The Clan Fraser in Canada Part 3

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 unravelling the origin of the clans to meagre allusions in cla.s.sical writings, in genealogies which, to some extent at least, are mythical, and to tradition, ever changing with the progress of the centuries. There can be no question that many of the 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 pa.s.sage 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, const.i.tuted. 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 stray members owning strange varieties of Gaelic names, took the name of the leader; hence we find the purest Gaelic spoken by people enjoying the Norman names of a Gordon or a c.u.min. 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 in speech and method of life to the people over whom they held sway." This principle 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 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 procure 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 forementioned Dugall Mackenzie (natural son of Alexander 'Ionraic'

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 slightly 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 entertained 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 marriage 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 married Nien (daughter) Dunchy Chaim in Glenmoriston. Sir Andrew likewise married, whose son was Donall Dubh MacIntagard (Black Donald, son of the Priest) and was priest of Kirkhill and chapter of Ross. His tacks of the Vicarage of Kilmorack to John Chisholm, of Comar, stands to this day. His son was Mr. William MacAhoulding, _alias_ Fraser, who died minister of Kiltarlady. His son was Mr. Donald Fraser, who died minister of Kilmorack; so that he is the fifth minister or ecclesiastical person in a lineal and uninterrupted succession, which falls out but seldom, and than which, in my judgment, nothing can more ent.i.tle a man to be really a gentleman; for that blood which runs in the veins of four or five generations of men of piety and learning and breeding cannot but have influence, and it confirms my opinion that the present Mr. Wm. Fraser (who is the fifth) has the virtues and commendable properties of his predecessors all united in him.'"

We see here the ease with which a MacCreggie could become a Fraser, and, bearing in mind the principle noticed by Hill Burton, there is no difficulty in accounting for the origin and growth of our Clan in the Highlands. Whether we can tell the day of the month and the year on which Andrew or Simon Fraser first gazed on the winding Beauly or not--and the date can be approximately fixed--we, at all events, have no deep, unfathomable problem to solve as to the formation of the Fraser Clan. We know that the founder of the name in Inverness-shire arrived there as the head of a powerful Lowland house, that he settled among the native Caledonians of the country, a.s.sumed possession of the lands then forming his estate; that the people, who were as Celtic as those in any portion of the Highlands, bearing such names as Gille-Criosd, Mac-Killweralicke, Gill' 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 Fraser 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, and de Frisle. Whence derived? A Norman-French and a Celtic origin have been ascribed to it.

THE NORMAN-FRENCH ORIGIN.--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 _ipse 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 entertain a doubt. They appear during the first few generations uniformly in that quarter of Scotland which is south of the Firths of Forth and Clyde, and they possessed at a very early period extensive estates in the counties of East Lothian and of Tweeddale; besides the name of Frisale, which is its ancient form, appears in the roll of Battle Abbey, thus placing 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 himself, flourished 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 is: "The name of Frisale, which is the ancient form of "Fraser," 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. In 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 pa.s.sed 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 William the Conqueror, was the same who received the lands held by the family in 1109 in the south of Scotland from the Scottish monarch. Let us see how this theory will bear examination. One sentence disposes of it completely and forever. There were Frasers 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 1109, was descended. Long before 1109 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 Scotland with an easy outlet from an apparently difficult position. But supposing we allow for a moment the prior occupation of the Frasers to disappear from view, and with Skene begin at 1109 with Gilbert Fraser. Even then the case for Frisale would be hopelessly weak. The Battle 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 Frasers. But he was the bitter foe of William the Conqueror, who supplanted Edgar Atheling, whose sister Margaret was Malcolm's Queen, and whose nephew, also named Edgar, reigned in Scotland until 1107. Is it credible that Malcolm or Donald Bane, or Duncan, or Edgar, would strip their own n.o.bles, in times of very uncertain warfare, of their lands, in order to bestow them upon aliens, and these aliens the feudal va.s.sals 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 t.i.tles, the answer is that Alexander mounted the throne not earlier than 1107, when the Frasers had already achieved historic prominence. 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 _fraise_ or 'strawberry' leaves in their arms, and it was related that they sprang from the Frezels of France. Others give different origins; but, before laying before you the serious objections to the Norman-French theory, it is right that I should repeat what has been in many quarters regarded as strong circ.u.mstantial evidence in its favor. 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 Frezeliere. Lord Lovat was a fugitive in France at the time, and he was befriended by the Marquis. He wrote his life in French, afterwards translated into English and published in 1796. In it he makes the following statement:--

"The house of Frezel, or Frezeau de la Frezeliere, is one of the most ancient houses in France. It ascends by uninterrupted filiation, and without any unequal alliance, to the year 1030. It is able to establish by a regular proof sixty-four quarterings in its armorial bearings, and all n.o.ble. It has t.i.tles of seven hundred years standing in the abbey of Notre Dame de Noyers in Touraine. And it is certain, that, beside these circ.u.mstances 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 Bretagne, 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 ill.u.s.trious house of France, M. de la Frezeliere may, without impropriety, a.s.sert his alliance to all the royal houses and almost all the princ.i.p.al n.o.bility of Europe.

"It is demonstrated by various historians, by the tradition 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 Fraser 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 Frasers in the north and the Highlands of Scotland, having happily encountered each other at Paris in the second journey that Lord Lovat made to France for the service of his king (1702), were therefore both of them highly gratified with the opportunity 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 Duke de Chatillon and the Prince de Tingrie, the three worthy and ill.u.s.trious children of the late Marshal de Luxembourg 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 n.o.blemen related by blood and marriage to M. de la Frezeliere, joined with the Marquis in affixing their signatures to this act of recognition. On the other part it was executed by Simon Lord Lovat, Mr.

John Fraser, his 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."

[Twenty Portrait Photographs of:

J. H. Fraser Chas. Fraser A. W. Fraser Norman Fraser Andrew Fraser

Jno. Fraser Elisha A. Fraser Dr. Mungo Fraser Dr. J. B. Fraser A. R. Fraser

Alexander Fraser John Fraser Alexander Fraser Robt. L. Fraser W. P. Fraser

William Fraser Hugh Miller W. H. Fraser Geo. B. Fraser Jas. Fraser]

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 _siol_--'seed,' 'offspring.' His theory has at least the merit of great probability, and is certainly to be preferred to the Norman-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, there are very suggestive notes on the surname "Fraser." He agrees with Logan, and he combats the Norman origin. His interest in the Clan Fraser is one of descent from a notable cadet family, and in connection 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 certainly 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. 1146, 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 from 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 n.o.blest 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 of the family of Frezeau de la Frezeliere, because, forsooth, there is no account of the family in 'le Pere Anselme,' but Moreri (Grand Dicte. Histe. Basle, 1740) says 'the family was one of the most ancient in the kingdom' (almost the very words of Lord Lovat), 'and one of the most ill.u.s.trious 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 de la Frezeliere, et de Monsieur Baron de La.s.se, Lieutenant-General in the army and first Lieutenant-General in the Artillery, who died in 1711.

"Both the Marquis and Lord Lovat were mistaken, however, for the Anjevin name does _not_ 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 b.a.s.t.a.r.d de la b.a.s.t.a.r.diere, 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 Alexander I. (1107-1174)?

"This Gilbert, the first of the family mentioned, is called 'de,' but the name was more frequently written without that prefix.

"I believe that the Frasers are Scotch _ab origine_ and repeat that I consider the name to be Gaelic 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 1180), who covered the shield of France with blue, the tincture of his royal robes, and then charged the same with lilies, derived originally from Isis, formerly worshipped in France.

"The _fraises_ are quartered with three antique crowns, and here again authors differ, most writers saying they are for Bisset. Even Nisbet makes this error, although on another page he gives the arms of Bisset of Beaufort as 'Azure a bend argent!' Others say they were granted to Sir Simon Fraser, the 'Flower of Chivalrie,' the friend of Wallace and Bruce, for having three times re-horsed his king at the Battle of Methven, in 1306. This _may_ 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."

IN THE LOWLANDS OF SCOTLAND.--But whether the derivation be from the Romance _fraysse_, 'an ash tree,' or the Gaelic _frith_, 'a forest,' we find the chief of the name firmly established as a powerful Scottish n.o.ble, manifesting the patriotism and national sentiment to be looked for in a native born baron, as early as 1109.

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 doc.u.mentary 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 n.o.ble families of Lovat and Saltoun, and pa.s.sed from them to the Tweedies, who figure in the introduction to Sir Walter Scott's _Betrothed_, and whose maternal descendant, Thomas Tweedie-Stodart (b. 1838; suc. 1869), of Oliver House, a plain modern mansion hard by, holds 1144 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 Tweed to Berwick, and serving both for defence and for beacon fires in the times of the border forays. It was eventually relinquished and razed to the ground."

Oliver died without 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 chiefship, 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 frequently occurs in connection with questions of first cla.s.s importance. He was the first of the name to have been appointed Sheriff of Stirling. He was succeeded by his son,

GILBERT, 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 Chancellor of Scotland, an extended reference to whom I with difficulty 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 him from his famous son, Sir Simon the Patriot.

He took a leading part in the affairs of the nation. He, his two brothers and a nephew, Richard Fraser, Lord of Dumfries, were four of the arbiters in the Baliol claim to the Scottish Crown. He died in 1291, and was succeeded by

SIR SIMON the Patriot, the greatest and most renowned of all the Fraser chiefs. All I can say of him is that he was the compatriot, the coadjutor and compeer of Sir William Wallace, and one of the n.o.blest knights whose deeds are recorded on the page of history. He has furnished ancient and modern historians with a subject for patriotic eulogy and enthusiastic praise. As a soldier and statesman he was _facile princeps_. He was the hero of Roslin; he was the only Scottish n.o.ble who held out to the last with Sir William Wallace, and was one of the first to welcome and aid the Bruce, whom he re-horsed three times at the Battle of Methven, where he was taken prisoner; and he was the only Scottish knight at that time whose patriotism ent.i.tled him to the brutal indignities of Edward's court, and a death, in 1306, similar to that of Sir William Wallace. The Patriot's family consisted of two daughters; the elder married Sir Hugh Hay, ancestor of the n.o.ble house of Tweeddale, and the younger, Sir Patrick Fleming, ancestor of the Earls of Wigton. Male issue having again failed, the succession went back to

SIR ANDREW FRASER, Sheriff of Stirling, already mentioned as second son of Sir Gilbert Fraser, Sheriff of Traquair. Sir Andrew was the Patriot's uncle. He is styled "of Caithness," on account of having married a Caithness heiress, and at that point begins the interest of the family in the North of Scotland. He was both a brave knight and a powerful lord, and, like his brothers, bore his part valorously and well in the senate and on the field. He lived to occupy the position of chief but two years. He was the first chief of the family who won large possessions in the north, while the headquarters were still in the southern countries. The well-known Neidpath castle was one of the family strongholds. It was a ma.s.sive 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 keystone of the courtyard archway, a connecting link with the Frasers, from whom it pa.s.sed 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 FRASER, II. OLIVER FRASER, III. ADAM FRASER, IV. LAURENCE FRASER, V. LAURENCE FRASER, VI. SIMON FRASER, VII. BERNARD FRASER, VIII.