Scottish solicitor and historian
Portrait of Sir William Fraser, Merchants Hall, Edinburgh
The grave of William Fraser (1816?1898), Dean Cemetery
Detail on Sir Wm Fraser's grave, Dean Cemetery
Sir William N. Fraser
,
KCB
(18 February 1816 ? 13 March 1898) was a solicitor and notable expert in ancient Scottish history,
palaeography
, and
genealogy
.
Life
[
edit
]
Fraser's family were farmers and craftsmen in
The Mearns
. He was the eldest of the two sons and daughter of Ann (died 1821) and James Fraser (1786?1834), a mason. His mother was the daughter of James Walker, tenant of the farm of Elfhill of
Fetteresso
, about 5 miles (8.0 km) from
Stonehaven
. The couple were settled and were feuholders at Links of Arduthie.
Fraser was initially educated at a private school in Stonehaven kept by the Reverend Charles Michie. Michie graduated with an MA from Aberdeen's
Marischal College
in 1810, and spent his life teaching.
On 23 August 1830, Fraser began a five-year apprenticeship with Messrs Brand and Burnett, solicitors in Stonehaven. He went to
Edinburgh
in December 1835, where he joined the firm of Hill and Tod,
Writers to Her Majesty's Signet
. He continued his education at the University of Edinburgh studying
Scots law
and
conveyancing
. In 1838 he was taking classes in French.
He was subsequently involved in various cases requiring
antiquarian
and, in particular,
genealogical
research. He became an expert in these fields and published a series of approximately 50 volumes on the histories of between 20 and 30 leading noble and landed families of Scotland.
Fraser was frequently summoned to London to give evidence before the Committee for Privileges of the
House of Lords
.
In 1882 the
University of Edinburgh
conferred on him the honorary degree of LLD. In 1885 he was created a Companion of the
Order of the Bath
and in 1887 he was made a Civil
Knight Commander of the Bath
, being invested by
Queen Victoria
at
Osborne House
on 2 August that year. The knighthood was a unique distinction for a Scottish historian at that time.
An article in the
Dundee Advertiser
on 1 June 1896, stated: "There is no Scotsman living who has so much experience in deciphering ancient documents, nor one who can so skillfully extract information from faded and time-worn parchments" as Sir William Fraser.
Sir William Fraser died on 13 March 1898, three months after his sister Ann, who had kept house for him since 1846. They share a highly unusual and ornate grave, designed by the architect
Arthur Forman Paul
,
[1]
in
Dean Cemetery
in
Edinburgh
just south of the northmost path in the north section of the original cemetery.
Legacy
[
edit
]
The
Sir William Fraser Chair of Scottish History and Palaeography
at the
University of Edinburgh
, founded in 1901, is the oldest chair of
Scottish History
. The professorship was named after and endowed by Sir William Fraser, who gave the University £25,000 for it.
The chair has been held by a number of distinguished historians.
In his will he also endowed the Fraser Homes at
Colinton
(Edinburgh) for "authors or artists in necessitous circumstances."
He also left money for "printing works which would tend to elucidate the history and antiquities of Scotland." The nine-volume book series,
The Scots Peerage
(1904?1914), by Sir
James Balfour Paul
, was used for that purpose and is dedicated to him.
[3]
- Sir William Fraser Chair of Scottish History and Palaeography professors
Works
[
edit
]
Fraser's writings include:
References
[
edit
]
- Attribution
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
International
| |
---|
National
| |
---|
People
| |
---|
Other
| |
---|