William Douglas's Blog (611)

I have just been introduced to the Georgia Douglases website.

Georgia Douglases was originally conceptualized as a central…

When newly elected Illinois State Representative Abraham Lincoln first saw his diminutive colleague Stephen A. Douglas, he sized him up as ""the least man I ever saw."" With the introduction of Douglas' first bill in 1834, Lincoln soon thought differently. The General Assembly not only passed the bill, it appointed the 21-year old Douglas State's Attorney of Illinois'…

A curious scene was witnessed in the Court of Queen's Bench on Wednesday; the law playing with a prisoner as a cat with a mouse. Captain Douglas, who had been in custody on a charge of desertion, was brought up on a writ of habeas corpus. The facts of the case may be briefly recapitulated. Captain Douglas, has been in the service…

Lord Donegall, who had huge estates in Country Antrim, was very short of money and was forced to raise rents and impose fines to increase his capital. The tenants were unable to afford these prices and only the better off merchants in Belfast could raise the money.

The existing tenants responded by houghing or maiming the cattle of the new tenants. In December 1770 one of the perpetrators, David Douglas, was taken and imprisoned in the Belfast barracks. The tenants held a meeting in…

MAN BLOWN TO ATOMS

In the Dynamite Explosion at Oliver’s Mills – Two Girls Hurt—Narrow Escapes

With a roar that could be heard for miles, the nitroglycerine building of the dynamite department of the Oliver Powder Mills at Laurel Run, on the Wilkes-Barre Mountain, [Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, USA] exploded yesterday [4th August 1904] afternoon at 1:25 o’clock, killing one man and injuring two girls. So great was the concussion that windows and doors in all parts of Wilkes-Barre…

I have received an inquiry from someone who grew up with a story told to her by her grandmother about her great grandmother who's name was Lilian Douglas. She said she was a Lady she was disinherited by her father for marrying beneath her but was sent 2 gold sovereigns, weekly or monthly. She ended up with a chestful as she wouldn't touch the money. On her deathbed this was taken from her house. Does anyone know of any disinherited Lady Lilian?

There then followed some nonsense about…

The Scottish Marches is a term for the border country on both sides of the border between Scotland and England. From the Norman conquest of England until the reign of James VI of Scotland, who also became James I of England, border clashes were common and the monarchs of both countries relied on March Lords to defend the frontier areas known as the Marches.…

Today it has been announced that Rembrandt’s ‘Catrina Hooghsaet’ which has been at the centre of a storm over UK export rules, is going on loan to National Museum Cardiff for three years. This one of a number of artworks collected by the Douglas-Pennant family at Penrhyn Castle.  …

Up for sale on ebay is a divided back 1916 RPPC, unposted. It is inscribed 'Burning the Bodies of Dead Bandits at Columbus, N. M.'

On…

I have asked this question before: Was Lady Janet Douglas of Glamis a witch?

A recent book by Deborah Richmond Foulkes, FSAScot, FLAMES OF MY TRUTH, The Tragic Execution of Janet Douglas would appear to put the matter to rest.

In a note to me, she wrote:  

I reviewed the entire surviving records that Pictcairn published on Criminal Trials in Scotland and in all three trials involving Janet, she was never charged with witchcraft. I did find that her son was charged…

Robert Burns, also known as Rabbie Burns, the Bard of Ayrshire and various other names and epithets, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. Many Douglases have already posted photographs of themselves on social media attending dinners.

Robert Burns bought a ticket in 1786 to travel to Jamaica to work as a slave driver.

Burns in 1786 was faced with many challenges including penury…

In an astonishing claim, Spanish historian Alfonso Enseñat de Villalonga has established that Christopher Columbus was a Scot - and a Douglas!

The historian spent 27 years sifting through hundreds of thousands of documents and now believes that he has proof that Christopher Columbus was descended from Scottish nobility.

In a new book, Alfonso…

When the Douglases fell out with the king, the 9th Earl's lands were forfeited in 1456.

Amongst those to benefit appears to be James Rutherford:-

JAMES RUTHERFOORD of that ilk, who, in a gift of the patronage of the kirk of Rutherfoord, which formerly belonged to the earl of Douglas, is designed filius et hae∣res,…

Congratulations to:

Rowan Malcolm Douglas of London who is appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)

Chief executive officer, Capital Science and Policy Practice, Willis Group. For services to the Economy through Risk, Insurance and Sustainable Growth

and

Terence Thomas Robin Douglas of Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire who is appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)

Chair of Trustees, The Who…

At long last, I have begun the task of a listing of family research brick walls.

Please let me have any on your list to add to the collection. 

http://www.douglashistory.co.uk/famgen/mostwanted.php

Ancestry.com announced in this blog post that they will discontinue their Family Tree Maker software, effective 31st December 2015.

For long term users, this must seem like a slap in the face. So what are the alternatives?

Many former FTM users are turning to Legacy, my desktop genealogy…