(2 Nov. 1860-9 Feb. 1936), archivist. (he was sometimes known as Col. Alexander Fraser, from a militia rank he shared with two other Alexander Frasers whose biographies precede his in this dictionary) Born near Inverness, Scotland. He came to Canada in 1886, and followed a career as a journalist in Toronto. From 1903 till his retirement in 1935, he was the archivist of Ontario, the first person to hold that position. He was never a GC resident but he was interested in GC and in Gaelic, the old language of GC, and he knew various influential Glengarrians, and his life touches upon the GC story at several points. The printed collection of Loyalist documents which he issued as archivist is useful for GC genealogy and pioneer history. Interestingly, he wondered whether the celebrated “Canadian Boat Song” could have originated in GC, but concluded there was no reason to suppose it did. His papers in the Ontario Archives include some correspondence with Glengarrians. He died in Toronto.

     See the entries this dictionary for C. C. Cuneo, Carrie H. MacGillivray (who was employed in his archives), John C. McMillan, Donald Monro, Dr Donald Duncan Macdonald, and Mgr Ewen J. Macdonald. With Donald M. Robertson, Fraser was among the founders of the 48th Regiment of Toronto.

     In a letter of 17 Oct. 1900, R. R. (Big Rory) McLennan asked him to come to GC to speak in Gaelic on behalf of McLennan in the current federal election campaign. Now that the Liberals were headed by a French Canadian prime minister, McLennan was losing the French Canadian vote. Senator Donald McMillan of GC explained in a letter the following day to Fraser, “In our former contests we had a good support from the French; this time they are an unreliable commodity,… You could be of much assistance to us to counteract this drain upon our former vote, in making inroads upon the Scotch vote.” Fraser and the Rev. Kenneth A. Gollan, who was minister of Kenyon Presbyterian Church, Dunvegan, 1899-1911, were contemporaries at Glasgow University, though they do not appear to have been closely acquainted at that time. In a letter 21 May 1901 to Fraser, Gollan, writing from the Manse, Dunvegan, assured him “I know what a loyal highland heart you have,” and stated “if you are ever in this direction be sure you come and see us. We have a large house & plenty of all that is good in Glengarry.” In the spring of 1913, Hugh Munro of Munro and McIntosh sent Fraser two gallons of maple syrup. Fraser attended, in 1919, the blessing of the Bishop Macdonell Memorial Chapel at St. Raphael’s. (Glengarry News 26 Sept. 1919) In 1929 Fraser was unable to accept an offer to be the judge at a competition to be held in Feb. “for the violin Scotch-music championship of Glengarry.”

MDict * Archives of Ontario-F (McLennan, McMillan, Gollan letters are in Box 4) * Bibliography of Glengarry: index under his name * Morgan (1912) 417 * Fraser (1959) 260 * “Canadian Boat Song”: see Bibliography of Glengarry 5 * Glengarry News 14 Feb. 1936 (dies) * Gollan: biog. details in MacMillan, Kirk, and MacMillan, Kenyon Presbyterian Church, and he is in Edward G. Cox’s Dunvegan diary; see also Alexander McRae, hotel keeper