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Colin Fraser
Colin Fraser had a Métis son who was also named Colin Fraser. Colin (Jr.) followed his father's foot steps in the fur trade. He is pictured here at Fort Chipweyan, northern Alberta, ac. 1895.
Colin Fraser manned the second Jasper House for fifteen years from 1835 to 1850. Fraser, a most engaging Scotsman, commanded the post with his Métis wife and nine children. In 1831 Colin married 18-year-old Nancy Gandry, daughter of Joseph Gandry and Lesette Châtelain who was a descendant of one of the earlier French traders Louis Châtelain. Colin, his wife and two-year-old daughter Betsy started their long residence in the Athabasca Valley.When Colin went to Jasper, the aging J.B. Berland was still there and had already given his name to what everyone then called Baptiste's River, which is now called the Berland. “In Colin Fraser’s time, Eustace Decoigne, James Findlay, George Ward, Andre Chalifoux, and several Desjarlais lived in the (Jasper) valley. All of them had moved west, keeping pace with the extensions of the fur trade. The Desjarlias were close relatives to Antoine Desjarlais." (Quote from "Overland by the Yellowhead" by James MacGregor.)
"Mingling with the Métis was another group of half-breeds mainly of Iroquois stock, led by Dominick Karayinter. After Colin Fraser arrived, one of the first men he met was that outstanding old timer who by then had lived in the area over twenty years, for many a long year he had been the foremost man in the small Iroquois band. One of his associates was an equally stalwart Iroquois by the name of Louis Kwaragkwante who had left the Montreal area about 1805 and had been in the vicinity of Jasper House since 1811." (Quote from "Overland by the Yellowhead" by James MacGregor.)During his fifteen years in Jasper, Colin Fraser played host to two notable characters. Fathers Francois Blanchet and Modeste Demers went to Jasper in September 1838 and baptized Colin Fraser's daughters: Betsy, Elizabeth and Marguerite who was nine months old. In fact, the Mountain Métis community was growing by leaps and bounds, and these two missionaries baptized thirty-two children from the ages of eight months to eleven years.
Colin met his next interesting visitor artist Paul Kane in 1846. Kane wrote, "Jasper House consists of only three miserable log huts. The dwelling-house is composed of two rooms, of about fourteen or fifteen feet square each. One of them is used by all comers and goers: Indians, voyageurs, and traders, men, women, and children being huddled together indiscriminately; the other room being devoted to the exclusive occupation of Colin and his family, consisting of a Cree squaw and nine interesting half-breed children." Colin Fraser left Jasper in 1850 and was transferred to Fort Assiniboine where he remained until 1853. Colin and Nancy had twelve children by the time he assumed the post at Lac Ste. Anne.
Colin Fraser who for so long had helped so many travelers along their way died in the spring of 1867, leaving a large family. He was buried at the new Methodist mission (McDougall Church). Several of Colin's sons rose to prominence in the Hudson's Bay Company.
Colin Fraser grandson Adam Joachim who was a prominent Métis in the Alberta Rockies. Adam Joachim was the son of Madeleine (Fraser) and Alex Joachim. Many of their descendants live in the Grande Cache area, including the Delorme family and many of the Joachim family. Adam was a highly educated man who spoke four languages: English, French, Cree and Latin. He learned these at a seminary in Montreal where he studied to become a priest. Adam, however, returned to Jasper and re-located in the Grande Cache area with other families that were forced to leave the Athabasca valley. He lived his life as a businessman, trapping and guiding on Alberta's eastern slopes. His progeny continue in these business ventures to this day.