Thanks William.

I have a few possibilities, but have hit several brick walls.  I do love doing this, alot of fun.  I currently live in England and would like to have found a connection to Scotland before I go back to the US in Aug 2013.  Willing to share with anyone. I appreciate the quick response.  Thanks. Steven Douglas 

Hi William,

My George Douglas /Helen Spavin had son William born 13/08/1775 in Cockpen. He married Janet Clapperton 31/01/1880. She was born 06/10/1780 in Cockpen. They had 12 children. Janets parents were James Clapperton born 1756who married Mary Boston (born17/02/1754)  21/12/1776.

Try as I may I can't get further back

George Douglas  and Helen Spavin both originate from Temple near Edinburgh so I imagine they married there. Their 12 children were born in Cockpen, Newbattle and Edinburgh areas

Thanks William, I will have a look at my tree and check my details. From memory what you say seems familar to me. Your help is much appreciated, Ethel

William, thank you for the follow up.  Col. Douglas sounds familiar and I'm looking through one of the Douglas history volumes my great aunt Ruth Eleanor Douglas worked on for many years.  It contains a lot of information about the Virginia Douglases so perhaps I'll find more connections here in the forum.  I'm looking forward (no pun intended) to the research.

Thanks William.  From LDS film of Borthwick I have birth of George Douglas b 1742 Borthwick to George Douglas b c 1715, and Christian Watson (married 1738 Borthwick).  Have been trying to identify where George b c 1715 came from.  Records a bit thin around that time.  Some unsubstantiated connections for George on the internet.  I was hoping you may have had some confimed parents for him.

Hi William - In your comments to Ethel Douglas you have mentioned the family of William Douglas b 1668 Cockpen and Grishild McKeand.  These are descendents of the Black Douglas as I understand it.  On a website, where their children are listed, there is a George b 1711 in Cockpen. 

The IGI lists George b 1711 in Cockpen as being the child of William Douglas and Janet Witherspoon - and lists all their children. 

Their children were being born at the same time as the children of William and Grishild McKeand.  I wondered if the information you have on that couple has a resource.  Thanks - Julie

Thanks for all that information William - much appreciated.  I have some work ahead of me as there is confusion over whose children were whose from the various sources available.  George b 1742 had a connection to the Lord President of Scotland, Robert Dundas.  Julie

William! The stones have arrived! Thank you so so much! :)

I haven't been home for the past two weeks but I'll get onto refunding you just as soon as I can.

This is very exciting.  Thank you again William. Without your help the CDAA project would not have been possible. :)

George Douglas b c 1711 appears to be child of William Douglas and Janet Witherspoon.  Descendants of George and Christian Watson, m Borthwick 1738, have the middle name Witherspoon.  Info passed on from Who Do You..... - Margaret Douglas b 1790 Cockpen was g granddaughter of George and Christian.  Julie

Baptism entry Cockpen 4 May 1711, George Duglass, lawful son to William Duglass and Janet Witherspoon in Dalhousie, baptised 4th May, wittness John Witherspoon and James O'Tyrie.  Can't find marriage for William and Janet.  Don't know where William comes from. 

There are a couple of websites plus entries in the Pedigree section of Familysearch.org which say that the father of William Duglass who married Janet Witherspoon was William Douglas b 1649 and mother Agnes Wilson m c 1667.  That William Douglas 1649 was the son of James Douglas and Agnes Rome.  He married 1st Isabel Elizabeth Kennedy 1665.  Some people are listing children to Isabel Kennedy after 1667 when he married Agnes Wilson.  Isabel Kennedy also appears to have had a son William b 1666 who married Grishild McKean.  I am confused.  Can you shed any light on this?

Yes, thanks William.  She was their great granddaughter.  Have you seen my entries for today?

Thanks for your reply William.  Now I am really confused.  Which William is descended from Gilbert Douglas?  On the IGI there is a Gilbert Douglase b 1613 to William Douglas and Agnes Wilson in South Leigh.  Hummm, they seemed to have got around!

Good heavens!  I suppose, with lack of records from so long ago, people make mistakes.  Would really appreciate help with sorting this out.

Thanks for searching for me!

Luckily, I have some basic information for WIlliam Douglas.  Not his parents, unfortunately, but at least his birth date and location as well as marriage.  Here it is:

William Douglas

Born: 19 July 1856 in Cooly, Moville Upper, Donegal

married: 12 June 1888 in Moville, Upper Moville, Co Donegal

died: 18 February 1945 in Toronto

Spouse: Margaret Jane Johnston

Born: 12 August 1865 in Moville, Donegal

Died: 23 October 1914 in Toronto

The main problem is that I have no idea who any of their parents were, and so cannot continue to trace the line.

Thank you so much for your help!  I've been searching endlessly on my own and thought I'd turn to someone else for a change!

Caitlin

I will do, thank you.

I don't know where I fit in, which is why I joined - I've been using ancestry.co.uk to trace my family tree, but have only got as far back as my great grandparents on my father's side. I know my grandad (Arthur William John Douglas, b.1927) is from Sunderland, and his mother was called Ellen Knight and his father William Douglass (or Douglas - he changed the spelling, I don't know when) but that's as far as I've got. So hopefully I will find something here to get a bit further back!

Now that's all very interesting, it certainly gives a new direction to go in as I didn't have a clue where to look. I will mention it to my grandad and see if anything jogs his memory - if not, it's still far more to look at than I had before. Thank you for that.

yes William, i first heard from a distant relative,we are from the black watch, also their name was Dryfusdale, they apparently killed all in a village some where, then they changed to Drysdale, don't know about it, did find a tree confirming this lost it when my computer died. Will have to try to find it again

Darlene

Hi William, I am researching my husbands family on his mother's side and this is the information that I was given. It will be interesting to try and trace teh links

The  SHOLTO-DOUGLAS-VERNON  family  is descended from  the BLACK

DOUGLAS  CLAN  in  SCOTLAND.  Their home being LOCHLEVEN CASTLE,[ now in ruins.]  They were known as the  ROYAL

DOUGLAS CLAN , dating back to the 16th Century.  There is however History of the original family arriving from Flanders during the 12^th Century and settling on the Douglas waters.

 In 1568  MARY  QUEEN

OF   SCOTS escaped from  the island castle of Lochleven, Lord of the castle

was SIR   WILLIAM   DOUGLAS. His younger brother GEORGE  had fallen

in love with MARY  and was banished from the castle,so it fell on young WILLIE

DOUGLAS to help her escape.  He stole the keys, by placing them under a

table napkin.  He then rowed her accross the loch to where GEORGE Douglas

was waiting with horses.  Mary Queen of Scots then removed the most

beautiful ruby and diamond pendant which depicted the heart of ROBERT  THE

BRUCE . .  She gave this treasure to Willy Douglas in appreciation

for helping her escape and this was passed down to his heirs.. This would

always be inherited by the eldest male member of  the DOUGLAS family.

The surname Douglas then became Sholto Douglas and some time later

through marriage and a substantial inheritance it was changed to SHOLTO-

DOUGLAS-VERNON.  There is a family link to the Vernon family of HADDON

HALL. One daughter was named after Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall

Let me know if you have ay information pertaining to the above. It will be interesting to see where the Vernon connection comes in?

Kind Regards

Jeanine

Hi William

I am new to this and not sure if you have received my previous comment or not so am writing again.

Re; The South African search.  My mother married Robin Sholto Douglas (the son of Norman Douglas) in 1928.  Apparently he was at the time already married -- to someone in South Africa.  So the marriage was bigamous.  I have a lot more information on Robin, however will await your reply before sending you anything else.  Am I Robin's daughter - well his name is on my birth certificate but I am not sure and that is something I am trying to find out!  Georgina

Hi William,

Due to having a lot of time to myself recently I have not been working on my tree as much as I would normally do, therefore, it had been a wee while since I had accessed " The Douglas Archives".

I just wanted to say how much I enjoy the site and found that so much had been added since I last had a look at the site.

I have been building my tree for my Dad who is now 87 and he has recently been able to make contact with the family of his Aunt who went to New Zealand with her three sons in 1926 and he had always wondered what happened to her.

 As I say we have made contact with her family (grand-children) and they are so lovely. It's sad that his cousin's died not that long ago before we were able to make contact.

I would urge anyone who might be becoming a wee bit disheartened in their tree building to keep going.Even if you haven't found anyone new to add for a while, keep going. The lady I made contact with had seached for her Scottish family for 7 years and this was her last ditch attempt to find us. She now has a whole new family she is getting to know. We have exchanged letters and photo's etc. I can't tell you how much my Dad has gained from the expierence.

This site is wonderful for adding lots of details about the Douglas family that I had never been able to find elsewhere, thank you !

William : First found this site: David Andrew Douglas:States Orange McClain Douglas: b: 6 March 1848 in Indiana USA was his GREAT GRANDDAD:he was the father of my Granbdfather: William  Henry Douglas: Ihave found little informatiom relave to Orang McClain Douglas:

William,

I read your response about William Sholto Douglas, born 1856 Blairgowrie, which prompted me to write.

Most of my info is on old computer, waiting for transfer. Here goes, though, what I do have handy:

If this is correct marriage, Robert Douglas and Mary Black were married 4 jul 1813, Crailing. What I do know is their daughter Elizabeth married Matthew Todd. Matthew and Elizabeth's daughter Susan married Peter Reid; their daughter Mary Wright Reid married George Campbell Ross. This line of the family moved to Lanarkshire; later some emigrated to NY in early 1900's (shipfitters).

Robert appears to be the son of a Sholto Douglass and Mary Bruce, married jul 1782 in Auchtermuchty. One of Sholto and Mary's sons is John Douglass, chr 9 mar 1783 Auchtermuchty, married Agnes McAndrew; their son Sholto  is the father of the William Sholto Douglas born 1856 Blairgowrie, that went to NZ and became editor of the New Zealand Herald.

Jean, a daughter of Sholto and Mary Bruce, married William Johnston of Lathrisk, son of David Johnston Esq; their marriage is noted in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine 1819: "At Edinburgh, William Johnston, squire of Lathrisk and Bavelaw to mistress Jean Douglas, youngest daughter of Mr Sholto Douglas"; as is the birth in 1820, and death in 1828, of their first-born son David. Their second born son George inherited Lathrisk; he died c1903. (If they followed naming conventions, it is possible George was her father Sholto's name as well)

I have no other info on Sholto and Mary Bruce other than their marriage and children. I suspect, but cannot ascertain, a connection with Charles Ayton Douglas's family.

Peigi

Oops. Peter Reid and Susan Todd's dau was Mary Wilson Reid, who married George Campbell Ross. Peter and Susan had another daughter, Elizabeth, who married John Lawson and had dau Susan and son Peter, both born in 1890's in Lanarkshire; they also emigrated to NY.

Thank you so much William. Thanks to you and this site I've managed to trace as far back as Thomas Douglas (Abt 1776-Bef 1855), married to Oliver(F) Young(Abt 1776-1855)..There's irony every turn made in this complex, investigation of my father (Keith John McFarlane1910-1996) born in Carlton Victoria Australia whose mother, my grandmother was Emily Elizabeth Douglas (1886-1954) especially since now finding Isabella, (Abt 1824-1856) herself a Douglas, and married to a William Douglas, a seperate line for whom as yet I have no information.

I now need to research William Douglas, Isabella's spouse, but have no dates other than his wife was Isabella (circa 1824-1856) to go by. I must admit I'm a little  shocked finding one Douglas marrying another..I hope they weren't too closely related!..lol...Much more to go!

 Thanks William. I haven't done much on the Morton/Douglas connection in my family yet but I am getting there. I am finishing research into my father's family (Clan Maxwell) then I will research for possible Douglas connection. 

Hi William, yes its the same me...I couldn't get into the page so i opened a new one. I have had no luck at all With finding Joesph Douglass family in Scotland or Ireland. So i have found a 5th cousin Male to do the DNA test for me. Just need to get to his place about 5 hrs ago to do the test. Should be soon....I will let you know the out come

William,

My Great Grandfather James Douglas married a Hess from Germany, and they named My grandfather George Charles Hess Douglas. Most everyone called my grandfather Charlie. I am trying to get my dad to do the DNA testing so we can see which line of Douglas he is branched off.

The family line gets sort of blurry before my great grandfather. My dad Lowell Astor Douglas, he has a genealogy list he is going to try to get me, and I'll try to post it on this site after I rework it. There were 9 children on my grandfather’s side. --Rene'

My father was Robert Kenneth Douglas, he was born here in the states. His father was Donald Roy Clarence born Dec. 15, 1885 in Markham Township, York, Ontario. His father was Kenneth Douglas and mother Alice Amelia (Dinnison) They were married Oct. 31, 1883 at Unioncville, Ontario. I have been told that Alice died young at 32 and Kenneth remarried but we do not know who to and if their were any children. Kenneth's father is Donald Douglas married to Elizabeth (Jackson). I know they had brothers and maybe a sister not sure. Any information would be great. Is believed that is Donald who came from Scotland.

I think i confused you like I do myself at times..lol  My father was Robert Kenneth his father my grandfather was Donlad Roy Clarence Douglas was born Dec 15, 1885 in Markham Townshil, york, Ontario.  My great Grandfather was kenneth Douglas born in 1859 in Ontario.  His mother my great Grandmother was Alice Amelia (Dennison)  They married on Oct 31, 1883.  My Great Great Grandfather was Donald Douglas and his wife Elizabeth (Jackson).  I know my Great Grandfather Kenneth came from a family of many and also that he was married twice.  As far as I know we only had the 1 s in our last name. 

Thank you. I have sent a friend request to Jens Wagner-Douglas. William Douglas who died in Schippenbeil in 1711 (my 7x grandfather) is at this point a dead end for me. And it is annoying me :-) My uncle (now dead) has allways claimed that we are decendants from the Black Douglas', but I have no proof or documentation. I will try to get my hands on his notes from years of researching our ancestors.

regards,

Geir

Nothing new there. I spoke to my aunt againt this evening. They lived in Ireland for a few years about 40 years ago. As I said my uncle did research the connection, reading through huge piles of books. He didn't find it, but my aunt did when reading a book picked by random. Unfortunately they ended up in an argument. No notes where made, and they had to retur the books short after this because they where moving back to Norway.

So - we can assume the link is documented somewhere. We just have to look at the right place :-) But I really don't know where to start. The only information I do have is a family tree chart made by my uncle stating that this William Douglas came from the Dundee area and was born around 1940.

regards,

Geir

very much so!!  would enjoy helping to plan, I think!!

will make time to look into DNA tests after broken hand heals and some other commitments are completed thru May

Yes, I believe Rev Neil Douglas is my 5 times great grandfather, his daughter Jean, married into the Robertson line of my family. The Rev Neil seems like an interesting  and somewhat controversial character of his time. In calling the house of commons  a "den of thieves" i notice that not much has changed in 200 years in that respect!

I really don't know. I do note that there are several Douglas males with the middle name Primrose. I have been trying for sometime to determine the reason for this. Does it denote a connection with the "Primrose" clan at some stage? Primrose as a first name for a male is very rare indeed.

Dear William

Is it possible that my ggg grandfather, William's parents were Robert and Marion (McClune), to whom I found a reference in the genealogy section?

Regards

Alasdair

It's McClune (F11586)

Thank you; William, for your e-mail.

Hi William

I am a silent member of the Douglas group on FTDNA and I listen to the chatter every day!! It was through the list that I came to your groups/site. My Kit no. is 153271.

I have a direct line of Scottish Mortons back to 1711 but haven't done any research for a few months. I was brought up as a "Douglas"  - still wearing my father's kilt and my grandfather's sporran!!

My interest lies in making a direct link to the Douglases. I wonder if my GEDCOM file would be of any interest to anyone.

William - Thank you for the welcome note and for the follow up question on Joseph Douglass from Mecklenburg Co., NC., whose was in the NC House of Commons.   I don't believe the Joseph Douglass we are trying to trace is the same person.  Their dates of birth are within 3 years of each other but our Joseph lived until 1843 and died in Sumpter Co., GA.  There may be a family connection here but I can not document it at this time.   I will keep searching the extensive "The Douglas Archieves" for other known relatives to see possible connections.  Hopefully there is a connection out there.  Best regards, Bill Dolezal

I am trying to  contact  Maurice Hart Douglas, if you are in touch with him, is it possible for him to contact me on charlottepaton@onetel.com regarding his late father.  Any help would be much appreciated.

Thank you

Charlotte Paton

Charloote Paton

Yes I am the grand-daughter of George Charles Douglas and Kathleen Gaffney. The family usually call her Catherine Gaffney which is the name on her birth registration.

It must be a fairly challenging task trying to tie links together.

I have looked up your article   about James Douglas, cattle breeder, and found it most interesting. He did very well for himself indeed, especially as a tenant farmer competing with the wealthy landowners.

Well I'm not sure. I am hoping DNA will answer that.

I am the great-grandson of Perry Douglas Roe (1863-1926). He founded the Port Moody area outside Vancouver B.C. Canada. The family records stop there. His parents died when he was just a child, Indian attack in Texas. Their names are not recorded. All we know is that he came from Edinburgh Scotland. My grandfather once told me that I was the last of the "Black Douglas" that all the others had been killed off, and to protect our self we changed our last name to Roe. I was about five years old, but it stuck in my head. The story goes "that long ago a black Douglas rescued a princess from captivity and went into hiding, changing his last name to Roe. All the remaining Douglas family was killed off. With only one male in each generation, I was all that was left of the line".  As I grew up I rarely spoke of the story, as I felt it was very odd. None the less, I often look for record of it in history books, and find nothing. So He had too much to drink, combined with my poor memory.  When DNA came about, I thought it would answer everything.  I stumbled onto your site.  Wow! hundreds of thousands of Douglas's. If I get a DNA print of myself can it be compared to a known Black Douglas??

Thank you, Sean

Yes, On my mother’s side we can go back to family on the islands north of Scotland. But on my dad’s side we stop with “crossing the big pond”.