Clay Co., KS AHGP-Portrait and Biographical Album of Washington, Clay and Riley Counties-Duncan C. Fraser
Portrait and Biographical Album of Washington, Clay and Riley Counties Chapman Brothers, Chicago, 1890
DUNCAN C. FRASER. Attracted to the
West by the flattering prospects which
fortune seemed to graciously extend to
him within her boundaries, the gentleman
with whose name we introduce this biographical
review first sought the fair fields and genial climate
of Kansas in the year 1870. He homesteaded 160
acres on sections 4 and 5, Sherman Township and
thereon made improvements and lived until 1879.
He still owns this pioneer home, as well as three
other farms, one of which is in Washington County,
his landed property aggregating 640 acres, nearly
all under the plow. These farms are all supplied
with good buildings, and besides this land he owns
ten acres and two improved lots in the city of
Clifton, where he resides, and also five lots in Vining,
where he is actively engaged in the prosecution
of his business.
It is generally conceded that Mr. Fraser is very
successful in his business as a lumberman, in which
he has been employed ever since 1879, when he
became manager of the Chicago Lumber Company,
which established a lumber yard in Vining. Later
it was known as the Iowa Lumber Company, and
in June 1879 was purchased by our subject, who
has since had it under his control. He is one of
the most energetic men in the city of Vining, being
an active supporter of all worthy enterprises. By
the most arduous endeavor and strenuous exertion
he has worked his way up from poverty to affluence,
although for many years he could scarcely
make both ends meet. Now he has not only
gained independence, but can reasonably hope that
his old age is provided for against the necessity of
toil.
A native of rugged and wave-washed Nova
Scotia, our subject was born in Pictou County,
July 16, 1842. His father, Alexander Fraser, was
born in Invernesshire, Scotland, of Scotch parents,
who, however, died when the father of our subject
was a small child. At the age of eight years, in
1802, he came to America with an uncle and located
in Nova Scotia, where he grew to years of maturity.
In Pictou County he engaged as a farmer, living a
comparatively uneventful life and dying when
seventy two years of age. Religiously he was a
member of the Presbyterian Church, the religion of
his parents. His wife, the mother of our subject,
was in years of girlhood Miss Margaret McDonald,
a native of Nova Scotia, and the daughter of Evan
and Jane (Grant) McDonald, the former of whom
passed to his final rest when he lacked only four
years of rounding out a century, while the latter
died when eighty-four. They were likewise Presbyterians.
Mrs. Margaret Fraser lived to be sixty eight
years of age, dying in Pictou County, where
her entire life had been quietly passed.
A family of twelve children was born to Alexander
Fraser and his wife, four of whom were sons
and eight daughters. Of these, ten lived to manhood
and womanhood, while eight are now living,
all being married. Our subject received a good
education in the schools of Nova Scotia, and was
carefully trained under the home roof, so that he
early learned lessons of thrift and prosperity.
Feeling that the "States" held out to him brighter
prospects than those offered by his native peninsula,
he set out for the United States in 1870, coming
first to Boston, thence to Providence, and New
York City, and afterward removing to Kansas.
For more than four years after coming here he
occupied his homestead alone, �baching" it with
true pioneer fortitude. Finally becoming weary
of this solitary life, he chose as a helpmate and
companion Miss Ida Z. Haynes, with whom he was
united in marriage in Clay County, March 11, 1875.
Mrs. Fraser was born in Illinois, Dec. 22, 1854, to
Oliver and Mary (Barker) Haynes, who came to
Kansas in 1865 and took up a homestead in Sherman
Township, Clay County, which has since been
their home. Mrs. Fraser was reared under her
father's roof, and educated in Manhattan, Kan.
After completing her studies she was employed as
a teacher for several years before her marriage.
Unto her and her husband have been born three
children, namely: Katie G., Albert A., and
Claude L.
Following the belief of their ancestors, Mr. and
Mrs. Fraser are active members of the Presbyterian
Church, in which he is an Elder. Politically he is a
strong Republican, and aids his party in every
honorable way possible. He has been Trustee of
Sherman Township, and is in other respects identified
with the political interests of his township and
county. He is a member of Clifton Lodge, I. O.
O. F., No. 181, and has occupied all the offices in
this order. He is a charter member of the A. O.
U. W., No. 40, of Clifton, and was first Master
Workman. Their pleasant home is the frequent
resort of neighbors and friends, who there pass
many hours happily with Mr. and Mrs. Fraser.
The latter is a refined and amiable lady, a devoted
wife, and intelligent companion to her husband,
whose interests, with those of their children, are
ever foremost in her mind.