James Fraser (businessman)

James Fraser JP (c. 1760 – 14 October 1822) was a Scottish-born businessman, judge and political figure in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. He represented Northumberland County in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1795 to 1818.[1]

James Fraser

JP
Member of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick for Northumberland
In office
1795–1818
Personal details
Bornc. 1760
Farraline, Dores, Scotland
Died14 October 1822(1822-10-14) (aged 61–62)
Windsor, Nova Scotia
Spouse(s)
Rachel Otis DeWolf
​
(
m. after 1802)
Children8
ParentsAlexander Fraser

Early life

He was born in Farraline, Dores, the only son of Alexander Fraser and Miss Cameron. Fraser was educated in Aberdeen and came to Nova Scotia in 1780.[1]

Career

In Nova Scotia, he helped establish a business with fellow Scot, James Thom, catching and exporting salmon in the Miramichi region of New Brunswick in 1785 and also supplied goods to people who had settled in that area.[2] He and his partners also became involved in the timber trade and shipbuilding. Fraser also served Northumberland County as justice of the peace and justice in the Inferior Court of Common Pleas. He ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the New Brunswick Assembly in 1791 before being elected four years later, serving from 1795 to 1818.[1]

Around 1810, although still operating in the Miramichi area, he moved his residence to Halifax. He was member of the North British Society. In 1818, he was named to Nova Scotia's Council.[1]

Personal life

In 1802, Fraser was married to Rachel Otis DeWolf (b. 1773), the daughter of Benjamin DeWolf and Rachel (née Otis) DeWolf (aunt of William Hersey Otis Haliburton through her sister of Susannah (née Otis) Haliburton). Together, they were the parents of eight children:[3]

  • Sarah Rachel Fraser (b. 1803), who married Hon. Charles Stephen Gore, third son of the Arthur Gore, 2nd Earl of Arran, in 1824.[4][3]
  • James DeWolf Fraser (1805–1852), who married Catharine Prescott, a daughter of Charles Ramage Prescott, in 1839.[3]
  • Harriet Amelia Fraser (1806–1880), who married Col. Dixon in 1826.[3]
  • Amelia Isabella Fraser (1808–1837)[3]
  • Frances Mary Fraser (1809–1827)[3]
  • Dr. Benjamin DeWolf Fraser (1812–1888), who married Elizabeth Coster in 1841.[5]
  • Catharine Fraser (1813–1880), who married the Rev. Thomas G. Suther, Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney.[3]
  • Mary Hulbert Fraser (1813–1822).[3]

Fraser died in Windsor, Nova Scotia on 14 October 1822 and was buried in the Old Burying Ground in Halifax.[1]

Descendants

Through his eldest daughter, he was a grandfather of Eliza Amelia Gore (1829–1916), who married William Hay, 19th Earl of Erroll in 1848 and who served as Lady-in-waiting to Queen Victoria for twenty-eight years.[3]

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References
  1. Spray, William A (1987). "James Fraser". Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online. Retrieved 2008-12-14.
  2. "Provincial Archives of New Brunswick". archives.gnb.ca. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  3. Eaton, Arthur Wentworth Hamilton (1910). The History of Kings County, Nova Scotia, Heart of the Acadian Land, Giving a Sketch of the French and Their Expulsion: And a History of the New England Planters who Came in Their Stead, with Many Genealogies, 1604-1910. Salem Press Company. pp. 630–631. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  4. "Arran, Earl of (I, 1762)". www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  5. The Court Magazine and Monthly Critic, and Lady's Magazine and Museum: A Family Journal of the Belles Lettres, Music, Fine Arts, Drama, Fashion, Etc. Dobbs. 1841. p. 326. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
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