Directly next to Roderick MacKenzie's obelisk is a monument in memory of Dr. Simon Fraser.
Born on New Year’s Day in 1769, Dr. Fraser was an officer in a Scottish regiment and lived in Terrebonne. He was wounded during his military service, and those who came to his funeral wanted him to be remembered as having been good and honest.
At barely fourteen years old, Simon Fraser opted for military life and as was then customary, bought the rank of ensign. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1795 and the following year enlisted in the 42nd Regiment, or Royal Highlanders, at Saint Lucia in the West Indies. In June, he was wounded during the assault on the Vigia, in Saint-Vincent. He followed his regiment to England and soon after was garrisoned in Gibraltar. He was also spent time on duty in Menorca and Egypt. In 1802, he was put on half pay, just like his grandfather had been.
The Frasers' ties to the North-West Fur Company, notably through Simon’s brother Alexander, generally explain the influx of many Scots to Terrebonne, especially since the seigneury was then in the hands of the McTavish estate and was administered by Henry MacKenzie.
On September 17, 1807, Dr. Fraser acquired land on Rue Saint-Louis from the sheriff. He undertook the construction of a large, monumental house, which he sold to Roderick McKenzie while still under construction in 1808. This house still exists and is located at 906 rue Saint-Louis in Terrebonne.
Fraser bought John Knoblook's property (now at 938 Rue Saint-Louis in Terrebonne) and occupied it for 21 years. The following year he was listed as an officer in the militia of the 2nd Battalion of the Terrebonne Division. In 1835, he and his son John acquired a house on Rue de l'Attrape, an old commercial building whose first foundations date back to 1741; today it is found at 275 boulevard des Braves.
Dr. Simon Fraser oversaw the care of the old Scottish families of the region: Frobisher, Henry, McGillivray, Oldham, Thompson, Roderick Mackenzie and even, if the records for the years 1811 and 1813 are to be believed, Sir Alexander MacKenzie. The "Montréal Almanac" mentions Fraser as a physician still exercising in Terrebonne in 1831.
In his will, he asked to be buried in the sandy hillside, without religious ceremony and without the presence of any priest or minister! It seems, however, that his wishes were ignored. Simon Fraser died in Terrebonne on February 2, 1844.
Photo: Collection Société d'histoire de Mascouche / SODAM