Memorable Manitobans: John Taylor Frazer (1885-1954)

Farmer, postmaster.

Born at Beulah on 21 February 1885, son of Alexander McNab Frazer and Hattie Taylor, his father came to Manitoba in the early 1880s and farmed at Beulah then moved to Virden in 1885 and was postmaster at Elkhorn (1913-1923). John Frazer was educated at the Elkhorn Public School then, in December 1915, he enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, joining the 79th Battalion at Brandon and going to France in December 1916 where he was attached to the 14 Battalion. He served at Lens, Arleux, Fresnoy, and Hill 70, being wounded at Passchendaele, Last Hundred Days, and Amiens. Invalided to Bristol, and afterwards to the Taplow Military Hospital, he returned to Canada and was discharged in March 1919.

When his father became ill, he took over the position of Elkhorn postmaster, serving from 1923 until he resigned in 1925. He worked as a real estate and insurance agent at Elkhorn. On 1 January 1922, he married Margaret Law Groat at Winnipeg and they had four children. He was Senior Warden of the AF & AM (Elkhorn Lodge) and a member of the Elkhorn Town Council.

He died at the Deer Lodge Hospital on 10 September 1954 and was buried in the military section of Brookside Cemetery.

Sources:

Birth and marriage registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.

Attestation papers, Canadian Expeditionary Force, Library and Archives Canada.

Post Offices and Postmasters, Library and Archives Canada.

Pioneers and Prominent People of Manitoba, Winnipeg: Canadian Publicity Company, 1925.

“John Taylor Frazer,” Winnipeg Free Press, 11 September 1954, page 22.

We thank Kelly Walker for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 1 April 2015

Memorable Manitobans

Memorable Manitobans

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