Ian hamilton douglas's Page

Hi Ian,

Using William post for 'John's Cousin and other relatives' (which is helpful)

The Janet Hamilton (wife of John Mitchell) in your tree is the great Aunt of Henry Hamilton Douglas.

Also I think I may have located young Henry in America, no details for his mother unfortunately.

In the 1860 New York Census, he is listed as being in the New York Juvenile Asylum (for orphans etc).

The asylum records (of circa 1860) indicate that Henry was admitted to the Asylum on Jan 17 1856 and discharged 'west' on October 28th 1861.

To be discharged 'west' from the asylum means he probably was sent on one of the Orphan trains:

The Orphan Trains of the New York Juvenile Asylum
https://newyorkjuvenileasylum.com/#primary

......An estimated 6,000 children were sent West from the NYJA between September 1854 and circa 1923, placing it in the top four (for the number of children sent) of those institutions credited for taking part in America’s Orphan Train Movement..........

His orphan status in 1856 corresponds with the death of his father in December 1852 and possible abandonment by his mother (due death or poverty) in Jan 1856.

Where he went after that, I haven't been able to find out.

Best regards & seasons Greetings

Hi Ian, 

You're right I did make a mistake there, I said: 

 John Mitchell employed John Mitchell Douglas as a Ships Master on his ship called the John Mitchell.

When of course it should have been "James Mitchell Douglas" who was employed as master.

You also said "what is needed is the birth record of Henry and the mother of James .that will help tie it all together"

I think you meant wife of James as we already know James' mother was Catherine Mitchell.

That being said, you are quite right, the biggest remaining problem seems to be Henry's missing birth record and the name of his mother.

Available records indicate Henry was born in America but where and when? The best indicator we have I think is the 1871 Yorkshire census record in which he is listed as being 19 years old, works on the railway and was born in America, also his 1889 prison record says that his native place was Brooklyn, New York and that he had worked for the Railway Department as a shunter (a kind of engine driver).

So that is where we are at, but I do think that you have just about got your links to Scotland sorted out.

A merry Xmas and a happy new year to you and your family.

Best regards

Hi Ian,

I'm sorry for the info overload.,

James Mitchell Douglas' father was William Douglas and he was married to Catherine Mitchell who in turn was the sister of  the Shipowner John Mitchell.

John Mitchell was thus the brother in law of William Douglas.

John Mitchell was married to Janet Hamilton.

John Mitchell employed John Mitchell Douglas as a Ships Master on his ship called the John Mitchell.

Henry Hamilton Douglas was the son of James Mitchell Douglas who died shortly after Henry's birth in 1852.

I've tidied up the Familysearch tree to show these relationships

Best regards

Post script - From Wikipedia we can see that John Mitchell was married to Janet Hamilton in 1813 and I think it is reasonable to speculate that this must be from whence the 'Hamilton' comes from in your Henry Hamilton Douglas relative.

Hi Ian,

I know you are not too happy with James Mitchell Douglas, but after some further checking I've discovered that James' mother, Catherine Mitchell, was actually the sister of shipowner John Mitchell -  John Mitchell (1786–1881) who was a Scottish merchant and ship owner in Glasgow, known as "the Father of the Glasgow Town Council"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Mitchell_(merchant)

It was one of his ships (the John Mitchell) that Captain James Mitchell Douglas took to Australia in 1849 (while calling himself James Douglas).

Best regards

Hi Ian.
I'm not sure I follow your logic there, on 4th May 1850 James Douglas was in Glasgow as the Lloyds Register Survey report of that date confirms.

Captain/Master - one & the same

Hi Ian, 

"our James captained the barque John Mitchell to australia from london in 1848/9 and my trail has gone cold in Melbourne"

But the trail has not gone cold! - after James was in Melbourne, he took the ship back to Glasgow and, on 7th May 1850 was preparing the ship for a trip to Bombay as the Lloyds survey report of that date reveals. see below:

https://hec.lrfoundation.org.uk/archive-library/documents/lrf-pun-gls140-0008-r

https://hec.lrfoundation.org.uk/archive-library/documents/lrf-pun-lon625-0477-r

https://hec.lrfoundation.org.uk/archive-library/documents/lrf-pun-gls140-0315b-r

Press the tab for full details on each page of the three links above and you will see that James Douglas was the master of the John Mitchell in 1847, 1848 and in 1850

Report of Survey for Repairs; Restoration for John Mitchell, 24th September 1847

Hi Ian.

A brief Update on our Ships Captain James Mitchell Douglas:

We know that on Sunday March 30 1851 (Scottish census date) James was in the Gorbals in Glasgow, we now also know that on December 5th 1852 James was in America, because that was the date he died of Tetanus in San Francisco!

Ref: https://www.old-merseytimes.co.uk/deaths1853.html

I have a Lloyds List record for him sailing from Glasgow (Clyde) to San Francisco as Master on the vessel Isle of Wight on 20-5-1852 and also a Lloyds Register record for him sailing as Master to Natal in late 1851/early 1852. No doubt he also made other trips within that period.

The important question here is ~ did he have the time, in the period march 1851 - December 1852, to father a child ~ young Henry Douglas in America?

Best regards

Hi Ian,

Many thanks for confirming Henry's parentage.

One of the reasons for my last post was the fact that I've found another scottish census form for 1851, and this again gives details of James Douglas as a Ships master,  in Glasgow but which also gives details of his mother Catherine Douglas and suggests that James' father was in fact a William Douglas. i.e Different parentage to that assumed by me and posted in the Familysearch tree.

The 1851 census incorrectly gives James Douglas (Ships Master) an age of 39 years, but I checked on Scotlandspeople and it's an error it should be 29 years which aligns with the info given on the 1841 census.

If Captain James is in Glasgow, Scotland & unmarried, in 1851 (no trace of him there after that) does this impinge upon or complement the presumed birth of Henry in Brooklyn circa 1852?

The current part of the tree with his new parents is below & and james has a new middle name as per his 1820 birth record:

Best regards