{"id":5050,"date":"2025-09-02T17:08:55","date_gmt":"2025-09-02T17:08:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hwtproject.ca\/family\/?p=5050"},"modified":"2025-09-27T16:48:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-27T16:48:10","slug":"fraser-alexander-and-sarah-chamberlain-fraser","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hwtproject.ca\/family\/2025\/09\/02\/fraser-alexander-and-sarah-chamberlain-fraser\/","title":{"rendered":"FRASER, Alexander and Sarah Chamberlain Fraser"},"content":{"rendered":"

A serendipitous occurrence in 2015 significantly aided in researching the Alex Fraser business and family story. <\/em>Fraser Serendipity<\/a><\/em><\/p>\r\n

Alexander \u201cAlex\u201d Fraser (1830-1903) \u2013 the surviving twin at his birth \u2013 m. Sarah Elizabeth Chamberlain (1835-1910), daughter of Hiram Wyman Chamberlain (1812- 1854) and Elizabeth Minerva Hayes (1816-1898).\u00a0See\u00a0CHAMBERLAIN\u00a0<\/a>entry. When Chamberlain unexpectedly died of cholera, the young son-in-law Alex took over the Chamberlain lumber merchant business. The youngest of Hugh\u2019s sons, would go on to become a man of wealth and stature in colonial Canada.<\/p>\r\n

As the youngest son of\u00a0 “Highland Hugh” Fraser,<\/a> Alexander Fraser was a skilled businessman at an early age and became one of the few labelled TIMBER BARONS. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

He would die in 1903 with an estate of nearly $4 million, approximately $146.9 million in today’s Canadian dollars<\/span>, and his two sons, John Burns “JB ” and WHA “Willie,” went on to be prominent “LUMBER KINGS” with equally sizable estates.\u00a0 These Fraser men were kingpins in the Valley’s lumber industry and employers of many of the Westmeath Township’s men.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Timber Baron Alex Fraser as a young successful businessman. Photo from Fraser family collection.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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Sarah Chamberlain Fraser. Photo from Fraser family collection.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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1871 Census Westmeath Township – Alex Fraser Household<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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Timber Baron Alexander Fraser (1830-1903)<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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Timber Baron Alex Fraser as pictured in the 1903 Obituary which was front page news of the Ottawa Evening Journal.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The Fraser family\u2019s influence in and around\u00a0 the young Westmeath Township was strongly felt.\u00a0 Alex joined his father and brothers in lumbering and store-keeping.\u00a0 The Westmeath village store that his father Hugh Fraser had first built was replaced\u00a0 with a more modern building of lumber frame. His nephew Alexander \u201cRed Alex\u201d Fraser (1857-1936), son of his brother Thomas Fraser, partnered with John Paterson and they expanded the\u00a0Fraser-Paterson General Store further<\/a>. See\u00a0PATERSON<\/a>\u00a0entry.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Alex\u00a0founded the\u00a0Fraser Lumber Company<\/strong>. His brother John was Woods Superintendent while Alex was Financial Manager. He became one of the Upper Ottawa Valley\u2019s well-known\u00a0timber barons<\/em>\u00a0using the wealth and knowledge of his father\u00a0 before him. During\u00a0the peak of the lumber trade on both sides of the Ottawa River<\/a>, many families owed their livelihood to the company.\u00a0 Winter shanty life in the lumber camps became the stuff of legend and song, throughout the Valley.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The paddle steamer “Alex Fraser” plied the waters of the Ottawa at Lower Allumette Lake for many years.<\/p>\r\n

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The steamboat Alex Fraser<\/em> was in operation on<\/em> the Lower Allumette Lake from 1891 until 1915 and \u201ccarried\u00a0.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n
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The\u00a0ALEX FRASER\u00a0steamboat operated on the\u00a0Lower Alumette Lake, the widening of the Ottawa River with its southern shore at Perretton and Westmeath.\u00a0 Photo from\u00a0History of the Corporation of Westmeath Township\u00a0by EM Price, 1984.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

In the section on\u00a0Lumbering\u00a0in this website, read the details of Alex Fraser\u2019s climb to the top of that industry.\u00a0\u00a0Timber Baron Alex Fraser,\u00a0 Arklan Farm & Fraser\u2019s Landing.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In David Lee\u2019s excellent\u00a0Lumber Kings and Shantymen: Logging and Lumbering in the Ottawa Valley<\/a>,\u00a0<\/em>the distinction is made between the \u201cTimber Barons\u201d who made their fortunes in the squared-timber trade and the \u201cLumber Kings\u201d who in later years expanded the output of their sawmills and maintained high levels of lumber production. Lee asserts that: \u201cOnly 50 or so succeeded in building their forest operations to a scale where they could be considered barons or kings.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0David Lee goes on:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Timber men were markedly conservative. Even those who had amassed enough money to invest in large scale lumbering preferred to stick with their first interest. For example, one well-known timber baron was Alexander Fraser, who sent rafts down the Ottawa River every years for nearly 50 years; despite his success in timber (he left an estate of three to four millions dollars), he never ventured into lumbering (though his sons did, on a minor scale).<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The two properties north of Westmeath Village owned by Alex became the summer home for his family and also the working farm,\u00a0\u201cArklan Farm\u201d<\/a>, supplying a number of jobs to area men.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Fraser home at Westmeath Arklan Farm. Photo from Joan Fraser scrapbook.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Alexander Fraser\u2019s\u00a0 long and very successful career as a well respected merchant and lumberman\u00a0is outlined in the Obituary and Funeral Summations, 1903. Taken here from Ancestry.ca.\u00a0Fraser, Alexander Obit & Funeral<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Fraser-Chamberlain Stone in Beechwood Cemetery, Ottawa, ON

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Lumber King JOHN BURNS FRASER carried on the lumber enterprises, becoming a powerful man.<\/strong><\/h5>\r\n

Alexander Fraser (1830-1903) \u00a0married Sarah Elizabeth Chamberlain (1835-1910)\u00a0 (see CHAMBERLAIN<\/a> entry)\u00a0 \u00a0and their six children are:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

i.\u00a0 Emma Fraser (1857-1859) \u2013 died at 2 years.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

ii.\u00a0 John\u00a0 Burns (J.B.) Fraser (1859-1939) m. Beatrice Bertha Curran (1860- 1933) in 1884 in Hamilton, ON. She was the daughter of Jonathan and Mary Curran.\u00a0\u00a01884 JB and Beatrice Marriage<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 On the marriage reg. he is shown as working in Nipissing District. He gained a full working knowledge of the forests and the lumbering industry of eastern Ontario having gone into the his father\u2019s business as a young man.\u00a01933 Beatrice Curran Fraser Death<\/a><\/p>\r\n

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John Burns Fraser (1859-1939). Photo from Ancestry.ca<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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In the\u00a01891 Census<\/strong>\u00a0for Westmeath Township JB is listed as a merchant. He and his brother W.H.A. ran the\u00a0Fraser Lumber Company<\/a>. They also collaborated with Western Quebec lumberman George Bryson forming the Fraser-Bryson Lumber Company.<\/p>\r\n

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JB at Fraser\u2019s Landing, Ottawa River, Quebec. Note the canoe is made of birch bark in the traditional frontier way.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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Fraser Canoe & Hunt Party – note the deer lying in front. All these photos come from the Fraser Family Collection.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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Fraser Canoe & Hunt Party2. JB at right. Undated.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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Fraser Canoe & Hunt Party, Undated.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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Fraser Canoe & Hunt Party, Undated, JB with his trophy buck.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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Fraser Canoe & Hunt Party5, Undated<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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November 2, 1939, Front page, Ottawa journal. He and Beatrice are buried at Beechwood Cemetery, Ottawa, ON.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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1939 newspaper coverage continued<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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In the\u00a01891 Census<\/strong>\u00a0for Westmeath Township JB is listed as a merchant. He and his brother W.H.A. ran the\u00a0Fraser Lumber Company<\/a>. They also collaborated with Western Quebec lumberman George Bryson forming the Fraser-Bryson Lumber Company.<\/p>\r\n

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JB at Fraser\u2019s Landing, Ottawa River, Quebec. Note the canoe is made of birch bark in the traditional frontier way.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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Fraser Canoe & Hunt Party – note the deer lying in front. All these photos come from the Fraser Family Collection.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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Fraser Canoe & Hunt Party2. JB at right. Undated.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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Fraser Canoe & Hunt Party, Undated.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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Fraser Canoe & Hunt Party, Undated, JB with his trophy buck. After clear-cutting the forest, it, quickly comes back. See the white Birch in the background. Birch is a fast-growing species often the first to re-populate the area.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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Fraser Canoe & Hunt Party5, Undated<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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November 2, 1939, Front page, Ottawa journal. He and Beatrice are buried at Beechwood Cemetery, Ottawa, ON.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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1939 newspaper coverage continued<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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1939 Nov. 3, Ottawa Journal, The Last of the Lumber Kings.<\/em><\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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Ottawa Citizen JB Fraser Funeral<\/a>\u00a0 -From Ancestry.ca.<\/p>\r\n

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1940 January 25, Estate of JB Fraser<\/a><\/p>\r\n

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1933 August 14, Estate of Beatrice Fraser<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n

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1910 August 9, Ottawa Journal, House Fire<\/a><\/p>\r\n

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1923, Jan. 18, Ottawa Journal, Fatal Fire<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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November 14, 1919, Ottawa Journal<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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Children of JB and Beatrice Fraser are:<\/p>\r\n

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Hugh Neil Fraser<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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a. Hugh Neil Fraser\u00a0 (1885-1970), the eldest son would became a rancher in Okanagan Falls, British Columbia.<\/p>\r\n

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Hugh Neil Fraser in 1903. From ancestry.ca.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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In 1914 he had joined the military and served overseas in World War 1.\u00a0\u00a01914 Hugh\u2019s Attestation<\/a>.\u00a0 He was interned in the Prisoner of War camp at Crefeld in German-occupied Denmark.<\/p>\r\n

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He initially thought he would not marry and thus would not inherit from his father\u2019s estate.<\/p>\r\n

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Pittsburgh Post Gazette \u2013 27 January 1940 \u2013 Gives Up Riches to Remain Single, Okanagan Falls, B.C. January 26, 1940 (Canadian Press)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\r\n

Major Hugh N. Fraser, rancher and heir to nearly $1,500,000, prefers to remain single than marry to collect the money.\u00a0<\/em>He said today his father, John Burns Fraser, a former President of the Bank of Nova Scotia, who died November 2, left half his estate, valued at nearly $3,000,000, to Major Fraser, in trust until he married. If he dies a bachelor, his share goes to his brother, Lieutenant Colonel John D. Fraser, the other principal beneficiary.\u00a0 <\/em>Mr. Fraser<\/em> said he \u201cwill try and not marry\u201d explaining he would receive the income from his share of the estate anyway.<\/p>\r\n

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At age 36, he married Lillian Phyllis Williams in 1922.\u00a01922 Lillian & Hugh Marriage<\/a>. No children. The marriage did not last, ending in divorce, and Phyllis remarried in 1927 to Percy Clarence Fauquier.<\/em><\/p>\r\n

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1922 Sept. 27, Hugh Fraser – Phyllis Williams Marriage set.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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Hugh Neil Fraser. Photo from Fraser Family Collection.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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Phyllis Williams. From Ancestry.ca<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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Major Hugh Fraser standing at right at the\u00a0Crefeld POW Camp<\/a>\u00a0in German-occupied Denmark. Photo from Ancestry.ca.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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b. Lt. Col. John Donald \u201cJack\u201d Fraser (1893-1970) m. Loretta Cecelia Dowling (1894-\u00a0 ) in 1916, the daughter of Dr. J.F. Dowling.<\/p>\r\n

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John Donald Fraser

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Loretta and John D. \u201cJack\u201d Fraser<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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Jack Fraser was one of the hundreds of young men leaving for the Western Front in October of 1915. He was a member of the\u00a08th Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles (CMR)<\/strong>\u00a0on review by the Governor General on Parliament Hill, Ottawa. The Fraser Family Collection of photos includes a series taken of that event.\u00a01915 8th Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles (CMR), Ottawa.<\/a><\/p>\r\n

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Young John Donald Fraser’s time overseas in World War I was from Sept. 1915 to Sept. 1916. Photo from Fraser Family Collection.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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Following his military service in WW1, Jack took over the businesses started by his grandfather, father and uncle. Jack joined the Reserves and became a commanding officer of a militia regiment. He and his family enjoyed the society of Ottawa with his serving as the honorary Aide du Camp (ADC) to the then Governor General, Lord Tweedsmuir.<\/p>\r\n

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Listing in the Canadian \u201cWho\u2019s Who\u201d.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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Lieut.-Col. John Donald Fraser, V.D., A.D.C.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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1921 Census Westmeath Township<\/strong>. Fraser household of John D., Loretta and Joan with 6 servants: Herbert Baird, Agnes Laderoute, Ellis Chamberlain, & Bena, Clara and Joseph Liberty.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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Jack liked fine horses as seen at Arklan<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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Jack, Loretta and the two girls enjoyed summers at Arklan Farm, Westmeath.<\/p>\r\n

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\u201cCaptain Fraser\u201d, as the locals all called him, liked sports in general and took time to enjoy his timber limits, canoeing and hunting throughout the Fraser Lumbering Company holdings as his father, uncle and grandfather all had.<\/p>\r\n

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Malakoff Lodge, Fraser’s Landing<\/h2>\r\n

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A new family summer camp was built by the Frasers, \u2013 much more rustic than the Arklan Farm summer house \u2013\u00a0 situated upriver from Westmeath, north of Point Alexander and Deep River, located on the Quebec side, in Malakoff Township. That name was used also for their large log lodge and the family enjoyed their time at \u201cMalakoff\u201d, Fraser’s Landing, Sheenboro, Pontiac Regional County Municipality, QC,.<\/p>\r\n

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The Fraser Malakoff Lodge,<\/strong> Fraser’s Landing, Quebec. Photo from Joan Fraser scrapbook.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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Joan Fraser\u2019s snaps of her parents: Mother Loretta with dog Vic and Dad Jack on snowshoes \u2013 both taken at Malakoff.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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From “Some of the Stories I told You Were True”<\/em> by Joan, Finnigan, as told by Jake Stewart, Pg.271.<\/strong><\/h6>\r\n

“J.B. Fraser, the Pembroke lumbering millionaire used to have a game preserve and a big hunting lodge at Fraser’s Landing. All the millionaires used to come and spent the fall hunting with J.B. Fraser there. This fall there were four or five bank presidents, different banks, the Bank of Montreal and so on. One president had been over to Belgium and bought a gun over there, and when he was invited to Fraser’s he brought this gun and the bag and six boxes of cartridges and the gun cleaner and good leather case.<\/p>\r\n

“They used to come up on the old “Weasel” (Oisaux), the old Brunson boat, at three o’clock and they’d have supper and clean their guns and get ready for the hunt in the morning. I always had some good hounds that would hunt anyway, and this Allan used to ask me the odd day to go over there and take my dogs. Now what they would do, the way they used to hunt, these millionaires would hire a man to row them up and down the river, So Mr. Allan came over this morning to me and he said “Well, will you come over Jake?”<\/em><\/p>\r\n

“Yes. when do you want me?”<\/em><\/p>\r\n

“Well not today. Tomorrow. How many dogs are you going to bring?”<\/em><\/p>\r\n

And I said, “I’ll bring four or five.<\/em>“<\/p>\r\n

“Bring that good hound, the one that gives the loud tongue, because they love to hear that.”<\/em><\/p>\r\n

I said, “All right.”<\/em><\/p>\r\n

So next morning I went over, and old J.B. Fraser said to me “we pretty near had an accident last night.”<\/em><\/p>\r\n

“What happened?”<\/em><\/p>\r\n

“That bank president with the Belgium gun discharged it twice last night in the living room. I am going to drown it. Its a terrible dangerous gun.”<\/em> At that time there was just the old pump guns, the old 3855 ad the old .44, and not too many of them either.<\/p>\r\n

Fraser said “I made him put it up on the fireplace and I’m going to drown it when I go back.”<\/em><\/p>\r\n

“Christ”<\/em>, I said, “don’t drown it. Give it to me. I haven’t got a gun like that.<\/em>“<\/p>\r\n

No, he said, “Its very dangerous.”<\/p>\r\n

“I think I’ll get around it alright<\/em>“, I said.<\/p>\r\n

That night when he came over he brought the gun – cartridges and everything. So I ran the hounds for the next few days and the bank president who owned the gun wouldn’t take anything for it. Nothing. But it just happened that I had an old dog Verdon, a helluva good dog. He picked up this big buck’s scent not too far from the cottages over there, and he run him around and he came into where I was coming out to the shore and I said, “That big buck will come here into the bay, sure as hell.”<\/em> Sure enough, he came into the bay and the bank president shot the big buck from the rowboat. He was all tickled. The only buck left in Quebec.<\/p>\r\n

That’s where these deer were all shot, in the river. They were run down to the river and shot. That’s what the boats were for. To pick them up. Illegal? Nothing was illegal then.”<\/p>\r\n

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Two of Joan Fraser\u2019s Malakoff photos.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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Joan Fraser\u2019s buck being dressed at Malakoff.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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Jack Fraser at Malakoff. From Fraser family collection.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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Joan, little sister Bebe, Loretta and dog Vic on Westmeath Beachfront.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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The children of Jack and Loretta are:<\/p>\r\n

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Joan Elizabeth Fraser<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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1. Joan Elizabeth Fraser (1918-1972) served in London during WW2 as a member of the Red Cross.\u00a0Joan\u2019s RedCrossService1939-45<\/a><\/p>\r\n

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Joan Fraser\u2019s 1952 Passport Photo from Fraser family collection.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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David Arthur Dezie<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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1972, July 4, The Ottawa Journal Death Notice.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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2. Beatrice Bertha Fraser, known as \u201cBeBe\u201d, also took up Red Cross work and in the 1945 Voter List for Ottawa West, she with her parents and sister Joan, are living in Apt. 11 of the Roxborough Apartments in Ottawa. BeBe Fraser (1922-\u00a0 ) m. David Arthur Deziel (1915-1990) of Windsor in 1945.\u00a0\u00a01945 Bebe & David Marriage.<\/a>He had been Missing in Action in 1942 and had a newspaper article written in his hometown of Windsor, ON. to that effect.\u00a01942 Windsor Newspaper Capt. Deziel MIA.<\/a><\/p>\r\n

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A young Bebe playing with friends at Kings Boarding School for Girls, Compton, Quebec. From Bebe’s photo album.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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Bebe Fraser in Canadian Red Cross uniform<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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c. Beatrice Isabel Fraser Patridge Mitchell Bulmer of Florida had three husbands and lived her adult life in the USA.\u00a0\u00a0 Beatrice Fraser m. (1) Donald Partridge of Montreal; two daughters:\u00a0 Gloria Partridge and Elizabeth Fraser Partridge.<\/p>\r\n

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1927 Feb 21, Ottawa Journal, Supper party<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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1931 Mar. 19, Ottawa Journal. Family together in California.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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Beatrice Partridge m. (2) Archibald Mitchell<\/p>\r\n

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Beatrice Mitchell\u00a0 m. (3)____ Bulmer.<\/p>\r\n

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Lumber King William Henry Alexander “WHA” Fraser carried on the lumber enterprises with his brother JB, becoming a powerful and respected man.<\/strong><\/h5>\r\n

iv. William Henry Alexander (W.H.A.) Fraser\u00a0 (1863-1918) married Mary Anne Porter (1865-\u00a01920). She was the daughter of James Porter and Eliza Bower.\u00a01885 William & Mary Marriage.<\/p>\r\n

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William Henry Alexander Fraser. Photo from Ancestry.ca.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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On their marriage registry of December 30, 1885, in Kemptville, Grenville\u00a0County, Ontario, he is listed as a \u201clumber merchant\u201d for the firm\u00a0Alexander Fraser<\/em>. The family spent their summers at the Frasers\u2019 summer home, Arklan Farm, north of the Village of Westmeath,\u00a0 on Rapid Road and their winters in Ottawa, Ontario, with the children in private schools. However he would come to Arklan on lumbering business frequently during the winter season using the good rail links. Steam engine trains<\/a>\u00a0came to Beachburg & Pembroke and a train also ran up the Quebec\u00a0 side of the river to Waltham.<\/p>\r\n

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He was always known by his initials \u201cWHA\u201d to outsiders but within the family he was affectionately known as Willie.<\/p>\r\n

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WHA\u2019s responsibilities with the lumbering business was to outfit the lumber camps \u2013 a massive job to source, purchase and transport all the required equipment and necessities for men and horses for the whole winter season.<\/p>\r\n

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A dedicated outdoorsman, he saw as much of the company\u2019s holdings for himself as he could; often travelling into the lumber camps or onto the timber limits to assess them for himself. In person he could size up the worth of a man. And the worth of a stand of timber. His home base was at Westmeath and he knew all the farmers, teamsters and jobbers of the area.<\/p>\r\n

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William Henry Alexander Fraser (1863-1918)<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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WHA Fraser died of\u00a0pernicious anemia\u00a0<\/a>\u2013 the inability to take up vitamin B12,- at the young age of 54 years. This is a draining condition causing fatigue and weakness in the sufferers. To a man who spent so much of his time in the bush crossing rough terrain to check the timber limits, this untreatable, (at that time), and therefore fatal disease, would be devastating.<\/p>\r\n

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1918 February 5, The Ottawa Journal<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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Pembroke Standard,\u00a0 February 7, 1918
<\/strong>
THE PASSING OF W.H.A. FRASER \u2014 PROMINENT BUSINESS MAN \u2014 NATIVE OF WESTMEATH TOWNSHIP

Mr. W. H. A. Fraser died Monday evening at his home, 180 Metcalf street, Ottawa, after a brief illness.

Mr. Fraser was born at Westmeath, Ont., April 7, 1863 and was a son of the late Alexander Fraser. He spent most of his life at Westmeath, in the county of Renfrew but removed to Ottawa in 1898, still retaining his interest in his birth place, an dividing his time between there and the city.

The late Mr. Fraser was a partner in the firm of Fraser & Co., a director of Fraser-Bryson Lumber Co., and the Ottawa & Hull Power Co., as well as being interest in various industrial enterprises.
He married Mary Ann Porter in 1885 by whom he is survived. He leaves one daughter, Mrs. B. M. Armstrong, of Winnipeg. Mr. J. B. Fraser, of Ottawa, is a brother and Mrs. Daw of Hamilton and Mrs. Fee, of Los Angeles, are sisters.

He was an Anglican in religion. He was a director of the County of Carleton General Protestant Hospital.

The funeral takes places on Thursday afternoon at 2:30 to Beechwood cemetery.<\/em><\/p>\r\n

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Those in attendance\u00a0 at the Ottawa funeral from Westmeath were:\u00a0 Alex Fraser, Peter Ethier, Soloman Jones, J.R. Fraser, Mathew Barr and from Pembroke attending were:
E.A. Dunlop, MPP;\u00a0 J.G. Forgie, Foster Fraser.\u00a01918 February 8, WHAFraser Funeral<\/a><\/p>\r\n

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In 1898 a horse thief, who was a former employee at the Fraser farm on Rapid Road, was sentenced to 3 years in Kingston Penitentiary.\u00a0\u00a01898 Fraser Horse Thief Sentenced<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n

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In the\u00a01901 Census for Westmeath Township<\/strong>\u00a0the family is made up of: \u00a0W.H.A. Fraser age 37; Mary A. Fraser age 35; two domestic servants: Elsie Leach and Tillie Burke and\u00a0 Fraser children:<\/p>\r\n

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1. Charlotte \u201cLottie\u201d Ethel Marie Fraser (1886-1963) m. Bartle Mahon Armstrong (1878-1930).\u00a01963 Charlotte Death Reg<\/a><\/p>\r\n

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2. Mildred Jessie Fraser (1889-1913) m. Brice Sheppard Evans. Child: Brice Evans. This grandchild would be taken into WHA and Mary\u2019s household and raised there with provisions in WHA\u2019s Will made for him.<\/p>\r\n

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3. Alexander Gordon Fraser (1890-1916). The family suffered a huge loss when at age 26, the only son was killed in action while, serving with the 21st Battalion, First Infantry Brigade. He died of wounds at the Battle of Courcelette (Battle of the Somme), and is buried at the\u00a0British Military Cemetery at Puchevillers, France.<\/a><\/p>\r\n

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Alexander Gordon Fraser<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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At 7 p.m. on the 15<\/em>th<\/sup>\u00a0of September, 1916, he went up with a party carrying ammunition and was to take command of Sunken Road Trench. When between Sunken Road and the Sugar Refinery a shell burst near him, wounding him in the head and several parts of the body. He was taken to No. 3 Casualty Clearing Station where he succumbed to the effect of his wounds on the 18<\/em>th<\/sup>\u00a0September, 1916.\u00a0\u00a0From\u00a0<\/em>Bower Genealogy<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\r\n

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4. James Porter Fraser (1891) \u2013 infant death.<\/p>\r\n

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Last Will and Testament of W.H.A. Fraser:\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>William Henry Alexander Fraser\u00a0died a very wealthy man, even by today\u2019s standards. In his will,\u00a0 probated in Carleton County (Ottawa) in 1927,\u00a0 he generously provided for his brother\u00a0John Burns Fraser, his wife\u00a0Mary Ann Fraser, his daughter\u00a0Lottie Ethel Marie Armstrong\u00a0and his grandson\u00a0Brice Evans,\u00a0born to his predeceased daughter\u00a0Mildred Jessie Evans. Brice Evans was only 4 months old at the time of his mother\u2019s death and W.H.A. had custody of the child and maintained and supported him in the Ottawa Fraser home. He sets out full inheritance provision to this grandchild.<\/em>

His sisters\u00a0Caro F. Fee\u00a0and\u00a0Jessie Daw\u00a0are also remembered in the will. Two non-family persons are mentioned in the will: a friend\u00a0Miss Mary Hendrie Haslett\u00a0of Hamilton and his\u00a0\u201cservant\u201d\u00a0Peter Hickey (Ethier) of Westmeath. Peter Hickey had worked for many years for Mr. Fraser and was held in high regard. See\u00a0ETHIER<\/a>\u00a0entry. See Page 8, Item 19 in the 1918 Will.<\/em>

In his lifetime Mr. Fraser and his wife had given funds to the Westmeath Methodist Church and other good causes and in his Will he bequeathed sums to Ottawa Hospitals.<\/em>

Of note in the 1918 Will is the timely stipulation that:<\/em>

\u201cno portion of the assets shall be distributed or paid during the war to any beneficiary or creditor who is a German, Austro-Hungarian, Turkish or Bulgarian subject or other alien enemy wherever resident, or to any one on his behalf or to on behalf of any person resident in Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey or Bulgaria\u2026.\u201d. \u00a0\u00a0<\/em>

It was wartime and while the Great War raged in Europe, the British Empire and its Allies wanted to be assured no help would be given to its enemies. He had already paid heavily in the loss of his only son. To read the full\u00a0Last Will of W.H.A. Fraser<\/strong>\u00a0of Westmeath and Ottawa:\u00a0\u00a0W.H.A. Fraser\u2019s Probated Will, 1918<\/a>.\u00a0 For more on\u00a0 W.H.A. Fraser go to:\u00a0\u00a0http:\/\/bowergenealogy.ca\/11\/14922.htm.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\r\n

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v. Caroline \u201cCaro\u201d Fraser (1866-1949) m. J. Fee<\/p>\r\n

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vi.\u00a0\u00a0 Martha \u201cMadge\u201d Fraser (1867-1904), in California, USA. She is commemorated on her parent\u2019s tombstone at Beechwood Cemetery.\u00a0Madge Fraser Obit<\/a><\/p>\r\n

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Further Notes on the Fraser Family<\/h2>\r\n

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From\u00a0History of the Lumber Industry in America<\/a>:<\/p>\r\n

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Alexander Fraser Sr.<\/h2>\r\n

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\u201cAlexander Fraser, of Ottawa, one of the leaders of the square timber trade, was the son of Hugh Fraser, a Highlander who served in the War of 1812 and afterward settled at a point near Ottawa, where Alexander was born in 1830. He embarked in the lumbering industry and in 1853 took out his first raft of square timber on Black River. His career was successful from the start, and his operations rapidly increased until during the \u201970\u2019s he had frequently a dozen or so rafts simultaneously on the way to market. He was known from the headwaters of the Ottawa to Quebec. He was a man of great energy and determination of character, was possessed of a keen foresight and sound business judgment and often by tacit consent was accorded a leading part in the management of large enterprises in which he was interested. He was one of the founders of the Bank of Ottawa, the Lachine Rapids Hydraulic Company and the Ottawa Trust & Deposit Company and was also heavily interested in the Upper Ottawa Improvement Company and the Keewatin Lumber Company.<\/p>\r\n

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\u201cMr. Fraser sustained great reverses from time to time, but his strong financial standing enabled him to bear them easily. In 1895, upon his retirement from active business, his sons, J. B. and W. H. A. Fraser, organized the Fraser Lumber Company. Mr. Fraser died June 1, 1903, aged seventy-three years.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

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\u201cA steamboat tug named the\u00a0Alex Fraser<\/em>\u00a0both moved passengers and towed timber on the Lower Allumette Lake for many years. The company also had a steamboat paddle-wheeler named the\u00a0John Fraser<\/em>\u00a0 operating on Lake Nipissing which suffered a fiery end.\u201d\u00a0http:\/\/www.pastforward.ca\/perspectives\/Jan_262001.htm<\/a><\/p>\r\n

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Editor\u2019s Note: There is a discrepancy in the research. Below, \u00a0Evelyn Moore Price names Alexander\u2019s father as a\u00a0Richard\u00a0Fraser, a non-commissioned officer with the rank of Sergeant, while other writings name him as\u00a0Hugh\u00a0Fraser and a \u201cChief Gunner\u201d in the artillery regiment, or Master Gunner, with the rank of Chief Warrant Officer.\u00a0 Still other writings give Hugh Fraser the rank of Major.<\/p>\r\n

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A strange incident occurred in 1892 when an inquiry was held into a possible hoax.\u00a01892 Fraser Dynamiting Inquiry<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n

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Alexander Fraser<\/h2>\r\n

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by Evelyn Moore Price, The Pembroke Observer, Feb. 1983.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\r\n

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Alexander Fraser was one of the pioneer lumbermen of the Ottawa Valley born in Goulborn Township , Ontario, in July 1830, son of Mrs. and Mrs. Richard Fraser.\u00a0\u00a0His father was a non-commissioned officer in a highland regiment of the British Army.\u00a0\u00a0Early in the 19th<\/sup>\u00a0Century they came to Canada with the sappers and miners who were brought out to work on the construction of the Rideau Canal.<\/p>\r\n

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\u201cOn severing his connection with the Armed Forces, Sgt. Fraser went up the Ottawa River as far as Pembroke, locating himself on land that later became a valuable and extensive farming property.\u00a0\u00a0As a boy Alexander Fraser grew to know the ways of the woodsmen, the ways of rivermen and in fact acquired knowledge of the lumbering industry, which being as it were a second part of his nature, contributed largely to his successful career as a lumberman.<\/em><\/p>\r\n

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\u201cWhile still young he left the parental roof and was employed as a clerk in the general supply store of Hiram Chamberlain in the village of Pembroke. Being of a shrewd and canny businessman, at the age of 18 he was made manager.\u00a0\u00a0Later he married Miss. Sarah E. Chamberlain.\u00a0\u00a0Supplies were brought to Pembroke by Canoes in summer and by sleds in winter. Through his training he became thoroughly immersed in the many factors dealing with supplies for lumber camps, and in the business of bringing out logs and rafting them for transportation to Quebec City.<\/em><\/p>\r\n

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\u201cFollowing the death of his father-in-law, Fraser continued to conduct the supply store with the same business acumen.\u00a0\u00a0Although only 24 years old, Quebec lumbermen had a profound respect for this shrewd young Scotsman.\u00a0\u00a0James Ross of Quebec one of the largest operating lumbermen, was ready to render financial aid to Fraser at any time, as he was trustworthy.\u00a0\u00a0In a short time Fraser was one of the powers in the lumbering industry on the Ottawa River.<\/em><\/p>\r\n

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\u201cThere was a steamboat,\u00a0\u201cThe Alex Fraser\u201d,<\/strong>\u00a0sailed on the Lower Allumette Lake used for carrying passengers on certain days and also for towing logs on the Ottawa River.\u00a0\u00a0It was in service from 1891 to 1915 when it was dismantled and rebuilt at Quyon.\u00a0\u00a0In his later years, Fraser embarked on other enterprises such as the Lachine Power Co., the Ottawa Trusts and Deposits Co., and was greatly interested in the Hull and Aylmer Electric Railway.<\/em><\/p>\r\n

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\u201cHis sons John B. and W.H.A. Fraser assumed lumbering operation and management, forming the firm of Fraser & Co. and built a sawmill at Deschenes. His daughters were Mrs. J. Daw, wife of Rev. S. Daw, Mrs. J. Fee and\u00a0\u00a0Miss Madge Fraser. He was a Methodist and when in Ottawa was a member of the board of trustees of Dominion Church.\u00a0\u00a0He was a Conservative in polities.\u00a0\u00a0He was buried in Beechwood Cemetery, Ottawa, and many of the pallbearers were dignitaries and associates of the lumbering industry.<\/em><\/p>\r\n

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\u201cAlex Sr.\u2019s son\u00a0W.H.A. Fraser<\/strong>, then in charge of the Fraser Lumber Company, knew the importance of retaining his skilled woodsmen the year round.\u00a0 He established Fraser\u2019s Farm downstream from Westmeath, with homes provided for living quarters during the summer months.\u00a0 The men worked on Fraser\u2019s Arkland Farm. The original six-sided\u00a0 building which housed the water system to supply running water to both the large summer home of the Frasers and the workmen\u2019s homes, still stands on the east side of Rapid Road.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\r\n

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Evelyn Moore Price\u2019s 1984 book on the\u00a0History of the Corporation of Westmeath Township<\/em>, tells of\u00a0 a wild-west-style cattle drive, over the six miles route from the Village of Westmeath to the Waltham Ferry operating\u00a0 at Spotswoods, on the Ontario side of the Ottawa River. Cattle for the lumber camps of the Pontiac, in Western Quebec, were moved in this fashion. Cattle were purchased by buyers and moved\u00a0 on the hoof to the ferry where they were herded into a corral.<\/p>\r\n

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It was an exciting experience for Westmeath youths hired to ride herd on a drove of possibly 50 head, down the unfenced River Road, (now renamed Rapid Road), with dense bush on either side.\u00a0 Should an animal suddenly go berserk and head into the woods, it had to be followed \u2013 and if it could not be returned it had to be slaughtered.<\/p>\r\n

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Only eight cattle could go across on the ferry at one time so the hurdles of this cattle drive were numerous! It was the duty of the young herdsmen to guard against any animal leaping overboard during the ferry crossing and, if that happened, they were to get the animal back out of the river.\u00a0 Then after they were safely corralled at the Waltham side, they were driven up Black River to the lumber camps, to be butchered as needed; fresh beef to feed the hungry men.\u00a0 Before the age of refrigeration it was best to take them into the camps alive.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

<\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A serendipitous occurrence in 2015 significantly aided in researching the Alex Fraser business and family story. Fraser Serendipity Alexander \u201cAlex\u201d Fraser (1830-1903) \u2013 the surviving twin at his birth \u2013 m. Sarah Elizabeth Chamberlain (1835-1910), daughter of Hiram Wyman Chamberlain (1812- 1854) and Elizabeth Minerva Hayes (1816-1898).\u00a0See\u00a0CHAMBERLAIN\u00a0entry. When Chamberlain unexpectedly died of cholera, the young READ MORE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-e-h","category-f"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hwtproject.ca\/family\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hwtproject.ca\/family\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hwtproject.ca\/family\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hwtproject.ca\/family\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hwtproject.ca\/family\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5050"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/hwtproject.ca\/family\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5050\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5111,"href":"https:\/\/hwtproject.ca\/family\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5050\/revisions\/5111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hwtproject.ca\/family\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hwtproject.ca\/family\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hwtproject.ca\/family\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}