FRASER, JOHN JAMES (1829-1896)

FRASER, JOHN JAMES, native son; lawyer; premier and lieutenant governor of New Brunswick; b. Beaubear's Island, 1 Aug 1829, s/o John Fraser and Margaret Fraser; m. 1st, 1867, Martha Cumming, of Fredericton, and 2nd, 1884, Jane M. Paulette Fisher (a d/o Charles Fisher, distinguished New Brunswick politician and judge); d. Genoa, Italy, 24 Nov 1896.

John J. Fraser attended the Newcastle Grammar School when it was conducted by John H. Sivewright and began the study of law in 1845 in the offices of Street & Davidson. He was admitted as an attorney in 1850 and barrister in 1852. He moved to Fredericton in 1851 when Street was appointed attorney general. He stayed with him until 1854 and then established his own practice.

Fraser entered politics in 1865 by winning a York County seat in the House of Assembly on the anti-Confederation ticket. Defeated in the election of 1866, he reclaimed a seat in 1872 and served for six years as provincial secretary and receiver general under Premier George E. King. He was afterwards premier of New Brunswick (1878-82), an unsuccessful candidate for a seat in the House of Commons (1882), a judge of the Supreme Court of New Brunswick (1883-93) and lieutenant governor of the province (1893-96). In 1896 he was granted an honorary LLD degree by the University of New Brunswick.

Fraser was "a mild-mannered, gentle man liked by almost everyone who knew him." Troubled by poor health during his term as lieutenant-governor, he died while travelling in Europe in search of relief.