All Blog Posts (868)

X Factor contestant Jahmene Douglas suffered a  break down on last night's show and needed medical attention because he was so anxious about his performance. 

After the judges were told Jahmene Douglas was with medics Nicole Scherzinger and Louis Walsh decided to go back stage to give him a pep talk in an attempt to instil some confidence in him.

Jahmene said: 'Today there’s a lot of pressure on me because yesterday I let myself down a lot, didn’t…

In 1452 James II invites William, 8th Earl of Douglas, to Stirling Castle. James demands that Douglas end an alliance with the MacDonalds. In the argument that follows Douglas is stabbed to death.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/history/the_stewarts/william_douglas_is_murdered_at_stirling/

The Dowager Duchess of Northumberland died on 19th September 2012, aged 90. Born on January 20 1922, Lady Elizabeth Diana Montagu-Douglas-Scott was the elder daughter of the 8th Duke of Buccleuch (and 10th Duke of Queensberry) and his wife, Mary (Mollie) Lascelles. She was the widow of the 10th Duke.

In June 1946 she married Hugh, 10th Duke of Northumberland, thus uniting…

On this day, 19th August, in 1356, English forces led by Edward the Black Prince decisively won the Battle of Poitiers and captured King Jean II of France.  William, 1st Earl of…

On this day in 1752 – In adopting the Gregorian calendar under the terms of the Calendar (New Style) Act 1750, the British Empire skipped eleven days (September 2 was followed directly by September 14).

The ‘People of Medieval Scotland’ is a database of the 21,000+ people mentioned in the 8500+ documents from Scotland that survive between 1093 and 1314. It has been designed to cater for beginners as well as experts. Learners can explore and discover this pivotal period of Scotland’s past on their own terms. Experts can conduct research in days and hours that would once have taken them months. The database also offers learners and experts a new experience of engaging with the past, allowing…

Historical documents, including Ordnance Survey (OS) Name Books and Scotland’s Servant and Hearth Tax rolls dating back some 300 years, are now available online on the ScotlandsPlaces website.

The records are among new additions to a treasure trove of historical information held on the site, which brings together…

Discover your ancestors for FREE this weekend as Ancestry.com opens all 713 million U.S. census records from 1790 to 1940. Learn where your ancestors were born, what they did for a living, how much they earned—even meet the girl (or guy) next door.

All free through September 3rd.

I have just come across this useful list of research tools, from Appalachian American Genealogy:

William Douglas (died 1791) was a Scottish ship captain and maritime fur trader during the late 18th century. He worked with the British trader and Captain John Meares, commanding the ship Iphigenia Nubiana. He was involved in the Nootka Crisis of 1789, which brought Britain and Spain to the brink of war. A few years later he was captain of the American ship Grace. In 1791 he partnered with Captain John Kendrick in an attempt to open trade with Japan.

Iphigenia Bay, in Alaska, is…

Seven brothers migrated to Jamaica and settled in the parish of St. Ann and St. Elizabeth. The Eldest Brother, William 'Captain' Douglas settled in River Wood on land which he purchased from Lord Sutton Brown . He renamed the place Douglas Castle.

As a part of its wealthy history, the story is told of how the Community of Douglas Castle was settled. In the 18th…

Mr Douglas,

I am writing on behalf of the National Records of Scotland who are very interested in obtaining up-to-date contact details in relation to the Sandilands of Eastbarns Writs deposited some time ago by W. S. Douglas of Dundarrach.

I would be very grteful if you could get back to me at kirsty.martin@nas.gov.uk at your earliest convenience.

Thank you and best wishes,

Kirsty Martin

Congratulations to Gabrielle Douglas, one of the USA gymnastic team who won gold at the London Olympics.

Edward J. Douglas, (Dlugosz) 85, passed away after a long illness at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center on his birthday, July 20, 2012. 

There is a wonderful photograph album, of which this photo is just one, attached to his obituary. It would be nice to know who all the family members are, but sadly they are not captioned. But worth …

Millions of people from around the world watched the 2014 Olymoic Opening ceremony.

The highlight came when the torch was carried into the arena, and the flame was lit.

Five of the torches carried around Britain were borne by Douglases.

Peggy Douglas, 56, of Plymouth carryied the Flame through Brixton on 20 May 2012

Peggy's proposer said "Ever since my eldest brother was born with a disability 28 years ago, my mum has run a very successful and…

When London last hosted the Olympic games, in the summer of 1948, the Cold War had begun, President Harry S. Truman had just put an end to racial segregation in the United States Armed Forces, and 26-year-old track star Herb Douglas was a long jump away from bringing home bronze.

He did, jumping 297 inches, or 24' 9", to win the third-place medal.

On the eve of this year's London Olympic games, Douglas, who is now the oldest living African-American Olympic medalist at age 90,…

Newcastle Football Club is awaiting a response from FC Twente after tabling a bid for Brazil-born defender Douglas.

Douglas Franco Teixeira (born 12 January 1988), simply known as Douglas, is a Brazilian-born Dutch professional footballer who currently plays for FC Twente in the Netherlands.

So - not a member of the clan!

There are at least four volumes of the Drumlanrig Manuscripts available to download.

I have only just stumbled across these, so have yet to study them, but they appear to include valuable charters covering the Douglases rights to lands and titles, so this looks like work for the longer term.

Here are two of them:

1897 volume: …

Stephen Van Rensselaer III (November 1, 1764 – January 26, 1839) was the 10th richest American of all time. If I have the right generation, he was the "Good Patroon" and one of the founders of Stephentown, which was named after himself.

It is of interest, therefore, that two Douglas children were given the name Stephen Van Rensselaer. But what is the connection?

* Stephen Van Rensselaer Douglas b. March 24, 1790, in Albany and who married Caroline H. Whitehead was the 9th child…