We still use Douglas as a middle name.

[Jessica Allen]

Hello, I am looking into my Douglas family ancestry. The Douglas name has been retained as a middle name on and off in my family until the present (my mother has Douglas as her middle name!)
I am primarily wanting to find information on my 5th great-grandfather, John Douglas and his daughter, my 4th great-grandmother, Jessie Douglas.
This is all I know;
John Douglas married Mary Crow on 15 June 1807 in St Cuthberts, Midlothian.
Their daughter Jessie Douglas was born in 1815 in Cambusnethan, Lanarkshire. She married Dr James Connell on 16 June 1833 in Irvine, Ayrshire. They had seven children.
(James Connell was born on 9 September 1804 in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, the son of Helen nee Auld and John Connell. Died on 26 March 1846 in Glasgow, Lanarkshire.)

Any help would be great.
Thanks,
Jessica

[William Douglas]

Welcome to our group, Jessica.  There is lots of information here for people to connect to, so I hope you get a good response.

Looking for now at John Douglas, who married Mary Crow on 15 June 1807 in St Cuthberts, Midlothian.  The Parish Church of St Cuthbert is a parish church of the Church of Scotland now within the Presbytery of Edinburgh.  This is in the heart of the city.  The church is surrounded by an old churchyard with many interesting memorial stones.  Do a google search for St Cuthbert's, Edinburgh and click on the maps tab, and then on the satellite tab.  There are some wonderful images.

St Cuthbert's has a family history page: http://www.st-cuthberts.net/famhist.php

I will have a root around and see what I can find for some of the other clues that you have provided.

Yours aye,

William

PS Please come back and report progress - or lack of it!

[William Douglas]

You are probably aware of this publication, from which the sceenshot was taken: https://issuu.com/bigtimeproductions/docs/connellfamilytreebook

This of course does not answer the ancestor question, but the publication is an interesting family history nonetheless.

But I also have this:

James Hepburn married Margaret Douglas on 29 Oct 1808 in Cambusnethan. Their children were: Catherine - 3 Oct 1809,
Jean- 29 Dec 1811,
Margaret-31 Oct 1813,
Janet- 23 Jul 1815,
Helen- 13 Jul 1817,
Mary - 6 Feb 1820,
George 22 Jun 1822, and
Douglas 17 Apr 1825, all children born in Cambusnethan.

Might they be cousins?

[Jessica Allen]

Hi William,

Thanks for your speedy reply. I will certainly look into St Cuthbert's as you suggest and let you know.

Regarding the publication, it was written by one of my New Zealand relatives. I have never met this branch of the family but my grandfather would have as his uncle is where this part of the family branches from, so I have found this full of useful information.

Regarding the possible cousins I have not come across these names but I am sure Jessie Douglas would have had siblings whose names I do not know. Likewise, James Douglas is the only member of his family I know of at the moment.

Many thanks,
Jessica

[William Douglas]

Here is another lead: https://www.ancestry.co.uk/boards/thread.aspx?o=0&m=534.1.2.1.2...

[Jessica Allen]

Hi William, 

I haven't had much chance to look into these links yet but thank you so much for your continued help. When I do have a chance, and hopefully find out more, I will let you know. 

All the best,

Jessica