : " The court language 
 of Scotland, at the time this family took their arms, which are 
 totally different from those of the French house of Frezeau or 
 Frezel, was a medley of Teutonic and French." 
 
 'II 
 
 '■m 
 
 m 
 
 EH, 
 
 In the Lowlands of Scotland. — But whether the 
 derivation be from the Romance frayssc, ' an ash tree,' 
 or the Gaelic /;-////, ' a forest,' we find the chief of the name 
 
 
 !l.y...|IM'.lii' 
 
46 
 
 firmly established 
 
 IN THE LOWLANDS, 
 
 as a powerful Scottish nobh 
 
 , . . - -, manifesting 
 
 the patriotism and national sentiment to be looked for in a 
 native born baron, as early as 1 109. 
 
 His name was Gilbert de Fraser, who. in the year named 
 witnessed a charter known as the Cospatrick Charter. It is 
 generally conceded that he is the first with whom documentary 
 history begins. That there were Frasers in Tweeddale and 
 Lothian before him is certain, and the names of some of them 
 have survived, but with this Gilbert begins the unbroken 
 record of lineage which comes down to our own day The 
 lands possessed by the Frasers in the south of Scotland were 
 extensive, and the family power was great, as will be indicated 
 in the course of the brief reference to it which will be here 
 made. Gilbert had three sons, Oliver, Udard and another 
 whose name is not now known. 
 
 Oliver succeeded his father and built Oliver Castle, 
 by which his name survives. There are many interesting 
 descriptions of this old stronghold ; that in the Ordnance 
 Survey Report I quote on account of its brevity : - An 
 ancient baronial fortalice in Tweedsmuir parish, S W 
 Peeblesshire, on the left side of the river Tweed. . .Crowning 
 a rising ground which now is tufted with a clump of 
 trees, it was the original seat of the Frasers, ancestors of 
 the noble families of Lovat and Saltoun, and passed from 
 them to the Tweedies, who figure in the introduction to Sir 
 Walter Scott's Be^ro^/iea^, and whose maternal descendant, 
 Thomas Tweedie-Stodart (b. 1838; sue. 1869), of Oliver 
 House, a plain modern mansion hard by, holds 1 144 acres in 
 the shire.. .Oliver Castle was the remotest of a chain of strong 
 ancient towers, situated each within view of the next all down 
 the I weed to Berwick, and serving both for defence and for 
 
IN THE LOWLANDS. 
 
 47 
 
 beacon fires in the times of the border forays. It was eventu- 
 ally relinquished and razed to the ground." Oliver died with- 
 out issue, and, his brother Udard, evidently having predeceased 
 him, the succession went to Udard's son, 
 
 Adam, who was succeeded by his son, 
 
 Lawrence, on record in 1261, and who was in turn 
 succeeded by his son, 
 
 Lawrence. The second Lawrence had no male issue, 
 but had two daughters, one of whom married a Tweedie, 
 carrying with her Fraser lands, and the other of whom married 
 a Macdougall. The succession in the male line now reverted 
 to Gilbert's third son, whose name is lost, but who had two 
 sons, 
 
 Simon and Bernard. Both these succeeded to the chief- 
 ship, Simon's issue being female. It was after this Simon 
 that Keith-Simon was named. 
 
 Bernard raised the fortunes of the family considerably, 
 and his name frequendy occurs in connection with questions of 
 first class importance. He was the first of the name to have 
 been appointed Sheriff of Stirling. He was succeeded by 
 his son, 
 
 GiLiiERT, styled " Vicecomes de Traquair," or Sheriff 
 of Traquair. father of three historic personages, Sir Simon, Sir 
 Andrew, and William, the Bishop of St. Andrew's and Chan- 
 <:ellor of Scotland, an extended reference to whom I with 
 <lifficulty refrain from making. As a prelate and a statesman 
 he rendered high service to his country. His brother, 
 
 Sir Simon, the Elder, succeeded his father, Gilbert. 
 He is designated the Elder to distinguish liim from his fiimous 
 son, Sir Simon the Patriot. He took a leading part in the 
 affairs of the nation. He, his two b- others and a nephew, 
 
 'iaw. 
 
48 
 
 •SIMON THE PATRIOT. 
 
 Richard i-Vaser Lord of D.nfries, were four of ,he arbiters 
 
 and was succeeded by ^^ 
 
 Sir S,.,,on the Patriot, the greatest and most renowned 
 of all the I-raser chiefs. All I can say of hin, is that he w 
 
 Wallace and one of the noblest knights whose deeds are 
 ecorde on the page of history. He has furnished anci 
 a d „,odern historians with a subject for patriotic etdogy an 
 
 fi hi; u" T" ' "^'^ "^ ^"^"" ^ '- »- the onlv Scot- 
 t.sh noble who held out to the last with Sir Willian, Wallac 
 
 nd was one of the first to welcome and aid the Bruce w 1' 
 he re horsed three tin,es at the Battle of Methven, where I 
 ^ aken pr.soner ; and he was the only Scott.sh knight at 
 
 h t ,n,e whose patriotisn, entitled hin, to the brutal indigni- 
 
 o S, VV ,lham Wallace. The Patriots family consisted of two 
 daughters; the elder carried Sir Httgh Hay, ancestor of tie 
 
 i-lem.ng. ancestor of the Earls of Wigton. Male is=ue 
 havmg agatn failed, che succession went back to 
 
 S,R Anokhw Fkasek, Sheriff of Stirling, already .men- 
 tioned as second son of Sir Gilbert Fraser, Sheriff of Tr 
 quan. Sir Andrew was the Patriots uncle. He is style'd 
 hei e^' d" r "™""' "' '"""S '""™^^ " Caith ess 
 the North of Scotland. He was both a brave knight and a 
 
 and »e I „, the .senate and on the field. He lived to occuov 
 
 the position of chief but two years H. ., c '^ 
 
 iwo ) ears. He was the first chief of 
 
MOVINC NORTHWARD. 
 
 49 
 
 the family who won large possessions in the north, while the 
 headquarters were still in the southern countries. The well- 
 known Neidpath castle v/as one of the family strongholds. It 
 was a massiv^e pile, of great strength, the walls being eleven 
 feet thick. It is situated in Peeblesshire and is still to be seen. 
 The strawberries appear in the crest of the Hays on the key- 
 stone of the courtyard archway, a connecting link with the 
 Frasers, from whom it passed to the Hays of Yester, in 1312, 
 with the daughter of the Patriot, Before following the family 
 to the Lovat estates, in Inverness-shire, it may not be amiss to 
 recapitulate the succession in the south. It was as follows : 
 I. Gilbert De P'rasek, II. Oliver Fraser, HI. Adam 
 Fraser, IV. Laurence Fraser, V. Laurence Phraser, \T. 
 Simon Fraser, VII. Bernard Phraser, VIII. Sir Gilbert 
 Fraser, IX. Sir Simon Fraser, X. Sir Simon Phraser, XI. 
 Sir Andrew Fraser. 
 
 The Clan in the Highlands. — The family extended 
 northward by the marriage of Sir Andrew to a Caithness 
 heiress, through which he acquired large estates in that 
 country. His was a notable family of sons. The eldest, 
 named Simon, gave the family its patronymic of " IMac- 
 Shimi " (pronounced Mac-Kimmie). He (Simon) married 
 the daughter of the Earl of Orkney and Caithness, and it is 
 believed by the family historians that this marriage brought 
 the first Lovat property to the family. It would appear that 
 the Countess of Orkney and Caithness, namely, Simon 
 Phraser's mother-in-law, was the daughter of Graham of 
 Lovat, and that her right in the Lovat property descended to 
 her daughter, Simon's wife, in whose right he took possession. 
 Thus, we see how the names Fraser and Lovat, now for so 
 
 
 ml 
 
50 
 
 ESTABLISHED IN THE HIGHLANDS. 
 
 long a time almost synonymous, were first brought together 
 and how the Erasers obtained a footing on territory which 
 has become indissolubly linked with their name. 
 
 Sir Andrew Eraser's other sons were Sir Alexander, 
 Andrew and James ; the first named, a powerful baron and 
 statesman, who attained to the office of Chamberlain of Scot- 
 land, neld previously, as we have seen, by his uncle. Bishop 
 Fraser. In consideration of distinguished services, he was 
 given m marriage Mary, sister of King Robert Bruce, and 
 widow of Sir Nigel Campbell, of Lochow. He possessed 
 lands m Kmcardine, of which county he was sheriff He 
 was killed at the battle of Dupplin. Andrew and James, his 
 brothers, with their brother, Simon of Lovat, were slain at the 
 battle of Halidon Hill, July 22nd. ^SSS, and all four were in 
 the front rank of the soldiers of their time. 
 
 The chiefs of the Clan Fraser date from : 
 I. Simon, Sir Andrew's eldest son. He had three sons 
 — Smion and Hugh, who both succeeded him in honors and 
 estates, and James, who was knighted on the occasion of the 
 coronation of Robert HI. 
 
 H. Simon succeeded his father, when still very young 
 and gave proof, in the field, that the military genius of the 
 family was inherited by him. He died unmarried, after a 
 bnef but brilliant career, and his estates and the chiefship 
 went to his brother, 
 
 III. Hu(;ir. styled " Dominus de Lovat." And now I 
 shall keep brielly to the line of chiefs, and shall n.t' burden 
 you with many personal incidents that have come down to 
 us. with respect to any of them, until we come to Lord Simon 
 who suffered death on Tower Hill. Hugh was succeeded by 
 
ADDING TO THE ESTATES. 
 
 51 
 
 his two sons, first by Alexander, the eldest, then by Hugh, 
 the second son. From his third son, John, sprang the Erasers 
 of Knock, in Ayrshire ; and from Duncan, his fourth son, the 
 Frasers of Morayshire. 
 
 IV. Alexander is described as a " pattern of primitive 
 piety and sanctity to all around him." He died unmarried. 
 An illegitimate son, named Robert, was the progenitor of 
 " Sliochd Rob, Mhic a Mhanaich." 
 
 V. Hugh, his brother, who succeeded, acquired lands 
 from the Fentons and Bissets, by marriage with the heiress 
 of Fenton of Beaufort. The names of these lands, it will be 
 interesting to note, forming as they do an important part of 
 the estates long held by the Frasers. They are : Guisachan, 
 now the property of Lord Tweedmouth ; Comar, Kirkton, 
 Mauld, Wester Eskadale and Uchterach. This Hugh, the 
 fifth chief, was the first to assume the t"tle of Lord Lovat. 
 He had three sons, Thomas, Alexander, who died unmarried, 
 and Hugh. The first Lord Lovat was succeeded by his son, 
 
 VL Thomas, whose assumption of the title is not men- 
 tioned by the family historians, but of whose accession there 
 is good documentary proof. The silence of the historians, 
 however, has led to an error in the designation of his succes- 
 sors. For instance, his brother, 
 
 VH. Hugh, who succeeded him, is called Hugh, second 
 Lord Lovat, instead of Hugh, third Lord Lovat. This Lord 
 Lovat had two sons. Thomas and Hugh, the former of whom 
 was Prior of Beauly, and died young and unmarried. He 
 was succeeded by his son, 
 
 VHI. Hugh, fourth Lord Lovat, who had a decisive 
 brush with the Macdonalds, under the Lord of the Isles, when 
 
 ,!1.4W l ll 
 
52 
 
 ORI<;iN OF SOME CADKT lAMILIES. 
 
 the latter besieged the Castle of Inverness in .4.9 He w,s 
 a peer of Parliament, and is supposed to have been the first 
 Lord Lovat to have attained to that dignity, with the title, 
 Lord Fraser of the Lovat. He had four sons, who deserve 
 "lenfon : Thomas, who succeeded ; Hugh, a brave soldier 
 and accomplished courtier, who was slain at Flodden ■ Alex- 
 ander, from whom sprang the old cadets of Farraline', Lead- 
 cluncetc; and John, the historian of Henry VUI., the learned 
 Francscan and astute ambassador. There were also two 
 .llegmmate sons-Thomas and Hugh, the latter, progeni- 
 or of the Frasers of Foyers, and of many other Fraser families 
 known as '• Sliochd Huistein Fhrangaich." 
 
 IX Thomas, fifth Lord Lovat, added the lands of 
 Phopachy, Englishton, Bunchrew and Culburnie, the last- 
 named place fron, Henry Douglas, to the family estates 
 which were assuming very large proportions. He had a 
 large fam.ly. The eldest son, named Hugh, succeeded to 
 the estates. From the second son, William, sprang the 
 Fra.sers of Belladrum, Culbokie, Little Struy, etc. ; from 
 ames, the Frasers of Foyness ; from Robert, the Frasers of 
 Bmk.e. I.,feshire; from Andrew, '.Sliochd Anndra Ruadh 
 a Chnu,c (Kirkhill); from Thomas, "Sliochd Ian 'Ic 
 Ihomais • ; John married a daughter of Grant of Grant, with 
 ■■ssue ; and from Hugh lian of Reelick (an illegitimate son) 
 came the Frasers of Reelick and Moniack. 
 
 X. HVGU, sixth Lord Lovat, was the chief of the Clan 
 at the tmie of the disastrous fight with the Macdonalds at 
 Kmlochlochy, of which 1 shall read a short description later 
 on. At this affray Lord Hugh and his eldest son, Simon 
 were slain. His .second son, Alexander, succeeded, and his 
 
 *Sc.e account In Kov. Allan Sinclair. A. M.. i„ Celtic Ma»,a.i„... 
 
I'.EAl'LV PRIORV LANDS. 
 
 53 
 
 third son, William, was ancestor of the Frasers of Struy. His 
 fourth son, Hugh, died young and unmarried. 
 
 XI. Alexander, seventh Lord Lovat, a man of literary 
 tastes, lived in comparative retirement. His three sons were : 
 Hugh, his successor ; Thomas, first of Knockie and Strichen, 
 from whom the present chief, whose family in 1815 succeeded 
 to the Fraser estates, sprang, and James, ancestor of the 
 Frasers of Ardachie, the Memoir and Correspondence of a 
 scion of which. General James Stuart Fraser, of the Madras 
 Army, was a few years ago, given to the world, as the dis- 
 tinguished record of a soldier, a scholar and a statesman. 
 
 XII. Hugh, the eighth Lord Lovat, succeeded at the 
 age of fourteen. He was noted for his proficiency in archery, 
 wrestling, and the athletics of the day ; he greatly encouraged 
 the practice of manly exercises on his estates. He was a 
 staunch supporter of Regent Murray, and at the Reformation 
 secured possession of the Priory of Beauly and the church lands 
 pertaining to it, including the town lands of Beauly, and some 
 of the best tacks on the low-lying part of the present estates, 
 in the parishes of Kilmorack and Kiltarlity, the mere names 
 indicating the value of the grant : Fanblair, Easter Glencon- 
 vinth, Culmill, Urchany, Farley. Craigscorry, Platchaig, 
 Teafrish, Annat, Groam, Inchrorie, Rhindouin, Teachnuic, 
 Ruilick, Ardnagrask, Greyfield, the Mains of Beauly, as well 
 as valuable river fishings. Mr. Chisholm Batten's book on 
 Beauly Priory contains many interesting facts regarding the 
 acquisition of these fertile and extensive lands, for which his 
 Lordship paid a certain sum of money. He married a 
 daughter of the Earl of Athol, and had two sons, Simon and 
 Thomas, and a natural son, named Alexander, who married 
 Janet, daughter of Fraser of Moniack. Thomas died in 
 
 ^IM-. JJJ|B,(«BP" 
 
54 
 
 VICISSITUDES OF THE FAMILY. 
 
 his ninth year. Lord Hugh died at Towie, in Mar, on his 
 way home from Edinburgh. It was suspected that he had 
 been poisoned. 
 
 XIII. Simon, ninth Lord Lovat, succeeded at the tender 
 age of five. Thomas of Knockie became tutor for the young 
 chief, an office of power and responsibiHty. He was married 
 three times. By his first wife, Catherine Mackenzie, he had 
 issue, a son and daughter, Hugh, his successor, and Ehzabeth. 
 By his second wife, the daughter o/ James Stuart, Lord 
 Doune, he had two sons and three daughters : Sir Simon of 
 Inverallochy, Sir James of Brea, Anne, Margaret and Jean. 
 His third wife was Catherine Rose of Kilravock. 
 
 XIV. Hugh, tenth Lord Lovat, had already a large 
 family when he succeeded to the estates. Three years after his 
 accession his wife died, leaving him with nine children, six sons 
 and three daughters. Her death cast a gloom over his life, and, 
 practically retiring from business, the management of the 
 estates for a time fell on his son Simon, Master of Lovat, a 
 young man of the brightest promise, whose untimely death 
 was a second severe blow to his father. His dying address 
 is a remarkable production. His next elder brother, Hugh, 
 became Master of Lovat, and Sir James Eraser, of Brea, became 
 tutor. The Master of Lovat married Lady Anne Leslie, and 
 died a year afterwards, during his father's lifetime, leaving a 
 son, Hugh, who succeeded to the titles and estates. Hugh 
 the tenth Lord Lovat's issue were : Simon and Hugh, to 
 whom reference has just been made ; Alexander, who became 
 tutor ; Thomas of Beaufort, father of the celebrated Simon ; 
 William, who died young ; James, who died without issue, and 
 Mary, Anne and Catherine. 
 
 XV. Hugh, grandson of the tenth Lord Lovat, succeeded 
 
SIMON OK Beaufort's accession. 55 
 
 as eleventh Lord Lcvat, when only three years old. At 
 sixteen he was, to use the words of the chronicler, " decoyed 
 into a match " with Anne, sister of Sir George Mackenzie of 
 Tarbat, the famous lawyer, the lady being at the time of the 
 marriage, about thirty years of age. There were born to 
 them a son, named Hugh, who, from a black spot on his 
 upper lip, was nick-named " Mac-Shimi, Ball Dubh," " Black-, 
 spotted Mackimmie ; " and three daughters. 
 
 XVI. Hugh, " The Black-spotted," succeeded as twelfth 
 Lord Lovat. He married a daughter of Murray, Marquis of 
 Athole, a connection in which the pretensions of the Mur- 
 rays, thwarted by Simon of Beaufort, find their source. This 
 chief left four daughters, but no son, and having had no 
 brothers or uncles on the father's side, the succession went 
 to Thomas of Beaufort, surviving son of Hugh, the tenth 
 Lord Lovat, and grand-uncle of Hugh, " The Black-spotted." 
 
 XVI L Thomas of Beaufort assumed the title as thir- 
 teenth Lord Lovat, and would probably have been left in 
 undisputed possession but for the marriage contract made by 
 the twelfth Lord, at the instance of the Athols, settling the 
 estates on his eldest daughter, failing male heirs of his body. 
 It is true that afterwards he revoked this settlement in favor 
 of the nearest male heir, viz., Thomas of Beaufort, but the 
 validity of the later document was contested, and it was only 
 after a long and extraordinary struggle, in which plot, in- 
 trigue and violence played a part, as well as protracted litiga- 
 tion, that his son's title to the estates was confirmed. 
 
 XVIII. Simon of Beaufort succeeded his father, as four- 
 teenth Lord Lovat, after, as has been stated, many years of 
 fierce contest concerning his rights. He had an elder brother, 
 named Alexander, who, according to report then current, died 
 
 \ I 
 
 
56 
 
 ALEXANDER OF F5EAUFORT, 
 
 young in Wales, and without issue. His younger brothers 
 were named Hu^h, John, Thomas, and James. The cause 
 of Alexander's Hight to Wales forms one of the best known 
 legends of the family. There are various versions of it, but 
 I shall give that most commonly related by old people in the 
 district of the Aird : Alexander arrived, somewhat late, at a 
 wedding at Teawig, near Beauly. His appearance was the 
 signal for the piper to strike up the tune, " Tha Biodag air 
 MacThomais," some of the lines of which run : 
 
 Tha biodag- air Mac Thomais. 
 Tha biodag fliada, mhor, air ; 
 Tha biodag- air Mac Thomais, 
 Ach's math a dh' fhoghnadh sgian da. 
 
 Tha biodag amis a chHobadaich, 
 Air mac a bhcdaich leibidich ; 
 Tha biodag aims a chUobadaicIi, 
 Air mac a bhodaich romaich. 
 
 Tha bhiodag deanadh gliogadaich, 
 'Si coaim'lt ri bann iia briogais aig'; 
 Tha bucallan 'n a bhrogan, 
 God 's math a dh' fhoghnadh ial daibh. 
 
 It was whispered to Alexander that the piper selected 
 this tune to cause merriment at his expense, and the youth, to 
 turn the jest against the piper, determined to rip open the 
 bag of the pipes, with his dirk. But in doing so, his foot 
 slipped, and he fell heavily towards the piper with the naked 
 dirk in his outstretched arm. The piper was f^itally wounded, 
 and Alexander, who had been an extreme partizan of the 
 Jacobites, believed that were he tried for the murder of the 
 piper, the hostility of Sir George Mackenzie, of l^arbat 
 would inevitably secure a sentence of death against him. He 
 fled to Wales, where he was befriended by Earl Powis, under 
 whose protection, it is said, he lived on, married, and had 
 issue, while his next younger brother, Simon, enjoyed the 
 
ESTATES FORFEITED. 
 
 57 
 
 title and estates. Mr. John Fraser, of Mount Pleasant, Car- 
 narvon, not long ago, laid claim to the chiefship, title and 
 estates, on the ground that he is a lineal descendant of this 
 Alexander, and although he lost his case in one trial, he is 
 still gathering evidence, with the view of having it re-opened 
 and further pushing his claim. 
 
 For his share in the Jacobite rising of i 745, Simon, four- 
 teenth Lord Lovat, was beheaded on Tower Hill, April 9th, 
 1747. Lord Simon's faults were not few, but he has been a much 
 maligned man ; his vices have been Haunted before the world, 
 his virtues have been obscured. In extreme old age he gave 
 up his life on the scaffold ; and his fate, believed by some to 
 be richly deserved, by others has been characterized as mar- 
 tyrdom. He left three sons, Simon, Alexander and Archibald 
 Campbell Fraser. 
 
 XIX. Simon succeeded to the chiefship, but that honor 
 was unaccompanied by the estates and title, which had been 
 forfeited to the crown. For his services as commandant of 
 Fraser's Highlanders in the service of the House of Hanover, 
 he was specially thanked by Parliament, and the paternal 
 estates restored to him. I have been informed by the Grand 
 Master Mason of Ontario that this Colonel Simon (afterwards 
 General Simon Fraser of Lovat) was the first Provincial CM^^/^^i/ 
 Master Mason in Upper Canada, the order having been ' 
 established there at the time of the stirring events in which 
 Frasers Highlanders participated while in Quebec. General 
 Simon married, but without issue, and his brother Alexander 
 having predeceased him without issue, he was succeeded in 
 possession of the estates by his half-brother, 
 
 XX. Colonel Archibald Camphell Fraser of Lovat. 
 The title was still held in abeyance. Colonel Archibald was 
 
m^i^i^mMK 
 
 58 
 
 THE STRICHEN SUCCESSION. 
 
 
 a man of erratic habits, but a kind-hearted Highlander, and 
 a man of no mean ability. An account of his honors and public 
 services he embodied in an inscription on his tombstone, but 
 while the production is typical of his well-known eccentricity, 
 as a matter of fact, not a little of the praise which he takes to 
 himself for services to his country and his county, was well 
 deserved. He had five sons, all of whom predeceased him. 
 His eldest son was named Simon Frederick. He became 
 member of Parliament for Inverness-shire. He died in 180^ 
 unmarried, but left one son, Archibald Thomas Frederick 
 Fraser, well-known in our own day as "Abertarf," from 
 having resided there. None of the other sons of Colonel 
 Archibald left legitimate issue, and at his death, in 1815, the 
 succession reverted to the Frasers of Strichen, descended, as 
 already observed, from Thomas Fraser of Knockie and 
 Strichen. second son of Alexander, the sixth Lord Lovat, 
 represented, at the time of Colonel Archibald's death, by 
 
 XXI. Thomas Alexander Fraser, of Strichen, who 
 succeeded to the estates, and was created Lord Lovat by Act 
 of Parliament, in 1837 ; and, in 1857, succeeded in having the 
 old title restored to him. The succession of the Strichen 
 family created a strong hostile feeling among the Clansmen 
 and the old tenants generally, many of them believing that 
 other aspirants who appeared had stronger claims. The 
 Frasers of Strichen, however, were able to satisfy the 
 courts as to the validity of their claim, and they were 
 confirmed in the possession of the estates. A curious 
 incident of the time may be briefly related, to illustrate both 
 the feeling then prevailing concerning the succession, and the 
 religious beliefs which were held then in the Highlands. It 
 was, and to some extent yet is, believed that the Divine our- 
 
A CURIOUS " PROPHECY. " 
 
 
 59 
 
 pose, with respect to every-day events, may be disclosed in 
 appropriate portions of Scripture which impress themselves 
 intensely on the mind of the devout believer. Two tenant- 
 farmers, whose names, if given, would at once be a gua»-intee 
 of their good faith, and of their respectability, went from 
 the vicinity of Belladrum to the neighborhood of Red- 
 castle, to a man whose piety gave him an eminent place among 
 The Men of Ross-shire. They went to confer with him 
 about the Lovat estates, and to find out whether he had any 
 " indication " of the " mind of the Lord " as to whether the 
 Frasers of Strichen would be established in their tenure of 
 the estates against all comers. They were hospitably wel- 
 comed, and, their errand having been made known, their host 
 replied that he had had no such indication. They remained 
 that night, the next day and the night following, but during 
 all this time did not see their host. On the morning of the 
 third day he joined them at the frugal breakfast, after which 
 he led them to a window overlooking the Beauly Firth and 
 said : " Since your arrival I have pled hard for light at the 
 Throne. If God ever did reveal His Will to me by His 
 Word, He did so last night. You see a fishing-smack before 
 you on the firth ; as sure as you do observe hsr there, with 
 her sail spread, catching the wind, so sure will, in God's good 
 time, the Strichens pass away from the possession of the 
 Lovat estates, and the rightful heir will come to his own. Mv 
 warrant, given to me in my wrestling with God, is this pro- 
 phetic passage : 'And thou, profane, wicked prince of Israel, 
 whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, thus 
 saith the Lord God : Remove the diadem, and take off the 
 crown : this shall not be the same : exalt him that is low and 
 abase him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn 
 
 
6o 
 
 FEAR DONN AN FHEILIDH." 
 
 i 
 
 It : and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is ; 
 and I will give it him.' (Ezek. XXL, 25-27 ) God's pur- 
 pose thus revealed will not be fulfilled in our day, nor likely 
 in the day of our children, but our grandchildren will likely 
 see it accomplished." The old man's words made a deep im- 
 pression ; but only a few friends were informed of them, not 
 only because they were held as a sacred message, but also 
 because of the " power of the estate office." Whatever 
 may be thrught of beliefs thus formed, no one who knew 
 the devout, simple-hearted Highlander of the generation just 
 gone, will fail to appreciate the humility and sincerity with 
 which such beliefs were entertained. 
 
 But to return to the fortunes of the House of Lovat. 
 Thomas Alexander, fifteenth Lord Lovat, married a daughter 
 of Sir George jerningham, afterwards Baron Stafford, and 
 had male issue, Simon, Allister Edward, George Edward 
 Stafford (b. 1834, d. 1854), and Henry Thomas. His second 
 son, Allister Edward, rose to the rank of Colonel in the 
 army ; was married, with issue, one son. Hon. Henry 
 Thomas attained to the rank of Colonel of the ist battalion 
 Scots Guards. Lord Lovat died in 1885, and was succeeded 
 by his eldest son, 
 
 XXH. Simon, sixteenth Lord Lovat, who, born in 1828, 
 and married to the daughter of Thomas Weld Blundell, was 
 already a man of mature years at the time of his accession. 
 He was known in song as "Fear Donn an Fheilidh." He 
 was noted for his generous qualities and his kindness to 
 the poor. He was a keen sportsman, expert with rod, gun 
 and rifie, a marksman of repute. He did much to encourage 
 the militia movement, and commanded the Inverness-shire 
 regiment for many years. The circumstances of his sad and 
 
THE SEVENTEENTH LORD LOVAT. 6 1 
 
 sudden death, from an affection of the heart, while grouse- 
 shoe ting on the Moy Hall moors, in 1887, are fresh in our 
 mmds. An extract from a newspaper article, written on the 
 occasion of his death, may be taken as a fair estimate of his 
 character : " By this sudden and painful blow a nobleman 
 has been taken away who filled a conspicuous place in this 
 vicinity, and who was held in the highest respect. Having 
 succeeded to his father in 1875, he has enjoyed, the tide and 
 estates for only twelve years (1887). But as Master of Lovat 
 he was known for many years before that time as a worthy 
 and popular representative of a great and ancient Highland 
 house. No county gathering seemed to be complete without 
 his presence. . . . Homely in his manner, he was 
 never difficult to approach, and his kindness of spirit showed 
 itself in many ways. Conscientious and sober in judgment, 
 he steadily endeavored to do his duty ; and his lamented 
 death caused a blank which cannot easily be filled." He left 
 a family of nine, and was succeeded by his eldest son, 
 
 XXHI. Simon Joskpii, seventeenth Lord Lovat, to 
 whose health, as our chief, we have drained our glasses this 
 evening. That he may have a long and happy life is our 
 fervent prayer; and may God grant him wisdom and grace that 
 he may be a useful and a prosperous chief; that he ]nay add 
 new lustre to the distinguished name he bears, and prove 
 worthy of the ancestry of which he is the proud representative. 
 We have now traced the long line of chiefs from the 
 beginning down to the present day, and I must thank you 
 for the wonderful patience with which you have listened to 
 the dry bones of genealogy ; in what remains* I hope I shall 
 prove less tedious than in that which I have concluded. 
 
 *Tl,is part of the spcocl,. being of a K:cneral character, has been omitted for consideration of space. 
 
62 
 
 THE vice-chairman's reply. 
 
 The speaker then referred briefly to the Aberdeenshire 
 Erasers, and to some ol the principal Cadet families of the 
 Clan. He gave an explanation of the coat of arms, related a 
 number of interesting Clan incidents, including forays, Clan 
 feuds, and anecdotes of a local character. At some length 
 he described the Home of the Clan, pointing out its extent 
 on a map of Inverness-shire, colored to show the gradual 
 increase and decrease of territory, which kept pace with the 
 varying fortunes of the Clan ; expatiating on the great 
 variety and beauty of its scenery, tributes to which he quoted 
 from Christopher North, Uavid Macrae. Robert Carruthers 
 and Evan MacColl. 
 
 Mr. Robert Lovat Fraser, Vice-chairman, replied 
 to the toast. He said : My duty, through the kindness of the 
 committee, is certainly not so arduous in replying to the toast 
 of the evening,asthat which has been imposed upon the Chair- 
 man in proposing it. The length of his address, the facts 
 regarding the origin and the outlines of the history of the Clan 
 which he gave, make it unnecessary for me to dwell at length 
 on this interesting topic. Indeed, I found on listening to the 
 Chairman, that I had a great deal to learn about our Clan, and 
 I am sure that I express not only my own thanks, but yours 
 to him. in placing before us. so clearly and minutely, the lead- 
 ing facts regarding our ancestry and kindred. All my life long 
 I have been an ardent admirer of some of the more promin- 
 ent Frasers who have figured in our Clan history. My own 
 connection with the Clan in the Highlands is somewhat re- 
 mote, the last of my forefathers who resided there having had 
 to leave his home and friends, on account of the part which he 
 took with his Clan in the uprising of '45. But although we 
 
THE STUDV OF THE CLAN HISTORY. 63 
 
 have been cut off from that close connection which is thought 
 necessary to keep alive a sentimental interest in such things, 
 I can assure you that no clansman born within the 
 shadow of Castle Downie can boast with greater truth of 
 possessing more enthusiasm and interest than I in all that 
 pertains to the Clan Fraser. 
 The Clan has a history 
 which we as clansmen should 
 so study as to become per- 
 fectlv familiar with it. Its 
 record has been written in 
 the events of the times as 
 well as on the page of his- 
 tory, and no more inspiring 
 or patriotic duty lies to our 
 hand than the study of thiit 
 record. I firmlv believe that 
 the influence of the clan feel- 
 ing was a good influence, 
 and that the idea of kinship 
 and responsibility to each 
 other for good behavior, as 
 
 to kinsmen, had much to do in bringing about the high 
 moral tone which distinguishes the Highland clans. It did 
 much also to prepare the minds of those people for the enlight- 
 enment and love which Christianity brought with it, and 
 which are so strikingly exemplified in the Highland character. 
 I would say therefore to the young men, 'employ part of your 
 evenings in the reading of the Clan history,' and to the older 
 people, ' devote a little of the time of your remaining years to 
 a like purpose.' I do not think it necessary, after what we 
 
 MR. ROBERT LO\ AT l-RASER, 
 1st V'ick-Ciiaikman. 
 
1^Wp^i^^a»W««™-^ ' V ^ r T"" .'— ,\ 
 
 64 
 
 A COM.MENJ^ABLE RECORD. 
 
 have just heard, to enter into historic details; neither is it neces- 
 
 assailants. The Clan has talcen its place honorably amon. 
 . s contemporaries and neighbors. It invariably perforn, d 
 . s duty ,„ a manner highly creditable to the public sp Uof 
 "s „,en,bers and to their high standard of justice. There 
 were ,t .s true at times in the Clan, as in every other body of 
 people, men whose nan,es have been perpett.ated because of evil 
 |..ther than good. These, however, have been singulariy few 
 the Clan Eraser, and even where staten,e„ts are found to 
 he r dtscred.t, the nalice of interested foes not infrec,t,ently 
 lends a he,ghtened color to charges which might to son,e 
 extent have been founded on fact. This I believe to be 
 true m the case of Simon Lord Lovat, who had the misfortune 
 to be the subject of biographical sketches by his enemies, but 
 of whom a juster view now prevails. Happily ,he prominent 
 clansmen, who,,e characteristics needed no defence, but called 
 forth adn„rat,on and emulation, were n,any. To name them 
 would be but to recite a long and distinguished list Their 
 c aractenstics were such as to challenge public con,mend- 
 "t."n. W,th them as examples no clansn,an need feel 
 ashamed of the nan,e. But what I should like to impress 
 most of all upon our Clan throughout the country is the 
 necess,ty for a sentin,ent of loyalty to the Clan name and 
 Its trad,„ons. Seeing that we have such a history let us 
 pn.e ,t. Let every clansman feel proud of it, and let him 
 see to u that his conduct and ambition are in every way 
 m keep„,g with the record of the past, and in this way prove 
 hnnseif not only a good citi.en, a good neighbor and a good 
 fr.end, but a good clansman, an<l hand down the charac 
 ter of the Clan unsullied to posterity. This would be a most 
 
A GUEST HONORED. 
 
 65 
 
 laudable ambition and one which I feel sure every Fraser 
 worthy of the name will strive earnestly to attain. 
 
 Two gentlemen, Fn sers all but in name, had been in- 
 vited as guests. They were Mr. B. Homer Dixon, Consul 
 General for the Netherland.s, and Mr. Hugh Miller, J. P., 
 both of Toronto. Their health was proposed by the chair- 
 man, who paid a high compliment to Mr. Homer Dixon, 
 who, he said, had taken the warmest interest in matters re- 
 lating to the Clan, and who was a living encyclopedia of in- 
 formation regarding its history and affairs. Mr. Dixon's 
 connection was derived from his maternal side, and not a few 
 Clan relics were in his possession. His absence from the 
 gathering was on account of indifferent health, and it was 
 regretted very much by those present. In coupling Mr. 
 Miller's name with the toast, the Chairman referred to that 
 gentleman's long connection vvith the business interests of the 
 city of Toronto. Mr. Hugh Miller was a relative of his name- 
 sake, the famous geologist, and his name was as well known 
 in Ontario business and national circles, as was that of his dis- 
 tinguished namesake in the field of literature and science. 
 Mr. Miller rightly claimed to be of Fraser stock — he certainly 
 had the Fraser spirit. He sat with them as an honored guest, 
 but none the less an honored clansman. 
 
 Mr. Miller, in reply, expressed the great satisfaction 
 with ^vhich he had received an invitation to be present at 
 what he might truly describe as a gathering of his own clans- 
 men. It was well known that in Scotland, as in other coun- 
 tries, men were often named after the occupations which 
 they followed, and it was not a mere tradition but a fact 
 within the knowledge of his imniediale forebears that they 
 were of pure Fraser stock. They had worn the Fraser tar- 
 
 mmm 
 
'*«WV**R««-,»* 
 
 66 
 
 REMINISCENCES OF EARLV DAYS. 
 
 an. and had always taken a deep interest in whatever per- 
 '.""ed to the affairs of the Clan. When the Chairman 1 
 gmng the t..st of the C.an, had referred to the places asso 
 cated w,th the name, he was brought back in memory over 
 
 boyhoo, s days was a long one, and he co„ld well recall the 
 events m the Highlands of Scotland over sixty years ago. 
 He had a loving and familiar recollection of scenes, than which 
 Uiere w e none more beamiful under the sun. and of people 
 »hohadan,matedthesefairsurroundings. The l.'raser estates 
 were among the finest in Britain, affording examples of 
 beauty calculated to leave a very vivid impression on the 
 youthful mmd, and during his long life his early impressions 
 had ever remained fresh and green. He remembered the 
 time when the succession to the chiefship and estates was 
 ■n hot dispute, and he knew how deeply the clansmen 
 were moved by that contest. Down to that day the feeling 
 01 the clans was as strong as of old. and doubtless if occasion 
 arose. ,t would prove to be strong still. At that time there 
 were various claimants for the honors and possessions of the 
 ancient house of Lovat, and as a boy he saw a good deal of those 
 who were prominently concerned in the case. The Frasers 
 were very anxious that the true heir by blood should succeed 
 and much was privately as well as openly done on behalf of 
 the various contestants, according as the clansmen believed 
 m the various claims put forward. As to the main object of 
 their re.union that evening, he could do nothing but e.xpress 
 his sincere hope that a strong association of the Frasers 
 would be formed. There was no reason whatever why 
 such an organization should not flourish in Canada, where 
 those bearing the name could be numbered by thousands 
 
CANADIAN CLANSMEN. 
 
 67 
 
 He had the good fortune to know not a few Erasers in 
 Canada, and he could honestly say that none of them, so far 
 as he knew, ever did anything that in any way tarnished the 
 good name of the Clan. He had great hopes of the success 
 of the movement from the enthusiasm of the gathering, and 
 from the fact that those who had taken the matter in hand 
 were men of energy and ceipacity. He could now only thank 
 them for having honored the toast in such a hospitable man- 
 ner, and wish them all success in the projected organization. 
 
 " The Clan in Canada." 
 Mr. R. Lovat F'raser, Vice-chairman, in proposing the 
 toast of " The Clan in Canada," said : The Clan in Canada 
 is not, of course, as important as the Clan at large, but it has 
 an importance altogether its own, and has a record not 
 unworthy the parent stem. It is a branch of a goodly tree, 
 and bears fruit of the finest quality. No clan has done more, 
 if as much, for Canada as the Clan Fraser. Coming with the 
 famous Seventy-Eighth regiment they did their duty at Louis- 
 burg and Quebec, and stamped the Clan name indelibly on the 
 history of Canada, from ocean to ocean. Not only did they ren- 
 der services in the east, but in pioneer work helped to open up 
 the west by travel, trade and commerce. A distinguished 
 clansman and a relation of my friend on the right (Fraserfield) 
 was the discoverer of the Fraser River. To those of us who 
 highly prize the integrity of the British Empire it must be a 
 source of pride to know that the part taken by the Seventy- 
 Eighth in Lower Canada helped very much to keep the Ameri- 
 can continent for the British Crown. The history of that 
 time clearly proves that had the fortunes of war been 
 adverse in Canada to the British arms, the French would 
 
 r. 
 
 "wm^m" 
 
FRASERS AS PIONEERS. 
 
 hoe o ,„, ,^^^ ''-" -"P'ed wi.h .his inhere J; 
 
 oast, I must leave the duty of dealing at length with it and 
 
 rejo,ce that both of them are gentlemen thoro gh ' 
 
 am, ar w,t the subject and of recognised ability as TpTat-^ 
 
 1 refer to Mr F A P^-.o^ u • ^^peaKens. 
 
 ^vir. n. A. l^raser, barrister, of DetrmV anrl 
 worthy friend, Mr. G. B. Fraser, of Toronto ' 
 
 Mr. E. a. Fraser said : Mr Vice rh^^Irmo.. nu • 
 -inrl ri^ , . vice-cnairman, Chairman 
 
 ne, I am a Canad,an-born clans„,an, my native place bein. 
 
 yo~d "Z""'' '''"''" 2"-" ^">- '--'"' 
 
 c m / ,"■ "■ ''' ^'""'^ "■" '"^ <=-""-y -d with our 
 
 clansmen n, the country as those who have not left it to reside 
 
 u,, er anot er Hag. I can therefore speak with confide' 
 o .h,s toast, but you will excuse n,e if , speak brierty, as the 
 0. „as unexpected, and 1 do not wish to make i appea 
 that any words of mine that may come on the spur of the 
 mon,ent would be sufficient to lay before you. in proper forn, 
 what our Clan has done for Canada and the posidon' whi i 
 op,es to-day n, the affairs of the country. It is easy to 
 peak of Lou,sburg and Quebec ; it is easy to dilate on the 
 ""."- ol d,stmguished clansmen familiar to us all for the 
 promtnent positions they have taken among their fellows, but 
 the v.ork performed by the Clan in r„, i 
 1,^ h.,ir. I J ,„ Canada would not then 
 
 be half told. We n.ust go back to the hoary forests, to the 
 backwoods, where the early settlers bent their energies to 
 he open.ng up of the country. That noble pioneer work in 
 wlach our clans.nen shared, and shared in large „un,bers, it 
 
THEIR SUCCESS IN BUSINESS. 
 
 69 
 
 seems to me, has an importance that is not as often recognized 
 as it ought to be. It is difficult for the imagination even to 
 grasp the peculiar task that lay before the early settlers of 
 this vast, heavily-timbered, unbroken, unopened, untravelled 
 country. Now that we can take a seat in the railway car at 
 Halifax and leave it at Vancouver, we can form but the very 
 faint'^st conception of what this country was one hundred 
 ye-.rs ago, when those hardy mountaineers ranged themselves 
 alongside the Lowland Scot, the Englishman, the Irishman, 
 the German and the Frenchman, to hew down the lords of 
 the forest, to turn the wilderness into well cultivated fields, to 
 turn the log cabins into the mansions that now adorn the plains, 
 and to form, as they do, a sturdy peasantry second to none 
 in the world. When the pen of a genius has dealt with those 
 times, a chapter will be writtea for the civilized world more 
 interesting, probably, than any yet penned. We have to leave 
 the high places of military fame and statesmanship and enter 
 the factory and the counting-house to trace there the career of 
 
 the pioneers of industry and commerce, and among them we find 
 our clansmen performing tho.se duties which the nece.ssities of 
 the country demanded. If we turn to the profe.ssions, our Clan 
 is found to hold its own. To the church, to law, to medicine, 
 to art, to politics, we have given men of whom we are proud. 
 The walk of life in Canada that has not been trodden by a clans- 
 man would be only an undesirable one for any man to tread. 
 If I may be permitted to say it— coming as I do from the 
 great State of Michigan— I would say that in that State, 
 where our clansmen are very numerous, they not only hold 
 their own, but have attained to eminence in business and in 
 the professions. We have men of distinguished ability at the 
 head of the legal fraternity of our State ; we have men whose 
 
70 
 
 DISCOVERER OF THE ERASER RIVER. 
 
 genius in business has secured them wealth and position ; we 
 have men who in humbler spheres have rendered patriotic 
 services to the State, and who, one and all, show that they 
 have not lost the characteristics of the Clan in new associa- 
 tions and callings. Before sitting down I should like to ex- 
 press the great pleasure I have experienced at this gathering 
 of clansmen. I would have come twice as far to be present, 
 and trust that the organization, the formation of which will 
 undoubtedly be sanctioned here to-night, will be the means 
 of bringing us together frequently to enjoy ourselves as we 
 are now doing. 
 
 Mr. G. B. F"raser, of Toronto, followed, in response to 
 the same toast. He said : Mr. Vice-chairman, Chairman and 
 Clansmen, I frequently have to regret my lack of ability to 
 discharge a duty of this nature to my own satisfaction The 
 subject allotted to me is one with which I cannot claim to be 
 unfamiliar. It is a subject of great interest, and on such an 
 occasion as the present, a subject which ought to be treated 
 with some detail in order to perpetuate the names and deeds 
 of clansmen who have done their duty nobly and well by 
 this the land of our adoption. I find myself, however, not 
 lacking in material, but in that ability — which seems to be 
 born in some men — to place my information lucidly and 
 briefly before you. Some speakers have already referred, 
 and others will, later on, refer to the origin of the Clan 
 Fraser in Canada. I shall not trespass on that part of the 
 subject, but coming down to this century we find a clansman 
 whose name will e\'er live in Canada. I refer to Simon 
 Fraser, the discoverer of the Fraser River, whose life, when 
 it comes to be written, will certainly shed lustre on the 
 Clan name. He was descended from a cadet family of the 
 
A MILITARY PROJECT. 
 
 71 
 
 Lovats, came with his parents to Canada from the Eastern 
 States, and settled at Glengarry. His worthy relative, Eraser 
 of Fraserfield, sits here on my right, and proud I am to 
 welcome him to this feast. John Fraser de Berry, the founder 
 of the New Clan Fraser, was a man of extraordinary person- 
 ality, whose acquaintance I first made at the time of the 
 Trent affair. I happened to be in Montreal at that time, and 
 received a telegram from De Berry that he wished to see me. 
 He came from Quebec city, and we met in the St. Lawrence 
 Hall. I was very much impressed with the singular inter- 
 view which took place between us. Of course he was full of 
 the project of his Clan Fraser, full of the history and genealogy 
 of the Clan. He was an enthusiast, and in common with 
 many enthusiasts could look but with impatience on the prac- 
 tical, prosaic side of things. With due formality, acting by 
 what he believed to be his authority as a chieftain of the 
 Clan, he invested me with power to raise a company of 
 Frasers, in an allotted district in Western Ontario, which was 
 delineated on a military plan in his possession. I could not 
 do otherwise than accept the commission, which was that of 
 captain, from this venerable-looking and earnest chief. Had 
 I been able to withdraw from business, I have ,0 doubt that 
 I should have been, in a very short time, at the head of a 
 company numbering at least one hundred stalwart clansmen, 
 who would have given a good account of themselves in the 
 field. But, as you are aware, the occasion for defence quickly 
 passed away, and no more was heard of the proposed regi- 
 ment of Frasers. of which my company was to have formed 
 a part. The most remarkable fact which impressed itself 
 upon me then, and one that I yet consider remarkable, was 
 the manner in which De Berry had the Province divided into 
 
 i 
 
72 
 
 DE BERRY S ENTHUSIASM. 
 
 military districts on his maps, the exact information which he 
 had regarding the locations in which the clansmen resided, 
 and the mass of details with which he seemed to be perfectly 
 familiar. I could not understand how he acquired all this in- 
 formation, but have been informed since, by some who were 
 associated with him, that he spared no means to trace out 
 every Fraser in the country, through the voters' lists, the 
 township registration books and the village directories. The 
 amount of work involved in such research must have been 
 enormous, and I can well believe that for many years De Berry 
 devoted his time, as a man of leisure, to this project. He 
 also appointed me as one of the one hundred and eleven 
 chieftains of the New Clan, the chief of which was a descend- 
 ant of a cadet of the Lovat family, residing in Nova Scotia, but 
 the organization was too unwieldy, and its objects were rather 
 vague for practical purposes. For a number of years meet- 
 ings were held in Montreal of a very interesting character, 
 but with De Berry's death and that of a number of those 
 more prominently associated with him interest died out, and 
 now we he..r of the New Clan no more. We can profit by 
 their expe; ience in our own undertaking, and doubtless we 
 shall be able to form an organization which will live, and which 
 will perpetuate the name and traditions associated with the 
 name and vith this new country. I have practically confined 
 myself to De Berry's name, not because there is a lack of 
 clansmen on my list, whose memories deserve to be perpetu- 
 ated, such as, for instance, the founder of the P>aser Institute, 
 in Montreal ; John Fraser, the author ; John A. Fraser, the 
 artist; Judg- Fraser and Colonel Fraser, of Glengarry ; but be- 
 cause some of these will doubtless be alluded to by other 
 speakers, and, because having devoted so much time to a man 
 
DISTINGUISHED CLANSMEN. 
 
 1Z 
 
 whose name and personality I cannot but regard as of pe- 
 culiar interest to us, I have left myself but little time to refer 
 to those clansmen whom I held, and still hcJd, in high esteem, 
 and in whose name I thank you for the toast proposed and 
 honored in such a fitting manner. 
 
 " Distinguished Clansmen." 
 
 Mr. R. L. Fraser, the Vice-chairman, then proposed the 
 toast of " Distinguished Clansmen in Art, Science, Literature, 
 Theology, Arms and Politics." He said : I had almost con- 
 cluded that all Frasers are distinguished clansmen, and dis- 
 tinguished in the highest sense of the word, though it were 
 better, perhaps, to be more modest, and hence the division 
 into which this toast has been divided. While we rightly 
 draw much of our inspiration from the seat of the Clan across 
 the sea, it is well that we should remember, and remember 
 generously, those of our Clan in this country who have secured 
 high positions In life. Among our artists the name " Fraser" 
 takes high rank. Some of the Fraser artists I have known 
 personally, and can bear testimony not only to their fame, but 
 to their personal qualities. Canadian art owes much to Mr. 
 J. A. Fraser and Mr. W. Lewis Fraser, now sojourning in 
 Europe. Literature claims the names of James Lovat Fraser, 
 the distinguished classical scholar, of John Fraser, of Donald 
 Fraser, and others well known in Canada. Science also has 
 its devotees and distinguished students, especially medical 
 science and theology, Frasers both in Canada and in the 
 old land have taken front rank in the profession of arms, 
 and have distinguished themselves from the time of Sir Simon 
 Fraser, the compeer and companion of Wallace and the 
 savior of Scotland, down to ihe present day. In politics the 
 
 : i 
 
 ijimimjuw i 
 
 Ji 
 
I 
 
 74 
 
 THE IRASLKS IN ART. 
 
 Clan has certainly won its share of such honors as the public 
 delight to bestow. The reply to this toast has been entrusted 
 to a splendid array of able clansmen. For clansmen distin- 
 guished in arts, Ex- Mayor Eraser, of Petrolea, will reply ; for 
 those in science, Dr. J. H. Eraser ; for those in Liu;ji(><4), Dr. 
 j\Iu;igo Eraser ; for those in literature, Professor W. H. 
 Eraser ; for Erasers in war, Mr. Alexander Eraser (Eraser- 
 field) ; and for those in politics, Mr. \V. P. Eraser. 
 
 Ex-Mayor Eraser, replying for the " Erasers in Art," 
 said : Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen, — Your committee, in 
 selectino- me to speak for our clansmen in Art, acted of 
 course on the assumption that I possessed the necessary 
 qualifications for the task. At the outset, however, I must, 
 in justice to all concerned, but more especially to the Erasers 
 \vho have won distinction in art, confess that my attainments 
 in that department are hardly such as to entitle me to a hear- 
 incr in response to this important toast. But I am to some 
 extent emboldened and sustained by the reflection that, as 
 this is in a sense a family gathering, the shortcomings of 
 a Eraser will pass, if not unobserved, at least without 
 provoking unfriendly comment. Permit me then, on be- 
 half of the artists of our Clan, to thank you for the 
 cordial and enthusiastic manner in which you have received 
 this toast. Among the many distinguished clansmen who 
 have, in almost every sphere of human endeavor and useful- 
 ness, shed unfading lustre, not only upon our Clan, but upon 
 humanity in general, our artists have secured an honored 
 place. Of necessity, those of our Clan who have excelled in 
 art are few in number ; Indeed, the artists of the world and 
 of the ages might almost find standing room In this banquet 
 hall. But our Clan has perhaps produced its quota, and some 
 
CHARLES AND JOHN A. FRASER. 
 
 75 
 
 of them have taken high rank. It is not my purpose to men- 
 tion th« names of all ; in fact, I am unable to name more than 
 two, viz., Charles Fraser and jr hn A. Eraser. The former 
 was a distinguished portrait 
 painter of South Carolina 
 who died in i860 at the age 
 of y8 years. He left a large 
 number of portraits, all of 
 which are said to have much 
 artistic merit, and some of 
 which have acquired consid- 
 erable historic value. Of 
 Mr. John A. Fraser it is 
 hardly necessary to speak 
 here. By his works we know 
 him. A collection of Cana 
 diaii paintings without one 
 or more of his masterly re- 
 presentations of Canadian 
 scenery would assuredly be 
 incomplete. Let that suffice 
 for our modern artists. It 
 occurs to me. as it must have 
 done to us all at one time or 
 another, that our Clan must b ive produced great artists 
 in the bygone ages. ^Assuredly Greece and Italy did 
 not produce a// the old masters. The Fraser Clan 
 flourished then and was of course represented in art ; but, 
 just as in the newspaper— the product of the "art preser- 
 vative "—there is to be found an occasional artist who, im- 
 pelled by modesty or an exaggerated regard for his personal 
 
 I'X-MAYOK JOHN IKASEK, 
 
 2m> \'lCli-CHAIRMA.N. 
 
 1 
 
 I 
 
 m 
 
"iTWMM 
 
 ■ JtMt&. '<y«£^,'id|ik«!>«i<iMK&_ 
 
 
 76 THE CLAN IN SCIENCE. 
 
 sa.(ety , uses a nom die phime — for instance, "Junius," Vox Populi 
 or " A Disgusted Subscriber" — so there were, I fancy, in the 
 days of long ago, TVasers in art who unmindful of posterity 
 or perchance distrustful of their own powers, as genius so 
 frequently is, worked under cover of such names as Raphael, 
 Leonardo da Vinci, Michael Angelo, Canova, etc. A slight 
 effort of the imagination will enable a Fraser to accept this 
 theory. 
 
 The Fraser has ever been great on the "tented field." 
 There, indeed, he has won renown, for his "fierce, native 
 daring " has never been surpassed. But there are still vic- 
 tories to be won, infinitely greater than any achieved in battle. 
 The grandest painting is yet to be painted, and we who are 
 the first in Canada to assemble in honor of our ancient and 
 beloved Clan shall ever fondly cherish the hope that the first 
 place in art will be occupied by a Fraser. But from whatever 
 clan or country the master shall come, the Frasers will be 
 among the first to do him honor. 
 
 I thank you, Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, for the patient 
 hearing you have given me. 
 
 The reply to the part of this toast referring to " Science" 
 was made by Dr. J. B. Fraser, M. D., C. M., R. C. P. and 
 S. K., Toronto. He said : Mr. Chairman, Vice-chairman, 
 and Brother Clansmen, it gives me a great deal of pleasure 
 to meet such a representative gathering of the old and dis- 
 tinguished "Clan Fraser" as we have here to-night. It 
 arouses one's enthusiasm to think of the leading position our 
 forefathers took in the history of Scotland, and the many 
 deeds of valor performed on the battle field ; and although 
 they were pre-eminently noted as warriors, still we have many 
 
JOHN ERASER, THE BOTANIST. 
 
 11 
 
 lis 
 
 instances in which they shone in the realms of science. In 
 replying to the toast of " The Frasers in Science," allow me 
 to give you a few brief biographical sketches of a few of our 
 ancestors. 
 
 Sir Alexander Fraser, of Philorth, was born in 1537, and 
 died in 1623. He succeeded his grandfather to the estates 
 in 1569, and at once began to improve the estate and advance 
 the welfare of his clansmen. At this time Philorth was the 
 baronial burgh, and boasted of a commodious harbor ; but after 
 the improvements referred to he changed the name to Fraser- 
 burgh. Having conceived the idea of founding a university, 
 in spite of the strenuous opposition of the town of Aberdeen, 
 he obtained powers to build a university at Fraserburgh, with 
 all the privileges of the older universities. The remains of 
 this building still existed in 1888. On account of his interest 
 in education and high scholastic attainments he was knighted 
 in 1594. His motto was '* The glory of the honorable is to 
 fear God." 
 
 John Fraser, F.L.S., was born in 1750, and died in 181 1. 
 He was a noted botanist, and visited North America five 
 times in search of new and unknown specimens. He collected 
 a great many plants in Newfoundland and later on at Charles- 
 ton, Virginia. In 1796 he visited St. Petersburg, where he 
 was introduced to the notice of the Empress Catherine, who 
 purchased his entire collection of plants. In 1798 he was 
 appointed botanical collector to the Czar Paul, and by him 
 sent to America for a fresh collection. As a tribute to his 
 ability he was elected a Fellow of Linnean Society (F.L.S.) 
 
 Sir Alexander Fraser, M. D., belonged to the Durris 
 branch of the family. He was educated at Aberdeen Uni- 
 versity, and having risen by his skill high in the ranks of 
 
m'^'is^sis^mmms^ima^i^.. 
 
 78 
 
 ROBERT FRASEK, THE STATISTICIAN. 
 
 physicians and surgeons he was appointed physician to 
 Charles II., whom he accompanied in his travels through 
 Scotland. Spotswood, in his history of Scotland, speaks 
 highly of his learning and skill. He died in 1681. 
 
 Robt, Fraser, F. R. S., son of Rev. Geo. Fraser, was 
 born in 1760, and educated in Glasgow University, where he 
 obtained the degree of M. A., when he was but 15 years of age. 
 He studied for the Church of Scotland, and was appointed in 
 an official capacity to the Prince of Wales, afterward George 
 IV. In 1791 the Earl of Breadalbane asked him to accom- 
 [iany him on a tour through the Western Isles and the High- 
 lands of Scotland, undertaken with the view of improving the 
 state of the people. The Prince of Wales gave him leave, and 
 at the same time stated hi:, faith in his ability to plan some means 
 by which the people would be benefited, and wished him suc- 
 cess. He succeeded so well that he was chosen to conduct a 
 statistical survey of Ireland, and was the means of originating 
 several important works, among others- the harbor of Kings- 
 town, sometimes called Oueenstovvn. He published several 
 works on agriculture, mines, mineralogy, fish, etc. He 
 died in 1831. 
 
 Simon Fraser was an explorer of some note, and was 
 sent by the Hudson's Bay Company to establish new trading 
 posts, and prospect for minerals, etc. He wrote many papers 
 from 1806 to 1808. The Fraser river was named after him.* 
 
 Lewis Fraser was a zoologist of some note, and was 
 appointed as curator of the Zoological Society of London. 
 He trjLvelled through South America, studying the character 
 and habits of different animals and birds, and as the result 
 of his travels published a work called " Zoologia Typica," or 
 
 * Sei' skftdi of liiH litV latoroii, 
 
PROFESSOR A. C. FRASER. 
 
 79 
 
 figures of rare and new animals. In 1888 his son was curator 
 of the Zoological and General Sections of the Indian Museum 
 of Calcutta. 
 
 William Fraser, LL. D., was born in 18 17 in Banff- 
 shire, and was ordained pas- 
 tor of the Free Middle con- 
 gregation of Paisley in 1849. 
 In 1872 the University of 
 Glasgow conferred on him 
 the degree of LL. D., on 
 account of his scientific at- 
 tainments. In 1873, i'l re- 
 cognition of his long servi- 
 ces as President of the Phil- 
 osophical Society, he was 
 presented with a microscope 
 and purse of sovereigns, fie 
 died in 1879. 
 
 Ale.xander Campbell F'ra- 
 ser, D. C. L.. LL. D., was 
 born in 1819. His father 
 was a minister and his mother 
 a sister of Sir Duncan Camp- 
 bell. He was educated in 
 the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, and in 1842 won a 
 prize for his essay on "Toleration." In 1859 he was Dean 
 of the Faculty in Arts, University of Edinburgh, and in 1871 
 was appointed Examiner in Moral Science ; the same year he 
 received the degree of LL.D. from the University of Glasgow. 
 Later he was appointed Examiner in Moral Science and Logic 
 at the India Civil Service Examinations. He was elected a 
 
 mi. WILLIAM A. FKASICK, 
 Sixretarv-Treasirer. 
 
 . 
 
8o 
 
 PROFESSOR T. R. FRASER. 
 
 member of the Athenian Club— without a ballot— for emi- 
 nence in literature and philosophy. He afterward received 
 the Degree of D. C. L., Oxford University. 
 
 Professor Thos. Richard Fraser, M. D., F. R. S., was 
 born in Calcutta, India, in 1841, and graduated in medicine 
 in Edinburgh in 1862. In 1863 he acted as Assistant Pro- 
 lessor of Materia Medica, and in 1869 was appointed as 
 Assistant Physician in the Royal Infirmary. He was after- 
 ward appointed Examiner in Materia Medica in London 
 University, and was elected Medical Health Officer for Mid- 
 Cheshire ; he was also appointed Examiner in Public Heahh 
 by London University. He \\as Dean of the Faculty in 
 r88o He is a F. R. S., F. R. C. P., Edinburgh ; mem- 
 ber of the Pharmaceutical Society, Britain ; corresponding 
 member of the Therapeutical Society of Paris, and of the Aca- 
 demy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. When the Interna- 
 tional Medical Congress met in London in 1881 he was 
 appointed president of one section, and again president of one 
 section in 1885. His work has been chiefly in the direction 
 of determining the physiological effects of medicinal sub- 
 stances, with the view of establishing an accurate and rational 
 basis for the treatment of disease. 
 
 I have now mentioned some of the names recorded in 
 history of Erasers that were distinguished in Science, and as 
 I have occupied more than my share of time, I will take my 
 seat, conscious that I have been able to mention but a few 
 of the many clansmen distinguished for their scientific 
 attainments. As I said at the outset I have enjoyed a 
 great deal of pleasure in this gathering of clansmen. 
 In looking over the record of a few of our brethren dis- 
 tinguished in science, so as to glean a few facts for this 
 
CLANSMEN IN LITERATURE. 
 
 8l 
 
 occasion, I recognized more than ever before the substantial 
 services rendered to mankind by men bearing our name, and 
 now that we have foregathered a small company, it may be, 
 but a select one, I feel that you share with me the pride with 
 which we regard our Clan and name. 
 
 Professor W. H. Fraser, in replying to the sentiment, 
 *' Distinguished Clansmen in Literature," said : Gentlemen, 
 — I thank you heartily for the way in v/hich you have receiv- 
 ed this toast, and for the honor you confer on me in asking 
 me to answer for our distinguished literary clansmen living 
 and dead. 
 
 Literature is the mirror of life. Life is action : litera- 
 ture is contemplation and words. My knowledge of the 
 history of the Clan leads me to the conclusion that most of 
 its distinguished members were men of deeds rather than 
 words, and that they lived at times and under circumstances 
 when deeds rather than words had value — men like Sir 
 Alexander, who fought by Robert Bruce's side at Ban- 
 nockburn, or that other Sir Alexander Mackenzie Fraser of 
 the last century, described by contemporaries as "mild as 
 a lamb and strong as a lion," who had said to him in public 
 by his General, "Colonel Fraser, you and your regiment 
 have this day saved the British army," or the Fraser who 
 fought with Wolfe before Quebec, and a host of others- 
 These men did not write literature, but perhaps they were 
 better employed. I think they were, but at any rate they 
 are the men who furnish the basis for literature — heroism, 
 fidelity and devotion. 
 
 The Clan has, however, not been wanting in scholars and 
 
 
82 
 
 SIR ALEXANDER OF PHILORTH. 
 
 writers, nor in those who patronized and furthered learning. 
 What think you of a Fraser— Sir Alexander of Philorth — 
 who in the i6th century built a grand University ? It is 
 getting to be the fashion now for rich men to build and 
 er low seats of learning, but a man with such foresight and 
 generosity in those early times in Scotland is surely deserv- 
 ing of all praise. 
 
 Although not a few of the early Frasers won fame by 
 the sword, some wielded to good purpose that mightier 
 weapon, the pen. Such was James Fraser of Hrea, in Ross- 
 shire, who wrote copiously on theology, and who went to 
 prison, by orders of Archbishop Sharp, as a preacher at conven- 
 ticles. Another divine and scholar was James Fraser, of Pitcal- 
 zian, in Ross-shire, a son of the manse ; a famous controver- 
 sialist he was, and wrote a book against the Arminianism of 
 Grotius that has kept its ground in Scotland till the present 
 day, although he died as long ago as 1769. 
 
 These are some of our older literary celebrities. Time 
 will not permit me to mention all those who belong to the 
 present century, or whose lives extended into it. There was 
 Archibald Campbell Fraser of Lovat, 38th McShimi, who 
 died in 1 815. As a school-boy he saw the fight at Culloden, 
 and was afterwards Foreign Consul in Barbary, and was 
 author of the " Annals of the patriots of the family of Fraser, 
 Frizell, Simson or Fitzsimson." It must in truth have been 
 a mighty book if it recorded them all. A curious piece of liter- 
 ature from his pen was the very long and very laudatory 
 epitaph for his own tomb erected by himself. 
 
 Robert Fraser, of Pathhead, Fifeshire, lived up till 1839. 
 He was an ironmonger, but of such remarkable literary and 
 linguistic tastes that in leisure moments he acquired Latin, 
 
FPASER S MAGAZINE. 
 
 83 
 
 Greek, French, German, Italian and Spanish. His poetry, 
 which I regret is not accessible to me, was, it is said, charac- 
 terized by fine feeling and nicety of touch. Truly a remark- 
 able man. His ruling passion was strong in death, for he 
 passed out of life dictating some translations of Norwe- 
 gian and Danish poems. 
 
 There are other ways of making literature besides writing 
 it yourself. James Fraser, an Inverness man, was one of those 
 who have made literature by proxy. Who does not know 
 Fraser's Magazine ? that pioneer publication in this field of 
 literature, dating from 1830, with its famous contributors like 
 Thackeray, Carlyle, J. A. Froude and Father Prout. This 
 Fraser was also a famous publisher, a man of taste and 
 judgment, and did more to advance literature than almost 
 any man of his time, notwithstanding Carlyle's reference to 
 him as " that infatuated Fraser with his dog's-meat tart of a 
 magazine." 
 
 Contemporary with Fraser of the magazine was James 
 Baillie Fraser, also an Inverness man and a famous traveller 
 who explored the Himalaya Mountains, and who was the first 
 European to reach the sources of the Jumna and Ganges. He 
 came home, and wrote an account of his travels. A little later 
 he donned Persian costume, explored the larger part of 
 Persia, and wrote a two-\olume account of his journey. 
 Turning to romance, he wrote " Kuggilbas," a tale of 
 Khorasain ; and this was the first of a long list of Eastern 
 tales, histories and travels, the mere enumeration of which 
 woul'1 take us on pretty far towards to-niorrow morning. 
 
 A beautiful and sympathetic literary figure is that of 
 T-vdia Falconer Fi''i<;pr fh^' wife of Hucrh Miller. H<^'»'e are 
 
84 
 
 LYDIA FALCONER ERASER. 
 
 some lines from a poem of hers on the death of their first- 
 born child : 
 
 " Thou'rt awa, awa, from thy mother's side, 
 
 And awa, awa, from thy father's knee ; 
 Thou'rt awa from our blessing-, our care, our caressing, 
 
 But awa from our hearts thou'lt never be. 
 
 ***** 
 
 Thou'rt awa, awa, from the bursting spring time, 
 
 Tho' o'er thy head its green boughs wave ; 
 The lambs are leaving their little foot-prints 
 
 On the turf of thy new-made grave." 
 
 What gentleness and sweetness in these lines ! One 
 of her prose works, *' Cats and Dogs, "still holds its own as 
 one of the minor classics of natural history. 
 
 Rev. Robert William Fraser, a Perthshire man, succeeded 
 Rev. Dr. Guthrie in St. John's Church, Edinburgh, in 1847, 
 and was a learned and eloquent divine and a dni|2:ent pastor. 
 He found time to write all but one of a dozen of important 
 works on divinity, history, physical and natural science. He 
 was a solid man. 
 
 I must not omit William Fraser, the educational reformer 
 who helped David Stow to carry out his training system for 
 teachers in Scotland, and who later investigated Scottish edu- 
 cation, and wrote an important book on the subject of which 
 the results were afterwards embodied in legislation. He 
 died in 1879. 
 
 Along with him may well be mentioned the late James 
 Fraser, Bishop of Manchester, a very famous man from 
 Forfarshire, one of the Frasers of Durris, of whom it has 
 been said that there has not been in this generation a more 
 simple or noble soul. He interests us especially for his work 
 in education, and forms a connecting link between our school 
 system and English educational reform, for he visited Canada 
 and the United States in 1865, and drew up a report which 
 
REV DONALD FRASER, D.D. 
 
 85 
 
 his biographer, Thomas Hughes, calls "a superb, an almost 
 unique piece of work." It was the basis of the Foster Act 
 of 1870, by which enormous changes were introduced in the 
 direction of the American system. 
 
 Worthy of being put by his side was Rev. Donald Fraser, 
 D.D., who died two years ago, of whom we should hear 
 more under the head of theology. He received part of 
 his education in old Knox College, Toronto, and was pastor 
 of the Cote Street Church, Montreal, from which he was 
 called to Inverness, thence to London, England. 
 
 In my mass of material, I had almost forgotten Patrick 
 Lord Fraser, who died only five years ago. He was a very 
 great man of the law, one of Scotland's greatest, and wrote 
 extensively on legal subjects. 
 
 The Erasers, however, were not all heavy writers. Many 
 of us remember John Fraser, who met his death by accident in 
 Ottawa in 1872. He was best known as "Cousin Sandy." 
 He had been a chartist before coming to Canada. He was 
 a tailor by trade, and laid aside the needle for that other sharp 
 pointed instrument, the pen. Most of his work was contro- 
 versial and sarcastic. Here is a sample of his rollicking verse, 
 reminding one strongly of the Ingoldsby legends : 
 
 " William Blyth was a scapt'-grace — as many boys are — 
 Who with ptudence and forothou_t;ht was always at war; 
 His genius was active; I've hoaiil, or have read, 
 That his grandma was nervous ; his father was dead ; 
 And his mother, released from connubial vows, 
 Brought home to her dwelling a second hand spviuse. 
 Who gave her a heart, somewhat hard .-md obtiiise, 
 In exchange for her furniture ready for use. 
 Now William like others, without leave would roam, 
 And be absent when father the second came home; 
 So he of the step, which step-father should be, 
 Said 'To save the lad's morals we'll send him to sea.'" 
 
 am 
 
■•-!S5«Saa*s«SiB»«R/.;a>i'*i4«»i 
 
 
 ; 
 
 i 
 
 1; 
 
 ! 
 
 
 y' 
 
 
 i ■' ' 
 
 
 
 86 
 
 COUSIN SANDV. 
 
 The boy was confined in a water-cask for bad conduct. 
 
 " And the wave cleared the deck of the vessel, and she 
 Like one half 'seas over' rolled about in the sea. 
 Then a shriek was heard, and the boatswain roar'd 
 ' There's Bill and the tub gone overboard !' " 
 
 He floated to shore after an interview with a shark, a 
 cow switched her tail against the tub, and Bill caught it while 
 the cow fled, and wrecked the tub, but saved Bill's life, although 
 he remained unconscious. 
 
 " lUit was roused from his swoon by a beautiful Yankee 
 
 Who brought dough-nuts and tea, it was genuine Twankay. 
 An angel of light in the garb of humanity, 
 Aim! that garb of the Saxony's best superfine, 
 Vfiv. her countrymen term the 'real genuine.' 
 i'.\ll was charmed and concluded, with some show of reason, 
 Tirat to her annexation could never be treason." 
 
 And he was annexed in due time. 
 
 We have some poets still living, Gordon Fraser, John W» 
 Fraser, and others; on them I must touch lightly. Gordon is 
 a writer on " Lowland Lore," and writes good ballads of his 
 own, like the one beginning : 
 
 "'Twas an eerie nicht, an' the storm-cluds lower'd. 
 
 An the lichtnin's glent was keen. 
 An' tlie thmmer roll'd, but nane were cower'd 
 
 r the clachan till-hous bien." 
 
 It is a fearsome ghost story well told. 
 John W. is a very charming writer. His ballad of the 
 courtship of '' Bell " is first-rate, and it begins: 
 
 " Sin' Bell cam' to bide in our toun, 
 
 The warl' has a' gaen ajee ; 
 She has turned a' the heads o' the men, 
 
 And the women wi' envy will dea. 
 O, but Hell's bonnie ! 
 
 Dink as a daisy is she ; 
 Her e'en are as bricht as the starnies 
 
 That shine in the lift sae hie." 
 
 Such are some of our literary men, and they are very 
 creditable specimens. I know that I have left out more than 
 I have given. I have not said a word about all the 
 
 , 
 
FRASERS IN THEOLOGY. 
 
 87 
 
 Frasers in Gaelic literature, whose name must be legion, 
 bscause I cannot follow them in that language. 
 
 Our Clan has a good proportion of the literary in it, and 
 I believe we are all literary critics. I never knew a Fraser 
 yet who had not excellent literary taste and judgment. The 
 I reasons why more literature has not been produced is very 
 
 clear to my mind, and depends on a prominent characteristic 
 of the Clan— great modesty. This must be thrown aside if 
 you are going to rush into literature. Many a Fraser has 
 had it in him to produce the highest sort of literature, v/ho 
 from this cause has never written a line for the public. When 
 the Clan succeeds in throwing off this defect, we may expect 
 the production of literary works on a par with the best that 
 has been written. 
 
 The reply to the toast of " Frasers in Theology " was 
 entrusted to the Rev. Mungo Fraser, D.D., of Hamilton, 
 who had to leave by train for home before this toast was 
 reached. His reply summarised is as follows : '' There are 
 many clansmen who stand high in theology, if we be allowed 
 to understand by that term the wider and more comprehen- 
 sive sphere of work in the Church of Christ. In the memory 
 of those who admire subjective writings of an extremely 
 searching character, the name of the Rev. James Fraser, of 
 Brea, will occupy an undying place. To those who give the 
 highest rank among ministers to pulpit ability, the Frasers of 
 Kirkhill, for three generations, will afford examples of 
 eloquence and those gifts of oratorical power that appeal so 
 irresistibly to the popular ear. By those who regard the 
 administrative functions of the pastor as of importance, the 
 name of Bishop Fraser, of Manchester, i^ justly esteemed, 
 
88 
 
 FRASERS IN WAR. 
 
 and in a less prominent, but not less important degree, the 
 name of Dr. William Fraser, for a long period the senior clerk 
 of the Presbyterian Church in Canada; and theological litera- 
 ture finds a writer of ability and copiousness in Dr. Donald 
 Fraser, at one time of Montreal and afterwards of London, 
 England. The Clan contributed a great many names to the 
 roll of distinguished clergymen, men who, in their different 
 spheres, rendered noble service to the cause of Christ. And 
 among them are men, some of whose names hav(i been men- 
 tioned by the Vice-chairman, of ability, of high character, 
 whose personal influence over the people was strongly felt. 
 In Canada the name of Fraser has an honored place among the 
 ministers of the churches. They are doing their duty nobly 
 and well, and if the names of some of them be not widely 
 known outside of their own country, it must not be for- 
 gotten that a clergyman's best fame and best reward is his 
 good name among those for whom he directly labors, and for 
 whose welfare he gives his best endeavors. Did time permit, 
 it would be comparatively easy to speak at length of those 
 who have held their own in the theological sphere, but suffi- 
 cient has probably been said to indicate that the Clan has 
 done its duty in one of the most interesting and important 
 fields of human effort open for the welfare of man. 
 
 The part of the toast dealing with "the Frasers in War," 
 was replied to by Mr. Alexander Fraser (of Fraserfield, 
 (Glengarry). lie said : After what we have heard of the Clan 
 this evening we must come to the conclusion that it has always 
 been distinguished for its military spirit, and I regret on that 
 account, all the more, that the duty has fallen upon me to 
 reply to the " Frasers in W^ar." Not that I do not appre- 
 
MILITARY CHARACTER OF THE CLAN. gg 
 
 ciate to the fullest extent that spirit which distinguished them 
 and probably ,n no small degree share it, but I L not a ma^ 
 of words, and I feel , shall not be able, even in a sll Z 
 
 ; : 7Z a ''T- """""^'^^'^ "-^ -"'-^^^ - 
 
 Frlsers d ; eo T t " '" '"'' ""«'"• ^^ '^ *e 
 1- asers did come from Normandy, they must have been 
 
 e ected on account of their military ability, for those wer 
 
 . e days when length and strength arm and good genera 
 
 possess. But, commg down to the earlier times in Scotland, 
 we find our clansmen heading the warlike and chivalrou 
 nobles of that country, in their devotion to the Crown, and 
 .n their expo.ts m the field in defence of country and 
 patrimony. I need not enter into a detailed descriptL of 
 
 and their king with an unswerving devotion whose lustre timi 
 will not dim, nor the researches of modern historians tar "h 
 Down hrough history in the Highlands they have ever shown 
 ^emselves to be a brave and warlike race, furnishing indi 
 viduals of consp,euous ability and distinction in arms No 
 treatment of th,s toast would be complete that should omit a 
 reference to Fraser's Highlanders that embarked und^r he 
 command of theChief of theClan in i;5;, and took par wih 
 Wolfes army m all the engagements, from Louisburg to the 
 U>se of the war. At Quebec the Frasers distinguished 
 themselves in an especial manner. In the struggled which 
 took p,.,e early in the century, between the'calt 
 and Americans, the Frasers did their duty, proving that 
 down to our own times they maintained their old rfputa- 
 "on. In the British army, from the formation of the 
 Highland regiments, in ,739, to the present day, the 
 

 
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90 
 
 HON. CHRISTOPHER F. FRASER, M.P.P. 
 
 Clan has given many distinguished officers and many brave 
 men to its country's service, and I know I can speak with 
 truth when I say that the old spirit still prevails, whether 
 you look at home or abroad. So true is this that I may 
 conclude these remarks in the stereotyped words of the after- 
 dinner speaker by saying that should the occasion ever demand 
 it, the Erasers will be ever ready to draw their claymores 
 and shed their blood in the country's service as of yore. 
 
 Mr. W. p. Fraser spoke for "The Erasers in Politics." 
 He said : Mr. Chairman, Vice-chairman and Brother Clans- 
 men, it would seem that the toast of distinguished clans- 
 men is quite an inexhaustible one. Much has been said of 
 our clansmen in the various ranks of life, but I believe no 
 more than is deserved. As a matter of course the Erasers 
 have ranked high in politics. We have not had a Prime 
 Minister of the name in the Dominion of Canada, but we 
 have given to the Legislatures of Ontario, Quebec, and the 
 Lower Provinces, many of their most useful members, their 
 most eloquent speakers, and their most responsible states- 
 men. We have borne our share of public duty in this coun- 
 try, both in the rank and file of political workers, and as 
 leaders. I do not need to go far afield to find some 
 of the more striking examples. There is one name so 
 long and honorably associated with the fortunes of this Pro- 
 vince that it merits premier recognition. I refer to that of 
 the Hon. Christopher Finlay Fraser, who would have 
 responded to this toast himself to-night, were it not that he 
 has been suffering from severe illness for some time, and has 
 not sufficiently recovered to take his place among us. Refer- 
 ence has been made to his letter of regret, and I feel sure 
 that every word in it is true — that it is the outcome of his 
 
D. C. FRASER, M.P. 
 
 91 
 
 sincere feeling ; for Mr. Fraser is as much a clansman as he 
 is a politician, and has ever manifested the same deep interest 
 in matters connected with his Clan, as he has displayed in the 
 public duties which he is called upon to perform. The posi- 
 tion which he occupies, the services which he has rendered, 
 his wide sphere of influence, his sterling honesty and unblem- 
 ished record— these lie as an open book before ^ou. For 
 me to expatiate upon them would be quite superfluous. His 
 name will go down in the annals of our statesmen 
 as one of the most competent Ministers of the Crown 
 who ever held ofi^ce in this Province, as one of subtle 
 intellect who served his country and his party in great 
 crises, as one who gave his talents generously and disin- 
 terestedly to the welfare of his fellow-beings, and in a pecu- 
 liar manner helped to lay the foundations of a great 
 nationality in this country. Another of our clansmen, whose 
 telegram of regret shows that he has been intercepted on the 
 way from the far east to our gathering, has made the name 
 famous in the politics of Canada, and is likely to attain 
 to still greater eminence in the future. At his home in Nova 
 Scotia he has long been known as a man of probity, ability, 
 and capacity for public duty. It is not so long ago that he 
 was first heard of in these western parts, but already he has 
 sprung into notice, and his services are in request at many 
 public gatherings. I am sure we all regret the absence of 
 Mr. D. C. Fraser, M.P. for Guysboro', to-night. He is not 
 only a politician but a patron of learning and Celtic literature. 
 To his generous heart and open hand many a struggling High- 
 lander owes much, and through his encouragement not a few 
 scholarly productions have seen the light of day. Were I to 
 venture beyond Canada I should find Frasers playing a prom- 
 
92 
 
 SHOULDER TO SHOULDER. 
 
 inent part in the field of politics in South Africa, in the Aus- 
 tralias, in the East Indies, and even in South America. It 
 was only the other day we heard of a clansman born in Nova 
 Scotia, but of good Inverness stock, who had been appointed 
 delegate to the Inter-colonial Conference to be held in Ottawa 
 this summer. I refer to the Hon. Simon Fraser, of Victoria. 
 I have no doubt his clansmen here will be glad to welcome 
 him, and to wish the utmost success to his mission. I must 
 refrain at this hour from any reference to what Erasers have 
 done in political life in the old land. The chiefs of the Clan 
 numbered among them many men of eminence in politics. 
 Of these we have heard something already to-ni^ht, and 
 when the call of public duty comes, I feel sure a Fraser will be 
 ready to step forward to perform his part in a worthy manner. 
 
 ORGANIZATION. 
 
 A resolution was carried in favor of the formation of an 
 organization of clansmen in Canada, having for its main ob- 
 jects the promotion of social intercourse among the members, 
 the collection of facts from which to prepare a biographical 
 album of the members and other clansmen, and the promo- 
 tion of objects which may be of interest to the Clan ; and that 
 those present form a general committee to act in the matter, 
 the Committee of this gathering to act as an Executive Com- 
 mittee, for the purpose of drafting a constitution for the Clan 
 to be submitted to the next gathering of the Clan. 
 
 The Clan song, composed by request, for this gathering, by Mrs. Gtorgina Fraser Newhall, and 
 set to music composed by Mr. J. Lewis Browne, will be found, with a biographical sketch and portrait of 
 the authoress, on pages 93 to 97. 
 
 ^ 
 
 — '=^'e>§^^i^^§^o.^ 
 
GEORGINA FRASEx< NEWHALL. 
 
 AUTHORESS OF "FRASER'S DRINKING SONG." 
 
 "The Erasers of Stratherrick, where are they ?" To 
 this pensive question by Charles Eraser Mackintosh comes 
 an oft echoed and lusty answer from many distant lands. 
 Indeed the question is, "Where are they not .>" for it 
 is safe to say that there is no country where the English 
 language to-day prevails, in which Stratherrick may not 
 claim a son. Their new homes have not the historical charm 
 of the old, but wherever the Erasers have gone, away from 
 the home of their fathers, they have acquitted themselves 
 well. A scion of a Stratherrick house was James George 
 Eraser, who many years ago settled at Gait, Ontario. Like 
 his brother Capt. Charles Eraser, now residing in Glasgow, 
 Scotland, he was attached to a Highland regiment in his 
 younger days, but withdrawing from the service, he came to 
 Canada with his young wife, Christina MacLeod. At Gait 
 was born a family of three sons, William. Charles and Andrew, 
 and four daughters, Christina, Jessie, Elizabeth and Geor-' 
 gina, the youngest of whom is the subject of this brief sketch. 
 On the maternal side her descent is traced from the families 
 of Lochend and Braemore. Her great-grand parents were 
 George Mackenzie, second son of John Mackenzie I. of 
 Lochend (of the Gairloch family), and Christina, daughter of 
 Captain Hector .Munro of Braemore. George Mackenzie 
 was a distinguished officer, and attained to the rank of Lieut.- 
 Colonel of the famous Rosshire Buffs, the 78th Highlanders. 
 His daughter Christina married Angus MacLeod of Banff with 
 issue, two sons, Donald and George, and several daughters, 
 
liUJiMiiJiimiLiiyuMJJiiiiwi 
 
 X 
 
 MRS. GEORGINA FRASER NEWHALL. 
 
A BUSY CAREER. 
 
 95 
 
 
 of whom Christina, as already stated, married James G. 
 Fraser of Gait, Ontario. 
 
 Georgina Fraser was born about the beginning of the 
 sixties, and was educated in the public and high schools of 
 her native town. After the death of her parents she removed 
 to Toronto, and taking up the study of shorthand entered 
 upon the life of an amanuensis and teacher of stenography. 
 She taught large classes in the towns surrounding Toronto, 
 and in Victoria University, when that institution was located 
 at Cobourg. She was the first woman in Canada to adopt 
 this profession as a means of self-support, and to her belongs 
 the honor of adding a new vocation to those upon which 
 Canadian women may enter. In addition to these duties 
 Miss Fraser undertook journalistic work, and was the first 
 lady writer in Toronto to conduct the department devoted to 
 woman's interests, now so important a weekly feature in the 
 great dailies in Canada. 
 
 In 1884, while occupying the important position of Assist- 
 ant Secretary to General Manager Oakes of the Northern 
 Pacific Railway at St. Paul, Minn., she became the wife of 
 Mr. E. P. Newhall, of the Pacific Express Co. in Omaha. 
 
 Notwithstanding household cares and ill-health Mrs. 
 Newhall still finds time to indulge in her old taste for litera- 
 ture, wielding an earnest pen in advocacy of those reforms 
 which most interest women of advanced thought. She has 
 achieved considerable fame as a writer of short stories, and 
 her compositions of verse bear the mark of the true poet's touch. 
 
 As a clans woman Mrs. Newhall is fond of claiming the 
 right to call herself a "black" Fraser, nature having endowed 
 her with that darkness of hair and eyebrow which is supposed 
 to stamp all the possessors thereof as *'true Erasers." 
 
FRASER'S DRINKING SONG. 
 
 (The Faser Motto is " Je Suis Prest" -" I am Ready.") 
 
 Words by Georgina Fraser Newhall. 
 With vigor. f^f 
 
 Music by J. Lewis Browne. 
 
 -qsic=z^-'^_=^-„^ 
 
 f All read - y? Let us drink to the wo - niaa who 
 
 e;.or««V'All read - y? »?/^ I 1^ i 5 
 
 p=rj|iisj^=i^^iiis^.^j3ii, 
 
 rules us to - night — To her 
 
 lands ; to her laws ; 'neath her 
 
 
 szzzr 
 
 
 f^3-.-— *— '^^ 
 
 |-=z=|z=si^-iEE-5:E»=J=3=5=?=?^-*="="£^3 
 
 _flag__we will_ _smite__ Ev_. 'ry foe, Ilip and thigh, Eye for 
 
 ?ii|^p^^iiE=i^£^=|p^=i^l^^ 
 
 
 
 
 -2-__:i(_JSl_I: 
 
 :*: 2*; 
 
 
 / 
 
 '■Ml 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 eye, Blow for blow— Are you read - y? All read - y? All 
 
 I J -* ff 
 
 
 Chorus 
 
:S; 
 
 ^3=P?~i^E5l^-=^^^^^^--^-^^| 
 
 read - y ? 
 
 rail. 
 
 read - y? Fine, f ^"W *•' 
 
 I-« -# ^v •• 
 
 I I ' Lrf ~ 
 
 frasp:r's drinking song. 
 
 All ready ? 
 
 Let us drink to the woman who rules 
 
 us to-night — 
 To her lands ; lo her laws ; 'neath her 
 
 flag we will smite 
 Ev'ry foe, 
 Hip and thigh, 
 Eye for eye, 
 Blow for blow — 
 
 Are you ready ? 
 
 2 
 
 All ready ? 
 
 Then heres to the mothers who bore 
 
 us, my men ; 
 To the shieling that sleeps in the 
 
 breast of the glen 
 Where the stag 
 Drinks it fill 
 
 From the till 
 By the crag — 
 
 All ready ? 
 
 Fill your glass to the maid you adore, 
 
 my boys ; 
 Wish her health, wish her wealth, long 
 
 life, and all joys ; 
 Full measure 
 (May it swim 
 To the brim) 
 Of pleasure — 
 
 Are you ready ? 
 
 All ready ? 
 
 And here's to the country we live in, 
 
 my lads ; 
 It is here we have struggled and 
 
 thriven, my lads ? 
 God bless it. 
 
 Are you ready ? 
 
 May Beauty 
 And Duty 
 Possess it — 
 
 Are you ready ? 
 
 All ready ? 
 
 A Eraser ! A Fraser forever, my 
 
 friends ; 
 While he lives how lie hates, how he 
 
 loves til! life ends ; 
 He is first, 
 Here's my hand, 
 Into grand 
 Hurrah burst — 
 
 Are you ready ? 
 
SIMON FRASER. 
 
 DISCOVERER OF THE FRASER RIVER. ~ 
 
 The life-work of the discoverer of the Fraser River illus- 
 trates the pioneer spirit which animated the early settlers of 
 Canada. There was the pluck, the love of adventure, the 
 endurance, the prompt response to the call of duty, the ex- 
 pansive idea which kept abreast of ever opening possibilities, 
 and the rare tact displayed in new, embarrassing and import- 
 ant transactions. Simon Fraser was in many respects a great 
 man and one of whom his clansmen may well feel proud. 
 His grandfather was William Fraser, of Culbokie, whose wife 
 Margaret Macdonell, of Glengarry, was the possessor of the 
 famous Balg Solair in which was stowed away a manuscript 
 of Ossianic poetry, which figures in the dissertations on the 
 authenticity of MacPherson's Ossian, and regarding which 
 the following interesting passage occurs in the correspond- 
 ence of the late Bishop Alexander Macdonell: "I myself saw 
 a large MS. of Ossian's poems in the possession of Mrs. 
 Fraser of Culbokie, in Strathglass, which she called ''am Balg 
 Solair' (a bag of fortuitous goods). This lady's residence 
 being between my father's house and the school where I used 
 to attend with her grandchildren, at her son's, Culbokie 
 House, by way of coaxing me to remain on cold nights at 
 her own house, she being cousin to my father, she used to 
 take up the Bale, Solair^ and read pieces of it to me. 
 Although a very young boy at the time, I became so much 
 enraptured with the rehearsal of the achievements of the he;oes 
 of the poem, and so familiar with the characters, especially of 
 Oscar, Cathmor. and Cuthchullin, that when MacPherson's 
 
 s 
 
f 
 
 HIS EAkLV DAVS. 
 
 99 
 
 translation was put into my hands in the Scotch college of 
 Valladolid in Spain, many years afterwards, it was like meet- 
 ing old friends with whom I had been intimately acquainted. 
 Mrs. Eraser's son, Simon, who had a classical education, and 
 was an excellent Gaelic scholar, on emigrating to America in 
 the year 1774, took the Balg Solair with him as an invalu- 
 able treasure. On the breaking out of the Revolutionary 
 war, Mr. Eraser joined the Royal Standard, was taken 
 prisoner by the Americans and thrown into jail, where he 
 died." 
 
 William, of Culbokie, and his wife Margaret Macdonell 
 had nine sons. Of these, Archibald and John fought under 
 Wolfe at Quebec. John settled at Montreal, and became 
 Chief Justice of the Montreal district. In 1774, or more 
 probably in 1773, Simon left home, and settled near Benning- 
 ton, Vermont. Here his son, the subject of this sketch, was 
 born in 1776. His mother and her family came to Canada 
 after the death of his father (as stated above), and settled in 
 Glengarry. Simon was the youngest of the family. He 
 was placed in school in Montreal, where he resided with his 
 uncle, the Chief Justice. In 1792, at the age of sixteen, he 
 became an articled clerk with McTavish, Frobisher & Co., 
 to the North-West Fur Trading Co., which had its head- 
 quarters in Montreal. In 1802 he became a partner, and 
 subsequently went out to the far North. In 1S05 he came 
 down from Fort Athabasca to Fort William, and was then 
 nominated to cross the Rocky Mountains, to extend out-posts 
 and form trading connections with the Indians. He re- 
 sponded at once to the call. He said he would undertake 
 the expedition provided they gave him a sufficient outfit. 
 This the Company were only too glad to do. It was a very 
 
 -_._r/ 
 
lOO 
 
 DISCOVERY OF THE ERASER RIVER. 
 
 hazardous undertaking. He crossed the mountains with 
 thirty men— clerks, axemen, guides and interpreters. He 
 soon found himself in a wild and desolate region. As he 
 went on he built block-houses, and took possession of the 
 J? country in the name of the King. In 1806. he discovered 
 
 the river which takes its name from him. He discovered 
 many rivers and lakes which he named after different mem- 
 bers of the Company. He traced the Fraser river to its 
 source, and met many different tribes of Indians, some 
 friendly, others hostile. At one time they met different 
 tribes who were very friendly and made a great feast for 
 them ; they killed xki^w fattest dog for him, which of course 
 he feigned to eat ; but at the same feast the chiefs held a 
 council and decided to put him to death, which the interpre- 
 ter, who understood their language, told him, and they stole 
 quietly away. He first named the river now known as the 
 Fraser river, the "Great River," and called the place "New 
 Caledonia." Here he left some of the party, and crossed 
 westerly into the open country, and built another house near 
 a ake, which he called Fraser's Lake. He was now with 
 four men in the midst of Indians who had never before either 
 seen or heard of the "pale face." On the border of this lake 
 he witnessed an Indian ceremony. He was brought by the 
 Indians to where they had a large burying-ground, where 
 one of the Chiefs of their tribe was being buried. An im- 
 mense number of warriors were assembled, and after a most 
 solemn and impressive ceremony, Mr. Fraser was invited by 
 signs to approach the grave. He did so, and gave immense 
 satisfaction by engraving his name on a post which had been 
 planted over the remains of the departed warrior. In July, 
 1807. he received fresh supplies from the North- West Co., 
 
 [f 
 
TRACED TO THE SEA. 
 
 lOI 
 
 y 
 
 who at the same time urged him to trace with all possible 
 speed the "Great River" to the Sea, they being apprehensive 
 that the Americans would get ahead of the British in that 
 quarter, as in the previous year 1806, Captains Lewis and 
 Clarke had gone down the "Columbia," and were extending 
 American authority along the western coast of America, and 
 Astor, on the part of the Americans, was also looking 
 anxiously towards the northern section. t 
 
 The North-West Co. therefore urged Mr. Fraser to 
 spare no expense in achieving the object of their desires. 
 
 Mr. Fraser built another trading-house on the "Great 
 River" in 1807, and reached the Ocean in July, 1808. He 
 remained but a short time there on account of the hostility of 
 the Indians. 
 
 Returning he again met numerous and large bodies of 
 Indians speaking several different languages. They assem- 
 bled to see the wonderful pale faces who had come among 
 them. An idea of how they regarded white men may be 
 formed from the fact that when hundreds of them were con- 
 gregated together, at the discharge of a single rifle they 
 would fall prostrate on the ground, so great was their aston- 
 ishment. Had it not been for Mr. Fraser's wonderful energy 
 and enterprise, there would not be a railroad to-day from 
 ocean to ocean over British territory. 
 
 (f 
 
 m^wfi^^mm. 
 
r^ 
 
 ,..^.,a,„. ,.-.^i^.ii^:,.i.-:itM>MAA >r.. 
 
 ¥ 
 
 i 
 
SIMON, LORD LOVAT. 
 
 BEHEADED ON TOWER HILL. 
 
 No Fraser chief has achieved more notoriety than 
 S.mon, the fourteenth Lord Lovat. His enemies avenged 
 U themselves for the failure of their nefarious plots against him 
 
 by supplymg, at a cheap rate, the charcoal with wljich preju 
 diced historians have blackened his memory. But while 
 his fate is still held up as a warning to evil doers, it 
 has been proved, beyond peradventure, that his character has 
 been much maligned, and that he appears rather as a man of 
 inexhaustible resources, availing himself of whatever means 
 .ay^nearest to his hand to extricate himself from enormous 
 d.fficulties and to attain objects which, though of personal 
 advantage to himself and Clan, were as honorable as they 
 were just, and wholly in keeping with the customs of his day 
 His efforts to secure the chiefship and the honors of his 
 house, and to extend the power of the Clan, were genuinely 
 patriotic. His Lordship certainly was a man of learning 
 and ability. He was an admirable letter writer, and passages 
 in his correspondence show that he had wonderful facility in 
 writing and a capital style. 
 
 of J'^/'T" '''7 ^'"" '•' '""^ ^ "'=^^°-"'"' '" P°— -on 
 of Mr. B Homer Dixon, from a painting of Lord Lovat, 
 
 by David Le Clerc, a Swiss who was in England in 
 
 17.5 and ,7,6. The picture which is supposed to have been 
 
 taken in 17,5, when Lord Lovat was about forty-eight years 
 
 old IS marked : ..Le Clare, ^,„.,. J. simon, fea,.- 
 
 Although armour had been disused before Lord Lovafs 
 
 time. It was the fashion at that period for gentlemen to be 
 
 painted in armour. The mezzo-tim is very rare. 
 
BRIGADIER SIMON FRASER. 
 
 Among the officers of Eraser's Highlanders were several 
 clansmen destined to rise high in military distinction. Of 
 them few are better known in the Clan than Captain Simon 
 Eraser of Balnain, afterwards Quarter- Master General in 
 Ireland, a post which he quitted to serve as Brigadier-Gen- 
 eral in Burgoyne's Army in America. He had served in the 
 Scotch regiment in the Dutch service, and was wounded at 
 Bergen-op-Zoom. He spoke French perfectly and to this 
 accomplishment and his coolness was due his signal service at 
 Quebec, where he saved the transports from discovery at a 
 critical moment before the precipice was scaled. 
 
 Smollet relates the incident as follows: — "The French 
 had posted sentries along shore to challenge boats and 
 vessels and give the alarm occasionally. The first boat 
 that contained the English troops being questioned accord- 
 ingly, a captain of Eraser's regiment, who had served 
 in Holland, and who was perfectly well acquainted with the 
 French language and customs, answered without hesitation 
 to qui vive ? — which is their challenging word — La France ; 
 nor was he at a loss to answer the second question, which 
 was much more particular and difficult. When the sentinel 
 demanded, a quel regiment ? the captain replied, de la reine, 
 which he knew by accident to be one of those that composed 
 the body commanded by Bougainville. The soldier took it 
 for granted this was the expected convoy (a convoy of provi- 
 sions expected that night for the garrison of Quebec), and, 
 saying passe, allowed all the boats to proceed without further 
 question. In the same manner the other sentries were deceived; 
 though one, more wary than the rest, came running down to 
 
BRIGADIER-GENERAL FRASER, 
 Younger oii Balnain. 
 
io6 
 
 BRIGADIER SIMON FRASER. 
 
 the water's edge and called, pour quoi est ce que vous ne par- 
 lez pas haul ? ' Why don't you speak with an audible voice ? ' 
 To this interrogation, which implied doubt, the captain 
 answered with admirable presence of mind, in a soft tone 
 of voice, tai toi nous serens entendues ! \ Hush ! we shall be 
 overheard and discovered.' Thus cautioned the sentry retired 
 without further altercation." 
 
 At the time of the Revolutionary War, Brigadier- 
 General Simon Fraser was second in command of the British 
 army, under Burgoyne. He fell at Saratoga under circum- 
 stances which prove his great ability as an officer. The 
 American historians say that General Burgoyne had lost his 
 head, and the American General Morgan perceiving it, called 
 two of his best riflemen and said : " You see that fine fellow 
 on the white horse.'* It goes against my heart to do it, but 
 you must pick him off, or we lose the battle." They watched 
 their opportunity, shot General Fraser, and the Americans 
 won the day. 
 
 The picture here given is said to be a good likeness. It 
 has been produced from a mezzo-tint in the possession of 
 Mr. B. Homer Dixon, Toronto. • 
 
 1 
 
1 
 
 SECOND ANNUAL GATHERING. 
 
 'Three triumphs in a day ; three hosts subdued in one : 
 Three armies scattered like the spray, beneath one common sun." 
 
 ^HE second Annual Gathering and Dinner of the Clan 
 Eraser in Canada was held on the 25th day of February, 
 1895, that date having been selected in honor of the Scots' 
 victory at Roslin on February 25th, 1303, when the army 
 was commanded by Sir Simon Eraser, the patriot (p. 48). 
 The place of meeting was the Rossin House, Toronto. The 
 gentlemen were accompanied by lady friends, a departure 
 from the custom generally observed on similar festive occa- 
 sions, that contributed greatly to the pleasure of the even- 
 ing. The committee in charge of the arrangements was 
 composed of Dr. J. B. Eraser (Chairman of Programme 
 Committee), Professor W. H. Eraser, Messrs. G. B. Eraser, 
 R L. Eraser, Alexander Eraser (Fraserfield), Alexander R.' 
 Eraser, W. P. Eraser, Andrew Eraser. Alexander Eraser 
 (MacEhionnlaidh), Chairman ; and W. A. Eraser, Secretary. 
 Those present were Rev. Dr. Mungo Eraser, Hamilton ; 
 Mr. W. Lewis Eraser, New York ; Mr. Donald Eraser.' 
 Kingston ; Mr. R. L Eraser, Barrie ; Mr. Andrew Eraser, 
 Barrie ; Messrs. Robert Lovat Eraser, George B. Eraser, 
 and Miss Eraser ; Professor W. H. Eraser and Mrs. Eraser ! 
 Dr. J. B. Eraser and Mrs. Eraser ; Alexander Eraser 
 (Eraserfield), Mrs. Eraser and Miss Kate Eraser ; Alexan- 
 der R. Era.jt and Mrs. Eraser ; Alexander Eraser (Mac- 
 Ehionnlaidh). Mrs. Eraser, Miss Eraser, Mrs. Georgina 
 Eraser. Newhall. and Mrs. Ramsay ; Mr. W. A. Eraser^^md 
 Mrs. Eraser ; Dr. Pyne and Mrs. Pyne ; Alexander Eraser 
 
1 
 
 io8 
 
 SECOND ANNUAL (lATHEKING. 
 
 ^r 
 
 (Parkdale), and Miss Fraser ; W. P. Eraser, Donald Fraser, 
 
 Charles Fraser, Mrs. C. G. Fraser and Master Norman 
 
 I'raser, James Fraser, Henry Sandham Fraser. 
 
 Letters of regret at their inability to attend were read 
 
 from Messrs. E. A. Fraser, Detroit ; D. Fraser, Montreal ; 
 
 Ex-Mayor Fraser, Petrolea ; O. K. Fraser, Brockville ; A. 
 
 Fraser, Hamilton ; P. M. Fraser, St. Thomas ; Rev. R. D. 
 
 Fraser, Bowmanville ; and Rev. Dr. J . B. Fraser, Annan. 
 Mr. Alexander Fraser (MacFhionnlaidh) presided, and 
 
 the vice-chairs were occupied by Messrs. George B. Fraser 
 
 and R. L. Fraser, and Mr. VV. A. P>aser acted as Secretary. 
 
 The after-dinner programme was interesting and varied. 
 
 Besides the usual toasts it included the "Eraser's Drinking 
 
 Song," composed by Mrs Georgina Eraser-Newhall, and sung 
 by Mrs. Alexander Eraser ; readings by Prof. W. H. Eraser, 
 bagpipe selections by Pipe-Major MacSwayed, and Highland 
 dancing by Master Norman Eraser. 
 
 The speeches contained a great deal of information re- 
 garding the Clan, and were very interesting. Most eloquent 
 was the speech delivered by Mr. W. Lewis Eraser, of New 
 York, who entered into the history of the Clan at consider- 
 able length ; and that by Mrs. Georgina Fraser-Newhall, in 
 response to the toast of her health. 
 
 A group photograph was successfully taken of the com- 
 pany by the aid of a flash-light, which will remain a memento 
 of a very pleasant gathering. 
 
 Before dispersing the report of the Committee on the 
 Organization of the Clan was read. It set forth that meet- 
 ings had been held at which the Clan had been organized, 
 and the annexed Constitution and By-laws prepared : 
 
 *■) 
 
1 
 
 THE CLAN FRASER IN CANADA. 
 
 {Instituted May 51 k, iSg4.) 
 
 CONSriTUTION AND BY-LAWS. 
 
 ARTICLE I.— NAME.-The name of this organization shall be: "The Clin 
 Fraser in Canada." 
 
 ARTICLE II. -Objects -The object.s of the Clan shall be : 
 
 The cultivation of friendly intercourse and social relations among those bearinir 
 the surname -Eraser,' and the promotion among its members of love for the Clan 
 and mcreased mterest in its history and traditions : ' 
 
 The collection of Clan records, traditions and anecdotes ; ot documents bearing 
 upon the Clan history ; of information relating to notable clansmen, especially with 
 reference to the early history of the Clan in Canada ; and the compilation of an 
 album ot portraits and biographical sketches of Clansmen in Canada • 
 
 The furtherance of the interests of clansmen, whether in Scotland or in Canada 
 and the g.vmg of such assistance to clansmen in need as may be within the power of 
 the Clan. '^ 
 
 ARTICLE III.-MEMBERSHiP.-Persons bearing the surname "Fraser • by 
 b.rth or by marriage, shall be eligible for membership in the Clan. Honorary mem- 
 bership may be conferred on distinguished clansmen, or on persons, not clansmen 
 who have rendered conspicuous service to the Clan. ' 
 
 r ^^^]^}:l ^y--^'*""' ^^o-^'-o ^^i' :3ADGE.-The arms of the Clan Fraser in 
 Canada shall be the same as those of the Clan proper, with the difference of a wreath 
 of Canadian maple leaves intertwined (a facsimile of which is impressed on this 
 Constitution) ; the "Motto" and "Badg..' shall be tha. of the Clan Fraser-motto 
 'Ju Suis Prest ; badge, a sprg of yew— Vaxiis Baaata. 
 
 .(. ^l^l^r^ I'~^"^ Executive Officers. -The Executive Officers shall consist 
 of a Chiet, Chieftains (as hereinunder provided for), Secretary-Treasurer, Historians 
 Curator, and a Bard. ' 
 
 (/.)--TRrsTEEs AND Coc.NciLLORS.-There shall be three Trustees, six Council- 
 lors, a Pipe-Major and Pipers. 
 
 (f)-HoNORARV Chief and CHiEFTAis.s.-The Chief of the Clan Fraser. "Mac- 
 Shimi, shall be the Honorary Chief, and Honorary Chieftainship may be bestowed on 
 clansmen who merit very high clan honor. 
 
 ARTICLE VI.-GATHERiNos.-The Clan shall gather once a year, on a day to 
 be deeded upon by the Executive Committee, for the transaction of business That 
 gathermg shall be known as the Annual Business Meeting of the Clan On the 
 evening of the same day a Clan Dinner, or other form of Entertainment, shall take 
 place. 
 
 ARTICLE VII. -At the Annual Business Meeting of the Clan the Executive 
 
 Officers, Trustees.Councillors and Pipers, Honorary Chief(when vacant), and Honorary 
 Cli.ettains (when Honorary Chieftainship is conferred), shall be elected ; and the roll 
 of members, prepared by the Executive Committee, shall be revised. 
 
 ARTICLE VIII.-The principle upon which Chieftains and Councillors shall be 
 elected shall be as follows : The Province of Ontario shall be divided into five Dis- 
 
I lO 
 
 THE CLAN KRASER IN CANADA. 
 
 ^/ 
 
 tricts, viz. : Ottawa, KiAgston, Toronto, Hamilton and London, from each of which 
 and from each of the other Provinces of Canada, a Chieftain shall be elected. A 
 Chieftain may be also elected from each of the States of the American Union, as an 
 interest in the Clan may be manifested. The Ontario Districts shall comprise the 
 following- counties : 
 
 OrTAWA.— Glengarry, Prescott, Stormont, Dundas, Grenville, Carleton, Russell, 
 Renfrew. 
 
 Kingston.— Addington, Lennox, Frontenac, Hastings, Prince Edward, Leeds 
 Lanark. ' 
 
 Toronto.— Northumberland, Peterborough, Haliburton, Victoria, Durham, 
 Ontario, Muskoka, Parry Sound, Nipissing, York, Peel, Toronto. 
 
 Hamilton.— Wentworth, Lincoln, Welland, Brant, Waterloo, Simcoe, Dufferin, 
 Grey, Wellington, Halton. 
 
 LONDON.-Middlesex, Elgin, Oxford, Norfolk, Haldimand, Kent, Lambton, 
 Essex, Bruce, Huron, Perth. 
 
 There shall be at least one Councillor elected to represent each District in 
 Ontario. 
 
 ARTICLE IX.— The Executive Officers, Trustees and Councillors shall form a 
 General Committee, which shall prepare the business for the Annual Meeting. The 
 Executive Officers shall form the Executive Committee of the General Committee. 
 The General Committee and the Executive Committee may appoint Sub-Committees 
 with power to transact business on behalf oi the Clan. 
 
 ARTICLE X.— DiTiKS ok Ofi-icers.— The Chief shall preside at all the meet- 
 ings of Committees, at the Annual Business Meeting, and at the Annual Entertain- 
 ment of the Clan ; in his absence the duties of the Chief shall devolve upon the 
 Chieftains in order of seniority, and in the absence of all of them the clansmen 
 present shall elect a Chairman pro tern. The Secretary-Treasurer shall keep a 
 correct minute of the business transacted at the meetings of Committees and at the 
 Annual Meeting of the Clan ; he shall keep a roll of the membership of the Clan ; 
 with the Chief he shall convene the meetings, and shall conduct the correspondence 
 and general business of the Clan ; he shall submit his accounts to an audit annually 
 or on the demand of the Executive Committee. The Historians shall compile the 
 Clan Album, and shall edit any papers containing information regarding the Clan or 
 clansmen which may be secured for the Clan . The Ci rator shall have the custody 
 of all property belonging to the Clan, including papers and books not in use bv the 
 proper officers, and shall account for the same to the TursTEEsin whom the property 
 shall be vested on behalf of the Clan, and who shall submit a report of their steward- 
 ship to the Annual Meeting of the Clan. 
 
 ARTICLE XI.— The roll of membership shall be compiled by the Executive 
 Committee, and shall be subject to revision at the Annual Business Meeting. 
 
 ARl'ICLE XII.— The officers shall wear insignia of office ; and an officer hold- 
 mg the same office for three terms (not necessarily consecutively) shall become the 
 possessor of the insignia as his own property. 
 
 ARTICLE XIII.— The Constitution and By-laws may be altered or amended 
 at the Annual Business Meeting of the Clan, by a two-thirds vote of the membership, 
 personally or by mandate; but notice of any such alteration of amendment in specific 
 terms must be lodged with the Secretary-Treasurer at least two months before the 
 date of the Annual Business Meeting so that members m.iy be notified when the 
 announcement of the Annual Business Meeting shall be made. 
 
■ 
 
 
 THE CLAN FKASEK IN CANADA. 
 BY-LAWS. 
 
 Ill 
 
 ..The fee of mombership shall be one dollar annually for gentlemen, and the 
 sum of fifty cents for ladies and minors. ' 
 
 bv tit p'' ^;!"""' ^^^""^ «f 'he Clan shall be held on a date to be decided upon 
 by the Execut.ve Comnuttee. ; in deciding upon the date, however, the convenience 
 of the greatest number of the membership shall be the chief consideration 
 
 the AnnT:,tr:rnr" ^'^" ^°""'"" ^ '"°^""^ '°' ''' "^"^'^"'"" "^ ^-"-- ^ 
 
 4- A member may be expelled from the Clan for a transgression of any of its 
 rules, or any other sufficient cause. Notice of intended expulsion must be giU to 
 the Secretary-Treasurer who shall lay it before the Executive Com,,ittee for report 
 at the Annual Busmess Meeting, and to the member whom it is proposed to exoel 
 
 ;2;^ Th^ "' 'T' ^"' ^ r""'"'' --" ^°'^ ">-^"" ^^^-' ---^^ ^^ 
 
 io ArticI XI '^"""f .'■^^'^'"" °f '•- -» °f membership referred to in the Constitu- 
 tion, Art.cle XI., shall m no way be understood to imply expulsion from membership. 
 5. The following shall be the order of business : ist. Reading of minutes ot 
 p ev.ous meetmg ; .nd. Reading of communications and action therL ; 3rd. Unfin! 
 6trAd~;::^^^^'""^ ""'-'"' ' '''' ""'^ ^-'- ' ^'^- -'-^'- '^ ««^cers ; 
 Signed on behalf of the Committee. 
 
 ALEXANDER ERASER, anun.an. ■ W. A. ERASER, Secretary. 
 
 The above Constitution and By-laws were duly adopted 
 and ordered to be printed. 
 
 • 
 
1.12 
 
 THE CLAN KRASER IN CANADA. 
 
 "!;il#i 
 
 THE OFFICERS. 
 The following Officers were elected for the term 1895-96 
 
 Honorary Chief, 
 Lord Lovat. 
 
 Honorary Chieftain, 
 Mr. Charles Eraser Mackintosh, Inverness 
 
 Chief, 
 Mr. Alex. Eraser (MacEhionnlaidh), Toronto. 
 
 Chieftains, 
 District of Ottawa : Mr. Alex. Eraser, Westmeath. 
 Kingston : Mr. Donald Eraser, Kingston. 
 Toronto : Mr. G. B. Eraser, Toronto. 
 Hamilton : Rev. Dr. Mungo Eraser, Hamilton. 
 London : Ex-Mayor Eraser, Petrolea. 
 
 Provinces— Maritime Provinces : D.C.ERASER,M.P.,NewGlasgow,N.S. 
 
 Quebec : Mr. Donald Eraser, Montreal. 
 
 Northwest Territories : Mr. J. G. Era&er, Regina,N.W.T. 
 
 British Columbia : Mr. W. Eraser, Vancouver, B.C. 
 State of Michigan : Mr. E. A. Eraser, Detroit, U.S.A. 
 
 New York : Mr. W. Lewis Eraser, New York. 
 
 Councillors, 
 Ottawa : Mr. A. W. Eraser,. Ottawa. 
 Kingston : Mr. O. K. Eraser, Brockville. 
 
 Toronto ' ^^^' ^^^^' ^^^^^^ (Eraserfield),Toronto. 
 
 \ Dr. J. B. Eraser, Toronto. 
 Hamilton : Mr. R. I. Eraser. Barrie. 
 London : Mr. Wm. Eraser, of Port Stanley. 
 
 Secretary- Treasurer, 
 Mr. W. A. Eraser, Toronto. 
 
 Chaplain, 
 Rev. Dr. Mingo Eraser, Hamilton. 
 
 Historians, 
 Prof. W. H. Eraser and Mr. Alex. Eraser, Toronto. 
 
 Curator, 
 Mr. Alexander Eraser, loror.to. 
 
 Trustees, 
 Messrs. R. L. Eraser, Toronto ; .\bner Eraser, Hamilton ; A. G. Eraser, London. 
 
 Bard, 
 Georgina Erassr-Newhall, Omaha. 
 
895-96 : 
 
 asgo\v,N.S. 
 
 ina.N.W.T. 
 B.C. 
 
 :>nto. 
 
 R, London.