"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."
"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."
Air (fonn) "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.
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.
The bagpipe music will be furnished by Mr. Robert Ireland, Pipe Major of the48th Highlanders, Toronto.
Although the number that sat around the festive board was much smaller than had been expected, the elements requisite for a successful gathering were strongly in evidence, and, as a matter of fact, the inaugural dinner 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 company. From a large number of letters it would be difficult 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, Brockville; 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, Bowmanville; Rev. J. B. Fraser, M.D., Annan; John Fraser, Montreal; 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, the 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 "last 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. Arepresentation 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 (MacFhionnlaidh); 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 reminiscence 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 succumbed. The dinner was excellently served, and then came the toast list with the speeches. The first toast was that of:
The Chairman in proposing the health of the Queen said:—Our Clan has invariably been a loyal one, even in the rising which terminated so fatally 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 by them in 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 whichshe 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 surrounded herself by faithful Highlanders, and their services 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 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 Battle 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, saying, "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 theprovider and protector of the clan. His authority he derived from his position, his position he secured, sometimes by the good-will of the clan, but generally on account of birth. The clansmen considered themselves as the children of the chief, and the system demanded that they subordinate 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 future. 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 expectations 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 honorable 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 singing "He's a Jolly Good Fellow," after which the piper played the Clan welcome, "Morar Sim."
Mrs. Charles Gordon Fraser was at this stage introduced,and her little boy, Master Norman Fraser, attired in Highland costume, gave a spirited and clever execution of the Highland fling, for which he was enthusiastically cheered.
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 suggested 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 undertake the task. The motto of the Clan was held up to me, but I did not forget thatJe suis prestought to be the corollary ofParatus sum, and I fear that but few could step into the breach and do full 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 feelassured of your patience and forbearance while I struggle through a narrative, the length of which under other circumstances would have been an unpardonable breach of good taste.
The clan system holds an intermediate position between the patriarchal and feudal systems. It is sometimes confused with the former, more rarely with the latter. The feudal lordship, in its genius and scope of operation, was diametrically opposed to the salient characteristics of the clan system. The distinctions need not be enlarged upon here, let it suffice to draw attention to the fact that clanship was a distinct form of government, under well recognized and applied principles. In modern literature we find the characteristic most emphasized to be the loyalty with which the clansman followed and served his chief, as in the words of the quotation on our toast list, "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, but of a highly patriotic feeling, for the bond which united chief and clansman was that of kindred and common interest, and not of hire and servitude. This explains why a people so highly sensitive, fiery and impetuous as the Celts, gave such loyal and perfect allegiance to the chief of the clan.
Alexander Fraser(Mac-Fhionnlaidh)Chairman.
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 classical 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 theclans 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, constituted. 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 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 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, ofKilmorack, 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 andmarried 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,aliasFraser, 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 entitle 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, assumed 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 namesas 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 hisipse 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 theFirths 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 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 ofWilliam 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 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 isthat 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 thefraiseor '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 circumstantial 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 Frezelière. 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 Frezelière, 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 noble. It has titles of seven hundred years standing in the abbey of Notre Dame de Noyers in Touraine. And it is certain,that, beside these circumstances of inherent dignity, the house de la Frezelière 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 Frezelière 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 Frezelière 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 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 Frezelière 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 Frezelière, 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 Frezelière himself, by the Duke de Luxembourg, theDuke de Chatillon and the Prince de Tingrie, the three worthy and illustrious 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 noblemen related by blood and marriage to M. de la Frezelière, 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 Frezelière 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 fromFrith, 'a forest,' andsiol—'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 Fraseris 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 Frezelière, 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 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 antiquityof the family of Frezeau de la Frezelière, because, forsooth, there is no account of the family in 'le Père 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 illustrious of the Province (Anjou), where they have possessed from time immemorial the seigniory of the Frezelière.' 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 Frezelière, et de Monsieur Baron de Lasse, 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 doesnotsignify 'strawberry,' neither does that family bear 'fraises' in their arms, but Frezeau or Frezel de la Frezelière signifies 'Ash of the Ash Plantation or Wood,' from the Romance wordFraysse, '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 Frezelière are le Bastard de la Bastardière, Freslon de la Freslonnière, Raband de la Rabandière.
"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 Scotchab origineand 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.
"Thefraisesare 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. Thismaybe 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 Romancefraysse, 'an ash tree,' or the Gaelicfrith, 'a forest,' we find the chief of the namefirmly established as a powerful Scottish noble, manifesting the patriotism and national sentiment to be looked for in a native born baron, as early as 1109.
His name wasGilbert 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.
Oliversucceeded 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'sBetrothed, 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 forbeacon 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,
Simonand Bernard. Both these succeeded to the chiefship, Simon's issue being female. It was after this Simon that Keith-Simon was named.
Bernardraised the fortunes of the family considerably, and his name frequently 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,
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 Simonthe 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 noblest 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 wasfacile princeps. He was the hero of Roslin; he was the only Scottish noble 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 entitled 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 noble 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 ofthe 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 massive 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 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 Fraser, II.Oliver Fraser, III.Adam Fraser, IV.Laurence Fraser, V.Laurence Fraser, VI.Simon Fraser, VII.Bernard Fraser, VIII.Sir Gilbert Fraser, IX.Sir Simon Fraser, X.Sir Simon Fraser, 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 "Mac-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 Fraser'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 solong a time almost synonymous, were first brought together, and how the Frasers obtained a footing on territory which has become indissolubly linked with their name.
Sir Andrew Fraser'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 Scotland, held previously, as we have seen, by his uncle, Bishop Fraser. In consideration of distinguished services, he was given in marriage Mary, sister of King Robert Bruce, and widow of Sir Nigel Campbell, of Lochow. He possessed lands in Kincardine, 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, 1333, 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—Simon and Hugh, who both succeeded him in honors and estates, and James, who was knighted on the occasion of the coronation of Robert III.
II.Simonsucceeded 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 brief but brilliant career, and his estates and the chiefship went to his brother,
III.Hugh, styled "Dominus de Lovat." And, now, I shall keep briefly to the line of chiefs, and shall not 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 byhis two sons, first byAlexander, the eldest, then by Hugh, the second son. From his third son, John, sprang the Frasers of Knock, in Ayrshire; and from Duncan, his fourth son, the Frasers of Morayshire.
IV.Alexanderis 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 title of Lord Lovat. He had three sons, Thomas, Alexander, who died unmarried, and Hugh. The first Lord Lovat was succeeded by his son,
VI.Thomas, whose assumption of the title is not mentioned 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 successors. For instance, his brother,
VII.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,
VIII.Hugh, fourth Lord Lovat, who had a decisive brush with the Macdonalds, under the Lord of the Isles, whenthe latter besieged the Castle of Inverness in 1429. He was 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 mention: Thomas, who succeeded; Hugh, a brave soldier and accomplished courtier, who was slain at Flodden; Alexander, from whom sprang the old cadets of Farraline, Leadclune, etc.; and John, the historian of Henry VIII., the learned Franciscan and astute ambassador. There were also two illegitimate sons—Thomas and Hugh, the latter, progenitor 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 from Henry Douglas, to the family estates, which were assuming very large proportions. He had a large family. The eldest son, named Hugh, succeeded to the estates. From the second son, William, sprang the Frasers of Belladrum, Culbokie, Little Struy, etc.; from James, the Frasers of Foyness; from Robert, the Frasers of Brakie, Fifeshire; from Andrew, "Sliochd Anndra Ruadh a Chnuic" (Kirkhill); from Thomas, "Sliochd Ian 'Ic Thomais"; John married a daughter of Grant of Grant, with issue; and from Hugh Ban of Reelick (an illegitimate son), came the Frasers of Reelick and Moniack.
X.Hugh, sixth Lord Lovat, was the chief of the Clan at the time of the disastrous fight with the Macdonalds at Kinlochlochy, of which I shall read a short description later on.[2]At this affray Lord Hugh and his eldest son, Simon, were slain. His second son, Alexander, succeeded, and histhird 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 distinguished 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 Glenconvinth, 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 inhis 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 responsibility. He was married three times. By his first wife, Catherine Mackenzie, he had issue, a son and daughter, Hugh, his successor, and Elizabeth. By his second wife, the daughter of 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 Fraser, 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, succeededas eleventh Lord Lovat, 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 Murrays, 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."
XVII. Thomas of Beaufort assumed the title as thirteenth 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, intrigue and violence played a part, as well as protracted litigation, that his son's title to the estates was confirmed.
XVIII.Simonof Beaufort succeeded his father, as fourteenth 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, diedyoung in Wales, and without issue. His younger brothers were named Hugh, John, Thomas, and James. The cause of Alexander's flight 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: