The soldier and accomplished musician Alexander George Fraser was born in London on 12 (or 22) April 1785 and became the 16th Baron Saltoun of Abernethy in 1793 when still a child. He entered the army, the 35th Regiment, in 1802, as an ensign, and was promoted to Lieutenant in 1803 and Captain in 1804. In 1806, with the 3rd Battalion of the 1st Grenadier Guards, Fraser served in Sicily, and then in 1808 at Corunna. In 1809 he took part in the Walcheren expedition, and in 1811 he was in Cadiz. With the 1st Battalion from 1812 through to 1814 he participated in the Peninsular Campaigns and was present at the Battle of Vittoria, the Battle of the Pyrenees, the Battle of Nivelle, and the Battle of Nive, and he was on the operations before Bayonne. He returned to England in 1814, but was again at the Battle of Quatre Bras, and at Waterloo. He was honoured with the C.B., and became a Knight of the Order of Maria Theresa of Austria, and of St. George of Russia, and then in 1818 he received the K.C.B. (Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath) and in 1821 G.C.H. (Knight Grand Cross of the Hanoverian Order). In 1825 he was promoted to Colonel, in 1827 Lieutenant-Colonel, and in 1837 Major-General. In 1841 he served in China during the Opium War, and in 1849 became Lieutenant-General. Fraser was made a Knight of the Thistle in 1852. Lieutenant-General Alexander George Fraser, 16th Baron Saltoun, died near Rothes in Scotland on 18 August 1853.
The 1st Lord Saltoun was the 15th century Laurence Abernethy who was created Lord Saltoun of Abernethy on 28 June 1445.
After the death in 1668 of Alexander, 9th Lord Saltoun, and after the death of his sister in 1669, the title was claimed by Alexander Fraser, 10th Lord of Philorth, who became 10th Lord Saltoun. He died on 11 August 1693.
William Fraser (1654-1715), 11th Lord Saltoun, married a daughter of Dr. James Sharp, Archbishop of St. Andrews, Primate of Scotland. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Alexander
Alexander Fraser (1684-1748), 12th Lord Saltoun, married a daughter of George, 1st Earl of Aberdeen, High Chancellor of Scotland.
Alexander Fraser, 15th Lord Saltoun, was born on 27 June 1758. He died on 13 September 1793.
From the guide to the Letters of Alexander George Fraser, 16th Baron Saltoun (1785-1853), and material of other Barons Saltoun, 1821-1853, (Edinburgh University Library)
