William Douglas's Blog (611)

Among the more harrowing tales in the Douglas Archives are the references to indentured servants, often children.

Image used for illustration - it is not being suggested that these children were slaves.



The main money-making crops in colonial Georgia were tobacco, indigo and rice, all of which required intensive manual labour. Indentured servitude…

I have long been aware of the Douglas of Cavers links to important religious matters.

The 'Good Lady of Cavers'  was imprisoned in Stirling Castle in 1682 for her religions beliefs.

Today, I learned that James Douglas of Cavers paid for a printing of the New Testament (in Rome?) in 1849.

This is probably the same James has…

Built on the former Douglas estate of Bonjedward, the 'new' house is back on the market.  A chance for a Douglas family to bring it back into clan hands, maybe?

Bonjedward House is a magnificent listed Georgian house dating from the latter stages of the 18th century. Built for Archibald Jerdon of Bonjedward and later the seat of the Dowager Marchioness…

Whether or not I agree with the President of the United States sentiments, the fact is that tearing down the statue of Frederick Douglass is yet another act of vandalism that is shaming the world.

The statue of the renowned Black abolitionist Frederick Douglass was torn from its base in a park in Rochester, N.Y., and then dumped some 50 feet…

If you are looking for a low ost way to manage your family tree, this Excel version might meet your needs:  …

James Gavin was a prominent Covenanter in contrast to the Douglas family who were prominent Episcopalian. In fact the church of Scotland sent several sharp reminders to the Douglases that they were to cease their adherence to Episcopalianism. However James 2nd Marquis of Douglas got round this problem by promoting tolerance both to Episcopalians and Presbyterians in the 1660's. This happy accommodation did not last.

James Gavin fled the Dragoons and hid in a small cave to the West of…

"Clan maps only show a certain point in time - but this one is different! https://youtu.be/Z19OF8cgRQk"

This picture from Pont shows how Douglas Castle may have looked in 1596 when the map for Lanarkshire was created. The late Professor McClean from Dundee thought that Pont Map had an element of accuracy about them. What is to be seen is a couple of towers with wall between them with gateway. The larger of the towers possibly had a Renaissance style Cupola. The other Castle is Parkhead which also belonged to the Douglas family. There was a castle here at Parkhead from the…

Thomas Gainsborough  (1727 – 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. One of his sitters was Frances Browne, Mrs John Douglas, who appears to be born in 1741 and died in 1811.

The portrait hangs in Waddesdon Hall, the property of the Rothschild Family.

Also in…

James Douglas was the 14^th Earl of Morton, a Scottish peer dedicated to science with a keen interest in astronomy.  He was a founding member and President of the Society for Improving Arts and Sciences in Edinburgh, and elected as President of the Royal Society in London in 1763. 

On the eve of…

In 2013, I was informed by a young woman of details of her family.

I included these in the Douglas Archives, in good faith.

Last night she sent me an email informing me that her family circumstances were not as she had provided them, and asked me to remove them.

It transpires that she had made a marriage 'contract' on the basis of her connection to a prominent Scottish family, and this had proved to be false.

Was I duped, and used to promote a false identity? Or…

Congratulations to:

James Arthur DOUGLASS, Police Staff, Metropolitan Police Service. For services to Policing and to National Security, who was appointed to the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2020 New Years Hounours

Along with the Birthday honours, the New Year’s Honours list is the most significant announcement of civilian and military gallantry awards.

Rob Douglas, of Western Australia, has published a collection of notes and photographs about his grandfather, Henry, and grandmother, Mina. Rob uncovered a wealth of anecdotes and recollections of their lives.

If your family history merges with theirs at any point, then I am sure you will find this publication as fascinating as…

I have had a session adding to my map of places in Douglas history. Still a long way to go! https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1F-UPddN4htCLFLz75kSfJlucn5g&ll=10.299642456804598%2C0&z=2

(Click the link, not the map)…

Something to ponder on

Extracted from la genealogia de la antiquissima y nobilissima familia Brigantina o Douglas

On 21st June 1861, the anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn, the master gunner of Dumbarton Castle carried William Wallace’s sword to the laying of the foundation stone at the Wallace Monument, while a servant of the Earl of Elgin carried King Robert Bruce’s sword. Up to 100,000 people are said to have attended.

Other historical swords in the…

Henry Alexander Douglas progressed from being Vicar of the Church of St Margaret of Antioch, in Abbotsley, now in Cambridgeshire, but in an area formerly known as Huntingdon, via South Africa to becoming Bishop of Bombay.

I have known of him for a while, but have not been able to piece together his full story. Yesterday, another fact emerged.

I was attending a family service in the church of St Margaret of Antioch, which sits in the village of Abbotsley. The earliest record of…

In line with other genealogy and family history web sites, I am asking site users to agree to the 'Ancestry Rule'.

You are not authorized to add this page or any images from this page to Ancestry.com (or its subsidiaries) or other fee-paying sites without our express permission and then, if given, only by including our copyright and a URL link to the web site.

It remains my policy that material that is mine - ie not clearly provided by others - should be freely…

I have spent a few days collating and compiling a collection of papers supplied to me on the Wigtonshire Douglas families of Stoneykirk and Two Mark and their many descendants and relatives.

I have probably put them in the wrong order, and suffer from some missing sections.  However, they fill many gaps in the Douglas Archives which I now will work through.…

A couple of days ago, I received a request for information about a Douglas family from Nesbit, in Roxburghshire.

By chance, I possessed an invitation to the opening yesterday of the restored Monteath Douglas Mausoleum, just a few miles away, so I made diversion to the graveyard at Nesbit hoping to find some Douglas gravemarkers.

In memory of JANE PATON wife of THOMAS DOUGLAS who died at Ploughland Maxton 3.9.1900 aged 58 years also HELEN their daughter who died at…