William Fraser (1851–1919) was a Free Church of Scotland minister who served as

Moderator of the General Assembly The moderator of the General Assembly is the chairperson of a General Assembly, the highest court of a Presbyterian or Reformed church. Kirk sessions and presbyteries may also style the chairperson as moderator. The Oxford Dictionary states th ...

in 1912.

Life

He was born in Kilmorack in

Invernessshire Inverness-shire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Nis) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Covering much of the Highlands and Outer Hebrides, it is Scotland's largest county, though one of the smallest in populati ...

, in 1851, the son of William Fraser, an apprentice mason, and his wife, Margaret Chisholm. In 1881 he was living at 7 Queen Street in

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 ...

. His late entry into the ministry suggests he was probably occupied in another field until the age of 30. He studied Divinity at New College, Edinburgh from 1882 to 1884 and was trained as a minister for the

Free Church of Scotland Free Church of Scotland may refer to: * Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900), seceded in 1843 from the Church of Scotland. The majority merged in 1900 into the United Free Church of Scotland; historical * Free Church of Scotland (since 1900), rema ...

. His first position was as minister of

Sleat Sleat is a peninsula and civil parish on the island of Skye in the Highland council area of Scotland, known as "the garden of Skye". It is the home of the clan ''MacDonald of Sleat''. The name comes from the Scottish Gaelic , which in turn comes ...

on the

Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated ...

around 1885. In the Union of 1900 between the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

and Free Church of Scotland he remained in the independent Free Church of Scotland. In 1905 he transferred to

Plockton Plockton ( gd, Am Ploc/Ploc Loch Aillse) is a village in the Lochalsh, Wester Ross area of the Scottish Highlands with a 2020 population of 468. Plockton settlement is on the shores of Loch Carron. It faces east away from the prevailing winds, a ...

. In January 1908 he moved to

Strathpeffer Strathpeffer ( gd, Srath Pheofhair) is a village and spa town in Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland, with a population of 1,469. Geography It lies in a strath west of Dingwall, with the elevation ranging from above sea level. Sheltered on ...

Free Church and remained there for the rest of his life. In 1912 he succeeded Rev

William Menzies Alexander William Menzies Alexander (Shettleston, then in Lanarkshire, 12 May 1858 – Edinburgh 30 August 1929) was a Scottish medical and theological writer. He was Moderator of the General Assembly for the Free Church of Scotland for 1911/12. Life ...

of the

. He was succeeded in turn by Rev

Samuel Lyle Orr Samuel Lyle Orr (c. 1850–1930) was an Irish-born minister of the Free Church of Scotland who served as Moderator of the General Assembly in 1913/14. The Lyle Orr Awards have been granted by the Free Church of Scotland annually since 1914 to c ...

. He died in Strathpeffer on 7 July 1919. Strathpeffer Free Church closed in 2014 and was put up for sale.

Family

In July 1881 he married Annie Finlayson McLeay of Dingwall (1855-1933) at Arnisdale near

. They had three sons and one daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, William 1851 births 1919 deaths 20th-century Ministers of the Free Church of Scotland 19th-century Ministers of the Free Church of Scotland