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Randini – the man who helped Houdini

Randini book cover



Houdini; the Man Who Could Escape From Anything Or Anywhere; the Man Who Could Walk Through Walls and Cheat Death. And yet the stunt that helped to make Houdini a legend- escaping from a strait jacket whilst suspended hundreds of feet in the air wasn’t invented by the Master Mystifier. That honour belonged to a long forgotten Sheffield schoolboy...



Randini-The Man Who Helped Houdini is the remarkable story of a fan who helped reinvent… Continue

Added by William Douglas on September 3, 2009 at 10:30 — No Comments

Should Scotland repeat The Gathering?

Homecoming 2009 is a Scottish celebration of not only Robert Burns but some of Scotland's great contributions to the world: Burns, Golf, Whisky, The Enlightenment and Innovation, as well as our rich culture and heritage which lives on at home and through the many people of Scots descent who live out with our shores. One of the highlights was The… Continue

Added by William Douglas on September 2, 2009 at 17:30 — No Comments

Why is Jimmy Douglas in the news?

Jimmy Douglas, an Aberdeenshire farmer is the talk of the farming world after his exploits in Lanark Auction Mart.

Already an expert sheep breeder, he is now hoping his record breaking purchase will take him to new heights.

Read our full story, and if you can help fill in any biographical details, please let us know.

Added by William Douglas on August 29, 2009 at 11:30 — No Comments

Verifying Online Sources - A Genwise discussion

Many budding genealogists are excited when they find that many of the names in their family tree are easily found online. Proud of their accomplishment, they then download all the data they can from these Internet sources, import it into their genealogy software and proudly start sharing their "genealogy" with others. Their research then makes its way into new genealogy databases and collections, further perpetuating the new "family tree" and amplifying any errors each time the source is… Continue

Added by William Douglas on August 27, 2009 at 10:00 — 2 Comments

Google News Timeline - a genealogy resource

In April, google launched a new feature on Google Labs that organizes many different types of search results on a zoomable, graphical timeline.



Google News Timeline presents search results from a wide range of sources. You can search and browse results from Google News, including headlines, quotes, photos from our Hosted News partners, and YouTube partner videos.… Continue

Added by William Douglas on August 21, 2009 at 16:00 — No Comments

Launch Of GenealogyWise Networking Website

An extraordinary thing happened a few weeks ago: the creators of GenealogyWise, a social networking site dedicated entirely to genealogy, quietly launched their website without an announcement, possibly thinking of a small, informal launch during which they could quietly work out the bugs and refine the features.



That was before 2,918 members joined in three days, created 1,912 interest groups, started 55 forums and posted more than 100 blog entries. Now, there are more than 12,000… Continue

Added by William Douglas on August 20, 2009 at 10:30 — No Comments

Curse of the Queensberrys

Tuesday August 4,2009, Daily Express

By Anna Pukas



Lord Milo Douglas who threw himself to his death from a tower block was the latest member of a troubled aristocratic family with a chequered history that has links to both Oscar Wilde and Osama Bin Laden





On a rainy night last month a 34-year-old charity worker named Milo Douglas climbed to the top of a block of council flats in central London and jumped off.



His body was found in front of Reading… Continue

Added by William Douglas on August 18, 2009 at 18:00 — No Comments

Report on the 2009 Edinburgh Clan Gathering

The following article has been contributed:



The Celebration of Robert Burns’ 250th birthday, and a flagging tourist industry sparked the largest gathering of the Scottish Clans since 1822. As part of the Scottish Homecoming Festival, the 25th and 26th July this year, saw THE GATHERING, held in the grounds of Holyrood Castle in Edinburgh Scotland with a Clan Parade up the ‘Royal Mile’ to a Pageant in the foyer of Edinburgh Castle itself. Over 50 thousand people attended, but only… Continue

Added by William Douglas on August 16, 2009 at 10:30 — 1 Comment

James Douglas, DCM, MM

I was told a story at the 2009 Clan Gathering and would like to learn more about a remarkable character.



James Douglas fought in Armenia, and was taken prisoner by the Russians in the 1st World War. He escaped, but was re-captured and then became part of an exchange for a Russian admiral. At what stage he was awarded the DCM and MM I do not know.



After the war, he became chauffeur for Sir Maxwell Scott at Abbotsford.



Can anyone throw light on…

Continue

Added by William Douglas on August 9, 2009 at 18:00 — 2 Comments

New sections added

Responding to enquiries, I have added some new sections to the community network, and also to the main site.



Here, you will now find a Discussion Forum for Douglases in Slavery and the Slave Trade, which is being led by Marian Douglas-Ungaro. Virtually all Afrodescendant Douglases anywhere in the Americas, are Douglases because of enslavement - both in colonial Britain & in… Continue

Added by William Douglas on August 7, 2009 at 12:00 — No Comments

Clan Gathering a great success

Organisers today hailed the weekend's huge clan gathering a success, after almost 50,000 people flocked to Holyrood Park from all corners of the world.

Clan chiefs, ex-pat Scots and curious locals were among those soaking up the atmosphere – and occasional sun – yesterday on the second day of Homecoming centrepiece The Gathering.



They enjoyed traditional Highland Games, dancing displays and live performances.



And organisers hope the event will become… Continue

Added by William Douglas on July 27, 2009 at 16:00 — 1 Comment

Clan Gathering - Edinburgh

I had an enormously enjoyable morning at the Clan Gathering, part of Scotland's Homecoming, in Edinburgh today.



Many Douglases, and those associated with the family through septs, stopped off at the clan tent to say 'Hullo' and tell me about their own family history. It was great to meet so many people from all around the world who were so interested in their family backgrounds, and who had spent time in Scotland visiting places associated with the family.



I was put to… Continue

Added by William Douglas on July 25, 2009 at 19:21 — No Comments

Online bookstore

I received a blatant bit of advertising through a forum posting, but as it does seem potentially useful, I am passing it on.



The following books were listed at Ancestral Books:



A Collection of Family Records With Biographical Sketches, and Other Memoranda of Various Families and Individuals.. - by Douglas, Charles Henry Providence, RI , 1879



My Father's Family (Douglas) - by Rudder, Edith A.

Salem,… Continue

Added by William Douglas on July 21, 2009 at 10:36 — No Comments

Spelling of Douglas, Douglass, etc

Interesting research in the Douglas DNA group has revealed futher spelling variations of our name.



I already record that there are family members whp spell their names:

Dowglass,

Dowglas,

Dowglasse,

Dowglace,

Dovglas,

Dulglas,

Douglace,

Douglas,

Douglass,

Douglase,

Dougles,

Douglles,

Douglis,

Dogles,

Duglas,

Duglass,

Drysdale



and have noted the gaelic spelling:… Continue

Added by William Douglas on July 18, 2009 at 18:20 — 1 Comment

New CDSNA president



Congratulations go to President is James Douglas Jacobs of Spring, Texas, (left) who has been elected President of the Clan Douglas Society of North America.



He succeeds Mark Douglas(right).…



Continue

Added by William Douglas on July 17, 2009 at 21:00 — No Comments

Google Books help family history researchers





Google are continually adding to their library of out of print books that they are making available on-line. Whilst some are, frustratingly, not available in the UK because of copyright issues, many are.



I have recently been referred to Debrett's The baronetage of England for a particular reference, but by entering 'Douglas' in the search box, I was able to call up many interesting references.…



Continue

Added by William Douglas on July 17, 2009 at 16:30 — No Comments

Lady Alice is in the swim

One member of the extended family who is seldom out of the news is Lady Alice Douglas, the daughter of the 12th Marquis of Queensbury.



This photograph has just circulated the world as 'Photo of the week'.





Lady Alice Douglas swam in lake Llyn Mymbyr in Capel Curig, Wales, Tuesday. She has been swimming in lakes and rivers since her… Continue

Added by William Douglas on July 5, 2009 at 11:35 — No Comments

Avatars

The little photograph that accompanies members entries is called, I think, an avatar. Mine appears at the top of this article (could be better, I know!) I thought it would be fun to change the default shaddowy image to a Douglas 'personality'.

However, now that I see it in use, it does not seem so suitable for our lady members!



So, I will take advice. Do we keep it, or junk it?



It does not seem possible to have one for men… Continue

Added by William Douglas on June 30, 2009 at 10:43 — 1 Comment

Signet ring with a history?

A little while ago, I was sent some photographs of a signet ring. Whilst the email came from France, the ring apparently became the property of this particular family in California.



As can be seen, it bears the Douglas crest of the wild boar and the oak tree, and the motto, Lock Sicker. The Douglas heart is clear, but what is depicted in the other quarters?



Does anyone know whose crest this might be? And how it got to… Continue

Added by William Douglas on June 27, 2009 at 17:13 — No Comments

New GEDCOM uploaded to the database

One of the most common methods used for genealogy information exchange is the GEDCOM, an acronym for GEnealogical Data COMmunication. In simple terms it is a method of formatting your family tree data into a text file which can be easily read and converted by any genealogy software program.



A GEDCOM is used between the database on my home PC and the database that drives the genealogy website. Whilst it is possible to update records on-line, using TNG, my preferred route is to main… Continue

Added by William Douglas on June 17, 2009 at 13:30 — No Comments

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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?


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