I have been reading an article published in 2008 in Northumberland and Durham Family History Society Journal about three men, all named John Douglas, who emigrated to South Africa. Ferdie Jansen, the author, tells me that these three men have often been confused, and assumptions have been made that they were one and the same.
Jansen told me:
Through some strange coincidence these three men were considered as one person by the local historians and genealogists. If you therefore read through the local S A publications, you will find a mixture of the data of three different persons, all dished up as a single person. This was simply because none of these authors and historians actually tried to trace the origins of the patriarch. I did, and found three John DOUGLASses that originated from three distinct different regions. The big problem was to determine who was who, that is, which of the three was the actual DOUGLAS patriarch? I have managed to reduced the search for the origins of the actual South African DOUGLAS patriarch to one region, namely Berwick Upon Tweed in the border region of Scotland and England (Northumberland). But this is where the path ends - no further information could thus far be found. I did find his wife's parents for a further two generations from the same area.
William Douglas
I have been reading an article published in 2008 in Northumberland and Durham Family History Society Journal about three men, all named John Douglas, who emigrated to South Africa. Ferdie Jansen, the author, tells me that these three men have often been confused, and assumptions have been made that they were one and the same.
Jansen told me:
See also: http://www.douglashistory.co.uk/history/articles/john_douglas-ofsou...
May 15, 2012