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Isabel Grant Fraser: Loyalist Widow   
copyright Stephen Davidson UE
Few contemporary primary sources exist to outline the story of Isabel Fraser, her husband, and their nine children. The documents that have survived to the present indicate that the family emigrated from Scotland to the Albany region of New York in 1773.  Within just three years of their arrival, the eleven members of the Fraser family would have to decide whether to join their Patriot neighbours in rebellion against the crown or remain loyal to their British sovereign.
Isabel and her husband had settled on a farm in a small village known as Mapletown, three miles to the west of Bennington, Vermont. That area is now part of New York’s Hoosick Township.
As tension built toward revolution, the Frasers’ first three years in New York were prosperous ones. Isobel’s husband owned a 160-acre farm, 124 acres of which had been cleared. For livestock, the family had 3 teams of oxen, 6 cattle — altogether about 20 head, as well as a horse, mare, and colt plus 24 sheep. Farm utensils, furniture, corn stockpiles of hay made up the remainder of the family’s worldly goods.
A letter written in 1777 relates the story of how Isabel’s husband sided with the British. General John Burgoyne’s massive army was making its way south through modern day Vermont. One of his commanders was Colonel Frederick Baume, a veteran German officer.  Baume obeyed orders to take 550 men to Bennington to capture a large rebel magazine. After a skirmish at Van Schaik’s mill, local Loyalists  (with and without arms) joined Baume’s forces.
At this point, it is important to note that Simon Fraser, Isabel’s husband, was given the rank of captain upon joining Baume. But he was not the only member of Burgoyne’s forces to bear that name. There was also a brigadier general, lieutenant colonel, a lieutenant, and an ensign who all bore the name Simon Fraser. The author of the 1777 letter written on behalf of Isabel’s husband was none other than Brigadier General Simon Fraser. (A fine example of Scottish thrift and economy!)
The 1777 letter notes that Isabel’s hu”sband had joined Burgoyne’s forces at Fort Edward on the Hudson River and had been given “civil employment” in the Indian Department so that he could draw some temporary income.  When Baume’s forces passed near the Fraser homestead, Fraser “went along with it… without arms“.
On August 16, 1777, British and Patriot forces clashed in what has become known as the Battle of Bennington. Two hundred seven British soldiers were killed.  The victorious Patriots took almost 600 prisoners of war – a number that included Isabel’s husband.
Isabel Fraser’s life now took a dramatic turn.  Her husband was a prisoner in the Albany jail. William, her oldest son, had already taken up arms as a member of Sir John Johnson’s regiment. This left the 42 year-old loyalist woman having to care for a 160-acre farm and 8 children ranging in age from teenagers to a year-old baby. (The latter was yet another Simon Fraser.) Within weeks of the Battle of Bennington, rebels took all of the Frasers’ livestock as well as furniture, utensils, corn and hay.
While Isabel tried to maintain the farm, the Albany Committee of Correspondence met to decide the fate of her husband. The committee’s minutes noted that Captain Simon Fraser was to be put “in close confinement, there to remain till further information is received concerning him from the district where he last resided“.
Whatever that “further information” might have been, it resulted in Fraser being treated in a vindictive manner. When Brigadier General Fraser wrote his letter of September 7, 1777, he repeated what rebel deserters to the British had told him – that Captain Fraser was “treated with an uncommon degree of severity“.  The brigadier-general pleaded on behalf of the loyalist father of nine children. “I appeal to your humanity” to put “him on the same footing with other prisoners of war“. Enclosed in the senior officer’s letter were five guineas to be forwarded to Isabel’s husband.
Nothing came of this letter. Later, the Patriots received a petition asking for Fraser to be set free “due to the sufferings of his widow, Isabel, and her numerous young family.” However, on July 30, 1778 a local Patriot wrote to the Commissioners for Detecting and Defeating Conspiracies in the State of New York to say that he and others were “uneasy about this effort” and asked that the family be “driven off“.
There is no evidence that Captain Fraser’s treatment at the hands of his Albany jailers improved in any way. Captured in August of 1777, Fraser died 13 months later in January of 1779. A later document reveals that “because of hardships {he} came to an untimely end in jail“.
Isabel Fraser was now a widow at age 44.
Despite the request that the Fraser family be driven off their land and despite ongoing harassment by rebel neighbours, Isabel and her children held onto their farm until 1784.  All that is known about how Isabel and her children eventually managed to leave New York concerns her brother-in-law. John Fraser had settled in Montreal and had been made a judge of common pleas. Records indicate that the loyalist widow and her family travelled to Canada with his help.
(Throughout the revolution, the Fraser family was described as having nine children. But in all references to the family following the war, the number is given as eight. It would seem that at some point between 1777 and 1784, an unnamed Fraser daughter died before the family left New York.)
William Fraser, the eldest son, survived the war and had fled north to Cataraqui (today’s Kingston, Ontario) in the fall of 1783. By the time the Isabel and her other children were reunited with William in 1784, he had settled at Coteau du Lac on the northern shore of the St. Lawrence River in what is now Quebec.
Isabel eventually settled among other Scottish Loyalists in what is now Cornwall, Ontario. Like his father before him, the Frasers’ second oldest son, Angus, had become a farmer in the area.
With the help of her son William, Isabel sought compensation from the Royal Commission on the Losses and Services of American Loyalists when the commission convened in Montreal in 1787. Captain Simon Fraser’s  “active and zealous loyalty” was verified by documents from both his brother John and a commanding officer. The transcript also reveals that Isabel sold 100 acres of the Fraser farm during the war, which may have provided the means for the family to survive after being plundered by rebels. In the end, the British government issued Isabel an annual pension of £30.
It is not certain how long Isabel drew on this pension. A March 6, 1786 letter from her brother-in-law John Fraser speaks of him hearing of her death while he was in England. If so, the widow of Captain Simon Fraser died around the age of 51, leaving 8 children to grieve her loss.
Four years later, her youngest son – 14 year-old Simon– went to live in Montreal with his uncle John Fraser.  Rather than tilling the soil like his older brothers, Simon became a fur trader and then an explorer. He would go on to become the European discoverer of what is now known as the Fraser River. Mount Fraser – straddling Mount Robson Provincial Park and Jasper National Park— contains peaks related to this loyalist’s son: Simon Peak (his first name), Bennington Peak (the site of his father’s battle), and McDonnell Peak (his wife’s maiden name). And of course there is Vancouver’s Simon Fraser University.
But all of Simon Fraser’s accomplishments would never have happened had his mother not seen to the survival and safety of her children during the American Revolution. How different Canadian history would be had it not been for Isabel Fraser, a loyalist’s widow.
To secure permission to reprint this article contact the author at stephendavids@gmail.com.

The Loyal- List: Methodist Religious Leaders Who Were Loyalist Descendants 
By Mike Woodcock UE, Victoria Branch
As we celebrate Advent—the beginning of a new liturgical year on Sunday, November 30—I want to highlight some prominent Methodist religious leaders who are Loyalist descendants. Given the vast array of Christian traditions and denominations, today’s focus on Methodism acknowledges that by 1884, it was the largest Protestant denomination in Canada.

The Origins of Methodist Faith in America
A notable tradition, which is largely authentic, recounts future Loyalist Paul Heck’s wife, Barbara, and her concern about their worldly environment. In 1766, she discovered friends playing cards in her kitchen. Disturbed, she dramatically swept the cards into her apron and cast them into the fire. Determined to lead a moral revival, she confronted Philip Embury, a former preacher, urging him to preach to her family and community for salvation. Embury held the first service in his home which was attended by five people. The movement rapidly grew, and in 1768, the Wesley Chapel became New York’s first Methodist church.

Contributions of William Henry Withrow
William Henry Withrow earned a BA from the University of Toronto in 1863 and an MA in 1864, the same year he was ordained. Anticipating potential church unification, he transferred to the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Canada in 1866. By 1868, he was in full connection and served in circuits near Toronto. In 1873, he became the assistant to the conference president and a prominent editor of Methodist publications.

Establishing a Methodist Voice in Canada
In 1872, the Wesleyan conference recognized the need for a Methodist magazine in Canada. By 1874, this need was endorsed at the new church’s first general conference. Withrow was appointed editor of the Canadian Methodist Magazine, which debuted in January 1875, focusing on religion, literature, and social progress from Toronto and Halifax.

Spencer’s Editorial Leadership
James Spencer’s lengthy tenure as editor of The Guardian reflected his colleagues’ respect for his editorial skill and leadership. His combative style and self-assured stance embodied the Methodist conference mood of the 1850s, emphasizing moral conviction and advocacy.

Egerton Ryerson: A Loyalist and Evangelical Pioneer
Egerton Ryerson’s upbringing and environment significantly influenced his career. His father, Joseph, and uncle, Samuel Ryerse— both Loyalists—had served as officers in the American Revolution before immigrating north, instilling a lifelong loyalty to Britain and Canada. Additionally, Ryerson was deeply influenced by the evangelical revivalism that swept North America in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

The Life and Legacy of Egerton Ryerson Young
Though not directly related, Methodist leader and educator Egerton Ryerson profoundly impacted Egerton Ryerson Young. Both his parents were Wesleyan Methodist preachers, immersed in rural evangelical church life before urbanization transformed the movement.
Ordained in 1867, Young first served at Hamilton’s First Methodist Church before accepting a call to be a missionary among the Indigenous peoples of Rupert’s Land. With his wife Elizabeth’s support, he embarked on this challenging journey. His 1890 book, By canoe and dog-train among the Cree and Salteaux Indians, became widely influential, helping raise awareness and support for Indigenous missions.

Invitation to Contribute
You’re invited to help expand the Loyal-List! To add Loyalists or descendants, suggest edits to existing profiles, or provide feedback, please email membership.vic.uelac@gmail.com or use the Feedback portal on the uelcanada.ca homepage.
The Loyal-List is a dedicated project of the United Empire Loyalists (UEL) Association of Canada. It highlights individuals identified through various reputable sources, including the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Wikipedia, and numerous historical institutions. It is one of the official initiatives of UELAC and a testament to our shared Loyalist heritage.
Learn more about this inspiring Loyal- List project on the national UELAC website.

Blog: About UE Loyalist History by Brian McConnell UE at UE Loyalist History

The Loyalist Gazette – 27 November 2025
Are you interested in: 1) the history of Canada; 2) genealogy of United Empire Loyalists; or 3) activities of the United Empire Loyalists’ Association of Canada?  If you answered YES to one or more of these subjects you will enjoy reading The Loyalist Gazette.
The only magazine published in Canada about the role United Empire Loyalists and their descendants played during the American Revolution and afterwards is The Loyalist Gazette. I was honoured in June 2025 to become Chair of the Committee which now creates it, taking over from Bill Russell, UE, who became President of the UELAC.  Other current members of the Committee are Diane Faris, UE, Stephen Davidson, UE, and Amanda Fasken, UE.
The Loyalist Gazette was first published from 1931 to 1933. Read more…

Privateers – Nov 25 2025
Beginning in 1775 and lasting until 1782, actions regularly occurred between American privateers and British ships as well as privateers from Nova Scotia off the coast of Nova Scotia as well as attacks on settlements.  The Second Continental Congress authorized privateers to operated against British shipping in a resolution dated 23 March 1776.  A few days later it made provision for issuing “letters of marque”, formal licenses to privateers.  Nova Scotia issued 77 letters of marque during the American Revolution.
The New England coast was a primary area of activity for American Privateers who operated out of ports such as Boston, Newport, Providence, Rhode Island, New London, Connecticut, Salem and Beverly, Massachusetts.  They targeted the Canadian Maritimes as well as Atlantic Shipping Lanes, the West Indies and even European waters.
Privateering Actions:
June 1775 – Battle of Machias , Maine. American Privateer Jeremy O’Brien captured British warship H.M.S. Margaretta.  Read more…

250 Years Ago: The Invasion of Canada: Events between Nov 26 and Dec 3, 1775

Governor Guy Carleton is in Quebec City with Colonel Allen Maclean leading the British/Canadian forces and head of the assembly. The Lieutenant Governor is Hector Cramahé who had organized a militia force of several hundred to defend the town in September. The Brotish are safely ensconced within the city.

Arnold’s forces were positioned at Pointe-aux-Trembles, resting, gathering supplies from local inhabitants (habitants), and waiting for Montgomery’s contingent. Their condition was dire with many soldiers ill or frostbitten.
On December 2 the forces of General Richard Montgomery arrive at the gates of Quebec to join those of Colonel Benedict Arnold

The Americans were camped outside of the city by early December 1775, trying to lay siege to the city and force a British surrender; however, Gen. Carleton refused to comply. In the meantime, encamped Patriot forces were freezing in the harsh winter conditions and were unable to dig trenches because the ground was too frozen. Conditions worsened when an outbreak of smallpox plagued both American armies. Because of starvation, freezing temperatures and disease, the strength of the Patriot forces was compromised.  In addition, the American assumption that they would find support from French-Canadians was proven wrong when these potential allies joined forces with the British. Despite these threatening conditions, the Americans prepared to attack Quebec.

There were about 1,200 combatants on each side. Each side wore whatever clothing was available to them, other than the small party of British recruits who may have been in uniform. Weapons were muskets and bayonets. The British had the benefit of the heavy guns on the city’s fortifications.

American Spies and Sympathizers at Fort Detroit 
by Geoffrey Hoerauf 25 Nov 2025 Journal of the American Revolution
Located far enough away from American-controlled Kentucky but enough close to the British-allied Native Americans in the Western Great Lakes region, Fort Detroit became the center for British military operations to counter American activities in present-day Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio during the American Revolutionary War. These operations included raids on American settlements as well as attempts to align Native Americans with British war efforts. American political and military leaders soon realized that by gaining of control of the Fort Detroit region they could minimize British influence over the Native Americans over a wide area. Virgina Governor Patrick Henry assigned George Rogers Clark, lieutenant colonel of Virginia troops in Ohio and Kentucky, this responsibility. To gain information on British plans as well as to disrupt those plans, Clark and other Americans recruited inhabitants at Fort Detroit and the surrounding region as American spies and agents.
As the war progressed, the British military became aware of the American spies and sympathizers at Detroit. Read more…

The Female Weavers
By Viveka Hansen 19 Dec 2013
Documentation of 18th & 19th century double interlocked tapestries
Female weavers who produced double interlocked tapestries or “rölakan” as a professional occupation were extremely rare during the 18th and 19th centuries, which also was confirmed during the documentation between 1984-1991 including more than 1.600 examples of these tapestries. Only one woman could be placed in this category with certainty, while other weavers – who built up dowries for their daughters or wove to decorate their homes for festivities – have been found during both my observations and by earlier collectors, researchers and documentations. However, the artists/weavers of the largest part of these beautiful textiles are anonymous today. The illustrations and texts below briefly describe the knowledge, traditions and circumstances surrounding the female weavers of Skåne in southernmost Sweden.
The main part of Bengta Oredsdotter’s production is believed to have consisted of large bedcovers designed with octagons in rows, but the Gärds/Villands districts’ typical stylistic small trees placed in these octagons were by her replaced – as well as by some other weavers in the area – with a myriad of various birds, people, deers, flowers etc. Uncertainties are, on the other hand, not unusual when trying to trace a particular piece of textile’s history. This can be exemplified with the bedcover below, dated 1858, which originates from the last decade when the individual “Bengta style design” has been identified, but the catalogue description from Kulturen in Lund notes instead that the textile was woven by Anna Håkansdotter born in 1839 “Anna HD” in marking. This statement must, by experience, be given some reservations, foremost because of the complexity of the patterns, the fineness in quality and the perfect finish of the bedcover when woven by a woman only 19 years old. Probably her more trained mother Ingar Andersdotter marked “IAD” on the bedcover, was the weaver of this exquisite design. Read more…

Advertised on 26 Nov. 1775 “FOLIOS … QUARTOS … OCTAVOS … DUODECIMOS”

“FOLIOS … QUARTOS … OCTAVOS … DUODECIMOS.”

John Dixon and William Hunter, printers of the Virginia Gazette, published a “Catalogue of BOOKS for Sale … at their Printing-Office” in the November 25, 1775, edition.  It covered most of the first page, except for the masthead and a short advertisement in which William Hewitt announced his intention to leave the colony and called on associates to settle accounts, and continued onto the second page, where it filled an entire column and overflowed into another.  Overall, Dixon and Hunter’s book catalog accounted for four of the twelve columns of news and advertising in that issue.  The printers could have printed a separate catalog (and very well may have done so), but disseminating the list of books they sold in the newspaper guaranteed that they reached consumers throughout the colony and beyond.
The printers deployed two principles in organizing the contents of their book catalog.  First, they separated the books by size – folios, quartos, octavos, and duodecimos – and then they roughly alphabetized them.  Read more…

UELAC Loyalist Directory: New Contributions

Entries which have been added, or revised, this week.

Thanks to Lynton”Bill” Stewart who provided new or additional information about:

  • William Fairfield IV 1732 – 1812  From Pawlett, Vermont served with Jessup’s Loyal Rangers. He and Abigail Baker (1742 – 1838) had 13 children born before, during and after the war; resettled in Ernestown (Bath), Upper Canada
  • Charity French 1747 – ?  born Stratford CT but before the war at  Pitts Town, New Hampshire Grants (Vermont) resettled at Lancaster, St. John County, New Brunswick.
    With his wife Mercy Dewey, b. 1749, d. 1786, married ca. 1772 in Dover, Duchess County, New York, they had four children, born before during and after the war.
  • Captain Richard Hill 1735 – 1803 from Westminster, Cumberland County, New York (now Westminster, Windham County, Vermont. He married Jane  b. 1740 Ireland, d. 6 June 1800, Digby, Nova Scotia. He came to the America’s in 1772. He was a Malter and Distiller by trade. He was made High Sheriff Of Cumberland County in 1775. In 1786 received a 100 acre Loyalist Land Grant in Digby Township, Annapolis County, Nova Scotia.

If you are willing to submit some information, send a note to  loyalist.trails@uelac.org All help is appreciated.   …doug

Events Upcoming

Gov. Simcoe Branch: “All Ye That Pass By: Edmund Southworth Joins the Burgoyne Campaign” with Avellina Balestri, Wed 3 Dec 7:30

A historical fiction novel, the first in a trilogy by author Avellina Balestri, set during the Saratoga Campaign of the American Revolution. The story follows young Edmund Southworth, a Catholic man from England who, despite his faith, joins the British army under General Burgoyne to pursue opportunity. The book explores themes of faith, divided loyalties, humanity in the face of war, and the complexities of the historical period.
Join Host Jo-Ann Leake and Avellina as they discuss this book, the first of a trilogy. For more and to register, visit Gov. Simcoe Branch meetings…

Col John Butler Branch:   Karen Richardson, UE.  Loyalist Christmas Celebrations and Traditions. Sat 6 Dec. @11:45

Loyalist Christmas celebrations were shaped by the diverse traditions of the settlers who came together to form a new community.  Over time these customs blended into the vibrant, family-centered, and faith-filled holiday we cherish today—a lasting reflection of the cultures, beliefs, and values our ancestors carried across the sea.  This presentation explores how Christmas was celebrated by the loyalists—from their early settlements in America to their relocation in Canada—tracing the evolution of these traditions from the colonial period through the Victorian era and beyond.
Meetings take place at Betty’s Restaurant, 8921 Sodom Road, Niagara Falls.  We begin at 11:45.  Cost of the lunch is $33 for UELAC members and $35 for guests.  Cash only.  Please register in advance by emailing 283corvette@gmail.com

American Revolution Institute: The Revolution’s First Winter: Loyalist Thomas Ainslie’s Account of the 1775 American Assault of Quebec Fri 12 Dec @12:30

The Institute’s library director, Thomas Lannon, discusses the American invasion of Canada during the first winter of the Revolution and the failed attempt to capture Quebec to rally support against Britain and bring Canada into the rebellion as the hoped-for “fourteenth colony.”
At the center of this Lunch Bite is a letter authored by Quebec’s Collector of Customs Thomas Ainslie, preserved in the Institute’s collections. Ainslie’s recollections provide a reliable day-to-day record from inside Quebec City during the American siege until British reinforcements arrived.
More and registration…

From the Social Media and Beyond

  • Clothing and apparel
    • Fashion plate from 1798 showing a woman in a yellow gown with a v-neck and long sleeves. On her head a pink ‘capote’ of satin, decorated with clubs and two ostrich feathers. Around the neck a white neckerchief with red dots.
    • Someone really had fun with metal threads and wire here. Not content with a shiny dress, crown and sceptre, this very regal Esther has two attendants holding up her train and a parasol in a c. 1640 embroidery at The Holburne Museum, Bath.
    • Viewing objects in isolation allows a deeper understanding of its structure. This mid 18th century bodice would have had an equally sumptuous skirt but without it we can appreciate its shape, construction and even its lining. The front view of a structured mid 18th century bodice made from pink silk brocade. It has a triangular stomacher shape with panier style skirts over the hips and lace trimmed elbow length sleeves
  • Food and Related: Townsends

 

 

Editor’s Note:
We are travelling, so this and the next two issues will be rather lighter.
….doug

 

Published by the UELAC
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