Widow Fraser after all these years
Fraser was a trader on the very frontline of the frontier. Of course no leader used that word frontier. They called this the back country. That showed you that emphasis was on the coast where the power was. Wilderness of the forest as we know it today was called the "desert" back then, because it was devoid of development, devoid of agriculture.
But Fraser being in the middle of many competing cultures for use of the land had come into sacrificing many things to hang in there. And when he died, his widow really struggled.
.
This is still under construction. More links on who Fraser was will be added. He has quite a story. But for now, here's what we have on his widow needing help.
First researched in 2016, updated 12/16/2023
To George Washington from Arthur St. Clair, 5 May 1774
From Arthur St. Clair Ligonier [Pa.] May 5th 1774
Sir
Tho. I am an utter Stranger I have taken the Liberty to write to you and request your Advice and Assistance for the Bearer Mrs Fraser the Widow of Mr John Fraser late of Bedford in this Province.
Mr Fraser has in his life time
often mentioned to me a great loss
he met with at the Battle of the Meadows,
and amongst his Papers,
after his Death,
an Account of it was found—
The Colony of Virginia
have always been so Generous
to People who suffered in the War
that she is encouraged to apply to it
for some Satisfaction,
and if it be as Mr Fraser told me,
she has a right to expect it,
the Goods having been lost in consequence
of his Horses being impressed
for some Service to the Colony.
Mr Fraser has left a Widow
and seven Children very slenderly provided for, which to a Gentleman of your Humanity would recommend them to your Assistance, and if the Claim be a reasonable One will also engage you to direct her to the proper Mode of Application.1
I should have done myself the Honour to wait on you on purpose, as it was Mr Frasers dying request, that I would endeavour to recover this Claim for his Children, and I had procured introductory Letters from Mr Allen & Doctor Smith,2 but some Affairs that have lately happened in this Country, render it improper for me to Go to Virginia at present—the Storm will flow over by & by when I shall have an Oppurtunity to deliver them. I Am Sir Your very Humble and most Obedient Servant
Ar. St Clair ALS, DLC:GW. The letter is sent “by Mrs Fraser.”
Founders Online Footnotes:
Arthur St. Clair (1737–1818) was born and educated in Scotland and came to America as a subaltern in the Royal American Regiment during the French and Indian War. He settled at Fort Ligonier, about forty-five miles east of Pittsburgh in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.
1. Jane (Jenny) McLane Fraser, the “wife or mistress” of blacksmith and trader John Fraser of Pennsylvania (see Adam Stephen to GW, 4 Oct. 1755, n.2), must have arrived at Mount Vernon after GW left for Williamsburg on 12 May.
She undoubtedly took the letter on to him there.
Her petition was presented in the House of Burgesses on 25 May, probably by GW:
“The Petition of Jane Fraser widow & Administratrix of John Fraser Formerly of the Province of Pensylvania, humbly sheweth, That your Petr’s said husband had been concerned For many years in a trade with the Indians on the River Ohio, where he was in the Month of June 1754, when he received Intelligence that hostilities were Commenced, or likely to take place, between this Colony & the said Indians, and thought it prudent to retire from that Countrey with his effects; He accordingly set off with his goods carrd by Sevl Horses to Return to Pensylvania, & on his way, met with this Colony Troops under the Command of George ⟨mutilated⟩ Great Meadows⟨;⟩ where ⟨Colo.⟩ Washington, expecting an Attack from the Enemy,
pressed the sd John Fraser’s horses
to be emploied in bringing some stores and a partie of men from Mr Christopher Gists, & also in bringing amunition & Provisions from Colo. Cresups to the sd Meadows for Protection of the Forces; in consequence of which the sd John Fraser was detained ⟨At the⟩ Meadows, until the Battle happened at that place & the Virga Troops Capitulated, when all the sd John Frasers goods were taken & Plundered by the Enemy, (A particular account of which, taken the day before the sd Engagemt amounting to £2252.4 is hereto annexed) and were totally lost to him.
“That the sd John Fraser soon after Came to the City of Wmsburg to Petition for a Recompence For his said losses, the event of which, yr Petr is wholly unacquainted with ⟨mutilated⟩ that he declared on his return that he was offered a moietie of his loss, ⟨mutilated nothing⟩ was done.
“That the said John Fraser being of a dilatory disposition, never concerned himself Further in the sd Claim during his life; Nor should yr petr have undertaken this long and fatiguing Journey, or troubled this Honorable House on the Subject, but that she hath been lately called on by two Merchts in Philadelphia For about seven hundred & fifty pounds, now due for the Purchase of part of the sd goods, wch she cannot discharge, without the total ruin of her self & seven young children.
“Yr Petr, impelled by this Necessity, humbly submits the Claim aforesd to the Consideration of the House, and prays such recompence for the loss sustained by the sd John Fraser, in the Public service, as their Justice shall Suggest”
(Vi: Colonial Papers). The petition was sent to committee, but Governor Dunmore dissolved the House of Burgesses the next day, and nothing further was done at this time.
A condensed version of the petition is in JHB, 1773–76, 129, but no earlier petition by John Fraser has been found. For more on John Fraser and his wife, see Robert Dinwiddie to GW, 4 May 1754, n.4.
2. Dr. Smith was probably William Smith of Philadelphia. See Cash Accounts, June 1775, n.7. Mr. Allen is probably Pennsylvania Chief Justice William Allen, or one of his sons, James or Andrew, all prominent Philadelphians.
Source:
Note: The annotations to this document, and any other modern editorial content, are copyright © The Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia. All rights reserved.
.
.
2. John Fraser, whom GW first met at Turtle Creek on his mission to Fort Le Boeuf in 1753, was a gunsmith.
In 1758 he served as “Capt. of the Guides” in the Forbes expedition (Henry Bouquet to GW, 8 July 1758).
According to another letter on the same day, “Jenny McClane, the Girl that lived with Fraser, was taken just by the Fort; the man that was with her had his Horse shot through, but carried him off” (William Trent to James Burd, Pa. Arch., Col. Rec., 6:641).
Adam Stephen, in a letter dated 22 Dec. 1756 to Governor Denny of Pennsylvania, referred to the woman as “a woman who once belonged to John Fraser (his wife or mistress) and has now, after being prisoner with Shingas, &c., thirteen months, made her escape from Muskingum” (Hanna, Wilderness Trail, 2:159).
Jenny, or Jane, McLane was also known as Jenny, or Jane, Fraser.
.
.
.
.
Settler in America
On April 16, 1762, he resigned his commission, and, in 1764, he settled in Ligonier Valley, Pennsylvania, where he purchased land and erected mills. He was the largest landowner in Western Pennsylvania.
In 1770, St. Clair became a justice of the court, of quarter sessions and of common pleas, a member of the proprietary council, a justice, recorder, and clerk of the orphans' court, and prothonotary of Bedford and Westmoreland counties.
In 1774, the colony of Virginia took claim of the area around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and some residents of Western Pennsylvania took up arms to eject them. St. Clair issued an order for the arrest of the officer leading the Virginia troops. Lord Dunmore's War eventually settled the boundary dispute.
.
History
Formed from Lancaster, Northumberland, and later Bedford counties, Westmoreland County was founded on February 26, 1773, and was the first county in the Pennsylvania colony whose entire territorial boundary was located west of the Allegheny Mountains. Westmoreland County originally included the present-day counties of Fayette, Washington, Greene, and parts of Beaver, Allegheny, Indiana, and Armstrong counties. It is named after Westmorland, a historic county of England.
.
The Life Adventures of Lieutenant • John Connolly Pennsylvania State Universityhttps://journals.psu.edu › article › download by PB Caley · 1928 · Cited by 11 — (41) Knowledge of this nature was invaluable to a man who had future plans such as Connolly cherished. On his return to Fort Pitt he resumed the practice of. file:///C:/Users/jim-m/Downloads/admin,+WPH_11_1_Caley.pdf
To George Washington from Lund Washington, 3 December 1775
I suppose before this comes to hand you will hear that connelly is taken—he was passing through Fredrick Cty Maryland, in some measure disguise’d but was known by a Boy who met him on the road. he spoke of seeg mjr Connelly—a party immediately assembled pursued & took him with two others, one of them, is a Dr Smith liveg below Portobacco, Mr Harrison can tell you who he is—this man was to be surgeon to the Regiment, to be Rais’d by Connelly he being the Colo.7—it appears by Connellys Commission & instructions, that the man who wrote to you (which letter you sent me) told the Truth.8 Conelly was to meet Dunmore at Alexandria by the 20th of April—but I hope the Scheme in part is now Flustrate’d
JOHN CONNOLLY, American Antiquarian Society |https://www.americanantiquarian.org › proceedi... In 1771 the Colonial troops had been withdrawn from. Pittsburg, and Fort Pitt was abandoned, so that in 1774 when Connolly, sent by Lord Dunmore, ... 37 pages
The Connolly Plot Journal of the American Revolutionhttps://allthingsliberty.com › 2020/10 › the-connolly-... Oct 28, 2020 — One of the earliest and most jaw-droppingly ambitious plans to secure the city for the British came from the mind of Dr. John Connolly.
Col. John Connolly LancasterHistoryhttps://www.lancasterhistory.org › JournalArticles Jun 3, 2009 — He secured two large tracts from the Indians, and in the name of the colony of Virginia at- tempted to extend his jurisdiction over the western ... 32 pages
Sale Of Fort And The Dunmore Affair
In 1772, thirteen years after it was built, Fort Pitt was abandoned by the British. The structure was sold by Captain Edmondson of the 18th Royal Regiment to Alexander Ross and William Thompson for fifty pounds of New York currency. Many of the outlying structures of fort were dismantled and construction materials recycled in the erection of some of Pittsburgh's earliest buildings. Jurisdiction over the region passed from the English Crown to the Pennsylvania Colony.
Boundary disputes between Pennsylvania and Virginia soon heightened regional tensions, and Pennsylvania was granted permission from the Crown to garrison a local militia at the fort. By 1774, these disputes had reached a high point. Both Pennsylvania and Virginia claimed ownership of Pittsburgh, and the neighboring colonies were prepared to fight to preserve their claim.
John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore.
On January 6, 1774, John Murray, the 4th Earl of Dunmore, or Lord Dunmore, the Governor of Virginia, sent Dr. John Connolly to the fort to announce himself as "Captain and Commandant of Pittsburgh and its dependencies." Connolly began raising a militia. Pennsylvania challenged Virginia's claim to the fort and had Connolly arrested. Obtaining release from sympathetic judges, Connolly returned to again take command of the fort and organize his militia.
Then, on April 25, 1774, Dunmore ordered all taxes and public dues paid to officers appointed by him. Fort Pitt was renamed Fort Dunmore, and Pittsburgh technically became a part of the Virginia colony. The Virginia Court was moved from Augusta, Va. to the newly named fort. Pittsburgh residents reluctantly became Virginians.
In May of 1775, frontiersman from Pittsburgh, and the surrounding region, organized a convention in the city and unanimously approved of the Virginia Colony's recent secessionist actions against the Crown. These conventions marked the beginnings of the American Revolution.
Dr. Connolly and Lord Dunmore, who had been working with the Crown to align the local Indian tribes against the colonial insurrection, failed in their mission. Now, finding themselves and their small loyalist militia in hostile territory, Lord Dunmore and his garrison abandoned Fort Dunmore and returned to Virginia. Captain John Neville and 100 Pittsburgh militiamen took command of the fort, immediately restoring it original name, Fort Pitt.
Fort Pitt and the village of Pittsborough in 1776.
American Independence
Once again bearing its proud name, Fort Pitt became a United States fort when Brigadier General Edward Hand took command from Captain Neville on June 1, 1777. At this time, the Virginia court was removed. The boundary dispute between the colonies became secondary to the higher purpose of the the revolution. In time, the state lines were agreed upon by negotiation, and Pittsburgh reverted back to a being a part of the state of Pennsylvania.
During the revolution, Fort Pitt saw no action. It was used as an armory and a staging ground for several incursions against restless Indians, whose promises of peace were never long lived. On August 11, 1779, Captain Daniel Broadhead left Fort Pitt with 600 men to destroy the Seneca Indian villages along the upper Allegheny. Indian raids on settlers were a constant cause of distress, and the elimination of this menace became a priority for the struggling region.
After Independence was won from the English, in 1783, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania took possession of Fort Pitt from the United States of America. Repaired in 1791 by Major Isaac Craig, the fort remained in operation for another year. The U.S. Army decommissioned the site on August 3, 1797, and all salvagable items were auctioned.
Fort Pitt Commanding Officers
1772 Fort Pitt was Decommissioned and sold to Alexander Ross and William Thompson 1773 John Connolly, claimed ownership of Fort Pitt on behalf of the state of Virginia and renamed it Fort Dunmore September 11, 1775, the Virginia Colony ordered Captain John Neville and his 100 militiamen to take possession of Fort Dunmore and renamed it back to Fort Pitt. June 1, 1777, General Edward Hand took command of Fort Pitt and organized the Western Department of the Continental Army May, 1778 Hand Requested to be relieved of the command of Fort Pitt August, 1778, General Lathan McIntosh replaced General Hand as commander of the Western Department including Fort Pitt. October, 1778, General McIntosh built Fort McIntosh at the confluence of the Beaver River on the Ohio November - December, 1778, General McIntosh built Fort Laurens, in Ohio, on the Tuscarawas River on a site just south of the modern day town of Bolivar, Ohio, and named it for the President of the Continental Congress, Henry Laurens. (Started in November and completed in early December. March 5, 1779: Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Broadhead replaced McIntosh as Commander of the Western Department including Fort Pitt May, 1781, Colonel John Gibson Replaced Broadhead who was accused of misappropriating recruiting funds September, 1781, Brigadier General William Irvine Assumed command of the Western Department and Fort Pitt September, 1783, Irvine Left Fort Pitt Compiled By Earl Nicodemus Published on February 22, 2018 https://sites.google.com/a/westliberty.edu/nicodemus-history-files/home/fort-pitt-commanding-officers
Loyalty and Land in Lord Dunmore's War
Liberty Universityhttps://digitalcommons.liberty.edu › viewcontent
by C Bialko · 2022 — Andrew Lewis who helped drive Dunmore from Virginia during the American ... Connolly at Fort Pitt offered a significant interruption to this ...
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Fort Duquesne and ... Project Gutenberghttps://www.gutenberg.org › files Dr. James Connelly occupies Fort Pitt with Virginia militia, and changes name ... The power of the colonies was that of a rising flood, slowly invading and ... A Short History of Pittsburgh https://www.gutenberg.org › files John Connelly; and during the Revolution it was constantly used by our Colonial troops. X With the French out of the country, and with William Pitt out of ...
Augusta County, Virginia
Old St. Luke's Churchhttps://www.oldsaintlukes.org › 2014/03 › West...
After the thirteen colonies had declared themselves free and independent, ... called Fort Pitt but in 1773 the British government abandoned it, and Dr. John.
2 pages
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
