[1][2][3] Born in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania to a family of Scottish descent, Frazer's mother died when he was just two years old.
During his time on the bench, Frazer advocated that the Court focus on the merits of a case rather than on legal technicalities.
Frazer and his Republican justices also ended the Supreme Court's practice of reversing the appeals of most criminal convictions.
A notable case heard by the court during Frazer's time on the bench was Smith v. Moody, in which the court struck down Article 13 of the Indiana constitution that barred African-Americans and multiracial individuals from entering or living in Indiana and also made void any contract entered into by African-Americans and multiracial individuals.
From 1873 to 1875, Frazer did similar work as an employee of the Treasury Department, tasked with adjusting claims of cotton farmers whose crops had been seized or destroyed during the war.
"[2][1][3] In 1879, Frazer returned to state-level politics when he was appointed head of a three-person board (also chaired by Indiana politicians David Turpie and John H. Stotsenberg) to revise and codify state statutes following the passage of legislation in the General Assembly that called for their revision.
[2] In 1889, Governor Alvin P. Hovey appointed Frazer to the position of judge of the Kosciusko County Circuit Court.
Senator from Indiana) suggested to his Secretary of State, James G. Blaine, that Frazer be appointed to a commission to settle an international dispute regarding U.S. claims against Venezuela.
[2] In 1848, Frazer married Caroline McLean DeFrees, a member of a prominent Indiana political family.