Alexander Fraser, 11th Lord Saltoun (March 4, 1604 – August 11, 1693), was a Scottish peer and the 10th

Laird Laird () is a Scottish word for minor lord (or landlord) and is a designation that applies to an owner of a large, long-established Scotland, Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a Baronage of ...

of Philorth.

Life

Fraser was born in 1604 in the young town of

Fraserburgh Fraserburgh (; ), locally known as the Broch, is a town in Aberdeenshire (unitary), Aberdeenshire, Scotland, with a population recorded in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census as 13,100. It lies in Buchan in the northeastern corner of th ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. His father was Sir Alexander Fraser (1570–1636), and his mother was Lady Margaret Abernethy, daughter of Sir George Abernethy, 7th

Lord Saltoun Lord Saltoun, of Abernethy, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1445 for Sir Lawrence Abernethy. The title remained in the Abernethy family until the death in 1669 of his descendant the tenth Lady Saltoun. She was succeeded ...

of Abernethy. He entered

King's College, Aberdeen King's College in Old Aberdeen, Scotland, the full title of which is The University and King's College of Aberdeen (''Collegium Regium Aberdonense''), is a formerly independent university founded in 1495 and now an integral part of the Univer ...

, in 1619. Upon the death of his father in 1636, he inherited the lands of Philorth as its 10th Laird. Alexander subscribed the

Solemn League and Covenant The Solemn League and Covenant was an agreement between the Scottish Covenanters and the leaders of the English Parliamentarians in 1643 during the First English Civil War, a theatre of conflict in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. On 17 August ...

at Aberdeen in 1638 and was a member of the

General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the sovereign and highest court of the Church of Scotland, and is thus the Church's governing body.''An Introduction to Practice and Procedure in the Church of Scotland'' by A. Gordon McGillivray, ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

in 1639. Also in 1639, while serving under the Earl of Montrose, he led 200 men against the castles of Kellie and

Gight Gight is an estate in the parish of Fyvie in the Formartine area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is best known as the location of the 16th-century Gight (or Formartine) Castle, ancestral home of Lord Byron. Gight Castle Gight Castle is about ...

. He was chosen as a commissioner for Aberdeenshire in 1643 and this capacity attended the

Convention of Estates The Convention of Estates of Scotland was a sister institution to the Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edi ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. After King

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

was apprehended and taken to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, Saltoun took part in the failed rescue mission to England in 1648, commanding a regiment of Scots. In the reign of Charles II, he is known to have lent large sums of money to the king. He was a Member of Parliament for Aberdeenshire twice, first in 1648 and again in 1661-63. During the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

, he fought in the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

cause at the

Battle of Worcester The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 in and around the city of Worcester, England and was the last major battle of the 1642 to 1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Parliamentarian army of around 28,000 under Oliver Cromwell def ...

(1651) in which he was severely wounded and might have been killed had it not been for his servant, James Cardno, who rescued him, saw to his recovery and returned him to his home at Fraserburgh. In 1669, Fraser served as commissioner for the visitation of the two colleges of Aberdeen. In 1670, his succession to the Lordship of Saltoun of Abernethy was ratified by King Charles II and confirmed by Act of

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

Succession and numbering

Alexander Fraser, now designated the 11th Lord Saltoun, was traditionally designated the 10th because after the death of the 9th Lord Saltoun (Alexander Abernethy, 1611-1668), his sister Margaret Fraser, née Abernethy (1616-1669), succeeded with the title 10th Lady Saltoun. However, she survived her brother by only two and a half months, and the title passed to Alexander Fraser, cousin of the Abernethys through his maternal line. In recent times, it was realized that Margaret had her title by the old Scots system of succession, and the decision was made to renumber the Lords Saltoun. As a result, Lady Saltoun is designated the 10th in the succession with Alexander Fraser, accordingly, moving from 10th to 11th in the succession.

Family

Fraser married twice. His first wife was Isobel Forbes of Tolquhorn, who bore him one daughter, Janet. His second wife was Elizabeth Urquhart, née Seton, widow of John Urquhart of Craigfintrie and daughter of Alexander Seton of

Meldrum Meldrum was a multinational heavy metal band formed by ex- Phantom Blue guitarist Michelle Meldrum. History American guitarist Michelle Meldrum started her first band Wargod with Strapping Young Lad drummer Gene Hoglan, later going on to fo ...

. She was the mother of Fraser's son, Alexander, who predeceased him in 1672, necessitating that the title of 12th Lord Saltoun pass to

William Fraser William Fraser may refer to: Military people *William W. Fraser (1844–1915), American Civil War soldier and Medal of Honor recipient *William Archibald Kenneth Fraser (1886–1969), British army officer *William Fraser (British Army officer) ( ...

(1654-1715), grandson of the 11th Lord.

Death and memory

Alexander Fraser, the 11th Lord Saltoun of Abernethy, died on 11 August 1693 at the age of 89. He was remembered in the registry of the Episcopal Congregation of Fraserburgh in these words:

He was a man that was given to the reading of good books, and very much in the exercise of prayer, both in his closet; and when he had to meet with a minister of churchman of his profession: He would alwise 'sic''desire them to pray before they parted with him. He was very civil and kind to all whom he had the freedom to converse with. He was also very charitable to the poor, at all occasions, wherever he and they did meet.

He was buried at Fraserburgh.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saltoun, Alexander Fraser, 11th Lord 1604 births 1693 deaths People from Fraserburgh Nobility from Aberdeenshire Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1643–44 Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1648–1651 Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1661–1663 Shire Commissioners to the Parliament of Scotland Lairds Lords of Parliament (pre-1707) 11