William Douglas's Blog (617)

I was researching Douglas of Cunninghamhead (near Kilmaurs, Ayrshire, Scotland) whose daughter and heiress married a Cunningham, when I came across the following entries on Wikipedia (not all on the same page).

Warrix (now Warrick) Hill formed part of the demesne of the De Morvilles who forfeited their lands to Robert the Bruce. Sir James, son of Sir James Stewart of Bonkill, son of Alexander the High Steward of Scotland, obtained Peirstoun and…

A HISTORIC aircraft used to scatter the ashes of Scotland's most prominent peer over his ancestral Haddington home has been gifted to the National Museum of Scotland.

The Bulldog military trainer was owned by the late Duke of Hamilton of Lennoxlove House, and was the first of its kind to be built in Scotland.

 Angus Douglas-Hamilton, who passed away…

Douglas-Hunt gave new meaning to the name of the competition, which requires athletes to…

A tale of two Johns.

In 'The House of Commons 1790-1820' By Roland G. Thorne, History of Parliament Trust (Great Britain) an assumption is made that it was John Douglas of Grantham, an MP, who became Provost Marshall of Grenada in 1836, and died there in 1838.

However, following an enquiry drawing my attention to evidence on a gravestone in Kelton graveyard, I am now convinced that Thorne got it…

The Gough Map is internationally-renowned as one of the earliest maps to show Britain in a geographically-recognizable form. Yet to date, questions remain of how the map was made, who made it, when and why.

The map can be found here: http://www.goughmap.org

I received a request today for more information on the use of the three stars on the Douglas coat arms.

Here is an explanation:

A star depicted on a coat of arms, in some cases, may represent a falling star and denote a divine quality bestowed from above, whereby men shine in virtue like bright stars on the earth. The star symbolizes honor, achievement and…

The announcement by Peter Douglas as head of the California Coastal Commission has received mixed responses.

Whilst all regret the reason for his retiral, in November (he has cancer), there are those who say that there are few individuals who have done more to singlehandedly destroy jobs, wealth, and opportunities in California -- all in the name of advancing a…

This article has been contributed.

Although I’m in my seventies, I’m Young Davie Dalton, or at least that what I was when I nearly lost a leg and a bit of an arm with the pit ponies.

I’d been sent to Douglas Castle Colliery, the bit down near Castle Dangerous managed by Tam Hamilton. I was to be there for three months between getting my mining engineering degree from university and going…

There is an interesting discussion on Wikipedia about branches of 'Clan Douglas'.

Now, many do not realise that Wikipedia has a number of people who challenge the content, and enter into discussions with others about the veracity of the that content.

There were some strange 'branches' of 'Clan Douglas' listed, and I raised the question as to why they were there.

If you want to follow the dicusion, you can do do on the…

There has been a wonderful discussion on the Douglas dna forum regarding why so many family names seem to have the same dna as the Douglases. Piligaging and plundering might be one reason, says Julie.

Gordon, Marksberry, St Clair, Morton and Barrack are just some of the names that crop up.  The discussion has centred on 'fence jumping', but genealogist Belinda Dettman has put forward a number of other…

William Douglas, 10th Earl of Angus (1552 – 3 March 1611) was the son of William, the 9th Earl (1533–1591). He was a direct descendant of King James I through his paternal grandmother, Lady Agnes Keith, a daughter of William Keith, 3rd Earl Marischal.He studied at St. Andrews University and joined the household of the Earl of Morton. Subsequently, while visiting the French court, he became a Roman Catholic, and was in consequence, upon his return, disinherited and placed under restraint.A…

Lord James Douglas (1617–1645) was a Scottish nobleman and soldier.He was born at Douglas Castle, Douglas, South Lanarkshire, the son of William Douglas, 1st Marquess of Douglas, and his wife Margaret Hamilton, a daughter of Claud Hamilton, 1st Lord Paisley.Douglas was sent at an early age to the court of Louis XIII, where he was served the King as a Page, where he steadily moved through the levels of the Maison du Roi.A fine memorial was erected to his memory in the Chapelle de…

There follows a brief early history of Queensberry House, in Edinburgh, then a T-plan structure originally erected by Dame Margaret Douglas of Balmakelly as a ‘Grand Lodging’.

When Lord Milo Douglas, the bipolar son of the Marquess of Queensberry, killed himself, the health authorities were well aware of his suicidal feelings. His family want to know how he slipped through the net. For Lady Queensberry, no official explanation can answer the abiding question. 'My question is, what else could Milo have done to make himself heard? And that question wasn’t answered. How much more do you have to do to show that you…