The Douglas Archives

A collection of historical and genalogical records

William Douglas's Blog (652)

Search Blog Posts

Coal mining in Spitzbergen, 1906

A researcher has sent me the following:

The Earl of Morton had several Arctic interests, as far as I can see. He and Alexander Bruce Hugh, 6th Lord Balfour of Burleigh had major shares in the little known Spitzbergen Coal and Mineral Ltd of London before Morton became involved in the Spitzbergen Mining and Exploration Syndicate in 1906. His third son, Archibald Roderick Sholto, was also a shareholder in the latter. Then there were shares in Arctic Ltd, but I have no idea what that…

Continue

Added by William Douglas on December 14, 2010 at 10:52 — 2 Comments

Far East biographies - help needed

Can anyone add anything to the following biographies?


DOUGLAS, Francis William (KINTA),
Secretary of the Sanitary Board; b. Dec. 31, 1874. Joined service at Perak, 1895 ; acting assistant District Magistrate, Tanjong Malim, 1896; acting District Officer, Kuantan, 1897; acting Distiict Officer, Temerloh, 1898 ; acting-Superintendent, Ulu Pahang, 1898 ; assistant Distiict Magistrate, Tanjong Malim, 1899 ; acting Forest Officer, Perak, 1900; acting assistant…
Continue

Added by William Douglas on December 9, 2010 at 10:00 — 1 Comment

Writing for Wikipedia - why?

I spent a couple of hours last night writing an article for Wikipedia. This might seem strange when I am so far from completing many articles for The Douglas Archives. But, somehow, the two sometimes seem to go together.


Many of the full Wikipedia 'nobility' articles written about the Douglas family were just one liners when I first started contributing. Now, someone, or probably lots of someones, has added to them and built a full biography. This information then flows…
Continue

Added by William Douglas on December 8, 2010 at 13:15 — No Comments

Searching for ancestors? Need help in Galloway?

Recently joined member, Bob Henry, is offering to help with searches in south west Scotland, particularly in Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire - even perhaps Dumfriesshire.


I have recently seen evidence of his work on ancestors of Sir William Douglas of Castle Douglas and am impressed with his achievements.


If you are looking for help in that area, bob is your…
Continue

Added by William Douglas on November 24, 2010 at 20:29 — No Comments

Kate Middleton - The Douglas Connection

Kate and William When the engagement of William, Prince of Wales to Miss Kate Middleton was announced, it was inevitable that genealogists should get to work. Is there a connection, we want to know.


Someone who had already done his homework was the genealogist William A. Reitwiesner.


Sadly, William A. Reitwiesner, died on Friday 12 November 2010, only 56 years old. His works included The American ancestors and relatives of Lady Diana Frances Spencer…
Continue

Added by William Douglas on November 17, 2010 at 11:00 — 2 Comments

Research myths

He was 11 years old(1695) when he went to London, where his Uncle who had a thriving business offered his inheritance to John, as he had no children. John did not find his Uncle, so went down to look at the ships. He was grabbed on a man of war ship, and ended up in Boston, indentured.


From time to time, I receive enquiries with stories like this attached. There must, I suppose, be some truth in them, but are they all true? Sadly, I doubt…
Continue

Added by William Douglas on November 16, 2010 at 12:02 — No Comments

Douglas crests

I have been asked a question about the crests used by the Douglas family. I thought that this might be useful...

Added by William Douglas on October 29, 2010 at 10:42 — 2 Comments

Curious links

This morning, I received a message from someone in Mexico, who was telling me about a fountain in Nacozari, Sonora, where he lives. This town was apparently founded by James Douglas in the late XIX Century. In the early 1920s, his son, James S. Douglas built a fountain as a monument in honour of his father. This fountain still stands today in the plaza in front of the Town Hall. It is a replica of a fountain in Dijon, Paris. James S. Douglas went to Paris in 1919 and brought with him the…
Continue

Added by William Douglas on October 13, 2010 at 12:47 — No Comments

Robert Douglas, Governor of Bois-le-Duc

On 14 October 1784, Duke Louis Ernest of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Bevern ( 1718-1788) laid down all his offices and left Bois-le-Duc to its new governor, Robert Douglas.


Who is this Robert Douglas?


In the picture below, Robert is on the left.




Any additional information on this event would be…

Continue

Added by William Douglas on September 30, 2010 at 15:02 — 1 Comment

The Lady in the mask tells her story

Davinia nee Turrell It is one of the most haunting images of the 7/7 terrorist attacks on London – Davinia Turrell clutching a burns dressing to her face as she fled Edgware Road Tube station.…


Continue

Added by William Douglas on September 29, 2010 at 11:25 — No Comments

Douglas statue unveiled

Tommy Douglas statue Sculptor Lea Vivot lovingly embraces her creation, a sculptor of Tommy Douglas, at the artwork's unveiling in Weyburn,Saskatchewan on September 10, 2010. Tommy was Premier of Saskatchewan.…

Continue

Added by William Douglas on September 25, 2010 at 19:00 — No Comments

Crocodile Hunter Malcolm Douglas Killed in Car Crash

Australian documentary maker Malcolm Douglas, known in the industry as the original crocodile hunter and the man who managed to match, if not surpass, TV documentary legend Steve Irwin was killed on Thursday at the Wilderness Wildlife Park in Broome, after the 4x4 he was driving hit a tree.



The body of the filmmaker was supposedly found caught in between the tree and his car, with the police ruling the death as accidental. The causes of the accident are however not clear at… Continue

Added by William Douglas on September 24, 2010 at 18:30 — 2 Comments

Douglas-Scotti and the origins of the Douglas family

Sholto Douglas was the mythical Progenitor of Clan Douglas, a powerful and warlike family in Medieval Scotland. A Mythical battle took place: "in 767, between King Solvathius rightful king of Scotland and a pretender Donald Bane. The victory was so nearly Donald's when a certain noble man, disdaining to see so bad a cause have good successe, struck in for the king and turned the fortunes of the day. When the king inquired about the knight who had done such valuable service, somebody exclaimed… Continue

Added by William Douglas on September 21, 2010 at 15:13 — 1 Comment

Ephraim Douglas - Indian Peacemaker

I was doing some research for Amy Walden, when I came across a reference to Adam Douglas, who emigrated to America in about 1765. Adam was father to Brigadier General Ephraim. Who was he, I wondered?


A quick trawl of the internet revealed an extraordinary story.


In 1783, there were a number of Indian attacks. Some of the frontiersmen suspected that these raids were…
Continue

Added by William Douglas on September 16, 2010 at 12:17 — No Comments

John Douglas, 7th Premier of Queensland

I have recently been revisiting the story of John Douglas, 7th Premier of Queensland, Australia. It has given me the opportunity of including more details of his family and descendants in the database. These will be added at the next GEDCOM upload.



Doing my research, I came across Jeremy Hodes thesis, The Uncompromising Liberal, which was written over a period… Continue

Added by William Douglas on September 14, 2010 at 11:08 — No Comments

Head of the clan - a debate

Wikipedia has it's fans and it's detractors. The on-line encyclopaedia will be 10 years old in 2011, and has in that time become a major reference for researchers in all fields of discovery.



Because Wkipedia can be edited by anyone, it is prone to pranksters and to the spread of mis-information. However, it is still a very useful resource.



Anyone doing serious research is advised to use alternative sources to verify the information. However, Wikipedia itself offers an…

Continue

Added by William Douglas on September 6, 2010 at 15:00 — 2 Comments

Fraud warning

You are probably aware of the Nigerian scams informing you to you only have to send your bank details to receive squillions of pounds or dollars from suspended accounts.



However, I was disturbed to read of one from 'Mr Paul Douglas'.



If you receive a message from please him, do not respond; perhaps I should be adding him to my Rogues and Vagabonds section?


As a P.S.…
Continue

Added by William Douglas on August 28, 2010 at 11:42 — No Comments

Gelston Castle, Jordonville, New York

Gelston Castle is a limestone mansion near Jordonville, New York. The mansion, possibly a replica of a castle called Gelston in Scotland, was built between 1834 and 1836 by Harriet Douglas Crugar.



When she died, she left the castle to her niece, Fanny Monroe (1824-1906), the grandniece of President James Monroe. Fanny Monroe left the castle to her son Douglas Robinson who married Corrine Roosevelt, the sister of president Theodore Roosevelt. Reputedly, three presidents,… Continue

Added by William Douglas on August 25, 2010 at 22:05 — 8 Comments

Earl of Arran title claimed by Swiss millionaire

One of the titles held by Alexander, 16th Duke of Hamilton, is being claimed by Willi Ernst Sturzenegger, a Swiss millionaire who already styles himself 'Sturzenegger of Arran, holder of the territorial Earldom of Arran'.



Mr Sturzenegger, who already freely styles himself online as Lord Arran, had a similar petition turned down by the Lord Lyon, the guardian of Scottish titles and heraldry.



He claimed his title in 1995 along with a few thousand acres of Arran and the… Continue

Added by William Douglas on August 25, 2010 at 9:55 — No Comments

DNA developments

As those who are members of the Douglas DNA project will be aware, this is a busy week with developments in sorting out the Douglas lines.



We have identified 48 R1b1b2 participants in the Douglas group which includes the men with paper lineages to the Earls of Morton.

There are a further 12 R1b1b2 who are indicated to be Niall of 9 hostages descendants. Some of these claim Angus descent, some Morton , and some do not know.… Continue

Added by William Douglas on August 19, 2010 at 9:28 — No Comments

Latest Blog Posts

Most Popular Blog Posts

Monthly Archives

2026

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

Making conections

The more information you can give about the people you mention, the more chance there is of someone else connecting with your family.

Dates and places of births, deaths and marriages all help to place families.

Professions also help.

'My great-grandmother mother was a Douglas from Montrose' does not give many clues to follow up! But a bit of flesh on the bones makes further research possible. But if we are told who she married, what his profession was and where the children were baptised, then we can get to work.

Maybe it is time to update the information in your profile?


© 2026   Created by William Douglas.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service