A collection of historical and genalogical records

Was the first Douglas in Australia (1788) a convict called William Douglas?

Hi William

You made a comment way back in 2010:

Comment by William Douglas on October 28, 2010 at 15:41
I thought it about time I added some detail to the Douglas Archives about the very early arrivals in New South Wales.

No sooner had I done so, than I received a copy of an 'essay' written by Carol Baxter entitled
'The Douglas Controversy'.

She writes: The Douglas Controversy deals with one such situation (uses of "circumstantial evidence").
The controversy centres around three fathers and two sons and raises the question of "who begat who". The three fathers were convicts who arrived in the colony in its early years: William Douglas on the Alexander in 1788, Thomas Douglas on.........

It is highly likely that the first 'Douglas' to arrive in Australia was this William Douglas mentioned by Carol Baxter and he arrived in New South Wales on 21st January 1788 onboard the Alexander, one of a flotilla of vessels called the First Fleet.

He had been convicted of larceny at Lincoln Court on 9th July 1785 and was sentenced to 7 years transportation.

William was quick to find romance in NSW and married one Mary Groves on 1st June 1788. She was also a convict who had arrived onboard the Prince of Wales at the same time as William, I wonder if she was involved in the controversy?

some extra info below:

Best regards

2 members like this

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Alison Christine Hodgkiss ( born on September 29, 2024 at 8:26

Thank you Ronald.

Excellent work..

Hard to know whether this is someone in my Australian tree, but worthy of note.

Every piece in the puzzle helps.

Cheers. Alison H.

Permalink Reply by Ronald Drysdale on September 29, 2024 at 14:26

Thank you for your comments and good luck on your genealogical Journey.

Best regards

Ron

ps I had to put 'genealogical' into your reply to prove that I could spell it (see third comment below)

Permalink Reply by William Douglas on September 29, 2024 at 18:05

Ha! Ha!

Permalink Reply by William Douglas on September 29, 2024 at 10:48

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?

Badges | Report an Issue | Terms of Service