Thomas Fraser, 12th Lord Lovat

Thomas Alexander Fraser, 12th Lord Lovat and 1st Baron Lovat, KT (17 June 1802 – 28 June 1875) was a Scottish peer. He was also the 21st MacShimidh, the traditional Gaelic Patronym for the Chiefs of the Clan Fraser.

The Right Honourable The Lord Lovat KT
Lord Lieutenant of Inverness
In office 1853–1873
Preceded by	The Earl of Seafield
Succeeded by	Simon Fraser
Personal details
Born	Thomas Alexander Fraser 17 June 1802
Died	28 June 1875 (aged 73)
Spouse(s)	Hon. Charlotte Georgina Stafford-Jerningham ​ ​ (m. after 1823, his death)​
Relations	Simon Fraser, 14th Lord Lovat (grandson)
Children	7, including Simon
Parents	Amelia Leslie Alexander Fraser, 9th of Strichen

Early life

Born on 17 June 1802, he was the son of Amelia (née Leslie) Fraser and Alexander Fraser, 9th of Strichen, a Captain of the 1st Dragoon Guards who died on 28 October 1803, shortly after his birth.[1] His paternal grandparents were Alexander Fraser, 8th of Strichen and Jean (née Menzies) Fraser (a daughter of William Menzies and niece of James Menzies of Culdares).[2] His maternal grandparents were John Leslie, 22nd Baron of Balquhain and the former Violet Dalzell.[3]

In 1821, Fraser commissioned Aberdeen architect John Smith to design a country house known as Strichen House.[4][5][6]

Career

In 1815, upon the death of Archibald Campbell Fraser (who outlived all of his children), Fraser became the 21st Chief of the Clan Fraser, through his descent from the second son of the 4th Lord Lovat. He also inherited the Lovat estates at Beauly in Inverness-shire. On 28 January 1837 he was created Baron Lovat, of Lovat in the County of Inverness,[7] in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. In 1854, the attainder of the 11th Lord Lovat (who had been attainted and executed in 1747) was reversed, and Lovat thereby became 12th Lord Lovat in the Peerage of Scotland. He notably served as Lord Lieutenant of Inverness from 1853 to 1873 and was made a Knight of the Thistle in 1865.[1]

Personal life

Photograph of his daughter Amelia, 1863.

On 6 August 1823, Fraser was married to the Hon. Charlotte Georgina Stafford-Jerningham (1800–1876), the daughter of George William Stafford-Jerningham, 8th Baron Stafford, in 1823. The couple had three daughters and four sons, including:[8]

• Hon. Amelia Charlotte Fraser (1824–1912),[9] who married Charles Scott-Murray of Danesfield, a Conservative MP for Buckinghamshire.[10]
• Hon. Frances Giorgiana Fraser (1826–1899), who married Sir Pyers Mostyn, 8th Baronet (1811–1882).[11]
• Hon. Charlotte Henrietta Fraser (1827–1904),[12] who married Sir Matthew Sausse, the Chief Justice of Bombay, in 1866.[13]
• Simon Fraser, 13th Lord Lovat (1828–1887), who married Alice Mary Weld-Blundell, daughter of Thomas Weld-Blundell.[14][15]
• Hon. Alexander Edward Fraser (1831–1885), a Lt.-Col. in the Scots Guards who fought in the Crimean War and married Georgiana Mary Heneage, only daughter of George Fieschi Heneage of Hainton Hall.[16]
• Hon. George Edward Stafford Fraser (1834–1854), who died unmarried.[1]
• Hon. Henry Thomas Fraser (1838–1904), a Colonel in the 1st Battalion Scots Guards who died unmarried.[17]

Lord Lovat died in June 1875, aged 73, and was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son Simon. Lady Lovat died in 1876.[1]

Legacy

Lord Lovat's legacy is that of the present 16th Lord Lovat, and the good standing of the present Clan Fraser. He completed the restoration of Lovat titles and lands, which had been started by the 11th Lord's son, General Simon Fraser of Lovat.[8]

References

1. "Lovat, Lord (S, 1458/64)". cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
2. Burke, John (1836). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland, Enjoying Territorial Possessions Or High Official Rank: But Uninvested with Heritable Honours. Henry Colburn. p. 299.
3. The Reliquary: Depository for Precious Relics, Legendary, Biographical, and Historical. John Russell Smith. 1870. p. 54.
4. Historic Environment Scotland. "Strichen House, Stableblock, (Barnyards of Strichen) Strichen Mains (LB16547)". Retrieved 15 April 2019.
5. "Strichen House". Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland. Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
6. "John Smith". scottisharchitects.org.uk. Dictionary of Scottish Architects - DSA Architect Biography Report. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
7. "No. 19460". The London Gazette. 24 January 1837. p. 170.
8. Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
9. Sheahan, James Joseph (1862). History and Topography of Buckinghamshire: Comprising a General Survey of the County, Preceded by an Epitome of the Early History of Great Britain. Longman, Green, Longman, and Roberts. p. 905. ISBN 9780804833905.
10. "Hon. Amelia Charlotte Scott-Murray (née Fraser)". npg.org.uk. National Portrait Gallery, London. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
11. "Frances Georgiana (née Fraser), Lady Mostyn". npg.org.uk. National Portrait Gallery, London. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
12. "Charlotte Henrietta (née Fraser), Lady Sausse". npg.org.uk. National Portrait Gallery, London. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
13. "Death of Sir Matthew Sausse". The Times. The Times Digital Archive. 6 November 1867. p. 7.
14. Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (1895). Armorial Families: A Complete Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage, and a Directory of Some Gentlemen of Coat-armour, and Being the First Attempt to Show which Arms in Use at the Moment are Borne by Legal Authority. Jack. p. 630. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
15. Chapman, Paul (1836). Menin Gate North: In Memory and in Mourning. Pen and Sword. ISBN 978-1-4738-5092-7. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
16. Burke, Sir Bernard (1882). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain & Ireland. Harrison. p. 769. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
17. Ward, S. G. P. (1973). "THE SCOTS GUARDS IN EGYPT, 1882: The Letters of Lieutenant C. B. Balfour". Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research. 51 (206): 80–104. ISSN 0037-9700. JSTOR 44227018.

External links

• Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages
• Lundy, Darryl. "FAQ". The Peerage.