James, Donald, John Fraser of Dores Invernessshire

[MonicaL]

Hi Both 

irenaf...nice photos of the period for the post office in Dores http://southlochnessheritage.co.uk/dores/#jp-carousel-651 (main link here http://southlochnessheritage.co.uk/dores/

Monica

[irenaf]

Thank you for the photos - I wonder if that is the postmistress outside the PO or just an incidental photo for the cottage and view? 

[irenaf]

I checked up Donald and obtained the relevant certs. His wife Johan died in 1926 and he was still alive then so unsure where he went after that.

You mentioned another website. The author of that site is in contact with me and we tend to share most of our new info. I see there is some data still to updated on it. It is unlikely that our James Fraser was not in Craig Dunain. There is another James Fraser, similar age, from same area who was termed a 'lunatic' on his death cert.

I note you also have the story re Donald and James. I checked with the various census and have the following problems with it. Father dies in 1881, Donald not living there at that point - Mother still living there and James running the blacksmith's business. If a property is rented then how can someone say the house is 'his' or someone elses. The mother would be the one who was 'Head' of the house. Knowing the family history - ie members who were born in 1878 and 1882 - and how they lived their lives, there would have been a considerable respect for the parent. I checked the census and found another 2 Fraser families (blacksmith's) in the area who had a Donald and James of similar ages. So there has to be some doubt about which family to which the story refers.

I really appreciate you taking time to uncover so much material which is so helpful in building up a background picture. Thank you.

[Br1gau]

Monica, those photos of Dores are great!  I also wondered if the ladies standing outside the PO were Frasers.

Irenaf, Regarding the lease on the smithy house – going from our own family Testaments, although I believe it to have been the general way of things in Scotland, after a father’s death the lease would pass to his eldest son with ‘liferent’ use of the dwelling going to the mother and sometimes also to unmarried sisters, so the son (the only one with an income) would have been responsible for the rent and his mother’s keep so long as she lived. It’s curious that there were two sets of brothers, James & Donald, all smiths, in Dores, isn’t it? And tantalising to know which set the story relates to, clearly there was a power struggle going on!  It can be said though, that if they were your James & Donald, one would expect such a brotherly scrap to occur after the mother’s death (1892, I think?)

[irenaf]

As you know in the late 1800s engineering was growing and Inverness had some important works.
Northern Agricultural Implement Foundry Co. 1872-1895
Rose Street Foundry & Engineering Co. 1895-1945
As a blacksmith then described as a Springsmith in 1891 (see link http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Spring-Smith), Donald wouldn't have needed all the agro from fighting with his brother..and one would reason that as you say he would wait until his mother died (1892) . He would have had to transfer his blacksmith skills into something very skilled. His brother, Thomas, was not only a master blacksmith but invented various pieces of agricultural machinery, therefore it does not seem strange that Donald would seek a challenge. In the family most of the men in 2 generations were engineers of some sort.
Re the PO in Dores. If you look at the old photo of the PO and then at the Inn you will see that there is a space between them. That is were the James Fraser's smithy was. It was demolished though I am unsure when. Possibly after James died. Anyway thank you again for your input. All the info helps me to create a timeline and place family members and their events within it.

[MonicaL]

I am not adding anything of importance to what you and Br1gau have been discussing, sorry 

So, apart from the photo site (you might want to email them to see if they have any further info on the photo of the post office), thought you might like to see this recent story in the Guardian www.theguardian.com/technology/2001/jul/26/internetnews.onlinesupplement1 which names the Dores Post Office, as "the country's smallest post office" as at 2001.

In case you can see more recent family connections, www.family-announcements.co.uk/localworld/view/3140086/lily-fraser although the surname Fraser may not be uncommon in that immediate area....

Monica 

[MonicaL]

1902 PO Directory here with some possible family entries:

Fraser, James, blacksmith, Dores, by Inverness ... 5
Fraser, Rev. John, U.F.C., Dores... 16 (another Rev John in Petty)

http://digital.nls.uk/directories/browse/pageturner.cfm?id=86044749&mode=transcription

Nothing really jumping out for Donald here on pg 77, same year 1902, in the Invernessshire County Directory http://digital.nls.uk/directories/browse/pageturner.cfm?id=86044725&mode=transcription

[Br1gau]

Just a final thought Irenaf.  You were pondering yesterday about Rev John Fraser, (Licentiate of the Church of Scotland in 1901 census) having the middle name of Edward later in life.  Perhaps he chose it to distinguish himself from the other Rev John Fraser, also Dores who was with the United Free Church.

Monica! Did I see you upthread poking your tongue out? 

[MonicaL]

You certainly did  Apologising to both of you for having done so little!

The only thing I have just found is that by the 1905 Valuation Rolls, they show:

1905   Owner - Edward Grant FRASER-TYTLER - HOUSE AND SMITHY DORES - DORES INVERNESS COUNTY Ref: VR103 / 35 / 467

I haven't viewed the image, just the search index result page.

Monica