Thomas Fraser (1749 – October 18, 1821) was a soldier and political figure in

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...

. He was born in

Stratherrick Stratherrick ( gd, Srath Fhairgeag / Srath Fharragaig) is a strath situated above the south-eastern shore of Loch Ness, in the Scottish Highlands, Scotland.http://www.electricscotland.com/history/gazetteer/vol6page409.htm Ordinance Gazetteer of Sc ...

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

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 ...

in 1749. His family came to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

in 1767 and settled on the estate of

Sir William Johnson Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet of New York ( – 11 July 1774), was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Ireland. As a young man, Johnson moved to the Province of New York to manage an estate purchased by his uncle, Royal Na ...

Tryon County, New York Tryon County was a county in the colonial Province of New York in the British American colonies. It was created from Albany County on March 24, 1772, and was named for William Tryon, the last provincial governor of New York. The county's boundar ...

. In 1777, he and his brother were captured while trying to escape to

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. They escaped and joined Major-General

John Burgoyne General John Burgoyne (24 February 1722 – 4 August 1792) was a British general, dramatist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1761 to 1792. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several batt ...

at Fort Edward. After the fall of Saratoga, they escaped north to Quebec. In 1779, they served as border guards at the

Yamaska River The Yamaska River is a river in southern Quebec, Canada. Sourcing water within the Eastern Townships, it ends its journey in Lake Saint-Pierre where it is a tributary to the Saint Lawrence River; altogether it is long. Crossing nearly twenty ...

and later became Lieutenants in

Edward Jessup Edward Jessup (December24, 1735February3, 1816), together with his brother Ebenezer Jessup (July 1739 – 1818), was a large landowner in present-day New York State before the American Revolution, and later a soldier and political figure in Upp ...

Loyal Rangers The Loyal Rangers, or Jessup's Loyal Rangers, was a volunteer regiment of Loyalists in the American Revolution established in 1781 by the amalgamation of several smaller units, including the King's Loyal Americans. They were commanded by Major Edw ...

. In 1784, he settled in Edwardsburg Township, where he built a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

. In 1786, he became a justice of the peace and, in 1792, was appointed to the land board for

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

and Grenville counties. He was also the first sheriff in the Johnstown District. He represented

Dundas Dundas may refer to: Places Australia * Dundas, New South Wales * Dundas, Queensland, a locality in the Somerset Region * Dundas, Tasmania * Dundas, Western Australia * Fort Dundas, a settlement in the Northern Territory 1824–1828 * Shire of ...

in the

2nd Parliament of Upper Canada The 2nd Parliament of Upper Canada was opened 1 June 1797. Elections in Upper Canada had been held in August 1796. The first session was held at Navy Hall in Newark. The Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada John Graves Simcoe believed York was ...

and

Glengarry The Glengarry bonnet is a traditional Scots cap made of thick-milled woollen material, decorated with a toorie on top, frequently a rosette cockade on the left side, and ribbons hanging behind. It is normally worn as part of Scottish military ...

in the 5th Parliament. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

, he commanded the

Dundas County Militia The Dundas County Militia was a regiment of the provincial militia of Upper Canada that was raised in Dundas County, Ontario in the 1780s. The battle honours and legacy of the Dundas Militia are perpetuated by the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry ...

, and was in command of all Canadian Militia at the

Battle of Ogdensburg The Battle of Ogdensburg was a battle of the War of 1812. The British gained a victory over the Americans and captured the village of Ogdensburg, New York. Although small in scale, it removed the American threat to British supply lines for the re ...

. After the war, he moved to Matilda Township in Dundas County. He was appointed to the Legislative Council for the province in 1815. He died in Matilda Township in 1821.

External references

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Thomas 1749 births 1821 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada Members of the Legislative Council of Upper Canada United Empire Loyalists People from Leeds and Grenville United Counties Politicians from Inverness Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Immigrants to the Province of Quebec (1763–1791)