The Douglas Archives

A collection of historical and genalogical records

Libby Bussinah
  • Female
  • United States
Share on Facebook
Share on Facebook MySpace
  • Blog Posts
  • Discussions
  • Events
  • Groups
  • Photos
  • Photo Albums
  • Videos
 

Libby Bussinah's Page

Profile Information

Which Douglas line are you researching? Dates and places help making connections.
Archibald Douglas(s)
b.Mar 10, 1770 Virginia USA
d.Mar 27, 1815 Greenwood County South Carolina
Buried in Douglas Family Cemetery, Vendery, South Carolina.
Married Elizabeth Cochran abt.1797 in Abbeville SC
Who is your earliest known Douglas ancestor?
Archibald Douglas(s)

Comment Wall (1 comment)

You need to be a member of The Douglas Archives to add comments!

Join The Douglas Archives

At 12:47 on December 16, 2014, William Douglas said…

Welcome to our Community Network, Libby.

So, the big question is: Are you heiress to a fortune in Scotland?

from "Greenwood County Sketches" by Margaret Watson.  The following is verbatim from page 215.  Archibald Douglass, 1770-1815, and his first wife, Elizabeth Cochran Douglas, 1776-1809, are buried on a family cemetery just off Highway 221 about 1 1/2 north of Bradley.  Their home must have been in that area.  Archibald Douglass was the son of James Douglass who immigrated to Virginia from Scotland.  James was a brother of Margaret, Duchess of Douglass, and that link had some of the descendants interested in sharing an inheritance in Scotland, but their efforts were futile.  It appears that Duchess Margaret set up entailed property designated "Douglass Support" for the benefit of children of her brothers and sisters.  There is no record that Archibald Douglass made any effort to claim his share of this property.  He may not have known the inheritance existed, and the family in Scotland apparently did not know that he had six children as "Burke's Peerage" official register of noble families in England and Scotland, says that Archibald Douglass, son of James, died in America unmarried or without issue.  The "Douglass Support" property  in and around Glascow went to children of Lady Margaret's two sisters and became quite valuable.  In 1921 Douglass descendants in Georgia came to this area seeking the grave of Archibald Douglass to start establishing a claim to the Scottish property.  They believed that a necessary part of the identification was a family seal ring, which Archibald was known to have owned, and tradition was that the ring had been buried with him.  Church and family cemeteries in much of Abbeville and Greenwood counties were checked without success.  Some months later, Andrew Fell of Verdery, a Douglass descendant, found the family cemetery, notified two other descendants, L. C. Douglass and McNary Cochran.  When those latter two men visited the site they found the grave of Archibald Douglass had been opened, and there was no sign of a signet ring.  In the meantime, information was obtained that under Scotch law an inheritance could not be pursued after a family had peaceful possession for 20 years and since the American Douglasses had made no claim in more than 120 years, further effort was not advised.  A suggestion was made that the family might pay the required fee, "possibly several thousand dollars" to secure the right to assume the coat of arms matriculated by Margaret, Duchess of Douglass, with the Lyon King of Arms in Edinburgh.  So far as is known no one pursued that suggestion.

As it happens, a local community group is attempting to secure the future of Douglas Support.

William
 
 
 

Making conections

The more information you can give about the people you mention, the more chance there is of someone else connecting with your family.

Dates and places of births, deaths and marriages all help to place families.

Professions also help.

'My great-grandmother mother was a Douglas from Montrose' does not give many clues to follow up! But a bit of flesh on the bones makes further research possible. But if we are told who she married, what his profession was and where the children were baptised, then we can get to work.

Maybe it is time to update the information in your profile?


© 2024   Created by William Douglas.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service