Archibald Campbell Fraser of Lovat
Encyclopedia
Colonel the Hon. Archibald Campbell Fraser of Lovat, 20th MacShimidh (1736 - 1815) was the second son of Simon "the Fox" Fraser
. Upon the death of his brother, Simon Fraser, in 1782, Archibald assumed the Chiefship of Clan Fraser
, using the Gaelic
patronym MacShimidh. Archibald died 8 December 1815, at the age of 79.
, was ordered to start recruiting. By the spring of 1795, the Regiment was raised, fully equipped, and had gone through its basic training. On 14 June of that same year, they paraded through Inverness
, and inspected by Archibald, their Clan Chief.
Though they had been raised as a home guard in the event of an invasion by Napoleon Bonaparte, the battalion landed in Ireland
1 August 1795, and served there preceding, during, and after the Irish Rebellion of 1798
. The Regiment returned to Glasgow and was reduced in July 1808.
In November 1797, Colonel James Fraser resigned his post, being succeeded by John Simon Fraser, Younger of Lovat, Archibald's eldest son.
FRASER, ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL (1736-1815), of Lovat, thirty-eighth Macshimi, colonel 1st Inverness local militia, son of Simon Fraser, twelfth lord Lovat [q. v.], by his second wife, was born 16 Aug. 1736. He was at school at Petty, and with some school companions was led by curiosity to the field of Culloden during the battle. Anderson (Account of the Family of Fraser) states that he afterwards acquired a sporting reputation under the name of FitzSimon. He was British consul at Tripoli at the time of the traveller Bruce's visit (Bruce, Travels, i. xxxviii). He was appointed consul at Algiers in 1766 (Cal. Home Office Papers, 1766-9, par. 60) and held that post until 1774. Numerous references to his consular services in Barbary appear in the printed 'Calendars of Home Office Papers' for that period. He inherited the restored family estates in 1782, on the death of his elder half-brother Lieutenant-general Simon Fraser [see Fraser, Simon, 1726-1782, Master of Lovat], whom he also succeeded as M.P. for Inverness-shire, which he represented in succeeding parliaments down to 1796. On the extension of the Local Militia Act to Scotland (48 Geo. Ill, c. 50) he was appointed colonel of the 1st Inverness-shire local militia, with headquarters at Inverness. Fraser, who is described as a typical gentleman of the old school, but very eccentric, some years before his death put up a monument to himself setting forth his public services—that, when on a mission to the Mahomedan states of Africa in 1764, he concluded a peace between these states, Denmark, and Venice; that during his ten years' consulate he ransomed imperialist, Spanish, and Portuguese subjects to the value of two millions sterling, and that not a single British subject during that time was sold into slavery; that he co-operated with the Duke of Montrose in procuring the restoration of the highland garb; that in 1785 he surveyed the fisheries of the western coast at his own cost, and petitioned for a repeal of the duties on coal and salt; that he encouraged the manufacture of wool, hemp, and flax; laboured to improve the soil; amended the breed of highland oxen; improved dairy practice; and, by providing employment for a hardy race of men returning from the wars, prevented emigration and preserved to the country their services, equally valuable in peace; that he put down insurrection on 10 Aug. 1792, and planned the system of placing arms in the hands of men of property, and, when invasion threatened, had the satisfaction of seeing its adoption and efficiency. These statements appear to require a good deal of qualification. Ninety years ago the old church at Kirkhill was pulled down and rebuilt on a site two hundred yards away; but the monument still survives on the wall of the Lovat mausoleum within the enclosure of the parish churchyard. The bombastic monument put up in his own glorification by Fraser's father, Lord Lovat (see Hill Burton, Life of Lord Lovat), is fixed in the same wall. Fraser was author of ‘Annals of … the Patriots of the Family of Fraser, Frizell, Simson, or FitzSimon’ (published 1795, reprinted 1805, 8vo). Several brochures relating to the Lovat estates are entered under his name in the ‘British Museum Catalogue of Printed Books.’ He died on 8 Dec. 1815.
Fraser married, in 1763, Jane, daughter of William Fraser and sister of Sir William Fraser, bart., of Leadclune. By her he had six sons, all of whom died before their father.
Simon Fraser (1765–1803), the eldest son, matriculated at Wadham College, Oxford, 4 July 1786; entered Lincoln's Inn 1789 and the Inner Temple 1793; was lieutenant-colonel of the Fraser Fencibles, a regiment raised in 1794 by James Fraser of Balladrum, a surviving officer of the old 78th Fraser highlanders, and disbanded in 1802; commanded the regiment in Ireland in 1798; sat in parliament for Inverness-shire from 1796 to 1802, and died, unmarried, at Lisbon on 6 April 1803.
Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat
Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat , was a Scottish Jacobite and Chief of Clan Fraser, who was famous for his violent feuding and his changes of allegiance. In 1715, he had been a supporter of the House of Hanover, but in 1745 he changed sides and supported the Stuart claim on the crown of Scotland...
. Upon the death of his brother, Simon Fraser, in 1782, Archibald assumed the Chiefship of Clan Fraser
Clan Fraser
Clan Fraser is a Scottish clan of French origin. The Clan has been strongly associated with Inverness and the surrounding area since the Clan's founder gained lands there in the 13th century. Since its founding, the Clan has dominated local politics and been active in every major military conflict...
, using the Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic language
Scottish Gaelic is a Celtic language native to Scotland. A member of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic languages, Scottish Gaelic, like Modern Irish and Manx, developed out of Middle Irish, and thus descends ultimately from Primitive Irish....
patronym MacShimidh. Archibald died 8 December 1815, at the age of 79.
Marriage and children
Archibald married Jane Fraser of Leadclure in 1763. They had 5 children, all of whom predeceased them, unmarried.- John Simon Frederick Fraser, their eldest son, had a single illegitimate child, Archibald Thomas Frederick Fraser of Albertaff who married a daughter of MacPherson of Cluny. He died in March 1844.
- Archibald Fraser was born in EdinburghEdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, and died 1792. - Henry Emo Fraser was born in AlgiersAlgiers' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
, while his father was Consul General. Died August 1782. - George Fraser died in infancy in 1781.
- William Henry died in February 1801
Fraser Fencibles
In 1794, Archibald received letters of service to raise the 15th Fencible Regiment, the Fraser Fencibles, and Colonel James Fraser, 7th of Balladrum, who had already served with Simon Fraser as a Major in the 78th Fraser Highlanders78th Fraser Highlanders
The 78th Regiment, Regiment of Foot otherwise known as the 78th Fraser Highlanders was a British infantry regiment of the line unit raised in Scotland in 1757, to fight in the French and Indian War.-History:...
, was ordered to start recruiting. By the spring of 1795, the Regiment was raised, fully equipped, and had gone through its basic training. On 14 June of that same year, they paraded through Inverness
Inverness
Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
, and inspected by Archibald, their Clan Chief.
Though they had been raised as a home guard in the event of an invasion by Napoleon Bonaparte, the battalion landed in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
1 August 1795, and served there preceding, during, and after the Irish Rebellion of 1798
Irish Rebellion of 1798
The Irish Rebellion of 1798 , also known as the United Irishmen Rebellion , was an uprising in 1798, lasting several months, against British rule in Ireland...
. The Regiment returned to Glasgow and was reduced in July 1808.
In November 1797, Colonel James Fraser resigned his post, being succeeded by John Simon Fraser, Younger of Lovat, Archibald's eldest son.
FRASER, ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL (1736-1815), of Lovat, thirty-eighth Macshimi, colonel 1st Inverness local militia, son of Simon Fraser, twelfth lord Lovat [q. v.], by his second wife, was born 16 Aug. 1736. He was at school at Petty, and with some school companions was led by curiosity to the field of Culloden during the battle. Anderson (Account of the Family of Fraser) states that he afterwards acquired a sporting reputation under the name of FitzSimon. He was British consul at Tripoli at the time of the traveller Bruce's visit (Bruce, Travels, i. xxxviii). He was appointed consul at Algiers in 1766 (Cal. Home Office Papers, 1766-9, par. 60) and held that post until 1774. Numerous references to his consular services in Barbary appear in the printed 'Calendars of Home Office Papers' for that period. He inherited the restored family estates in 1782, on the death of his elder half-brother Lieutenant-general Simon Fraser [see Fraser, Simon, 1726-1782, Master of Lovat], whom he also succeeded as M.P. for Inverness-shire, which he represented in succeeding parliaments down to 1796. On the extension of the Local Militia Act to Scotland (48 Geo. Ill, c. 50) he was appointed colonel of the 1st Inverness-shire local militia, with headquarters at Inverness. Fraser, who is described as a typical gentleman of the old school, but very eccentric, some years before his death put up a monument to himself setting forth his public services—that, when on a mission to the Mahomedan states of Africa in 1764, he concluded a peace between these states, Denmark, and Venice; that during his ten years' consulate he ransomed imperialist, Spanish, and Portuguese subjects to the value of two millions sterling, and that not a single British subject during that time was sold into slavery; that he co-operated with the Duke of Montrose in procuring the restoration of the highland garb; that in 1785 he surveyed the fisheries of the western coast at his own cost, and petitioned for a repeal of the duties on coal and salt; that he encouraged the manufacture of wool, hemp, and flax; laboured to improve the soil; amended the breed of highland oxen; improved dairy practice; and, by providing employment for a hardy race of men returning from the wars, prevented emigration and preserved to the country their services, equally valuable in peace; that he put down insurrection on 10 Aug. 1792, and planned the system of placing arms in the hands of men of property, and, when invasion threatened, had the satisfaction of seeing its adoption and efficiency. These statements appear to require a good deal of qualification. Ninety years ago the old church at Kirkhill was pulled down and rebuilt on a site two hundred yards away; but the monument still survives on the wall of the Lovat mausoleum within the enclosure of the parish churchyard. The bombastic monument put up in his own glorification by Fraser's father, Lord Lovat (see Hill Burton, Life of Lord Lovat), is fixed in the same wall. Fraser was author of ‘Annals of … the Patriots of the Family of Fraser, Frizell, Simson, or FitzSimon’ (published 1795, reprinted 1805, 8vo). Several brochures relating to the Lovat estates are entered under his name in the ‘British Museum Catalogue of Printed Books.’ He died on 8 Dec. 1815.
Fraser married, in 1763, Jane, daughter of William Fraser and sister of Sir William Fraser, bart., of Leadclune. By her he had six sons, all of whom died before their father.
Simon Fraser (1765–1803), the eldest son, matriculated at Wadham College, Oxford, 4 July 1786; entered Lincoln's Inn 1789 and the Inner Temple 1793; was lieutenant-colonel of the Fraser Fencibles, a regiment raised in 1794 by James Fraser of Balladrum, a surviving officer of the old 78th Fraser highlanders, and disbanded in 1802; commanded the regiment in Ireland in 1798; sat in parliament for Inverness-shire from 1796 to 1802, and died, unmarried, at Lisbon on 6 April 1803.