John Frazier, a well-known farmer of Danbury, Merrimack County, N.H., was born in Salisbury, January 16, 1836, son of John C. and Alice (Eastman) Frazier, of that place.
His paternal grandfather, Benjamin Frazier, was one of the pioneers of Kearsarge Mountain. His ancestors, it is said, were of Scotch-Irish descent. Born on July 21, 1767, he went to Deerfield when a child; and after his marriage to Mary Philbrick he removed, in 1790, to Salisbury. Here he cleared at first an acre of land and built a log house, and as time went on became a very thrifty farmer and owner of considerable land which had been cleared by his own efforts. Game was abundant in those days; and, Grandfather Frazier being a skilful huntsman, the family larder was kept well filled with venison and bear steak. One section of his farm was called Bear Wold, because of the number of bears killed there. The Frazier house was always a resort for the neighboring farmers and their families whenever a good time was wanted. Benjamin Frazier died on June 12, 1820.
John C. Frazier, son of Benjamin, removed from Salisbury to Danbury in 1836, shortly after the birth of his son John. Here he built a fine group of buildings and remained during the rest of his life, dying on November 25, 1886. He served in the legislature for two terms, one of them being the famous Constitutional Convention term. He was the father of three sons, the second of whom, named Moses, died April 19, 1896. Mr. Frank P. Frazier, the third son, a resident of Evanston, Ill., is a member of the firm of Bartlett, Frazier & Co., of Chicago, Ill., and does an extensive grain business in the West. He married Clara Duff, of Peoria, Ill., and has one son.
Mr. John Frazier, of Danbury, is the eldest son. After leaving school, he worked for a time on a farm and later as a fireman on the railroad. In 1869 he went to Toledo, Ohio, where he remained for five years as engineer on the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad, running between Toledo and Elkhart, Toledo and Cleveland, and between Toledo and Detroit. Coming East again, Mr. Frazier was engineer for some time on the O. C. R. R. Later he settled on the farm where he now resides. He built a new barn in 1891.
Mr. Frazier’s first wife was Mary O. Frazier, and two sons were born of this marriage: James H., who is now deceased; and Samuel M. The second wife was Miss Ida L. Brown, of Concord, N.H. Mr. Frazier was a member of the Constitutional Convention, and has been Selectman of Danbury. He has always voted 1860 for Stephen A. Douglas.