Sons and Daughters of the Regiment - a Douglas dynasty

[William Douglas]

Nancy Visima, née Aitken, living in Ontario, Canada, is a mother of two and grandmother of two. She been researching her family history for nearly 30 years.

Her roots are entirely British — her father’s family hailed from Northeast Scotland, primarily Aberdeenshire, and her mother’s heritage was a mix of English, Scottish and Irish.

Nancy's 3G-grandfather was William James Douglas who enlisted in the 10th Regiment of Foot in Ireland in 1822. He and Mary Augusta Smith likely married there, about 1823, being that Mary’s father, Daniel Smith, was a sergeant in the same regiment. William and Mary subsequently had six children born in various parts of the world, based on the Regiment’s movements: in Ireland, Europe (likely Portugal), the Ionian Islands (Greece), England and India.

The family story is one of service to Britain as the regiment is posted to different parts of the world. Sons joining the same regiment, and the daughters marrying soldiers, also in the regiment. And, yes, their children also serving their country in the army.

Nancy's records are of the family, and not the historical events that would have involved the men of the regiment marching and fighting, camping and garrison duties. Many were bandsmen - and boys! Their role maintaining morale and relaying orders is not considered in this tale and it is for the reader to fill in the gaps.

In 1842, the 10th Foot was sent to India where Charles Douglas was born in 1843. The 10th Regiment was involved in the bloody Battle of Sobraon in February 1846 during the First Anglo-Sikh War.

The 10th would also see action at the Relief of Multan in January 1849 and the Battle of Gujrat in February 1849 during the Second Anglo-Sikh War. William had died earlier that year, having been convicted of murder.

Nancy Visima has been able to identify 745 direct descendants, covering seven generations, of William James Douglas and Mary Augusta Smith. While a large proportion remained in the United Kingdom, migration has spread the family tree far and wide—to Canada, the US, Australia, Mexico and Switzerland.

Nancy Visima's research can be found here:
https://chasingmyowntale.com/profile-william-james-douglas/
and continues here:
https://chasingmyowntale.com/the-children-of-william-douglas-mary-s...;

[William Douglas]

The family genealogy can be found in the family trees provided with Nancy's blog.

Extracts will be included in our database in the next update, due around the end of the month, October 2024.