fraseri - The mystery Mr. Fraser (1 Viewer)

[Taphrospilus]

As per now HBW Alive gives Frasers dates as

Louis Fraser (1819-1883) English zoologist, ....

Here is written:

It is probable that Louis Fraser died in North America before 1888, but no record of his death has been found.

@ James: Do you have as well what you presented with Amberley Moore as The unknown traveller - the ornithological collection of Louis Fraser in a written fdocument?

As well some souces mention him as born in 1810? When was he exactly born and where?

 

[Taphrospilus]

Could it be that he was appointed as Vice Consul at Wyday here or is this another person?

Anway middle name of another Fraser seems to be:

William Thomson Fraser, Esq. ; Consul at Batavia

Annual Register, 1876, p. 242

 

[Björn Bergenholtz]

I think you can forget about the Batavian Consul, it´s most likely another Fraser.

Our Fraser is in my MS, as "the multi-tasking British zoologist, natural history dealer, zoo keeper, ornithologist, museologist, publisher, later Diplomat [i.e. H.M. Consul at Whidah] and always traveller, taxidermist and collector, Louis Fraser (1819–fl. 1883)".

The last trace that I have found of Mr. Fraser is on the label of an Anhinga Anhinga anhinga collected by Louis Fraser in Florida, dated: ”July 3 1883”. After that he simply vanished!

Regarding (the year of) his birth, I´ve simply trusted James.

Compare with Wiki, here, claiming he was born "1810" … which I think is simply trusting Beolens, Wakins & Grayson's The Eponym Dictionary of Mammals 2009. However, in their The Eponym Dictionary of Birds 2014 (here) they´ve changed his Life span to "1819-?1884".

Good luck finding out more, and please keep us up-dated!

Björn

PS. Have you read Amberley Moore's article “Your lordship's most obliged servant”: letters from Louis Fraser to the thirteenth Earl of Derby, 1840 to 1851", Archives of Natural History Vol. 41 (1), 2004? Maybe something is told there about where he was born?

 

[Taphrospilus]

I think you can forget about the Batavian Consul, it´s most likely another Fraser.

Why you think so? As per now in HBW alive:

William T. Fraser (fl. 1875) British naturalist, Consul in Batavia (= Jakarta), Java 1875 (syn. Pelargopsis capensis javana).

Anyway OD here and on page 63 W.T. Fraser is mentioned.

From the article you mentioned it is not even sure if he was born 1819 or 1820. there is written:

Louis Fraser probably lived from 1819 to 1884, born either in 1819 or early 1820. A record of the date and place of his birth has not been found, but there is enough information in his letters at Liverpool to trace the record of his marriage on 17 February 1844. His age at that time was 24. Fraser, son of Hugh Fraser (deceased), a mariner, was described as a bachelor of the Parish of St Marylebone, and by profession or rank as “Gent”.

Maybe if we know the name of his wife it might be possible to trace him down a little bit more? OK the name was Mary Ann Harrison.

 

[Björn Bergenholtz]

Why you think so?

I simply tried to say: "I think you can forget about the Batavian Consul, ..." as in him being equal of Louis Fraser.

I didn´t realize we were now dealing with all the "fraseri" birds. Sorry!

However if we´re now talking about the commemoration of "Pelargopsis fraseri", of course "William T. Fraser", the Bavarian Consul, is adequate.

Of him I don´t know a single thing.

What does James say?

 

[Björn Bergenholtz]

Now I think I know some more …

● about the invalid "Pelargopsis fraseri" SHARPE 1870 [syn. Pelargopsis capensis javana BODDAERT 1783]
= the English naturalist William Thomson Fraser (1841–1880), British Consul in Batavia (today's Djakarta, on Java, Indonesia), from (6th of April*) 1875.

National Trust feels pretty reliable … here and here (the latter with a non-showing photo, but the text is the same).

*According to this notice.

And according to this page, here (I assume it’s the same guy), born 14th October 1841, in Antwerp, Belgium … and he died May 31, 1880 in London, UK.

However; Enjoy!
---

 

[JustinJansen]

This is what I have in a file:
FRASER, Louis - English B. 1810 - D. 1866, London, Curator to the Zoological Society

He was employed first as office boy, then as clerk, Assistant Curator and finally Curator to the Museum of the Zoological Society of London, serving from 1832 until 1841 (an again 1842-46). He made several trips to foreign countries like to Western Afrika (1841-42 at the official Niger Expedition), North Afrika (1847), Benin, Nigeria (1851-53), and in Ecuador, Guatemala and California employed by Peter Lutley Sclater (1857-60). Upon his return to London, he opened a shop in Regent Street, London, and selling exotic birds. Correspondent with Charles Darwin.

 

[mb1848]

This article states 1819 England to 1884 USA.
http://www.researchgate.net/publica...)_of_Ecuadorchecklist_and_history_of_research .

 

[Björn Bergenholtz]

Not to forget

Louis Fraser is also commemorated in:

fraserii (double-i)

● as in "Ps. [Psaris] Fraserii" KAUP 1852 ["1851"] (here), with two (!) Plates, both male and female (here and here).

I give to this very distinct species the name of a very able zoologist, who is going a second time to Western Africa. From this journey we may anticipate the greatest benefit to our science, and we wish Mr. Fraser the best success. For all his kind assistance m the collection of Lord Derby I give him my best thanks.

"Distinct species" was surely a bit different compared with today!

Today it´s the subspecies Tityra inquisitor fraserii KAUP.

 

[Taphrospilus]

Another good source about his life is

Clemency Thorne Fisher, "Fraser, Louis (b. 1819/20–d. in or after 1883)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004

Neverless we don't know his exact birth nor death date.

Maybe of help:

His son, Oscar Louis, is known to have been employed as an assistant in the Indian Museum, Calcutta, in 1882 and for at least six years thereafter.

and

Fraser was in North America in the 1880s, but the only certain record is from Florida, not the Pacific coast. The bird collection in the University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge, includes birds collected by Fraser in the western hemisphere, three bird skins collected in Florida between March and July 1883 which still carry labels in Fraser’s handwriting and include a skin of the now extinct Carolina Paraqueet, Conuropsis carolinensis

and

He was believed by Goodwin (1888) to have left Britain to work at Woodward’s Gardens in San Francisco, later going to Vancouver Island where it was thought he died sometime before 1888.

in GOODWIN, G., 1888 Louis Fraser (fl . 1866), p. 655, vol. 7, in STEPHEN, L. and LEE , S. (editors) Dictionary of national biography. Oxford. Oxford University Press.

 

[Björn Bergenholtz]

National Trust feels pretty reliable … here and here (the latter with a non-showing photo, but the text is the same.

Now the link worked!

But, to be on the safe side, it might go down again, I saved it (below).

See attached photo of what could be one of the men behind one of our fraseri birds: William Thomson Fraser (1841–1880), commemorated in the invalid "Pelargopsis fraseri" SHARPE 1870.
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[Taphrospilus]

Here at least a brief biography of Louis Fraser. In general what I mentioned already in thread #10.

But there is some doubt that Fraser left for Vancouver's Island as written there. It might be John Arthur Fraser who left Montreal on 8 June 1886 for Vancouver's Island. Maybe these Frasers have been mixed up?

 

[Taphrospilus]

Nesospiza acunhae fraseri Ryan, PG, 2008

Anyway not in HBW Alive as per today Nesospiza acunhae fraseri Ryan, PG, 2008. According The Eponym Dictionary of Birds for Mike Fraser. I haven't seen the OD, therefore I can't comment if everything is correct.

Sorry I was wrong and he is of course as Michael W. Fraser in HBW alive. Some more on him here.

And his name seems to be Michael Weir Fraser b. March 1957 here or here

 

[Björn Bergenholtz]

● the subspecies Nesospiza acunhae fraseri RYAN 2008

Ryan, P. G. 2008. Taxonomic and conservation implications of ecological speciation in Nesospiza buntings at Tristan da Cunha. Bird Conservation International 18(1): 20-29 (here)

N. a. fraseri is named after M. W. Fraser, who first discovered the occurrence of a brightly coloured ‘‘upland’’ form of small-billed bunting on Inaccessible Island. Its distinctive plumage, described by Fraser and Briggs (1992), apparently results from the greater abundance of carotenoids in its diet (Ryan et al. 1994).

... fl.2014 and apparently still going strong.

 

[JustinJansen]

And the Fraser I mentioned in post 7 is the one for:-
P.L. Sclater described Grey-and-gold Warbler Basileuterus fraseri (1884), Cinereous Conebill Conirostrum cinereum fraseri (1859), Giant Conebill Oreomanes fraseri (1860)
- Jardine and Selby described; Fraser’s Sunbird Deleornis fraseri (1843)
- H. Strickland described; Rufous Flycatcher-Thrush Stizorhina fraseri (1844)
- Kaup described; Black-crowned Tityra Tityra inquisitor fraserii (1852)
?????

 

[Taphrospilus]

• Glaucis Fraseri Gould 1861 here a synonym for Band-tailed barbthroat (Threnetes ruckeri). Plate was part of delivery 24 from 1861 here.

• Tympanistria fraseri, Bonaparte 1855 here a synonym to Tambourine dove (Turtur tympanistria)

• Genus Fraseria Bonaparte 1854 here footnote introduced for African Forest-Flycatcher Fraseria ocreata (Strickland, 1844)

I am not sure about a syn. for Cyanomitra obscura as in HBW Alive mentioned.

 

[Björn Bergenholtz]

And the Fraser I mentioned in post 7 is the one for:-
P.L. Sclater described Grey-and-gold Warbler Basileuterus fraseri (1884), Cinereous Conebill Conirostrum cinereum fraseri (1859), Giant Conebill Oreomanes fraseri (1860)
- Jardine and Selby described; Fraser’s Sunbird Deleornis fraseri (1843)
- H. Strickland described; Rufous Flycatcher-Thrush Stizorhina fraseri (1844)
- Kaup described; Black-crowned Tityra Tityra inquisitor fraserii (1852)
?????

Justin, regarding your many final question marks ...

Sclater's 3 x fraseri is definately commemorating Louis Fraser (born 1819 or 1820 ... and fl. 1883, late by 1888). Those one's I´ve checked. What goes for the other ones (yet not mentioned in this thread) I simply do not know.

Regarding the years in your "file" (also mentioned in Post #7) I think we, by now, know it´s quite clear that he lived far beyond 1866, and of his birth year; from what I can tell, the only record of his age (i.e. birth, counting backwards) is that he was 24 when he married in 1844 (17 February), making him born either in 1819 or 1820.

Anyone seen any record of Louis's birth?
---

 

[Taphrospilus]

The Stickland one is to find here p. 101 as well as Fraseria ocreata p. 102 therefore the dedications for species and genus are both for L. Fraser (see as well #16).

Jardine and Selby was sent by Fraser from Fernando Po hence as well Louis Fraser. On Kaup already showed in #9 that dedication was for Louis Fraser.

There are a couple of other animals with a dedication for Fraser, but as we are in a birdforum of no relevance.


I found as well:

In some publications the spelling of Fraser’s first name is Anglicised (as Lewis) but he invariably signed himself Louis.

Maybe it is worth as well to check for birth and death dates of Lewis Fraser e.g. here? Or see snippit view attached from Google books.

 

[Björn Bergenholtz]

Jardine and Selby ...

Note: Anthreptes frazeri (on the the Plate). Yet another "Printers error"!?

... Maybe it is worth as well to check for birth and death dates of Lewis Fraser?

Sure could be! Or maybe even, of "Lewis Frazer" ... !?

 

[Taphrospilus]

Here we can find the full text of the Farsers in Canada. I am not sure if there is really a relationship to Canada. There is written...

Lewis Fraser was a zoologist of some note, and was appointed as curator of the Zoological Society of London. He travelled through South America, studying the character and habits of different animals and birds, and as the result of his travels published a work called "Zoologia Typica," or figures of rare and new animals. In 1888 his son was curator of the Zoological and General Sections of the Indian Museum of Calcutta.

I have the feeling the Lewis Fraser with a link to Canada is William Lewis Fraser (1841-1905) here. As he seems to be born in London maybe a relationship to Louis Fraser? Nevertheless I don't have a clue on this.