Hepburn. The statement that the remains of Gen. Eraser were removed to Enf^^-land after the Revo- lutionary war is without foundation.
FRASER, William, Canadian R. C. bishop, b.
in Scotland about 1790 ; d. in Antigonish, Nova
Scotia, 4 Oct., 1857. He was consecrated vicar-
apostolic of Nova Scotia in 1821, with the title of
bishop of Panes. He devoted himself exclusively
to the Scottish members of his flock, rarely stirring
from tlie Scottish settlement of Antigonish, in the
northern part of the peninsula. Tlie Irish Catholics
complained bitterly of their bishop, and reproached
him with taking no interest in them. Finally they
laid their complaints before the pope, who erected
Halifax into a bishopric with the object of forcing
Bishop Eraser to reside in it. Father William
Walsh, an Irish priest, was also appointed coad-
jutor in 1842. Tiie appointment of a coadjutor
annoyed Bishop Praser, who appealed against it to
Rome, and in the mean time refused to recognize
Father Walsh. In order to settle these difficulties
the pope divided the province of Nova Scotia into
two dioceses, Antigonish being united to Cape Bre-
ton and erected into the diocese of Arishat, with
Dr. Praser as titular bishop.
FRAZEE, John, sculptor, b. in Rahwav, N. J.,
18 July. 1790; d. in Compton Mills. R. I., 24 Feb.,
1852. He was a farmer and a stone-cutter in New
Brunswick, N. J., in early life, but afterward re-
moved to New York city and opened a marble-yard
on Broadway. From 1819 till 1823 his work con-
sisted chiefly of mantel-pieces and monuments.
He was long unsurpassed in beauty of finish and
in the delicacy of his lettering. Turning his at-
tention to sculpture, he produced in 1824, for St.
Paul's church, a mural tablet and bust of John
Wells, which was an elaborate and highly finished
work. In 1834 he modelled several Ijusts of emi-
nent men for the library of the Boston athen;pum,
among which were those of Daniel Webster, Pres-
cott, Lowell, Story, Bowditch, and T. H. Perkins.
Subsequently he made busts of John Marshall, La-
fayette, De Witt Clinton, John Jay, Gen. Jackson,
Bishop Hobart, Dr. Stearns, and Dr. Milnor. He
was the architect of the New York custom-house,
in which he served for some time as an officer.
FRAZER, John Fries, scientist, b. in Philadelphia, Pa., 8 July, 1812 ; d. there, 12 Oct., 1872. His grandfather, Lieut.-Col. Persifor Frazer, served
during the Revolutionary war in the 5th Pennsylvania regiment under Col. Anthony Wayne. John was graduated at the University of Pennsylvania in 1830. During his college career, and for some time afterward, he acted as laboratory assistant to Prof. Alexander D. Bache, and in that capacity
aided in determining with accuracy, for the first time in the United States, the periods of the daily variations of the magnetic needle, and the connection of the aurora borealis with magnetic forces. He also assisted Dr. Robert Hare, who at that time held the chair of chemistry in the University of Pennsylvania. Subsequently he studied
law with John M. Scott, and also followed a medical course. He was admitted to the bar, but absence from Philadelphia at the time when the examinations were held prevented his receiving a medical degree. In 1836, when the first geological survey of Pennsylvania was organized, he be-
came first assistant geologist under Prof. Henry D. Rogers, but held the office only one year, when he resigned to accept the professorship of chemistry and natural philosophy in the Philadelphia high school. In 1844, Prof. Bache having been appointed superintendent of the coast-survey, his vacant chair of chemistry and natural philosophy was offered to Prof. Frazer, who thence-
forth became connected with the University of
Pennsylvania. At the time of his death he was
senior professor, was vice-provost from 1855 till
1868, and acting provost during the year 1859-'60.
In addition to his duties in the university he de-
livered many courses of lectures on physical and
chemical science in the Franklin institute, and
from 1850 till 1866 edited its "Journal." His
studies to keep abreast of the progress of the
sciences that he taught fully occupied his time,
and in consequence he was unable to carry on any
original researches, or to devote his attention to
the preparation of papers. He received the degree
of Ph. D. from the University of Lewisburg in
1854, and that of LL. I), from Harvard in 1857.
Prof. Frazer was elected a member of the Ameri-
can philosophical society in 1842, and its secretary
in 1845, becoming vice-president in 1855. He was
one of the original members of the National
academy of sciences, and served on several of its
committees which furnished reports to the U. S.
government. See the sketch by Prof. John L. Le-
conte in the " IJiographical Memoirs of the National
Academy of Sciences" (vol. i., Washington, 1877).
— His son, Persifor, geologist, b. in Philadelphia,
Pa., 24 July, 1844, was graduated at the University
of Pennsylvania in 1862, and at once became an
aide on the U. S. coast-survey, serving in the
South Atlantic squadron till June, 1863. He
joined the cavalry and remained in active service
at the front during the Gettysburg campaign. In
October, 1863, he was made acting ensign in the
U. S. navy, and served in the Mississippi squadron
until the end of the war, when he was honorably
dischai'ged in November, 1865. Subsequently he
spent three years in Germany, studying princi-
pally in the Royal Saxon school of mines in Frei-
berg, where he completed his course in 1869. On
his return to the United States he was appointed
mineralogist and metallurgist on the U. S. geologi-
cal survey, and wrote the report on these subjects
in 1869. In 1870 he was appointed professor of
chemistry in the University of Pennsylvania, and
four years afterward resigned this chair to become
assistant on the geological survey of the state. He
presented a thesis to the scientific faculty of Lille
in the University of France, for which, in 1882, he
received the degree of doctor of natural sciences.
This was the first time that this degree was ever
awarded to one not a native of France. He was
connected with the Franklin institute as professor
of chemistry, and also as one of the editors of its
" Journal " in 1881, and its board of managers. His
investigations have included researches on the cause
of the white color of the moon by day ; on the ap-
plication of composite photography to testing the
genuineness of signatures ; and on carbon buttons
to register delicate variations of pressure. Prof.
Frazer is a member of numerous scientific societies,
both in the United States and Europe, and sec-
retary of the committee representing American
geologists in the International congress. Besides
memoirs published in various journals and trans-
actions, he has published "Tables for Determina-
tion of Minerals " (Philadelphia, 1874), and the
volumes C, CC, CCC, and C4 of the geological sur-
vey of Pennsvlvania (1874-'80).
FRECHETTE, Louis Honors, Canadian author, b. in Levis, Quebec, 16 Nov., 1839. His paternal ancestor was among the first settlers of New France. Louis was educated at Nicolet college and at Laval university, studied law, and was admitted to the bar of Lower Canada in September,
1864. From 1866 till 1871 he resided in Chicago,
