Regarding your post on 31.5.25 "Continuing the search for the Douglas family in Westminster"
I think I know where the apparent 'Westminster' problem lies.
It seems that past researchers have made a wrong assumption when looking at the ancestors of Joseph Douglas, including those who have contributed to the Douglas Archives Genealogy pages on this site.
The problem arises from the fact that there were two John Douglases born around the same time in London (1729 & 1731) and they both had 'James Douglas and Mary' as parents. One Douglas family lived in the city of Westminster and the other in the city of London:
.......The City of Westminster and the City of London are distinct areas within London, each with its own unique characteristics. The City of London is the historic financial center, known as "the Square Mile," while Westminster is the political and cultural center.....
The fact that these were two separate families from separate areas of London is best illustrated in the images below:
'Westminster' Douglases:
'City of London' Douglases:
Of interest here is the John Douglas, born 1729 at St Giles without Cripplegate, who was the father of Joseph Douglas baptised in 1752 at St Giles without Cripplegate, London, England
Marriage of Joseph Duglas to Ann Nicholson on 23rd January 1786 at St George's church, Hanover Square, the parish church of Mayfair - within the City of Westminster.
James Douglas the great Grandfather of Joseph Douglas (most probably) was a Mariner living in Wapping.
I see that you are interested in possible ancestors of:
Joseph Douglass (1752-1816) of Westminster, Middlesex m Ann Nicholson (1750 - 1815)
I checked out the Familysearch website and your relative has a fairly well developed family tree there, with quite a few source references:
e.g. Joseph's birth record from 1752:
I tidied up the tree a bit and it seems that Joseph's ancestry can possibly be traced back to around the mid 1500s in London - I didn't try to go any further.
If you want to check out his info on Familysearch his unique ID is MMVL-7VL
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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Simone Collins's Comments
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Sorting that was NOT on my todo list for today!
Thank you, Ronald for this deep dive into the two families. It is good to get them sorted out. Or it will be when I have done it.
William
Hi William,
Regarding your post on 31.5.25 "Continuing the search for the Douglas family in Westminster"
I think I know where the apparent 'Westminster' problem lies.
It seems that past researchers have made a wrong assumption when looking at the ancestors of
Joseph Douglas, including those who have contributed to the Douglas Archives Genealogy pages
on this site.
The problem arises from the fact that there were two John Douglases born around the same time in
London (1729 & 1731) and they both had 'James Douglas and Mary' as parents. One Douglas family lived in the city of Westminster and the other in the city of London:
.......The City of Westminster and the City of London are distinct areas within London, each with its
own unique characteristics. The City of London is the historic financial center, known as
"the Square Mile," while Westminster is the political and cultural center.....
The fact that these were two separate families from separate areas of London is best illustrated
in the images below:
'Westminster' Douglases:
'City of London' Douglases:
Of interest here is the John Douglas, born 1729 at St Giles without Cripplegate, who was the father of Joseph Douglas baptised in 1752 at St Giles without Cripplegate, London, England
Best regards
Marriage of Joseph Duglas to Ann Nicholson on 23rd January 1786 at St George's church, Hanover Square, the parish church of Mayfair - within the City of Westminster.
James Douglas the great Grandfather of Joseph Douglas (most probably) was a Mariner living in Wapping.
Best regards
Continuing the search for the Douglas family in Westminster, London, I find in the excellent Douglases of Georgia website:
https://georgiadouglases.wixsite.com/genealogy/robert-douglas
Ann Nicholson baptism 1757 in St Giles, Cripplegate, london - Family Search record
Best regards
Hi Simone & welcome to the Douglas Archives.
I see that you are interested in possible ancestors of:
Joseph Douglass (1752-1816) of Westminster, Middlesex m Ann Nicholson (1750 - 1815)
I checked out the Familysearch website and your relative has a fairly well developed family tree there, with quite a few source references:
e.g. Joseph's birth record from 1752:
I tidied up the tree a bit and it seems that Joseph's ancestry can possibly be traced back to around the mid 1500s in London - I didn't try to go any further.
If you want to check out his info on Familysearch his unique ID is MMVL-7VL
Best regards
Ron
In addition to the list of books in the recent Douglas Archives newsletter, I also have on my list:
I have a note that John George Douglass, or Duglas, may be the father of Joseph, b1752. These books apparently document the family - or some of them.
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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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