John Bell Fraser – Rural Diary Archive

Coverage Dates: 1874 to 1890

County: Leeds & Grenville

Township: Elizabethtown, then Edwardsburgh

Lot: Near Brockville, then in Spencerville

Concession: 2?

Gender: Male

Year of Birth: 1855

Year of Death: 1938

Ethnicity: Scottish

Religion: Methodist

Occupation: Farmer, then Physician

Relationships:

Father: Thomas Grant Fraser
Mother: Hannah Bell
Sisters: Jane, Margaret Ann Hurd
Brother: Alva Vickers
Wife: Frances “Frank or Frankie” Sarah McLean
Daughters: Florence “Hattie”, Olive Alberta, Gertrude Maud, Bata Frances
Father-in-law: Henry McLean

Archive: Private: Courtesy of Catharine Wilson

Posted on Rural Diary Archive: Yes

Age During Diary: 19-34

Coverage: 15 years

Biography:

John keeps a detailed diary identifying the crops he plants in specific fields and the quantity of garden produce, varieties of potatoes, meat, hay, and grain that he transports and sells in Brockville and other surrounding villages. He’s a bachelor at the beginning of the diary and marries Frances in March 1884. The next fall, he begins studying medicine in Kingston, and in 1888 they move to Spencerville where he practices with Dr S.C. McLean in the village and surrounding townships. The diary ends just before he moves the family to Toronto.

A photograph of John Bell Fraser’s open diary, showing faded handwritten text, alongside bottles and a wooden container in the background.

A photograph of the closed diary of John Bell Fraser, with two vintage glass bottles placed beside it. The cover is worn with visible damage from age.

Above Images: John Bell Fraser’s Diary

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