John
Fraser de Berry (1816-1876) spent a lifetime inventing and reinventing his
ancestry and genealogy, as evidenced by the following examples, firstly,
from published sources in Quebec, and secondly, from The Scot in
British North America, by W.J. Rattray [Toronto, Maclear and Company,
1880].
John Fraser was acting as tutor to the sons of his deceased uncle
Alexander Fraser by Pauline Michaud, namely, William (1830-1908) and
Edouard Fraser (c1832-1874) of Rivière-du-Loup. He was represented by
Alexis Morin, then married to Pauline Michaud. As usual, John seized the
opportunity to display all his titles, in 25 lines, extracted from the
notary document:
10 Feb 1851 - Notary Jean-Baptiste Pouliot
JOHN FRASER, Ecuyer, Seigneur des Seigneuries de Contrecœur et de
Cournoyer, dans le district de Montréal, Notaire Public, de la susdite
partie de la dite Province du Canada, Juge a Paix, pour le dit district de
Montréal; un des Conseillers Municipaux du comté de Terrebonne; President
des Commissaires pour la décision sommaire des petites causes pour la
Paroisse de Terrebonne et des environs; un des Commissaires des Ecoles, de
la dite Paroisse de Terreboone; Deputé Régistrateur du comté de Terrebonne;
Capitaine et Adjutant du premier bataillon de la Milice du dit comté de
Terrebonne; president de la Société Saint Jean-Baptise, pour la Paroisse
de Terrebonne; Commissaire nommé pour recevoir les affidavits, pour la
Cour Supérieure du District de Montréal; Tresorier de la Société
d’Agriculture, du dit comté de Terrebonne; Cultivateur et grand
propriétaire des comtés de l’Ottawa, Lac des deux Montagnes, Terrebonne,
Leinster et Verchères; President de la Société Anglaise de Tempérance
partielle pour le dit comté de Terrebonne; Tresorier de l’Association de
la dite Paroisse de Terrebonne, pour la Colonisation des terres de la
Couronne; Patron de la Paroisse "St. Jean de Fraser," dans le township de
Lochaber, dans le comté de l’Ottawa; Agent de partie des Seigneuries
Ramsay, Bonchemin et Langan; Membre des Sociétés de Tempérance totale, de
la Propagation de la Foi, d’Agriculture; de plusiers comtés, et de
diverses autres Sociétés et Associations, résidant en les Paroisse et
Comté de Terrebonne, dans le dit District de Montréal.
Lequel, en sa qualité de Tuteur, dûment élu en justice, à Messieurs
WILLIAM FRASER et EDOUARD FRASER enfants mineurs, Seigneurs et
propriétaires du Fief et Seigneurie de la Rivière-du-Loup, dans le dit
District de Québec, reconnaît par son dit Procureur avoir baillé et
concédé à titre de Bail à cens et rentes Seigneuriales, foncières, et non
rechetables, et promet faire jouir, paisiblement au dit tître à ….
After discovering that John was the "patron" of St-Jean-de-Fraser,
Quebec researcher Paul Lessard observed that he had never heard of this
parish and wonders if it was ever officially accepted as such. However, he
speculates that it could be the parish of St-Jean-l’Évangéliste de Thurso,
which was named after John Brady, priest and missionary between 1842 and
1855, according to Dictionnaire Historique et Géographique des
Paroisses, Missions et Municipalités de la Province de Québec
(1925) par Hormisdas Magnan:
Saint-Jean-l’Évangéliste. (B. de P. "Thurso.") Comté de Papineau.
Diocèse d’Ottawa. Desservi par voie de mission de 1842 à 1864, date de la
nomination du premier curé en titre et de l’ouverture des registres de la
paroisse. Erection canonique: 4 octobre 1887.
Erection civile: 9 décembre 1887. Le territoire de cette paroisse
comprend une partie du canton de Lochaber… Le nom du saint patron de la
paroisse rappelle la mémoire du premier missionaire, M. l’abbé John Brady,
1842-1855. Le nom du bureau de poste et du village a été donné parce que
plusieurs des premiers colons venaient de Thurso, petite ville située au
nord de l’Ecosse.
20 Nov 1876 - Quebec Morning Chronicle
The Hon. John Fraser de Berry, Legislative Councillor for the division
of Rougement expired at his residence, St Marc de Cournoyer, on Wednesday
evening. Mr. Fraser had been in ill-health for some time, but he insisted
upon proceeding to Quebec to be present at the opening of the session. He
was seized with an alarming attack upon the floor of the House, and had to
be removed to his hotel, and subsequently home. His decease has not been
wholly unexpected therefore, and very general regret will be felt at the
loss of a man who has been before the public for many years. He will be
especially missed from the Legislative Council, where, despite many
eccentricities of manner and style, he imparted to the deliberations most
of their life.
Mr. Frazer claimed descent of such antiquity as makes the genealogy of
the Plantagets appear as but of yesterday. "Julius de Berry," says the
Parliamentary Companion, whose descendants became seigneurs of Troile,
in Brittany, came from Germany to France A.D. 250; members of the family
removed to Scotland and the Isle of Man, as ambassadors to Charlemagne,
A.D. 784." The deceased Councillor was son of Dr. Simon Fraser, a
lieutenant in the 42nd Royal Highland Regiment, the famous
"Black Watch," an officer who took part in all the engagements in which
that corps was engaged from 1795 to 1803; and one of the descendants of
that Lord Lovat, who fought at the capture of Quebec and the battle of St.
Foy in 1760. [Ed: He was not descended from Lt.Colonel Simon Fraser
of Lovat (1726-82) who raised the Fraser’s Highlanders for service during
the Seven Years War in Canada; nor did Lt.Colonel (later Lt.General) Simon
Fraser ever succeed his own father, 11th Lord Lovat
(c1668-1747), as Lord Lovat.]
He was born in St. Martin, P.Q., in 1816, educated in Terrebonne and
Montreal, and embraced the notarial profession. He was, by inheritance,
Seigneur of Cournoyer and Contrecœur, and duing his career he filled
several civil and municipal positions. He was President of the St. Jean
Baptiste Society. One of the efforts of his life was to organize the "Clan
Fraser," by gathering all the descendants of "Fraser’s Highlanders"
scattered around the country into one association. He was as much a
French-Canadian as a Fraser; all his feelings and sympathies were French,
though he commanded both languages, and spoke with equal ease in French
and English. He was devoted to antiquarian research, and has written a
good deal of curious matter at various times. The Fraserian Almanac was
one of his productions. Under the elective system he was a candidate for
Montarville in the Leglislative Council in 1858, but was defeated. In 1867
he was nominated by the Crown, and, on taking his seat, assumed the
ancient French name of his family, de Berry.
Mr. Fraser was a man of the most profound courtesy in his manner, a
veritable specimen of the courtly school. He was under the medium height;
his head was uncommonly large, and as he was robust, he appeared to be
shorter than he really was. He was a Conservative of the independent order
- so much so, that he constituted himself the leader of the Opposition in
the Upper House. Originally a Protestant, he embraced the Roman Catholic
religion many years ago, and died in that communion. - Montreal Star.
The Scot in British North America
by W.J. Rattray, B.A., Toronto, Maclear and Company, 1880
In a previous chapter, the Frasers of Quebec were mentioned in
connection with the conquest of the Province. The Hon. John Fraser de
Berry, who sat in the Legislative Council until 1877, or thereabouts, was
the Lord of the clan Fraser, and took the name of De Berry from the
seigniory he had acquired. He was descended from Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat,
a Jacobite in the rebellion of 1745. A son of the same name fought under
Wolfe, and was wounded severely at the taking of Quebec. He remained in
the Province after the capitulation, and received the seigniory of
Montmorency with other property. At the time of the American invasion he
distinguished himself as captain of the 84th or Royal Highland
Emigrant Regiment. He was also a Judge in the Province. The Hon. Mr.
Fraser’s father, Dr. Simon Fraser, was an officer in the 42nd
or Black Watch and saw active service from 1795 to 1803, having been
present when Sir Ralph Abercrombie was slain at Alexandria in 1801. During
that memorable action about three-fourths of this gallant Highland
Regiment were either killed or wounded. The son was born at St. Martin’s,
Quebec, in November, 1816, and married, in 1842, his cousin, Elizabeth
Fraser de Berry, and added the name of the seigniory to his own. Being the
lineal descendant of the head of the family, he became chief of the clan
Fraser, and aided by his pen and influence in its formal organization.
From his French connections, Mr. Fraser was made President of the St. Jean
Baptiste Society - a striking instance of the fusion of old nationalities
which has been previously noted. In 1858, he contested the Montarville
Division for the Legislative Council unsuccessfully, but in 1867 was
nominated as a life member of that body.
Fact vs. Fiction
John Fraser (1816-1876) was the son of Dr. Simon Fraser (1768-1844) by
Marie Semur (1798-1883), although no Fraser-Semur marriage has been found
in Quebec records. Simon Fraser was the fourth child and third son of
Malcolm Fraser (1733-1815) by Marie Allaire (1739-1822). There is also no
evidence of a Fraser-Allaire marriage in Quebec records, making it obvious
why John Fraser wanted to make it appear that he was the lineal descendant
of Lord Lovat, rather than the grandson of Malcolm Fraser, who had been an
ensign, then lieutenant, in Fraser’s Highlanders during the Seven Years
War (1757-63) between Britain and France.
According to family tradition, Malcolm Fraser’s father, Donald Fraser,
was killed at the battle of Culloden in 1746. Malcolm Fraser from
Abernethy, Strathspey, joined the 2nd Highland Battalion, also
called 63rd Regiment of Foot and 78th Regiment of
Foot (Fraser’s Highlanders), raised in 1757 by Lieutenant Colonel
Commandant Simon Fraser (1726-82). Malcolm Fraser was wounded at the
battle of the Plains of Abraham on September 13, 1759, and Ste-Foy on
April 28, 1760. Malcolm Fraser stayed in Canada when the regiment was
disbanded in 1763 and purchased the seigniory of Mount Murray from James
Murray. With the outbreak of the American Revolution, he helped to recruit
former Fraser Highlanders for the 1st Battalion, 84th
Regiment (Royal Highland Emigrants), in which he was gazetted a captain on
June 24, 1775. In 1797 he was Brevet Major and Captain in the 1st
Battalion, 60th Regiment of Foot but, as the regiment was
ordered to embark for England, and he wished to remain in Canada, he
resigned. Malcolm Fraser was a staunch Presbyterian. He had issue by three
women, namely, Marie Allaire (1739-1822), Margery McCord (1749-1774) and
Marie Ducros (1763-1837).
Colonel Simon Fraser, son of the infamous 11th Lord Lovat,
Simon "the Fox", was still recovering from wounds suffered at Montmorency
(Beauport) July 1759, so did not personally lead his regiment at the
battle of the Plains of Abraham on September 13, 1759; and was again
wounded at Ste-Foy on April 28, 1760. Having passed command of the
regiment to Major John Campbell of Dunoon, Colonel Fraser left for London
in the spring of 1761 to take up his seat in the House of Commons as an
elected Member of Parliament for Inverness, which would have made it
impossible for him to have been the father of Dr. Simon Fraser who was
born in Canada in 1768. Simon Fraser of Lovat married but died, without
issue, in London on February 8, 1782, aged 55, having reached the rank of
lieutenant-general in the British army.
Actually, Simon Fraser of Lovat (1726-82) missed the two biggest
battles of his career : having arrived too late to take part in the battle
of Culloden in April 1746; and was still recovering from wounds suffered
at Montmorency in July 1759, which prevented him from taking an active
role in the battle of Quebec in September 1759.
Beaufort Castle
After Culloden, Castle Dounie had been replaced by a small square
building costing £300 in which the Royal Commissioner resided until 1774,
when certain of the forfeited Lovat estates were granted to then
Major-General Simon Fraser (1726-82) in recognition of his military
service to the Crown and the payment of some £20,000. Later, two modest
wings were added.
On the death of General Fraser’s younger half-brother, Colonel
Archibald Campbell Fraser (1736-1815), without legitimate surviving issue,
Thomas Alexander Fraser of Strichen (1802-1875) succeeded to the Lovat
estates. He was created a peer in the United Kingdom in 1837 and in 1857
became 14th Lord Lovat. However, it was not until the 1880s
that his son, Simon Fraser 15th Lord Lovat (1828-1887) built
the baronial style Beaufort Castle by the site of Castle Dounie, on a high
bank overlooking the Beauly River, dominating the countryside to the north
and to the east.
In 1873 John Fraser "de Berry" wrote his cousin Andrew Lauchlin Fraser,
son of his uncle Joseph Fraser (1766-1844), posing specific questions
about the ancestry of Malcolm Fraser, and the relationship between him and
the Grants who were at one time at Rivière-du-Loup [Malcolm’s sister Janet
had married Thomas Grant, and their son Malcolm with his wife and children
came to Canada in 1803]. The letter, dated Saturday, this 19th
July 1873, from "Beaufort Castle" St. Mark (Quebec), was addressed to
Lieut. Colonel A.L. Fraser, Esquire, J.P., Chief of the "Frasers" of the
Electoral District of Wellington River du Loup (en bas), and was signed,
Your affectionate Cousin, John Fraser de Berry, Chief of the New Clan
Fraser of British North America.
One can only speculate whether John Fraser de Berry used "Beaufort
Castle" as his address when he wrote to Lord Lovat in Scotland. He
received the following response, dated December 21, 1875, written from
Beaufort Castle, Beauly, N.B. [North Britain]:
Dear Sir,
I beg to thank you for the many interesting books, papers & extracts
you have kindly sent me relating to the Frasers in your Country…. I very
much regret that so many good Frasers were driven from this Country & even
off the Lovat estate in old times. They seem however to have generally
been successful in their new Country & I am glad to hear retain so much
loyal feeling for old Scotland.
Believe me, with many thanks, very truly,
Lovat
The 14th Lord Lovat died in June 1875. In the 1881 British
Census, the 15th Lord Lovat and his family were living at 8
Beaufort Mansion House, Kiltarlity.
Conclusion
I doubt that Malcolm Fraser (1733-1815) would have been amused by the
suggestion that his grandson, John Fraser (1816-76) claimed as his father,
Simon Fraser (1726-82), son of Simon Fraser 11th Lord Lovat.
Unfortunately, such fantastic stories continue to be repeated by some
writers who do not take the time to check their sources.
Marie Fraser
Clan Fraser Society of
Canada |