It is believed that the Fraser name traces its origins to the French
provinces of Anjou and Normandy. The French word for strawberry is
fraise, and growers are called fraisers. The Fraser arms are
silver strawberry flowers on a field of blue.
The first known appearance of a Fraser occurred around 1160 when Simon
Fraser made a gift to the monks at Kelso Abbey, in a church at Keith in
East Lothian. Frasers later appeared in the counties of Aberdeen, Angus,
Inverness and Stirling.
In 1306, Sir Simon Fraser (The Patriot) was executed with extreme cruelty
by Edward I. Sir Andrew Fraser, cousin of The Patriot, was the father of Sir
Alexander Fraser of Cowie (ancestor of the Frasers of Philorth), Sir Simon
Fraser (ancestor of the Frasers of Lovat), Sir Andrew Fraser and Sir James
Fraser of Frendraught.
Currently, we have a huge gap between this era and what we know about the
Fraziers of Clinton County. We know that Timothy emigrated here from Scotland,
but when, and from exactly where, are still undetermined.
Timothy's son Joseph (Mar. 21, 1823 - Nov. 6, 1913) was married twice. He
married his second wife, Ellen McNannie (Dec. 7, 1849 - Feb. 2, 1934) in 1868.
It appears that Joseph may have had a brother John, a Civil War veteran, who is
buried in the family plot in Riverside Cemetery in Plattsburgh, but the
relationship has not been confirmed. It seems likely that there were other
siblings, although none have yet been found.
Our lineage comes from Joseph's son Stewart (Jan. 24, 1873 - Oct. 13, 1950),
who married Flora Barber (Sep. 12, 1871 - June 17, 1961). Stewart was a leading
real estate and insurance broker in the Lake Champlain district, having purchased
the firm of Parkhurst and Taylor in 1932, and then entered into partnership
with his son Harry.
Stewart and Flora were the parents of five children: (1) Arthur, a jeweler with
Dodge & Frazier in Plattsburgh, (2) Harry, a partner in Parkhurst and Taylor
Insurance, (3) Frances LaPlante, (4) Raymond, a member of the class of 1920 at
West Point Military Academy and Principal of the high school in Kenmore, NY, and
(5) Gertrude, wife of Dr. H. G. Krause of Riverhead, Long Island.