Daniel Robert Fraser (August 26, 1851 – January 12, 1920) was a pioneer businessman and an alderman in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

in the years 1897, 1903-1905 and 1908-1909.

Biography

Daniel Fraser was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and emigrated to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and then Canada as a child. He was educated in

Huron County, Ontario Huron County is a county of the province of Ontario, Canada. It is located on the southeast shore of its namesake, Lake Huron, in the southwest part of the province. The county seat is Goderich, also the county's largest community. The populat ...

. He apprenticed as a millwright, joiner, and carpenter before moving to

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

in 1874 to work for the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

and later McCauley & Jarvis. In 1880 he returned to the Hudson's Bay Company, for whom he built a saw and flour mill in Edmonton and a flour mill in

Prince Albert, Saskatchewan Prince Albert is the third-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada, after Saskatoon and Regina, Saskatchewan, Regina. It is situated near the centre of the province on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. The city is known as the "Gateway ...

. He moved to Edmonton in 1881 and operated his own mill under the name D R Fraser & Company Limited before becoming President of Alberta Milling Co., which operated four flour mills, and later Edmonton Pressed Brick Co. He married Jane McCann in 1891; the couple had four children. In February

1892 In Samoa, this was the only leap year spanned to 367 days as July 4 repeated. This means that the International Date Line was drawn from the east of the country to go west. Events January * January 1 – Ellis Island begins processing imm ...

, Fraser was elected as an alderman to Edmonton's inaugural

Town Council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland In 2002, 49 urban district councils and 26 town commissi ...

, finishing second of fourteen candidates (the top six were elected). However, he was defeated in his

1893 Events January * January 2 – Webb C. Ball introduces railroad chronometers, which become the general railroad timepiece standards in North America. * January 6 – The Washington National Cathedral is chartered by Congress; th ...

re-election bid, finishing last of nine candidates. He returned to public office in

1896 Events January * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports Wilhelm Röntgen's dis ...

. Six aldermen were elected and he squeaked back into office by finishing sixth of nine candidates (three votes ahead of future mayor

William Thomas Henry William Thomas Henry (January 2, 1871 – March 12, 1952) was a politician, real estate agent and businessman in Alberta, Canada. He served numerous years on Edmonton City Council as an Alderman from 1900 to 1902 and later as mayor from 1914 to ...

). He did not seek re-election in

1898 Events January * January 1 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York as the world's second largest. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queen ...

, and removed himself from politics once again until

1902 Events January * January 1 ** The Nurses Registration Act 1901 comes into effect in New Zealand, making it the first country in the world to require state registration of nurses. On January 10, Ellen Dougherty becomes the world's ...

. In

Fraser was elected to a two year term on council. He received the most votes of any candidate in the aldermanic race. Fraser sought re-election in

1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system. * ...

, the year of Edmonton's incorporation as a city rather than a town. The number of aldermen was increased from six to eight. In order to maintain the system of staggered two year aldermanic terms, it was decided that the four candidates receiving the most votes in the 1904 election would be elected to two year terms, while the next four in popularity would be elected to one year terms. Fraser finished seventh of seventeen candidates, and was therefore elected to a one-year term. He was defeated in his

1905 As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia (Shostakovich's 11th Symphony i ...

bid for re-election, finishing eighth of ten candidates. In December 1907, he ran for an aldermanic seat again but finished sixth - only five were elected. In a byelection held just weeks after the December 1907 election, he was elected to fill a seat on council. In

1908 This is the longest year in either the Julian or Gregorian calendars, having a duration of 31622401.38 seconds of Terrestrial Time (or ephemeris time), measured according to the definition of mean solar time. Events January * January ...

he ran again and finished sixth of thirteen candidates. Since the electoral system at the time normally had four aldermen elected to two year terms each year, Fraser's sixth place showing normally would have been insufficient to be elected. However, two of the aldermen elected in

1907 Events January * January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Moment magnitude scale, Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000. February * February 9 – The "Mud March (suffragists), Mud March", the ...

( Robert Lee and

Thomas Bellamy Thomas Bellamy may refer to: * Thomas Bellamy (politician) (1853–1926), Canadian politician *Thomas Bellamy (writer) (1745–1800), English author * Thomas Ludford Bellamy (1770–1843), English singer *Tom Bellamy Thomas Rhys Bellamy is a Br ...

) had resigned in order to run for the mayor's chair, allowing Fraser and fifth-place finisher Andrew Agar to be elected to serve out the remaining one year of their terms. Fraser did not seek re-election in

1909 Events January–February * January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escapes death by fleeing across ice floes. * January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama. * Janu ...

and stayed out of politics thereafter. He died in 1920.

References

Edmonton Public Library biography of Daniel FraserCity of Edmonton biography of Daniel Fraser
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Daniel 1851 births 1920 deaths Edmonton city councillors Politicians from Edinburgh British emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Immigrants to the Province of Canada Immigrants to pre-Confederation Alberta