Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat

Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat, lived from about 1667 to 9 April 1747. Known as "the Fox" and "the most devious man in Scotland", he became Chief of Clan Fraser and was a sometime Jacobite sympathiser.

Simon Fraser was the second son of Thomas Fraser, and the grandson of the 7th Lord Lovat. The main Clan Fraser seat was at Lovat Castle, on the banks of the River Beauly about a mile east of Beauly. Simon Fraser was born and raised at nearby Castle Dounie, a short distance south of Beauly, which remained his family home throughout his life. Castle Dounie was destroyed by the Duke of Cumberland following the Battle of Culloden and rebuilt in 1880 as a mansion known as Beaufort Castle.

Even as a very young man Simon Fraser's interests seem to have revolved around building a power base within Clan Fraser that would serve his personal ambitions. In 1699 he secured for himself the title of 11th Lord Lovat and the position of the Chief of Clan Fraser by the brutal expedient of a forced marriage with Amelia, Lady Lovat. She was the recent widow of the late 10th Lord Lovat, who had been a distant relative of Fraser's. This successfully gained him the title and estates, but so enraged Lady Amelia's family, including the powerful Duke of Atholl, that Fraser was forced to flee the country. He subsequently lost both the title and the Fraser family estates when his marriage to Amelia was annulled.

In France, Simon Lovat converted to Catholicism and attached himself to the Jacobite court-in-exile. In 1703 he returned to Scotland to sound out clan chiefs about a possible Jacobite uprising. It became obvious that there was little support to be found, so Fraser revealed the plot to the Government of Queen Anne in an effort to gain credit for himself, and falsely implicate the Duke of Atholl. Foolishly returning to France, Fraser was imprisoned there until able to escape in 1714.

During the 1715 Jacobite uprising, Lovat remained on the sidelines, writing to both sides to see which might offer him most advantage. In the event he obtained a pardon for his past crimes from the Government, and later benefitted by acquiring estates which had been forfeited to the Crown by Jacobites involved in the uprising. Meanwhile he continued to pursue a series of legal cases intended to regain the Lovat title and the estates that went with it. He finally succeeded in 1733, becoming 11th Lord Lovat once more.

During the 1745 Jacobite Uprising, Simon Fraser again tried to back both horses. He professed his support to the Jacobites but claimed his age prevented his personal participation (in fairness, he was by now in his late 70s). Instead he sent his son and a force of his Frasers to help the Jacobite cause. He then wrote to the Government claiming that he supported them and that his son's actions were against his wishes. The Government, this time at least, were not deceived, and after the final Jacobite defeat at the Battle of Culloden, the aged Fraser was forced to flee for his life. He was eventually captured hiding in a hollow tree on an island in Loch Morar, near Mallaig. He was taken to London, where he was put on trial. He became the last person to be executed by beheading in Britain on 9 April 1747, apparently being afforded some small final amusement when a stand erected for spectators collapsed, killing some 20 people. So ended the life of one of the least appealing characters to emerge from Scottish history.

"Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat (c. 1667 – 9 April 1747, London), was a Scottish Jacobite and Chief of Clan Fraser, who was famous for his violent feuding and his changes of allegiance. In 1715, he had been a supporter of the House of Hanover, but in 1745 he changed sides and supported the Stuart claim on the crown of the United Kingdom. Lovat was among the Highlanders defeated at the Battle of Culloden and convicted of treason against the Crown. He was the last man in Britain to be publicly beheaded, on Tower Hill, London."

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Links:

http://www.baronage.co.uk/bphtm-03/fraser03.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Fraser,_11th_Lord_Lovat

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6852

http://histfam.familysearch.org/getperson.php?personID=I72425&tree=...

http://www.thepeerage.com/p1947.htm

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Citations / Sources:

[S6] G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume VIII, page 194. Hereinafter cited as The Complete Peerage.

[S8] Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, 2 volumes (Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 1999), volume 1, page 105. Hereinafter cited as Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition.

[S37] Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 2, page 2413. Hereinafter cited as Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition.

[S271] #4776 History of Cadets of Argyll (included in: History of the House and Clan of Campbell; filmed 1961), Campbell, Duncan (main author of series), (History of the House and Clan of Campbell [Series]. Microfilm of ms. concerning the Campbell surname. Salt Lake City: filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1961), FHL microfilms 277,904-277,906., vol. 3 p. 913.

[S465] #226 The Peerage of Scotland: Containing an Historical and Genealogical Account of the Nobility of That Kingdom, from Their Origin to the Present Generation (2nd edition, 1813), Douglas, Sir Robert, (2nd edition. 2 volumes. Edinburgh: A. Constable, 1813), FHL book Q 941 D22d; FHL microfilm 1,440,956 items., vol. 1 p. 116.

With Lovat's forced marriage with Amelia Murray in 1697 conveniently being forgotten, he married Margaret Grant in 1717. This marriage, ‘the most successful of Lovat’s matrimonial experiences’. produced three girls (Georgina, Janet, Sibyl) and two boys (Simon and Alexander). Simon, born 1726, became Master of Lovat. Margaret died in 1729 and he married the 23 year old Primrose Campbell four years later. This produced one child, Archibald, but the marriage was not a happy one and they separated in 1738.

Culloden

On 23 July, 1745, Charles Edward Stuart landed at Eriskay, much to the dismay of the Scots who had previously urged him not to do so unless he also brought French troops, weapons and money. Many of those contacted advised him to return to France, including MacDonald of Sleat and Norman MacLeod. Lovat sent messages of support to both sides and maintained contact with Duncan Forbes, who hoped to ensure his neutrality; until then, there were men drilling on his green ‘but only he knew why, and the law’s arm was restrained till he should be forced to declare his choice’.

Lovat's options were complicated by the fact the senior Jacobite leaders included his long-term enemies Lord George Murray and Tullibardine. After victory at Prestonpans in September, he solved this by ordering his son Simon, Master of Lovat to join the Jacobites. While Simon was a political Whig who allegedly considered the Rising nonsensical, a contemporary noted his father was a 'very strict man' with great power over his children. Acting on instructions from Lovat, on 16 October the Frasers attempted to kidnap Duncan Forbes from his home and attacked Fort Augustus in early December. Finally losing patience, Loudon arrested Lovat at Castle Dounie and took him to Inverness; on 2 January, he escaped without difficulty and was transported by Fraser clansmen to Gorthleck House, overlooking Loch Ness.

Only some of the Fraser regiment was present at Culloden in April 1746; like many others, the main part under the Master of Lovat returned only at daybreak, exhausted from an ill-fated night march and missed the battle. One of the few elements of the Jacobite centre to retire in good order, the Frasers withdrew towards Inverness, where it met the rest of their unit.

Charles was escorted from the battle field to Gorthleck House, where he met Lovat, who advised him to regroup in the hills. The next morning they went their separate ways; Lovat was rowed across Loch Ness but his escape was hampered by a combination of gout and arthritis which meant he had to be carried on a litter. During the post-Culloden search for Jacobites, John Ferguson, commander of the Royal Navy vessel Furnace, received information Lovat was hiding on the island of Loch Morar, where he was arrested on 7 June.

Brought to London for trial, one of his stops was at St Albans, where he was sketched by William Hogarth; this shows him listing points on his fingers, although what these were is uncertain.

Trial and execution
Lodged in the Tower of London, Simon awaited his trial for high treason which began in March 1747. The trial at Westminster Hall took seven days, with the first five consisting of evidence against the accused. On the sixth day he spoke in his defence, but the result was a foregone conclusion, and the guilty verdict passed at the end of the day. On the final day, his punishment of a traitor's death by hanging, drawing and quartering was announced, which was later commuted by the King to beheading.

He remained sanguine in the days leading up to the execution, even exhibiting a sense of humour. The day of his execution, 9 April 1747, saw many spectators arrive at Tower Hill, and an overcrowded timber stand collapsed, leaving 9 spectators dead, to Lovat's wry amusement. Among his last words was a line of Horace: Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori. (It is sweet and seemly to die for one's country). He died, in his own eyes, as a Scottish patriot.

• Note: The tradition of political liberalism is a long one in the Fraser family. Malcolm Fraser’s fifth great-grandfather, Simon Fraser (c. 1667-1747), Eleventh Lord of Lovat is referred to in English histories as “The Jacobite Fox.” He was imprisoned for his political views at the age of thirteen, and at sixteen joined the insurrection in favor of King James. He was impeached for high treason for his activities in furthering the lost cause of the Stuarts. At the age of seventy-eight, he was beheaded in the Tower of London, and it is recorded that he was the last man to be the victim of this cruel form of capital punishment.
• Reference: https://www.ormondartmuseum.org/art-garden/malcolm-fraser-collectio...

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• Reference: FamilySearch Genealogy - SmartCopy: Jan 27 2024, 9:08:05 UTC