Persifor Frazer (August 9, 1736 – April 24, 1792) was an American farmer, soldier, and industrialist, and the founder of one of the most prominent families of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

Life

Frazer, the son of John and Mary Smith Frazer, was born in Newtown Township, Pennsylvania, not far from Philadelphia. He married Mary "Polly" Taylor on October 2, 1766, and managed a prosperous farm near Brandywine Creek. They raised ten children, many of whom established their own successful businesses and lineages. Grandson

Persifor Frazer Smith Persifor Frazer Smith (November 16, 1798 – May 17, 1858) was an American military officer. He served as an officer in the Louisiana State militia and as Louisiana State adjutant general. He led two regiments of Louisiana and Pennsylvania volu ...

was a leading brigadier general in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

. Frazer became a leading regional political figure resisting the growing British power in the colonies. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, in early 1776, he was elected as the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of Company A, Fourth Pennsylvania Battalion and later was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the Fifth Pennsylvania Line, both under "Mad Anthony" Wayne. Frazer was captured at the

Battle of Brandywine The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American Continental Army of General George Washington and the British Army of General Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777, as part of the Am ...

and held as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

in the Walnut Street prison in Philadelphia until his

parole Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prisoner, prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated ...

. He was later appointed as a brigadier general in the

Pennsylvania militia The Pennsylvania National Guard is one of the oldest and largest National Guards in the United States Department of Defense. It traces its roots to 1747 when Benjamin Franklin established the Associators in Philadelphia. With more than 18,000 pe ...

. In a letter to his wife in July 1776 Frazer expressed negative opinions towards the blacks serving in many New England regiments of the army. Following the war, Frazer was an iron manufacturer and merchant, owning and operating the Sarum Forge.

Descendants

Children of Persifor and Mary Frazer: *Sarah (1769–1841) *Robert (1771–1821) *Mary Anne (1774–1845), who married Jonathan Smith *Persifor (1776–1798) *Martha (1778) *Mary (1780–1862), who married Joseph Smith, her brother-in-law Jonathan's brother *John (1781–1783) *Martha (1783–1867), who married William Morris *Elizabeth (1786–1788) *Elizabeth (1788–1857), who married Henry Myers Other descendants include

(son of Mary Anne), general in the

, and

Joseph Smith Harris Joseph Smith Harris (April 29, 1836 – June 1, 1910) was an American surveyor, civil engineer, and railroad executive. Largely self-taught, he worked on several projects for the United States Government, including the United States Coast S ...

(grandson of Mary), president of the

Reading Railroad The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and freight transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states from 1924 until its acquisition by Conrail in 1976. Commonly called the Reading Railr ...

. His grandson

was a lawyer and member of the Pennsylvania legislature. File:Persifor F Smith.jpg, Persifor Frazer Smith File:Joseph Smith Harris at ~65.jpg, Joseph Smith Harris

References

External links

University of Pennsylvania Guide to the Frazer family
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frazer, Persifor 1736 births 1792 deaths Military personnel from Philadelphia Merchants from colonial Pennsylvania 18th-century American merchants Continental Army officers from Pennsylvania Foundrymen Militia generals in the American Revolution 18th-century American farmers People from Newtown Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania Farmers from Pennsylvania American industrialists

Life

Descendants

References

Further reading

External links