All Blog Posts (945)

Mary Savage, dau of John Savage and Mary Robins, mar 2) John Senior, who 4 Mar 1684/5 aged 14, chose his father-in-law, (step-father} John Hudson as his guardian. See Order Book 12 1683-1689 page 115

John Seener, will written 7 Mar 1708/9, and proved 28 May 1709, page 39 Deed Wills

Captain John Savage deposed 22 Nov 1677 that he was age 53 See Order Book 10, 1674-1678 page 235. That on 21 Nov 1637 he renewed his mother's patent of 24 Aug 1635 for land given his father by the King of the Eastern Shore. Captain John Savage represented County in the House of Burgess 1665-1676.

Captain John Savage mar 1) Ann Elkington  and 2) Mary Robins, daughter of Obedience Robins.

There were children by both marriages. As I descend from the second marriage I shall only…

The Court in Jamestown issued an order 7 Mar 1624/5, that Ensigne Thomas Savage shall interpret for the good of the Plantation of Accomack according to such directions as he shall receive from Captain William Eppes or else to enter into bonds of 200 pounds sterling into sufficient surities unto Capt William Eppes not to have any conference at all or familiaritie with the Indians of those parts.

Thomas Savage died between 12 Aug 1631 and 24 Sept 1633 when "the widow Hannah Savage went…

gave to Savage a large tract of land on the Shore, estimated at 9000 acres. This gift, affirmed in two subsequent patents, is recorded in the 1626 list See Hotten page 189. In the census of 1623/4 Thomas Savage was shown living on the Eastern Shore and in the Muster of 1625 as Ancient {Ensigne} Thomas Savage who sailed from England aboard the John and Francis in 1607. His wife, Anne (Hannah) was aboard the Sea Flower in 1621. In the 1625 Muster she was shown as the wife of Thomas Savage..…

Master John Pory Secretary of The Virginia Company, in an account of his visit to the Eastern Shore of Virginia in 1621 wrote "Not long after Namenacus, King of Pawtuxent, came to us to seek for Thomas Savage, our interpreter,...with much honestie and good successes he hath served the publique, w/o any publique recompense , yet had an arrow shot through his body and service.

About 1622 the King of the Eastern Shore-cont.

and received as much content as those people could give him. A boy named Thomas Savage (Now spelt Savadge{ was now given unto King Powhatan who now called him son.Powhatan gave him Namonbache, his trusty servant and one of a shrew's subtile capacity.  This formality was conducted before this large audience.

Thomas Savage, then. lived with the family of Powhatan and was treated as a son of the king. Thomas learned their language, becoming quite fluent. In time he became interpreter for…

Ensigne Thomas Savage, born 1590, probably was a member of The Noble and Ancient family of Savages of the Ards, London, 1888, VIV, pp,. 443-445. He came to Virginia in the first supply ship of Captain Christopher Newport, as cabin boy at the age of seventeen. Thomas arrived at Jamestown 8 Jan 1607/8. Early in February Captain Newport, accompanied by thirty men, visited Powhatan, Chief and King of all the natives in what is now called Tidewater, Virginia. Powhatan was found seated at his…

I suggest that Martha went to live in Accomack County with Gertrude. This made it appropriate for her to correspond with Judge Lee. It appears that Martha and her parents were strainied in their relationship. Gertrude was the widow of Henry Hermanson and, if my memory serves me correctly, a daughter of none other than Edmund Bowman, cousin of Lt. Colonel Edward Douglas.  John Senior and Martha Willett had two daughters and they were mentioned in his will. I descend from Mary Senior and will…

I have mentioned that George Douglas of Accomack County had two sons, namely Arthur and James. Neither son had male children. When I addressed the Willett-Senior families I was not thinking clearly. I had two problems-one, I was trying to present the Senior family from the down up. This never works well for me. I shall go to the head of this constellation of families and work down. The head shall be Ensign Thomas Savage. The second problem relates to Martha Willett. I had found a reference…

Captain William Willett and his wife, Ann Stringer, had a son named Thomas Willett. Thomas might have been named for a Willett. He might, also, have been named for one of his family in Scotland. Not all, but much of this is speculation on my part.

I was describing the will of John Senior. Witnesses to will were William Bishop, Edward Peake, and William Willett. At probate Martha Senior refused and Gertrude Harmanson qualified. I happen to descend from Isabel Senior. Now, poor Martha leaves her two children with her brother, Captain William Willett and takes off for Yorktown to be with her mother.

At the moment I cannot remember the name of Elizabeth Willett's husband. I do remember seeing that she is mentione twice in the…

I consider the situation of Lt Colonel Edward Douglas quite fluid. My purpose is to reveal my latest thinking. I must hark back to Edward Douglas, Jr., who,  at the age of eighteen received his inheritance of his father. We presume he returned to England with his sister, Elizabeth Willett, because his bond to protect her was so strong. Not only did Elizabeth's husband, John Willett, die in the prime of life but he left his plantation in tatters and with a heavy indebtedness. After a short…

Tabitha's father was Arthur Wise. Colonel George Douglas had two sons- Arthur and James. Tabitha's father was Arthur Wise. This explains how George named one son Arthur. George's second son was named James. This given name had to relate to the Douglas family. George left a will 9 Nov 1757 in Accomack County. Wife, two sons Arthur and James as well as daughters Anne, Margaret, Tabitha, Elizabeth, and Agnes are mentioned. 

Colonel George Douglas of Accomack County, Virginia, was born about 1695 in Scotland. I suggest his father was named James Douglas and his grandfather, George Douglas. His relationship to Lt Colonel Edward Douglas of Northampton County was at most a distant one. George Douglas was described by his descendant Colonel Cropper Jennings Wise "as a Scotsman of gentle birth of exceptional character and attainments". He was a lawyer of high regard, a member of the King's Counsel and a member of…

We offer our congratulations to the following on their appointments:

Member of the Order of the British Empire MBE Member of the Order of the British Empire Mr Grant Jonathan DOUGLAS Founder and Chief Executive Officer, S'up Products Limited. For services to People with Disabilities. Edinburgh

Medallist of the Order of the British Empire BEM Medal of the Order of the British Empire Mrs Theresa Mary DOUGLAS Police Staff, Police Service of Northern Ireland. For services to…

On 10th December 1679, 210 Covenanter prisoners in the Greyfriars Prison destined, with others from the tolbooths, were being transported on board the ill-fated "Crown", which sank off Deerness in the Orkney Isles. Over 200 were drowned.

In 1679, after the Scottish Covenanters' uprising was quashed at the Battle of Bothwell Brig, 1184 prisoners were captured after the…

Experts are examining carvings on an old wooden chair that shows evidence of having been immersed in sea water for some time.

The seat is stored in the Am Fasgadh building at the Highland Folk Museum in Newtonmore in the Cairngorms.

Thought to date from the 17th or 18th Century, it was given to the museum by a donor from Edinburgh.

On the panel that forms the back of the seat are carved a lion and a unicorn on a crest with a crowned heart…

After many, many years I have finally cracked the case of my mysterious ancestor Edward Douglas - the first Douglas of my family line to arrive in Australia.

Edward was the son of James Douglas - the only recorded child to James and his unknown wife. He was born in 1824 

Records on ancestry.com suggests that Edward was born in Birmingham. Evidence on this same site suggests he lived in the Warwickshire until the age of 19. 

It appears that life at that time for him was…

There is a story circulating that while researching the Vatican archives for a book on the topography of Lowland Scotland, the author Nigel Tranter found a document which stated that John, son of William Lord of Douglas attended a royal council at Scone in 1056. This would be more than 100 years earlier than the previously accepted first Lord of Douglas.  At that time, Macbeth would have been king.

There is the following tradition in regard to the origin of the name. In…