All Blog Posts (931)

John Douglas was born on 6 Feb 1840 in Bury, Lancashire, the son of Daniel Douglas, a Machine Maker, and his wife Sarah.

John emigrated to Mexico and is the progenitor of the family that built, first, Douglas Chalet and then Castillo Douglas.

Does anyone have this family in their tree?

Read more…

Arguably one of the more ugly new buildings in London, The 30-storey Douglass Tower on Goodluck Hope, has been named after Sir James Douglass, the redoubtable designer of the English coastline’s two tallest lighthouses - the Eddystone Lighthouse off the Cornish coast and Bishop Rock, on the Isle of Scilly.

Born in Bow, Tower Hamlets in 1826, Sir James Douglass was chief engineer at Trinity House, the chartered authority with workshops at Trinity Buoy Wharf, the site of London…

Outlaw King - look for 'The Good' James Douglas - not yet Sir James!
http://www.tartan.tv/outlaw-king-official-trailer-hd-netflix_086cbd2af.html

Once a rustic, seeing a wolf run about in proximity to the palace, killed it; not knowing that it was the tame creature of the king; and he brought the dead beast to the king, expecting a reward. Then the prince in anger ordered the man to be cast into prison and executed. Now when Bridget heard this, her spirit was stirred within her, and mounting her chariot, she drove…

James Douglas did not, of course, have a heart in his arms - that was added later.  But might the artist just be taking a liberty? …

In a fitting tribute to Sir George, the younger brother of Sir William Douglas, who owned Lochleven Castle, a plaque was placed at Deans Court, St Andrews, on the 450th anniversary of Mary’s escape from Lochleven on May 2, 1568.

It was unveiled by Elizabeth Roads, Snawdoun Herald of the Court of the Lord Lyon,…

Hi William I enjoyed your newsletter. What you have achieved is remarkable. I have a question for you and it is unrelated to Douglas. In the early 1940s I had a friend from Scotland and I lost touch with him. It is possible that my friend and you crossed the same paths. May I mention his name to you? Henry

As stated previously, my maiden name was Morton and my great-grandfather (George Morton), and all the Mortons before him, were Scottish. Morton, being a sept or allied family of Douglas, has always given me a sense of belonging to Douglas. As I've been researching my family history, though, I've found ancestors from Auchterlonys to Youngs and a lot of things in between. There are at least 43 (possible) clans within the family history I've traced so far. It's a lot to digest. However, what…

Mary F Stafford/Horn and Robert Morton, my grandparents. Robert was the son of George Morton and was the first Morton born in England in my line. George Morton was born in Dumfries-shire but his father had been born in Loudoun Ayrshire, as had many generations before. My research indicated he was descended from John Morton (1748) from Loudoun and Mary Sandylands (1751) there are several earlier John Mortons as well, but the Sandylands line is difficult to follow.

Through marriage into…

On this day 19 July 1333 saw the Battle of Halidon Hill at Berwick, where an English army, led by Edward III and Edward Balliol, defeated the Scots forces under the command of Sir Archibald Douglas  ('Tyneman').

The defeat was mainly down to the English archers who devastated the Scottish ranks, inflicting terrible losses, including six…

Last week, I was helping a researcher who was looking for details of C K M Douglas.

Today there has been a "meteorological tsunami" - meteotsunami in Spain - a phrase coined by C K M Douglas who was a meteorologist.…

Ian Douglas has been fascinated by Scottish history for over forty years. He has just published a short biography of Mary, “Mary Queen of Scots – a Brief History” and is the author of “Exploring History in the Scottish…

On the tombstone, in St Magnus Cathedral, of George Douglas, who died 1611, and Elizabeth Douglas, his spouse, who died 1630, is a shield bearing :—Quarterly, first and fourth, three piles; second and third, a heart ; over all as many mullets

in fess.

Who was he?

The Douglas family played a significant tole in Orkney in the 17th and 18th centuries,…

Look at who owned this Douglas plate!

https://www.christies.com/lotfinder/Lot/a-chinese-export-armorial-porcelain-charger-and-6018488-details.aspx…

I am having a horrible time connecting my Douglass lineage. I am going to Scotland in September and would love some help. 

The last Douglass I am sure of is William W Douglass, b. abt 1755 in Lancaster Co., PA and d. Nov 1792, Madison Co., KY. He was married to Jane Moore, b. 1762, Lancaster Co.,  PA and d. 1830, Boone, MO. Any help with connecting me to ancestors in Scotland is appreciated, thank you Judy

The new exhibition opened last week at the Annan Museum which covers the life and times of Lady Florence Dixie.

Lady Florence is remembered most for her association with women's football.  As president of the British Ladies Football Club she helped give the game a high profile.  The exhibition also takes a fresh look at her life and legacy including her trips to Patagonia and in Southern Africa to report on the Boar War and her political activity in woman's suffrage and dress…

It is with sadness I record the death of Jan Shaw, on 10th June.

Jan was for many years to President of the Clan Douglas Association of Australia, and before that the newsletter editor.

Her knowledge of Douglas matters, her support of Douglas heritage and her friendship will be missed by many.

Her funeral service will be at St Mary's Anglican Church,…

You may have noticed strange behaviour with the Douglas Archives database.

There appears to be a problem with my web service provider that is affecting both email and the database. We are working on this. Meanwhile the revised database has wiped the older version, but not replaced it.

Boring!

Yours aye,

William

I am informed that Douglas in Hebrew means "Distinguished Man".

Doogle= distinguished, eesh= man.

Could it be that Douglas came from Danite Celts?

Hard to prove, but an interesting coincidence. Do any of my distinguished friends have any thoughts on this?

And Urban Dictionary has a rather different definition!