William (Fraser) Fraser of Cowie (abt. 1318 - 1346)

Born about 1318 in Scotland

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 17 Oct 1346 at about age 28 in Durham, England

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Biography

William (Fraser) Fraser of Cowie is a member of Clan Fraser.

Family and Military Career

William was the second son of Alexander Fraser, Chamberlain of Scotland, and his wife Mary de Brus, younger sister of Robert I, King of Scots.^[1][2] Although his exact birthdate is unknown, The Scots Peerage gives it as no earlier than 1318 (his parents married c.1316).^[1]

In 1341 William Fraser participated (while serving under William Douglas) in the surprise capture of Edinburgh Castle.^[3]

Marriage and Children

He married Margaret de Moray, daughter of Andrew Moray of Bothwell.^[1] The date of their marriage is unknown but was sometime before 1341 when she is named as his wife in a charter of the thanages of Durris, Cowie, and of Eskyltuh, Essintuly in Kincardineshire.^[4] There were at least two children from this marriage:

• Alexander Fraser of Durris and Cowie, 1st of Philorth; married (1) before 4 June 1375 Joanna de Ross;^[5][6] married (2) before 1400 Elizabeth Hamilton of Cadzow;^[1][6] died c.1411^[1]
• John Fraser;^[7] married Marjorie of Monymusk^[1]

Death

In 1346 William Fraser was slain at the battle of Durham, where King David II was taken prisoner and many of the most powerful of the Scottish nobility (including the earl of Moray; David de Hay, constable of Scotland; Robert de Keith, marischal of Scotland; and David de Lindesay) lost their lives.^[8]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5} Paul, Sir James Balfour. The Scots Peerage. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1904), vol 7, pp. 429-431
2. ↑ McGladdery, C.A. Fraser Family. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online edition (23 Sep 2004). Available here by subscription.
3. ↑ Burnett, George (ed.). Rotuli Scaccarii Regum Sotorum (The Exchequer Rolls of Scotland). Edinburgh: H.M. General Register House (1878), vol. 1, pp. clvi-clvii.
4. ↑ Robertson, William. Robertson's Index. Edinburgh: Murray & Cochrane (1798), p. 60, no. 14
5. ↑ Robertson, Joseph. Illustrations of the Topography and Antiquities of the shires of Aberdeen and Banff. Aberdeen: the Spalding Club (1847), p. 87.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Saltoun, Alexander Fraser. The Frasers of Philorth. Edinburgh: by the author (1879), vol. 1, p. 104
7. ↑ Saltoun, Alexander Fraser. The Frasers of Philorth. Edinburgh: by the author (1879), vol. 1, p. 103
8. ↑ Scotichronicon, lib. xiv.cap.iii, cited in Saltoun, Alexander Fraser. The Frasers of Philorth. Edinburgh: by the author (1879), vol. 1, p. 102

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