LONESOME HISTORIC SITE

2006 TN-96  •  Burns, TN 37029  •  206-953-2766

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James R. Frasher

​(January 16, 1835 -  December 13, 1913)

Hello, my name is James R. Frasher.  I was born on January 16, 1835, in Cannon County, Tennessee.   I was the third child born of David A. and Elizabeth Ann Dudley Frasher. I had 3 brothers and 5 sisters. I married Lucinda Paralee Austin on February 11, 1858, in Dickson County.  She was 17 years old, and I was 23.  I lived during the Civil War period when our country was divided and brother fought brother.  My older brother, William Pulliam, fought for the Confederacy in this war under the command of Captain Ed Baxter’s Tennessee Light Artillery.  He was paroled April 28, 1865 at Macon, Georgia, and took the oath of allegiance on May 4, 1865 at Chattanooga, TN, where he stated he took the oath of allegiance and said, “They was forced to take the oath of allegiance or the yanks would send him north to prison.”

Lucinda and I had two sons, William Dee, who was born in October 1860, in Dickson County (East Piney) and James Oscar, who was born on August 31, 1880, also in Dickson County.  Neither of our sons married, and although records do not state, both sons may have had some type of disability as they lived with a Loyd Garton family after Lucinda and I died.  We had a nephew, Joseph Austin, who was born in 1889 and lived with us for several years. 

I made my living as a farmer, which was difficult, as most families during this time had several children who were able to help with the farming and household duties.  Both my sons and nephew worked on the farm in Dickson County to help us survive during the hard times we lived through.

While most of the Austin side of the family were devout Methodists, our son James Oscar was a Primitive Baptist, and his funeral was conducted  after his death on May 5, 1964, by a Primitive Baptist minister, Elder Malcolm Davidson, who a few years later died after  coming out of the water after baptizing a member in Beaver Dam Creek.

Although I married into the Austin family, and was buried in the “family cemetery”, some families did not have a family cemetery in which to bury their loved ones.    During the early years of our county’s history, there were no funeral homes or community cemeteries, and people were buried in the family cemetery.  On occasion, when a neighbor died, and didn’t have a family cemetery, they might be buried in another family’s cemetery.  Sometimes family records indicate both Indians and slaves were buried at the edge of a family cemetery.  We believe this is true for our Austin Cemetery.

Our Frasher family is of Scotish descent.  However, sometime in the 1800’s the name Frasher was changed to Frazier.  There are records that show both names Frasher and Frazier as late at the mid 1900’s.   Do not be confused if you see my name written as Frasher or Frazier.  I am the same person.