Blair Collection > Gaelic bards

249
Sgurr, and two daughters. He was noted for his
great strength. The Pennycross MS. speaks of
him as " a very worthy and pleasant gentleman."
BAINTIGHEARNA GHUISEACHAIN.
Margaret Macdonell was a daughter of ^lac-
donell of Ardnabie, in Glengarry. She was born
about 1 71 5. She was married to William Fraser
of Guisachan and Culbokie. She had nine sons,
Simon, John, Archibald, Donald, Rory, and four
whose names we do not know. She w^as a very
clever woman. Simon left Scotland in 1773, and
settled near Bennington, in the State of Vermont.
He was a captain in Burgoyne's army. He died
in 1778. His widow and children left the United
States and settled at St. Andrew's in the county
of Glengarry, Ontario. Simon, his youngest son,
was born in 1776. In 1805 Simon explored the
Fraser River, which is named after him. He
died in 1862. John and Archibald fought under
Wolfe at Quebec. John settled in Montreal, and
was known as Judge Fraser. Donald and another
of Mrs. Fraser's sons were officers in the Austrian
Army. Donald was killed on the battle-field in
Germany. He w^as the youngest but one of the nine
sons. Two of the sons died in the East Indies,
one of whom perished in the Black Hole of Cal-
cutta. One of Mrs. Fraser's sons was only a
week old when the infamous Hanoverian butcher,
the Duke of Cumberland, sent an officer with
some soldiers to set fire to her house. She refers
to her sad conditon in the following stanzas : —
'Bhliadhn' a rugadh thus' a Ruari
'S ann a thog iad bhuainn na ereachan.