William Douglas's Blog (602)

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…

Article from the Dubh Ghlase newsletter

https://www.facebook.com/download/438083097024814/William%20Douglas%20Interview%202019.pdf?av=1362687605&eav=AfYQOM3ZqDgO_ky6vjL_RZ_AAp5HlD1L2iYWNAVujhSCx8T0qXSXXIZbhDUe5gS_llw&hash=AcpEkqsQNrY-kEmD…

Another former Douglas property has come onto the market.

Strathenry House was built for Robert Douglas Esq. local landowner, and is described in the New Statistical Account as "a very handsome building, in the style of the old English manor house of Queen Elizabeth's time".

Strathendry Castle, now superseded by the modern mansion, is a…

I have been rooting around in the French Ministry of Culture's database (I know, I know) and found a photograph of the tomb of Jean-Louis Désiré, Baron of Bois-David, and his wife Christine-Hélène Jeanne of Douglas, which is in St. Martin Parish Churchyard, Wilwisheim, Bas-Rhin, Alsace - presumably their burial place.

I now know that Thede Boisdavid…

I have included this article on the strength of his marriage - and because I like his portrait.



John Stewart, Earl of Buchan (c. 1381 – 17 August 1424) was a Scottish nobleman and soldier who fought alongside Scotland's French allies during the Hundred Years War. In 1419 he was sent to France by his father the Duke of Albany, Regent of Scotland, with…

Our congratulations go to Steven Douglas. Group chief executive Officer Altair. For services to the Housing Industry. (London) who has been appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in HM The Queen's 2019 birthday…

Presented as the ultimate ‘off grid’ residential and forestry estate in the south of Scotland, Blackhouse Estate, which lies in the Tweedsmuir Hills on the northern edge of the Yarrow valley, in the ancient Ettrick Forest, is for sale.

The Ettrick Forest or the 'Forest' as it was known has long connection with the earlier Scottish kings as a hunting area. The Douglas family were seen as the keepers of this area and it is after this family that the Douglas Burn is named. As…

The Balliol Roll, the earliest roll of arms for Scotland. It contains thirty-five shields of Scottish noblemen arranged beneath the arms of Sir Edward Balliol, king of Scots (c. 1282-1364), and was almost certainly composed for that ruler. Edward Balliol, the last of the Anglo-Scots, was the son of John de Balliol (King John of Scotland) and Isabella de…

Chevalier Douglas, Alexandre-Pierre de Mackensie-Douglas, baron de Kildin, was a Scottish Jacobite in French service He was sent on a secret mission to Russia where he was to meet Empress Elizabeth and conspire with the pro-French faction against the Habsburg monarchy.

He was to be accompanied by a young woman, his 'neice', to provide cover for his…