William Douglas's Blog (621)

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…

From time to time, I receive complaints that I should not be including the Pringles as a sept of the Douglases.

Whilst I like to leave the decision to others, I include the item as a reference.

Today, it is revealed that the problems facing the Pringles are deeper.

The village of Stichill lies in the historic territory of the Pringles, a notorious Riding family of Border Reivers. The Pringles of Stichill are a cadet branch of the Pringles of Smailholm. Robert Pringle of…

Robert Douglas (1727–1809) was a Scottish-born soldier who replaced Ludwig Ernst von Brunswick-Lüneburg-Bevern as governor of the garrison city of 's-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands in 1784. He was major-general from 1778 and commander of the city from 1780 to 1794.

He was the son of George Douglas of Friarshaw.

A contemporary document has come to light that might be suitable for a family member to acquire.

Contact me for details.…

To Thomas Jefferson from Nathaniel Douglas, 18 September 1806

Bath Westmoorland Jamaa.

18 September 1806

Sir

I wrote you sometime ago. I am astonishd a person of your prudence respected years of experience and good Education should have pas’d over a consideration that so nearly concerns yourself as well as the multitudes that are and will arise in america in ages of futurity, in so Silent timid & uninterested a manner. you nor none that have seen my writings can say I…

It is not just people carrying the name Fleming that have Flemish origins in Scotland. There are a number of other families that are believed to have such origins. In this posting, James B. Sutherland and J. Mark Sutherland-Fisher examine an important set of families thought to have Flemish roots, specifically the Douglas, Sutherland, Murray, Innes, and Brodie families. The text below examines the relationship among these key families as well as to other families that have taken the name…

In 1677, one Janet Douglas, an apparently mute (the legends use the word "dumb") young serving girl arrived at the Pollok estate of Sir George Maxwell of Auldhouse (see painting), who had suddenly become seriously ill. She "miraculously" regained the power of speech, pointed the finger at five people, as well as a 14-year-old girl, accusing them of witchcraft, and therefore of being responsible for the Laird's sickness.

Read more: …

I have just come across an excellent collection of photographs of the village of Douglas, including this one. Is it the castle chapel?

Much of the Douglas Archives are built on the contributions of visitors to the website, whether they are providing new information or correcting existing entries.  I welcome these, ever mindful of the advice I was given 35 years ago: GIGO, garbage in, garbage out.

So, if I don't understand something I will query it to ensure what finally goes onto the page is correct.…

Hobart Town Courier Saturday 25 September 1830

Black Line Dispossession of Indigenous Tribes 

GOVERNMENT ORDER. No. 10.

Colonial Secretary's Office, Sept., 1830. 

Extract:

4. Major Douglas will, on the seventh of October cause the following chain of posts to be occupied ; viz :—From the Coast near St. Patrick's Head, to the source of the St. Paul's River, and by that River and the South Esk, to Epping Forest, and Campbell Town. This line being…

I was researching Camp Douglas, in Chicago, when I came across this story.

"Old Douglas" Cedar Hill Cemetery, Vicksburg, Mississippi.

During the Siege of Vicksburg, Federal snipers targeted and killed the camel for sport. The grief stricken men of the "Camel Regiment" used their own sniper teams to kill the offending Federal…

Julie has contributed this: "Genealogical abstracts from the American Weekly Mercury, 1719-1746" compiled by Kenneth Scott (c) 1974 1720 Pg 02 DOUGLASS, Archabald, Scotch servant, age c. 25 – runaway from James Pemberton, of Queen Ann Co., Maryland; if runaway is captured, notice to be given to Israel Pemberton of Phila. (7/21) 

Description: Reward Offered For Three Runaway Servant Men Named James GRIGG, Archabald DOUGLASS and William WILLSON.

Date: July 21…