Clan Fraser is a

Scottish clan A Scottish clan (from Gaelic , literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred') is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of shared identity and descent to members, and in modern times have an official structure recognis ...

of the

Scottish Lowlands The Lowlands ( sco, Lallans or ; gd, a' Ghalldachd, , place of the foreigners, ) is a cultural and historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Lowlands and the Highlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lo ...

.Way, George and Squire, Romily. ''Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia''. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs). Published in 1994. Pages 142 - 143. It is not to be confused with the

Clan Fraser of Lovat Clan Fraser of Lovat ( gd, Friseal french: link=yes, Fraiser) is a Highland Scottish clan and the principal branch of Clan Fraser. The Frasers of Lovat are strongly associated with Inverness and the surrounding area since the Clan's founder gaine ...

who are a separate Scottish clan of the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland ...

(though with a common ancestry). Both clans have their own separate chief, both of whom are officially recognized by the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs.

History

Origins of the clan

The exact origins of the surname "Fraser" can not be determined with any great certainty.Fraser Name Meaning
ancestry.com. Retrieved on 14 June 2015. The Frasers are believed to have come from Plantagenet Anjou in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. Traditionally it is thought to have originated in France, but the Oxford Dictionary of Family Names (2016) notes there is no place name in France corresponding with the earliest spellings of the name "de Fresel", "de Friselle", and "de Freseliere", and suggests the possibility it represents a Gaelic name "corrupted beyond recognition by Anglo-French scribes". By the way, the name ''Fraser'' may be an altered form of the French patronymic ''Fresel''. The French surname ''Fresel'' meant "ribbon, braid" in Old French and was probably the nickname for such merchants. In fact, the surnames ''Fresel'' and ''Frezel'' are now centred on Normandy and Artois/French Flanders and not in Anjou because Fresel/Frezel were historically Plantagenet. It sounds like a derived form of ''fraise'' which means "strawberry" in French and such popular etymologies explain many badges and coats of arms. The first Fraser to appear in Scotland was in about 1160 when Simon Fraser held lands at Keith in

East Lothian East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In 1975, the hi ...

Wars of Scottish Independence

About five generations after the first Simon Fraser, another Simon Fraser was captured fighting for

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventuall ...

and was executed in 1306 by

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Duchy of Aquitaine, Aquitaine and D ...

. Simon’s cousin was Alexander Fraser of Cowie who was Bruce’s chamberlain. He married Bruce’s sister Mary. Alexander Fraser’s younger brother was another Sir Simon Fraser, from whom the chiefs of the

are descended. One of Simon Fraser’s grandsons was Sir Alexander Fraser of Cowie and Durris. This Alexander Fraser acquired a castle now called

Cairnbulg Castle Cairnbulg Castle is a z-plan castle situated in Cairnbulg, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It was described by W. Douglas Simpson as one of the nine castles of the Knuckle, referring to the rocky headland of north-east Aberdeenshire. It stands by the R ...

and the lands of Philorth by marriage to Joanna, younger daughter and co-heiress of the

Earl of Ross The Earl or Mormaer of Ross was the ruler of the province of Ross in northern Scotland. Origins and transfers In the early Middle Ages, Ross was part of the vast earldom of Moray. It seems to have been made a separate earldom in the mid 12 ...

in 1375.

Frasers of Philorth

In 1592, Sir Alexander Fraser of Philorth received charters from

James VI of Scotland James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until h ...

for the fishing village of Faithlie which later became the town of Fraserburgh. Sir Alexander Fraser was also authorized to found a university in the town but this scheme was short-lived due to the religious troubles of the time. The eighth Laird of Philorth built Fraserburgh Castle, which later became the Kinnaird Head lighthouse. This bankrupted him and

Philorth Castle Cairnbulg Castle is a z-plan castle situated in Cairnbulg, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It was described by W. Douglas Simpson as one of the nine castles of the Knuckle, referring to the rocky headland of north-east Aberdeenshire. It stands by the R ...

was lost from the family for over three hundred years until 1934 when it was bought back by the 19th Lord Saltoun.

Lords Saltoun

17th and 18th centuries

The ninth Laird of Philorth married the heiress of the Abernethy Lords Saltoun. Their son, Alexander Fraser, 11th Lord Saltoun, was severely wounded at the

Battle of Worcester The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 in and around the city of Worcester, England and was the last major battle of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Parliamentarian army of around 28,000 under Oliver Cromwell def ...

in 1651. He survived thanks to his servant, James Cardno, who rescued him from the battlefield. In 1666 the tenth Lord built Philorth House a mile from Fraserburgh which remained the family seat until it burned down in 1915. Sir Alexander Fraser of Durris was personal physician to Charles II of England. He was educated at

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), ...

and accompanied the king on his campaign throughout 1650. After the Restoration he sat in the Scottish Parliament and he featured in the diaries of

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys (; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English diarist and naval administrator. He served as administrator of the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament and is most famous for the diary he kept for a decade. Pepys had no marit ...

. The Fraser family took no part in the

Jacobite risings , war = , image = Prince James Francis Edward Stuart by Louis Gabriel Blanchet.jpg , image_size = 150px , caption = James Francis Edward Stuart, Jacobite claimant between 1701 and 1766 , active ...

, although their distant Highland relatives in the

were Jacobites.

19th and 20th centuries

The sixteenth Lord Saltoun commanded the Light Companies of the First Guards at the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armies of the Seventh C ...

in 1815. The nineteenth Lord Saltoun was a prisoner of war during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. Later, in 1936 he became a member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster ...

and promoted the

Royal National Lifeboat Institution The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...

References

External links

Website of Lady Saltoun, Chief of the Name and Arms of FraserFraser Heraldry
Fraser Societies
Clan Fraser Society of AustraliaClan Fraser Association for CaliforniaClan Fraser Society Scotland UK

Clan Fraser Society of North America
{{Scottish clans

Fraser Fraser may refer to: Places Antarctica * Fraser Point, South Orkney Islands Australia * Fraser, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb in the Canberra district of Belconnen * Division of Fraser (Australian Capital Territory), a former federal ...

Scottish Lowlands