William Douglas's Blog (628)

In 1826, Count Karl von Welsperg decided to sell the heavily indebted Langenstein estate including the towns of Eigeltingen and Orsingen. With Prince Karl Egon zu Fürstenberg, to whom he initially offered the property; the count did not reach a trade agreement. Finally, Grand Duke Ludwig of Baden took over the offered objects for 190,000 guilders. In the same…

I have long wondered about the origin of the salamander that appears in Douglas heraldry and recalled that there was an article in the Australian newsletter many years ago.

Today, researching early uses of the stars on our armorials, particularly those of the Douglas Scotti, I stumbled across a couple of French 'blasons' with stars, one of which also had a…

Camp Morton is the site of a coal mining encampment located on Spitsbergen island in the Svalbard archipelago, Norway.

Camp Morton, also known as Camp Douglas, was established in the early 20th century by Ernest Mansfield, a prospector working on behalf of a British investment company called the Spitzbergen Mining and Exploration Syndicate (SMES). The camp was part of an effort by British investors and entrepreneurs to extract resources from Spitsbergen, which was open to various…

Researching the maternal side of my family, I came across the interesting story of 'John O’ The Bank Campbell'.

John O’ The Bank Campbell was a prominent figure in the history of the Royal Bank of Scotland. He served as the Cashier for the bank for over 30 years and also held the office of Deputy Keeper of the Great Seal [Scotland]. He lived…

The settlers on Brunette Island, who were resettled off the island within a century or so, have been brought to my attention. This was not a family, or group of families, that I had been aware of previously.

I have put together some notes about them and am now hoping that someone might be able to fill in the gaps in the story.

Where did they come from? Where did they go?

My research has produced conflicting reports of the lineage, so that needs sorting too!…

There is a story, with no historical evidence, that Robert the Bruce and James Douglas met near Moffat. The Ericstane no longer seems to exist but the visitor can get a distinct feel for the momentous meeting that took place there in late March, 1306. With a little imagination we can visualise the Bruce party, heading for the coronation at Scone, winding up the hillside where a young man sat astride his horse, borrowed from Bishop Lamberton, waiting with a message of support from the Bishop.…

There were 8,939 with this surname in Scotland in 1901. The surname is ranked 76th in Scotland in the same year, SMITH is ranked 1st since it is the most common Scottish surname.

Source: https://www.barrygriffin.com/ ;…

The descendants of William Douglas, b1610 and his wife Anne Mattie have been searching for clues to their ancestry beyond the 17th century for many years.

One researcher, Nigel Douglas has assembled a large collection of documents during his research.  He did not find the holy grail, but the names and links he identified are essential clues for others who are trawling through Northamptonshire births, marriages and deaths seeking links that might lead further.

The Douglas…

There is a board commemorating former Commandants of Queen Victoria School in a school corridor.

Among those listed is a Major GS Douglas. But who was he?

Searching Google did not throw up any clues, so I resorted to AI.  Different phrasing of the question provided differing results.  But which is correct and which is fiction is difficult to determine.  What follows are the various responses I received.…

I have received a large bundle of files relating to the Douglas family in Northamptonshire.

I have yet to decide how to include them in the Douglas Archives, but will make them available to those of you researching William Douglas and Ann Mattie, and the wider family as I collate the collection.…

Cromwell is dead, and risen; and dead again,

And risen the third time after he was slain

No wonder! For he’s messenger of Hell:

And now he buffets us, now posts to tell

What’s past; and for one more game new counsel takes

Of his good friend the Devil, who keeps the stakes.

Will Douglas did not get the best of reviews on his poetry, but it did reflect the myriad of tales about Cromwell's demise, or as it…

Captain John Douglass; patriot and revolutionary soldier

Continuing with my project of learning and sharing more on the Douglas family's role in the many American wars, I am looking for help identifying Captain John Douglass's family. We know he married Ann Jones, but what else in known of this man?…

The Story of St Bride

The Handmaid of the Inn

A decree had gone out from Caesar Augustus, and the little city was full. A great drought held the land in its parched grip and the innkeeper must needs make his way to the well that is beside the gate, there to bide his time. He left Bride but a stoup of water and a bannock for her use, and…

Looking at this poster, I realise what I am about to ask is a huge topic.

Whilst the Douglas Archives covers conflcts within the current boundaries of the United Kingdom, and to a limited extent on Continental Europe, it is sadly lacking repesenting the many wars, 'wars' and battles that have taken place on American (continent) soil.

It is an omission that I would like to rectify.

Any miltary historians out there who would like to work on this…

I have, for some time, been experiencing difficulties updating the genealogy database.  I moved this to a temporary site pending my webhost finding a solution.  This morning I woke to find that the main site had disappeared, hence the temporary page.

The issue has been that the files for the genealogy database have, it seems,…

It is some time since I received an email telling me that I had a close DNA match - but perhaps I clicked the link asking for those emails to stop.

I was getting regular messages informing me that totally unknown persons with no seeming link were apparently 'a close match'.  Searches proved nothing.

From time to time I get emails from people wondering where that link might be to their 'close match'.

I never found those links and grew bored of trying to find…

https://www.douglashistory.co.uk/history/Places/Italy/Rezzanello.html

Attached to the article is an Italian history of the Douglas Scotti family of Rezzanello, which includes a description of the Douglas Scotti arms.

Two variants can be seen in the photographs linked to the above web page.

In 1944, 500 Lovat Scouts had just arrived in Jasper National Park in Canada to undergo rigorous training in mountain warfare in preparation for an Allied-led invasion of Nazi-occupied Norway.

Lovat Scouts in Jasper 1944



In December 1943, Lt Col JSH Douglas, assumed command of the Lovat Scouts and after 6 months training in the Rockies they joined the 10th Indian Division with the Eighth Army in Italy in July 1944.…

I have made numerous additions to the Douglas Archives today, including a timeline of Sir James's life.

The changes are generally small and include new images.

Please note that the timeline is optimised for large screens, and will not be animated on phones and tablets.

As always, if you have something to add, or comment on, please do so.

Congratulations go to Sarah-Jane Douglass who was apointed a Medallist of the Order of the British Empire (BEM) for services to the community in Norwich, Norfolk during Covid-19.