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

Laird Laird () is the owner of a large, long-established Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a baron and above a gentleman. This rank was held only by those lairds holding official recognition in ...

of Philorth.

Life

Fraser was born in 1604 in the young town of

Fraserburgh Fraserburgh (; sco, The Broch or ; gd, A' Bhruaich) is a town in Aberdeenshire (unitary), Aberdeenshire, Scotland with a population recorded in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census at 13,100. It lies at the far northeast corner of Aber ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. 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 Abredonense''), is a formerly independent university founded in 1495 and now an integral part of the Universi ...

, in 1619. Upon the death of his father in 1636, he inherited the lands of

Philorth Cairnbulg Castle is a z-plan castle situated in Cairnbulg, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It was described by W. Douglas Simpson as one of the nine castles of the Knuckle, referring to the rocky headland of north-east Aberdeenshire. It stands by the R ...

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 1 ...

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 ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

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

. 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 which sat from the early sixteenth century. Initially it was only attended by the clergy and nobles, but the burgh commissioners were later added. The Conven ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. 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 country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, 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 (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

, 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 governme ...

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 1639 to 1653 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

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. 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 (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 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 Lords of Parliament (pre-1707) Lords Saltoun