Post by Norma Lee Rogers on Jul 2, 2010 23:48:39 GMT -5
Brent David Fraser was born into two prominent Scottish-American family trees, Highland “Fraser” and “Noble” on his father’s side, with Lowland “Hodge” and “Tate”, with Dutch “Nieukirk/Newkirk” on his mother’s side. His first forays in entertainment and media were as a child Singer and Violinist, performing Classical music and Fiddle music. He also started in boyhood as a Painter and Poet. He first lived in the Pacific Northwest’s Kitsap County towns of Manchester and Port Orchard, near Bremerton, then on to Bellingham, just over the border from Vancouver, affectionately termed, “The Fraser Country” region of British Columbia, Canada.
In his extended family tree, on his Fraser side, his bloodlines bear the figures such as Knights, Sir Simon Fraser, who came to Scotland with “William the Conqueror”, and Sir Simon “The Patriot”, who fought for Scottish independence along side “William Wallace” and suffered the same execution one week later, and “Alexander Fraser”, “Chamberlain of Scotland” under “Robert The Bruce”, who also fought with Wallace. Brent’s Great-Great Grandfather Alexander William Fraser and Sons Robert and Charles were Masons and Railway, Road and Bridge Contractors, who helped build the “Forth Rail Bridge” in Edinburgh, Scotland, the “Brooklyn Bridge” in New York City, the immense “Great Northern Railroad” from America’s east to its west coast, and helped dig the “Panama Canal”. They came to be among the first Washington Timber families, and early settlers of the city of Seattle, developing new directions in business in Paper, Shipping, US Customs and the Maritime Industry. His grandfather, Robert Noble Fraser was a 30 year lead-Man Ship-Wright for the Port of Bremerton.
On his Mother’s side, between the Ancestral names, “Hodge”, in New Jersey/Pennsylvania,
“Newkirk” ("Nieukirck"), in New York State (Historic Newkirk House and Newkirk’s Mills), and “Tate” in Virginia, and their extended bloodlines, you would find “Mayflower Descendants”, founders of the “Dutch Reformed Lutheran Church” in the early American Colonies (“Newkirk” means “New Church”), signers of the “Declaration of Independence”, “Daughters and Sons of the Revolution” fellow entrepreneurs and neighbors of the Getty family, and America’s longest serving Soldier in its history, “Grand Old Man of the Army” “General Winfield Scott”, aka “Old Fuss and Feathers” (June 13, 1786 – May 29, 1866), who served on active duty as a general longer than any other man in American History. Historians rate him the “ablest American commander of his time”. Over the course of his fifty-year career, Scott commanded forces in the “War of 1812″, the “Mexican-American War”, the “Black Hawk War”, the “Second Seminole War”, and, briefly, the “American Civil War”, conceiving the Union strategy known as the “Anaconda Plan”, that would be used to defeat the Confederacy, the historical event from which we get the exclamation, “Great Scott!”.
He served as “Commanding General of the United States Army” for twenty years, longer than any other holder of the office. A “National Hero” after the “Mexican-American War”, he served as “Military Governor of Mexico City”. Such was his stature that, in 1852, the “United States Whig Party” passed over its own incumbent President of the United States, Millard Fillmore, to nominate Scott in the United States presidential election. Scott lost to Democrat Franklin Pierce in the general election, but remained a popular national figure, receiving a brevet promotion in 1856, to the rank of lieutenant general, becoming the first American since George Washington to hold that rank.
Starting around 1970, his mother, sister Carmen and he, lived mostly in the coastal town of Bellingham, in it's south end community, Fairhaven. His mother initially pursued her Bachelor’s Degree at “WWU” and later worked as a Teacher. They also spent time in Edmonds, Ferndale and Louisville, KY, but Fraser prefers the Northwestern Washington region of the US above all others, because it is much like Scotland. Repeating the words of his Uncle, Daniel Hodge, he has “a saltwater heart”. He loves the sea and rain, green forests, rivers, mountains, so he has always loved living in the Pacific Northwest. His family roots in Washington State go back to the 1800s, so to live here sometimes feels, to him, more like a genetic leaning than anything else.
His two Great Grandfathers, Robert Gordon Fraser and Mark Noble, were heads of the first Washington settler families to acquire timber culture certificates, with which they cultivated fir trees, popularizing the world’s two most known Christmas trees today; the “Fraser Fir”, and the “Noble Fir”. Robert Gordon Fraser (also his Brent’s Father’s name) established the “Seattle Paper Company” and the “Seattle Bagpipe Band”. He had been President of the “Seattle Caledonian Society”, and “St. Andrews Society” on and off throughout his life, and was an active member in the “Order of Scottish Clans”. He was President of the “Seattle Men’s Credit Association” and President of the “Seattle Chamber of Commerce”. He was President of the “Seattle Sales Manager’s Association”. He was also quite philanthropic, devoted to serving the Seattle community of which he was such a large part. He had worked diligently over years, at providing football uniforms and equipment to form a Seattle Schools’ “Light” Junior Varsity teams, for boys not heavy enough to play on the regular Varsity teams, by going from business to business and house to house, collecting the necessary funds from associates and friends. The result was that when his funeral occurred there was a tremendous mass of Seattle residents paying homage and gratitude. The Funeral Cortege that went from the mortuary to the cemetery was over a mile and a half long. Among great historical figures, his family tree also includes a variety of “colorful” shirt-tale cousins like outlaw Clyde Barrow, of “Bonnie and Clyde” fame, and Canadian Explorer, Simon Fraser.
As a preteen, he was intellectually active and felt deep societal concerns. Through attending the speaking engagement of Humorist/Activist Dick Gregory, at “WWU”, his mom took him back stage to meet the speaker. It seems Gregory was so impressed by his sincerity, intelligence and conversant nature that he gave him his home phone number, for further discussions. When he called, Mrs. Gregory would answer the phone, and could be heard saying, “Dick, it’s Brent, that boy from Bellingham, again”.
His mother guided their home with appreciation for music, literature, poetry and art. As a young student of watercolor and poetry, he presumed he would grow to be a writer, painter, or performing artist of some kind. In his teens, while attending “Sehome High School”, (his Alma Mater) he was urged by schoolmate, now Actor/Musician/Writer, Billy Burke, to join Sehome’s Choir. He began teaching himself guitar, piano, harmonica and dabbling with other instruments. It was then he began formalized songwriting, putting his poetry to melody. His first songwriting influences were his mom’s preferred “real writers”; Bob Dylan, Kris Kristofferson, Jim Croce, Don McLean, Woody Guthrie, and Joni Mitchell. His tastes eventually grew to include everything from generic Pop Radio, to Hard Hock, to Disco, to Glam, to Punk, to New-wave, to Tom Waits.
He's a lifetime member of the "Clan Fraser Association for California" established by his family elders in 1961, under Official Charter by the late Simon Fraser 17th Lord Lovat, aka “Simon Christopher Joseph Fraser, Chief of Clan Fraser, of Lovat”, and bold WWII “Fraser/Lovat Commandos” Hero. They enjoyed the honorary membership of family friend, Charlton Heston and & family, whose mother was a Fraser, after whom his son, Writer, Director, Fraser Clarke Heston is named. Brent's a Fellow in good standing of “The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland” and a poor student of Gaelic.
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In his extended family tree, on his Fraser side, his bloodlines bear the figures such as Knights, Sir Simon Fraser, who came to Scotland with “William the Conqueror”, and Sir Simon “The Patriot”, who fought for Scottish independence along side “William Wallace” and suffered the same execution one week later, and “Alexander Fraser”, “Chamberlain of Scotland” under “Robert The Bruce”, who also fought with Wallace. Brent’s Great-Great Grandfather Alexander William Fraser and Sons Robert and Charles were Masons and Railway, Road and Bridge Contractors, who helped build the “Forth Rail Bridge” in Edinburgh, Scotland, the “Brooklyn Bridge” in New York City, the immense “Great Northern Railroad” from America’s east to its west coast, and helped dig the “Panama Canal”. They came to be among the first Washington Timber families, and early settlers of the city of Seattle, developing new directions in business in Paper, Shipping, US Customs and the Maritime Industry. His grandfather, Robert Noble Fraser was a 30 year lead-Man Ship-Wright for the Port of Bremerton.
On his Mother’s side, between the Ancestral names, “Hodge”, in New Jersey/Pennsylvania,
“Newkirk” ("Nieukirck"), in New York State (Historic Newkirk House and Newkirk’s Mills), and “Tate” in Virginia, and their extended bloodlines, you would find “Mayflower Descendants”, founders of the “Dutch Reformed Lutheran Church” in the early American Colonies (“Newkirk” means “New Church”), signers of the “Declaration of Independence”, “Daughters and Sons of the Revolution” fellow entrepreneurs and neighbors of the Getty family, and America’s longest serving Soldier in its history, “Grand Old Man of the Army” “General Winfield Scott”, aka “Old Fuss and Feathers” (June 13, 1786 – May 29, 1866), who served on active duty as a general longer than any other man in American History. Historians rate him the “ablest American commander of his time”. Over the course of his fifty-year career, Scott commanded forces in the “War of 1812″, the “Mexican-American War”, the “Black Hawk War”, the “Second Seminole War”, and, briefly, the “American Civil War”, conceiving the Union strategy known as the “Anaconda Plan”, that would be used to defeat the Confederacy, the historical event from which we get the exclamation, “Great Scott!”.
He served as “Commanding General of the United States Army” for twenty years, longer than any other holder of the office. A “National Hero” after the “Mexican-American War”, he served as “Military Governor of Mexico City”. Such was his stature that, in 1852, the “United States Whig Party” passed over its own incumbent President of the United States, Millard Fillmore, to nominate Scott in the United States presidential election. Scott lost to Democrat Franklin Pierce in the general election, but remained a popular national figure, receiving a brevet promotion in 1856, to the rank of lieutenant general, becoming the first American since George Washington to hold that rank.
Starting around 1970, his mother, sister Carmen and he, lived mostly in the coastal town of Bellingham, in it's south end community, Fairhaven. His mother initially pursued her Bachelor’s Degree at “WWU” and later worked as a Teacher. They also spent time in Edmonds, Ferndale and Louisville, KY, but Fraser prefers the Northwestern Washington region of the US above all others, because it is much like Scotland. Repeating the words of his Uncle, Daniel Hodge, he has “a saltwater heart”. He loves the sea and rain, green forests, rivers, mountains, so he has always loved living in the Pacific Northwest. His family roots in Washington State go back to the 1800s, so to live here sometimes feels, to him, more like a genetic leaning than anything else.
His two Great Grandfathers, Robert Gordon Fraser and Mark Noble, were heads of the first Washington settler families to acquire timber culture certificates, with which they cultivated fir trees, popularizing the world’s two most known Christmas trees today; the “Fraser Fir”, and the “Noble Fir”. Robert Gordon Fraser (also his Brent’s Father’s name) established the “Seattle Paper Company” and the “Seattle Bagpipe Band”. He had been President of the “Seattle Caledonian Society”, and “St. Andrews Society” on and off throughout his life, and was an active member in the “Order of Scottish Clans”. He was President of the “Seattle Men’s Credit Association” and President of the “Seattle Chamber of Commerce”. He was President of the “Seattle Sales Manager’s Association”. He was also quite philanthropic, devoted to serving the Seattle community of which he was such a large part. He had worked diligently over years, at providing football uniforms and equipment to form a Seattle Schools’ “Light” Junior Varsity teams, for boys not heavy enough to play on the regular Varsity teams, by going from business to business and house to house, collecting the necessary funds from associates and friends. The result was that when his funeral occurred there was a tremendous mass of Seattle residents paying homage and gratitude. The Funeral Cortege that went from the mortuary to the cemetery was over a mile and a half long. Among great historical figures, his family tree also includes a variety of “colorful” shirt-tale cousins like outlaw Clyde Barrow, of “Bonnie and Clyde” fame, and Canadian Explorer, Simon Fraser.
As a preteen, he was intellectually active and felt deep societal concerns. Through attending the speaking engagement of Humorist/Activist Dick Gregory, at “WWU”, his mom took him back stage to meet the speaker. It seems Gregory was so impressed by his sincerity, intelligence and conversant nature that he gave him his home phone number, for further discussions. When he called, Mrs. Gregory would answer the phone, and could be heard saying, “Dick, it’s Brent, that boy from Bellingham, again”.
His mother guided their home with appreciation for music, literature, poetry and art. As a young student of watercolor and poetry, he presumed he would grow to be a writer, painter, or performing artist of some kind. In his teens, while attending “Sehome High School”, (his Alma Mater) he was urged by schoolmate, now Actor/Musician/Writer, Billy Burke, to join Sehome’s Choir. He began teaching himself guitar, piano, harmonica and dabbling with other instruments. It was then he began formalized songwriting, putting his poetry to melody. His first songwriting influences were his mom’s preferred “real writers”; Bob Dylan, Kris Kristofferson, Jim Croce, Don McLean, Woody Guthrie, and Joni Mitchell. His tastes eventually grew to include everything from generic Pop Radio, to Hard Hock, to Disco, to Glam, to Punk, to New-wave, to Tom Waits.
He's a lifetime member of the "Clan Fraser Association for California" established by his family elders in 1961, under Official Charter by the late Simon Fraser 17th Lord Lovat, aka “Simon Christopher Joseph Fraser, Chief of Clan Fraser, of Lovat”, and bold WWII “Fraser/Lovat Commandos” Hero. They enjoyed the honorary membership of family friend, Charlton Heston and & family, whose mother was a Fraser, after whom his son, Writer, Director, Fraser Clarke Heston is named. Brent's a Fellow in good standing of “The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland” and a poor student of Gaelic.
www.reverbnation.com/brentfraserakabrentdavidfraser[img src="[/img]