Freskin the Fleming - then and now

[William Douglas]

As many will know, one theory on the origins of the Douglas family is that we are descended from Freskin the Fleming.  Looking for early connections between the Douglases and the Freskins, I have been rooting around in the Freskin one name study.

However, there is not much there to help.  Indeed, the study is looking for someone to take over the project as it seems to have stalled.

The Friskens/Freskins are a Scottish family, heavily based around the Borderlands and the River Tweed. The name supposedly comes from a Flemish nobleman who was granted lands on the Firth of Moray. However, while the name presumably sounds Flemish, the Freskyns were never referred to as "le Fleming" or "Flandresis", implying they may not have been Flemish at all.

It is virtually certain that Freskin belonged to a large group of Flemish settlers who came to Scotland in the middle decades of the 12th century and were chiefly to be found in West Lothian and the valley of the Clyde.

There are many Border families linked to the Freskins who are also link to us, but I did not manage to make the connections.

My research was, however, successful in one area.  I found my Irish uncle's ancestors!

https://frisken.one-name.net/index.php
and
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Frisken_Name_Study ;