history continued ...
In 1633, King Charles I created Andrew as the First Lord
Fraser. The Second Lord Fraser was active in the Civil War
and in 1640 entertained Protestant leaders, including the
Duke of Montrose, at Castle Fraser. During this period of
civil strife, the forces of Montrose, who had changed allegiances,
twice thretened Castle Fraser. Andrew, Third Lord, succeeded
his father in 1664 and of necessity sold Stoneywood. Andrew's
second wife, Lady Jane McKenzie, was instrumental in preventing
the sale of Castle Fraser.
Charles, Fourth Lord Fraser, inherited an impoverished
estate. In 1683 he married his cousin's widow, Marjorie
Erskine of Inverallochy. Following the collapse of the Jacobite
cause, Charles was jailed but was released to care for his
dying child. In 1715, Charles again came out for the Jacobites
but died in a mysterious fall from a cliff in 1716.
The children from Marjorie Erskine's first marriage assumed
the lairdship of Castle Fraser and Inverallochy. Simon Fraser,
a Lovat Fraser descendant, had two sisters who inherited
the castle. Eliza, who never married, became Laird of Castle
Fraser while Martha inherited Inverallochy, married a McKenzie,
and her grandson Charles became laird of both estates. Today,
Castle Fraser cares for over 2,000 manuscripts of music.
