FRASER, Alexander of Touch-fraser & Cowie, Chamberlain of Scotland, Sir ^{1 2 3}

   User ID: Y375.

  General Notes:

"It is evident that Alexander Fraser, who was Sir Andrew Fraser's son, had claims upon the property of the le Chen family in 1312 that were so far legal and just as to be recognised by King Robert, and made the subject of agreement by his order ; and the necessity of the royal letters to protect the hereditary rights of Lady Mary, upon that agreement being made, implies that those claims were also of an hereditary nature."

from Frasers of Philorth




"The senior line is descended from SIR ALEXANDER FRASER, first of Cowie (k. 1332), who took part in the victory at Bannockburn in 1314, and married Robert the Bruce's widowed sister, Lady Mary. Sir Alexander was Chamberlain of Scotland 1319-26, and his seal appears on the letter dated 6th April 1320 to Pope John XXII, seeking recognition of the country's political independence under the kingship of Robert Bruce, which became known as the Declaration of Arbroath. He received lands in Aberdeen, Kincardine and Forfar to compensate for the lands confiscated by Edward I in 1306. Sir Alexander was killed at the Battle of Dupplin in 1332."

from Electric Scotland




"Sir Alexander Fraser, of Touch Fraser, Thane of Cowie, Chamberlain of Scotland 1319-26. Joined Bruce and shared his perils, fought at Bannockburn, sat in Parliament as a Baron in 1328, sealed the Declaration of Scottish Independence at Arbroath 1320. Married King Robert the Bruce's sister Mary and was killed at the battle of Dupplin 1332."

from Clan Fraser in Scottish History at http://www.clanfraser.org/Chief/tree2.pdf




"In 1296, the barons 'de Strachan' were important local nobles. Then, they backed the Earls of Buchan and Comyn, to whom they were probably related, in support of King John Balliol against Robert the Bruce. This culminated in the Battle of Inverurie in 1308 when they were defeated by the Bruce and disinherited. The barony 'de Strachan' passed to Bruce's Great Chamberlain, Sir Alexander Fraser."

from Wikipedia




Another source, British Baronetage, has a different explanation:
"the territory of Strachan, it is said, came by marriage to Sir Alexander Frazer, High Chamberlain to King Robert I.
In a sense they are both true. Alexander Frazer was rewarded for his great service to the Bruces, and part of that reward was his marriage to the king's sister and a charter of the same time handing over to him and his heirs the lands of Strachan:"omnibus et singulis terris de Strachethyne de Essely et Achenerooks."


Memorials of the Families of Strachan and Wise also point to 'marriage':
"At this period (ie after 1278) the territory of Strachan was conveyed by marriage to Sir Alexander Frazer, Thane of Cowie, chamberlain to King Robert the Bruce. In 1316 Sir Alexander received a royal charter 'de omnibus et singulis terris de Strachethyne de Essuly et Achenerooks, faciendo nobis et heredibus nostris dictus Alexander et heredes sui, forinsecum servitium, quantum pertinet ad predictam baroniam.' In the lands of Strachan, Sir Alexander Frazer was succeeded by his son John, who was knighted. Margaret, only daughter of Sir John, married Sir William Keith, Marischal of Scotland.
In 1376, Robert II. confirmed to Robert de Keth the barony and forests of Strathachyn, on the resignation of his parents, William de Keth, Marischal, and Margaret Frazer."

from Memorials of the Families of Strachan and Wise (1877) ^{1 4 5 6 7 8}

Alexander married Mary DE BRUS, daughter of Sir Robert DE BRUS 6th Lord of Annandale, Earl of Carrick jure uxoris and Marjorie 3rd Countess of Carrick, about 1316.^{1 2} (Mary DE BRUS was born about 1273 and died before 22 September 1323 ².)

  Marriage Notes:

"This chain of evidence is composed of .....
......5th. The mention of Mary, the King's sister, as wife of Sir Alexander Fraser, in the charter of a tenement in Auchincarnie, 1324 ; and that of Sir Alexander Fraser's son, John, the father of Margaret Fraser, as the King's nephew, in the charter of the forest of Cowie, 1327."

from Frasers of Philorth

"Mary married, first, Sir Neil Campbell of Lochow, ancestor of the house of Argyll ; and second, about 1316, Sir Alexander Fraser, Great Chamberlain of Scotland,
ancestor of the family of Philorth."

from Scots Peerage ^{1 2}