The Douglas Archives

A collection of historical and genalogical records

Members

The Douglas Archives is a mix of historical records and biographies and also a genealogy database with details of 190,500+ individuals.

Searching the Douglas Archives

Looking for a Douglas ancestor in the Douglas Archives requires two searches - one in the history section, and another in the genealogy section.

There is a way around this, by using Google (and other search engines) site search facilities.

We can see succesful outcomes of Google searches, but not the unsuccesful ones.

If you cannot find what you are looking for, please ask the question through the Comunity Network - or just drop us a line.

Events

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If you receive a message that you suspect is spam, please do not respond, but do report it

 

Registration

To reduce the volume of fraudulent sign ups, I am making the process more difficult. I apologise to genuine prospective members.  

The more information you give about your ancestors, the greater the chance that others might see someone they recognise and tie in to your tree. Dates and places definitely help!

Welcome to the Douglas Archives Network

The first Douglas to stride across the stage of Scottish history was Sir William Douglas who fought and died for William Wallace. His son, Sir James Douglas was a supporter and lifelong friend of Robert the Bruce. "Good Sir James" died taking Bruce's heart on a crusade to the Holy Land. The 2nd Earl of Douglas died at the Battle of Otterburn in 1388 as his army defeated an English force led by Prince Henry "Hotspur". In 1402 the 4th Earl was defeated by the same Henry Hotspur at the Battle of Homildon Hill.

Few of their successors died in their beds! Our website charts the history of this famous family, both in its native Scotland, and as family members spread across the world.

The main site is divided into two sections: Douglas history and Douglas genealogy.  These have been joined by the Douglas DNA Project and a Games section.


In this networking area, we hope that all those with Douglas connections will feel able to contribute and debate their Douglas heritage.

If you are new to the site, please visit our Welcome message.

 

Latest Activity

Rhonda left a comment for William Douglas
"Thank you, not the William Douglas who once owned land at the hawkesbury region either.   Although a very interesting article as the name Mary Grove's is the same (believe it or not).  To an ancestor from the other side of the…"
1 hour ago
William Douglas left a comment for Rhonda
"The next section appears to begin with: "This is the Last Will and Testament of me William Douglas of King Street in the Parish of Kingston in the Island of Jamaica planter..." This confirms, once again, that the individual, William…"
3 hours ago
William Douglas left a comment for Rhonda
"The top document appears to be from Jamaica: This is a Probate document from Jamaica, dated December 5, 1876. It concerns the Last Will and Testament of William Douglas. Here's a detailed reading of the visible text: Header: "Probate of -…"
3 hours ago
William Douglas left a comment for Rhonda
3 hours ago
William Douglas commented on J Ruaidri Douglas's photo
3 hours ago
William Douglas liked J Ruaidri Douglas's photo
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William Douglas commented on J Ruaidri Douglas's photo
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3rd_and_4th_Marquesses_of_Northampton_2

"What follows is an article that I wrote for Clan Maclean in 2023: The Macleans of Torloisk: A Branch of Honour and Legacy The Macleans of Torloisk form the sixth branch of the Clan Maclean of Duart. Their ancestral seat is Torloisk House, situated…"
5 hours ago

Forum

Difficulty finding a Scottish Parish marriage record? Maybe there isn't one & never was!

Started by Ronald Drysdale in Genealogy Jun 19. 0 Replies

Dear all,I recently came across a parish entry for a 'Private marriage' in Edinburgh.This surprised me as I thought that…Continue

Tags: wedding, Private, marriage, Quickie

James Douglas, 7th of Drumlanrig

Started by Ronald Drysdale in Genealogy. Last reply by William Douglas Jun 5. 4 Replies

Hi. has anyone ever had the 1581 Will & testament of Sir James Douglas, 7th of Drumlanrig transcribed?He apparently fathered a lot of children, maybe this will could reveal some interesting factual stuff.Copy of relevant Scotlandspeople webpage…Continue

DNA

Started by Bob Douglas in Genealogy. Last reply by Andrew Douglas Jun 3. 1 Reply

I can’t call this post DNA progress, as this has beeen limited.originally I took DNA test at Ancestry, I also uploaded to My Heritage, Gedmatch, and Family Tree DNA.I hen also took a test at 23 and me who don’t allow uploads.After a few years, there…Continue

Spam from Ronald Morris

Started by Don in General. Last reply by William Douglas May 14. 6 Replies

Spam from Ronald Morris adding you as a friend on the Douglas Archives.Continue

Blog Posts

Norman Douglas - portrait for sale

Posted by William Douglas on June 25, 2025 at 9:24 0 Comments

This pencil drawing is one of at least two known versions of Michael Ayrton’s portrait of the sitter, Norman Douglas (1868–1952). Douglas, Ayrton's sitter was best known for his 1917 novel South Wind and various other travel books. The 1948 version of his portrait by Michael Ayrton titled 'Norman on Capri' is from the estate of…

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Block Wall - William Douglas, Longford Tasmania

Posted by Rhonda on June 20, 2025 at 2:47 0 Comments

Thank you for allowing me to join your group. I have hit a brick wall not far into my search of 'my' William Douglas who lived in Longford Tasmania and dies at the age of 40 in 1878. He married Eliza Mathewson.

I can find no birth records. Marriage record does include parentage etc....there is another tasmanian William Douglas with parentage but the dates don't marry up. My journey keeps going.

What's new?

Posted by William Douglas on June 19, 2025 at 13:56 0 Comments

I have today added several documents to the Douglas Archives.  In themselves, these are not significant enough to qualify as being listed in  'Whats new?' or 'Recently revised' but will be useful to those who stumble upon them as part of their family research.

I note that there is deep research being done on the Northamptonshire Douglases, probably in connection with our mystery man, William Douglas born 1610.  He popped up in research into my mother-in-law's family with a totally…

Continue

Knockdolian Castle

Posted by William Douglas on June 18, 2025 at 12:32 1 Comment

Knockdolian Castle is a ruined small 16th century pele-tower once occupied by the Grahams, the McCubbins and the MacConnels.

It has come to my attention through research by another (Maybe he will name himself here?) as we dig deeper into my mother-in-law's family history.

Elspet Brok married Adame Dowglase in 'Inveresk with Musselburgh,…

Continue

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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?


Notes

About our community

Created by William Douglas Jun 22, 2009 at 5:40pm. Last updated by William Douglas Jun 16, 2018.

Cookies

Created by William Douglas Oct 25, 2012 at 5:21pm. Last updated by William Douglas Oct 25, 2012.

Why use our Community Network?

Created by William Douglas Jan 17, 2012 at 1:50pm. Last updated by William Douglas Jan 17, 2012.

William Douglas, b1610

Created by William Douglas Nov 11, 2011 at 11:03am. Last updated by William Douglas Nov 11, 2011.

Welcome!

Created by William Douglas Jan 24, 2010 at 6:35pm. Last updated by William Douglas Jul 23, 2010.

Clan Douglas Associations

Created by William Douglas Jun 23, 2009 at 10:50am. Last updated by William Douglas Jun 23, 2009.

Notes Home

Created by William Douglas Jun 12, 2009 at 6:16pm. Last updated by William Douglas Jun 12, 2009.

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