Thorne & Bryan Genealogy
   Last Page Activity: March 19, 2014   
Fraser Campbell MORRISON

Birth:   28 Apr 1892   Saint John, New Brunswick

Father:   William Sommerville MORRISON MD (1849-1938)

Mother:  Mary KENNEDY (1854-1936)

 

Spouse:   Mercy Irene "Irene" SHAW

Father:   James SHAW

Mother:  Catherine JONES

Marriage:   25 Apr 1916   Hazeu St., Saint John, New Brunswick 24

Children:  None

 

In Praise of "Aunt Irene"

Irene was a rock for the Morrison family.  She was small but feisty with a mind for business and an inclination for keeping house on a limited budget. She saw her husband and her husband's family through some rough times and had energy to spare. When she laughed she would throw her head back and, with mouth wide open, express her pleasure in the moment. 

But it is Irene (the last of her line of Shaws) Morrison's thoughtfulness in keeping family records, papers, photographs and keepsakes that will endure her to the family for generations to come.  

       

      

 

 

Further information for Fraser Campbell Morrison

 

  • "Oh you [Peggy Morrison-Bryan] asked about the Campbell part of your name and Frasers.  It's probably from the same source.  Your great-grandmother was a Campbell.  And you know your uncle was to have been a girl, to be called Jesie Fraser after a friend of his mother, but it was a fourth boy, so they kept the Fraser and added Campbell for his grandmother.  His paternal grandmother.  His maternal grandmother as you know was Conn."   Irene Shaw-Morrison November 16, 1964

 

  • "[Mary Kennedy-Morrison] made the boys learn to do in the house and it's paid off over the years."  Irene Shaw-Morrison speaking of the boys ability to cook and clean February 9, 1955

 

  • "I used to love [to dance] in the days of my youth, but Fraser had no dance in his heels sooo that ended."  Irene Shaw-Morrison December 27, 1959"  So time went on. [We] moved to Vancouver, Point Grey and West Vancouver [BC].  Back to Ritchie Lake, NB, into St John, to Hampton, to Lachute, to Shawbridge, to Lachute.  Irene Shaw-Morrison December 12, 1960
 MORRISON home at 3702 16 Ave West Point Grey BC
 Fraser & Irene's home at 3702 16 Ave, West Point Grey, Vancouver, BC
  • Responding to a compliment in Fraser's ability to pack parcels his wife Irene writes:  "He retires to the workshop [with the articles Irene has selected for shipping] with gift paper etc etc and I saw no more until I was poked in a taxi and told to 'mail these parcels'.  He's an extra good packer and expecially of breakables. In his youth he once had charge of soda fountain supplies, all sorts of glass and breakable things and he learned how to prepare for shipment."  Irene Shaw-Morrison January 10, 1963
Friends gather at KenMor Place. 
Fraser on far right with his future sister-in-law, Beulah, on far left.
  • "Had a letter from Dulcie this week and a report on Frank.  Fraser says he's not surprised if his brothers 'nerves' have caught up to him, he always had them even as a youngster, inclined to mood at times and always inclined to be a 'cat that walked by himself'.  But its ery wearing on everybody concerned.  I know how Fraser wore me when he had a nervous breakdown some 33 years ago, but he was only 41 and gradually pulled out of it.  He was never crabby but didn't want to do anything on his own.  Its a very miserable affair."   Irene Shaw-Morrison December 10, 1964

 

  • "[Beulah] didn't have an easy time getting [Molly, Betty and Peggy] raised.  Frank never did learn to handle money, in fact none of the [Morrison] family did.  His father was a very poor business man and it took Fraser a long time.  Oh well, life is full of ups and downs and makes interesting looking back." Irene Shaw-Morrison January 18, 1965
Three of the four Morrison boys (L-R) Frank, Fraser and (Hugh) Neill.
MORRISON - SHAW 1916 marriage certificate
MORRISON Fraser at Ketepec NB 1914
MORRISON Fraser at Ketepec NB 1914 (children unknown)
  • Speaking of weddings: "My mother, abetted by Fraser, plumped her vote against church, but we got hitched just the same, with 15 guests in the home parlor (living rooms had not come into being at that time and larger homes had parlors and sitting rooms, or like the Morrison's, library and 'drawing room' which was probably your grandmother's old country label carried over to America. At my home and my grandmother's it was parlor and sitting room doubled for dining as well.  [William S. and Mary Morrison] had a room for dining and nothing else in St John and Hampton.  But gradually with smaller families and lack of help, the living quarters have shrunk and now-a-days a 'maid' is a rarity. "  Irene Shaw-Morrison February 26, 1971
  • "Fraser doesn't care for [maple] syrup and it is a very sweet thing.  It never appeared at the Morrison home when he was growing up, so he didn't expect it every spring.  A little syrup used to be brought to St. John city market in bottles (whiskey & such) and my family usually had one or two.  They used to cost 24¢ 70 years ago.  And you know I don't think [Mary Kennedy-Morrison] was a patron of the farmers stands, she hadn't been brought up to it as my folks were. "  Irene Shaw-Morrison March 29, 1971
Fraser MORRISON ca 1919 SHAW Mercy Irene m MORRISON ca 1919 - A day of summer fun - Fraser sitting - woman left unidentified
During a visit in 1954, Fraser and Irene Morrison take niece Peggy (with them in left picture) and her husband Les Bryan (right picture) on a tour of the area around LaChute and Montreal.
  • "[Fraser] didn't take after his father who couldn't boil water without having it stick to the pot (more or less).  He [William Sommerville Morrison] just couldn't be left alone to make a cup of tea.  But he'd had a lot of sisters to do it and never learned.  Maybe that is why his wife saw to it [that] her boys weren't so unskilled."  Irene Shaw-Morrison March 29, 1971