Simon Fraser: Canadian Adventurer

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to explore new lands? If you got into trouble, you would have only yourself and possibly your friends to depend on for help. This is what men like Simon Fraser learned.


Simon's parents were Scottish highlanders. They moved to New York in 1773. Simon was born May 20, 1776, in Mapletown, New York, near Bennington, Vermont. Simon's father was a Loyalist and was eager to join the fight against the American rebels. He paid for his loyalty to the British crown when he was captured and later died in an Albany jail. The Fraser family, with the support of Simon's uncle, moved near Montreal, Canada, in 1784 to be near Simon's oldest brother, William.


Simon's uncle, a Montreal judge, oversaw his education. When Fraser was sixteen, his uncle got him a job as a clerk with the North West Company. In 1802 at the age of 25, Simon, along with five other men, was made a partner of the company.


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