Samuel Douglas, Windsor Castle Plantation, Jamaica

[Matthew Price]

A recent discovery of family papers indicate a connection with Samuel Douglas of Windsor Castle Plantation Jamaica. I have a transcript of his will from which I can determine his immediate brothers and sisters and the negro slaves who were loyal to him and who were also beneficiaries. We understand he had immediate connections with Castle Douglas, Scotland and established the Douglas schools thee. Can anyone lead me to more information about this ancestor?. Thanks, Matthew Price

[William Douglas]

See also:  http://douglashistory.ning.com/profiles/blogs/letter-to-thomas-jeff...

[William Douglas]

Date stone on Samuel Douglas's School, Newton Stewart

[Bob Henry]

Matthew,

Wondering if you received my 'private message' regarding exchanging copies of Samuel Douglas's will?

Bob.

[Bob Henry]

I should have added- hadn't thought about the 2nd cousin angle !!  Good one.

[Bob Henry]

I would agree, per posting 24 Nov., '10.

[William Douglas]

If  William, Samuel,  George,  James and Mrs Margaret McKaffy (McHaffie) were 1st Cousins of Samuel of Jamaica, and his siblings, then they shared the same grandparents.

Samuel's paternal grandparents were Peter Douglas and Margaret Ferguson, by their son Nathaniel and Margaret Heron.

William, Samuel, etc, are the grandchildren of William Douglas and Grizel McKeand, by their son John and Mary Heron (sister to Margaret, above).

I was working on the assumption that the link would be a Douglas one, but it is Heron!

So, if I have this correct, not only are they 1st cousins, they are 2nd cousins as well, sharing Gilbert Douglas and Margaret McIlroy (or Milroy) as great grandparents

[Bob Henry]

Matthew

You asked what my connection is to the Douglas family tree.

Essentially, this is based on a somewhat cryptic handwritten signed note in an account book of 1884 belonging to and signed by Thomas McMiken, an uncle of my great grandmother, Helen McMiken. The note refers to Nathaniel Douglas and Margaret Heron being the father and mother of Susan Douglas, his great grandmother, and William Douglas and Sarah McHarg, father and mother of John Douglas, his great grandfather. The note also refers to the Douglas Academy, in Newton Stewart, and intrigued me to the point where I just had to follow this up.

From the will, you will know that Susan (Susannah) was a sister of Samuel Douglas and from my postings she married John Douglas, who's parents are documented William Douglas and Sarah McHarg.

In a very short time, I hit the proverbial in trying to establish the only possible link to the Douglases, Mary Bell, grandmother of Helen McMiken and wife of James McMiken. In James McMiken and Mary Bell's children, they have Susan Douglas and Samuel Douglas which, for me, is too much of a coincidence, given the note in the account book together with the age and generation of Thomas McMiken fitting well with that of Samuel Douglas and his siblings.

To aviod boring you too much, I still do not have written documentation for the parents of Mary Bell, due probably not least to the actions of a 'rogue' minister in Gatehouse of Fleet where around the time of her birth, a court case established, among other things, that he had been acting inappropriately by accepting money for recording events and then failing to do so. However, I do have my own idea who her parents were but that is not the same as a certificate.

Anyway, to return to the Douglases. In my sleuthing and fairly in-depth study of most of the families in Galloway, and there are many, I accumulated much detail and background information and I am always more than happy to share my findings, whenever the occasion presents itself.

Are we related? I would suggest undoubtedlly but most unfortunately, I cannot produce the official documentation.

Best regards,

Bob.

[Bob Henry]

Thanks, William. Will follow this up.

[William Douglas]

Bob and Matthew - I have sent you both a private message...

[Matthew Price]

Well done Bob.!! Look forward to hearing from William. By the way what is your own connection with the Douglas family tree? Does it mean we are related?

 

Matthew