Finding Captain Thomas "Tomm" Fraser

[jessiboo_17]

Hello,

Can anyone identify who and where this Captain Thomas Fraser was from?

I am researching my 5x great grandmother Mary Fraser who was married to a Captain John McKenzie (Master Mariner).  They had two children at Groam near Kirkhill.  I am unsure if it's the cottages or the actual farm.  Children born at Groam were Hugh, who was baptized on 2 Jul 1775 and Margaret, who was baptized on 22 Jul 1777. 

Next they have a son John born at Culachan near Kiltarlity, who was baptized on 9 Jun 1779.  Witnesses to the baptism were Donald Fraser of Culachan and Alexander Fraser of Dalnamine.  Alexander was a similar age to Mary since they were having children about the same time.  Descendants of Alexander went to Pictou county in Nova Scotia where quite a few Fraser families went, including relatives of my Mary. 

Alexander Fraser of Dalnamine was a gamekeeper for General Simon Fraser and lived at Dalnamine house which I believe is on the estate of Belladrum.  Alexander was a witness in the trial of a son or grandson which was trying to claim the title of Lord Lovat by stating his father was Alexander Fraser, the son of Thomas Fraser of Beaufort, who didn't die in 1689/1692, but rather had escaped to Wales and fathered a family which also had many descendants that ended up going to Nova Scotia, Canada.

Alexander Fraser of Dalnamine had said he learned of the story of Alexander Fraser, son of Thomas of Beaufort, from his father, who was a servant to Lord Lovat, and how Alexander, son of Thomas Fraser of Beaufort killed a bagpipper or fiddler with a dirk because of a song he took to mean insult to his father Thomas Fraser of Beaufort. 

In the book, "Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat, his Life and Times"
by Mackenzie, W. C. (William Cook), 1862-1952, there is mentioned of a servant that was with Lovat named Captain Thomas Fraser who was written as "Tomm" in Sir John MacLean's letters.  I cannot find any information about Sir John MacLean's letters nor can I find more information about Captain Thomas Fraser, whom I suspect could be Alexander Fraser of Delnamine's father.  I am trying to establish information on Captain Thomas to either prove or disprove my speculation.

I've included the links to the sources and photos of the parts of the information.  All sources are available on the internet at the provided links.

Source 1: (https://archive.org/details/simonfraserlordl00mackuoft/page/106)

Source 2:
(https://books.google.ca/books?id=DhpDAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA325&lpg=PA325&dq=%22alexander+fraser%22+%22dalnamine%22&source=bl&ots=V1AF8GXTfz&sig=ACfU3U2jS5IpzvtKUvwUMDJseEFnpBPn7w&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjr-NXo-8bkAhVHwVkKHYy2DJkQ6AEwDXoECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22alexander%20fraser%22%20%22dalnamine%22&f=true)

Source 3: https://books.google.ca/books?id=FGQyAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA406&lpg=PA406&dq=%22dalnamine%22&source=bl&ots=iAIGIHda0n&sig=ACfU3U2LSeSE_hq9ZtP4qww618QhaKkwaQ&hl#v=onepage&q&f=false

[LaurieF]

Hi Jessiboo,
I am also researching Alexander Fraser of Dalnamine farm, Kiltarlity; I am a descendant of his son James born 1787. I did find a description of Dalnamine in the Inverness-shire OS Name Book 1876-78, Vol 49, p 17, Kiltarlity: Small cottage, one story high with outhouses attached, thatched, in good repair. Lord Lovat, proprietor.
There is also a map of the farm dated 1852 available online - see the link below. According to google maps the farmhouse is within 1/2 mile of both Beaufort Castle and Belladrum. I was also able to find a recent photo of the farmhouse dated 2006 when it was offered for sale - I'll put that link down below too.
I have not had any luck identifying Alexander's father, and any help you could offer would be greatly appreciated. I found an Alexander born 12 Oct 1738 at Kiltarlity (the year works with the age Alexander gave in his deposition regarding the Fraser of Lovat claim which you referenced), however I found in the book "Some Fraser Pedigrees" by Duncan Warrand (1934, p.14) that that particular Alexander died 1784, so not the right guy since our Alexander lived to be at least 88. I'm doubting that Captain Tomm was his father, since Alexander had five sons and didn't name any of them Thomas - if he had followed the Scottish naming traditions then his oldest son Donald would have been named after his father - so I am stuck.
You mentioned in your post that some of Alexander's descendants immigrated to Nova Scotia as well as descendants of your Mary - could you share the names of the immigrating descendants? I'm curious to see if there is a DNA connection anywhere in there with me, just to confirm I'm on the right track.
Thanks, Laurie

link to Dalnamine map:
https://maps.nls.uk/estates/rec/6300

link to Dalnamine photo:
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/274378

[Debbie HP]

Hello Jessiboo_17 and LaurieF.

I also am researching Frasers. Of particular interest are Frasers arriving in Pictou NS. I'm working on my partner's tree; he is a Fraser. His 2x great-grandfather was born in 1811ish in Pictou NS... to a Hume. I can find nothing on either of them in terms of their parentage. My partner's 2x great-grandfather's name was John Alexander "Alex" Fraser. All but one of his sons follow the Scots naming pattern, so I am making the leap that Alexander's paternal grandfather was Lachlan and his maternal grandfather was Archibald.

I am now exploring the theory that the Fraser ancestor who arrived in Pictou was from the Inverness area. This is largely due to family stories passed down through the ages, as well as stories of connections to the Frasers of Lovat.

If either of you care to share any info, I will gladly do so as well. My partner has his DNA done with both Ancestry and Family Tree. I'm an absolute novice with DNA but am hoping someone will find us before I finish learning how to use it! lol

Looking forward to hearing from you.

[camboNZ]

Hello,

I'm researching my Fraser history in NZ and these two Thomas Frasers were both Captains. The latter one emigrated to New Zealand in 1858.

Cheers,
Cam