William Douglass (d 1782) was a resident of Loudon
County, Virginia, and was appointed sheriff of that county in 1777.
he was a son of Hugh
Douglas of Garrallan and a
descendant of Sir James Douglas of
Kelhead.
Around 1750 there came from Scotland to this same country, north of
the present Leesburg, that William Douglass who is to be so frequently
mentioned by Nicholas Cresswell in his journal at the time of the
Revolution. Colonel Douglass, as he afterward became, was the son of
Hugh Douglass of Garrallan in Ayshire who, in turn, was sixth in descent
from the Earl of Douglas and also a descendant of the Campbell Barons of
Loudoun, thus making the Douglass family of Loudoun County kinsfolk to
the Earl of Loudoun for whom the county was to be named. Our William
Douglass owned the estates of Garalland and Montresor(1) in Loudoun,
served as one of her justices (1770) and as sheriff in 1782. He died in
the latter year, leaving a will which was probated on the 24th September
1782
He lived at his estate, Garralland, in Loudon Country north
of Leesburg. This estate was named for Garrallan, Ayrshire, Scotland.
He held several offices in the county including justice of the peace,
coroner, and was appointed sheriff of that county in 1777. On 13th May
1777, Douglass presented his commission from the Virginia convention
appointing him Captain of the Loudon County Militia.
He purchased the rank of Captain from William Fitzhugh at Fort Pitt.
(The then) Captain
Douglas acquired land by financing expeditions, possibly against the
Indians.
He
and Elizabeth were married before 1761.
Elizabeth Offutt was the widow of Stephen Lewis of Fairfax Co, Va. They
had five children: Elizabeth (1747-) m. Patterson; Thomas (1749-) m.
Elizabeth Payne 1773; Jane (1752-) m. William Neilson of Scotland; Sally,
m. Dr. Shrope, and Elizabeth, m. Smith. She was the daughter of Samuel
Owen Offutt (18/10//1710 Berkeley Co-1761) and Elizabeth Hite
(1/13/1715-). Wise says he is the son of Nathaniel Offutt and gives his
birth date as 1710 (the same year his son is born!). He is said to be the
son of William Offutt of Montgomery Co. who patented land called the
"Younger Brother" in Prince George Co., and Mary Brock, daughter
of Edward Brock of "Brock Hall."
William Douglass' executors gave bond for 10,000 pounds. His will (written
1780) mentions five daughters and two sons. Nance was left "five
hundred Pounds Current money and her Second Choise of my horses &
Mares for a Riding Creature for herself a Womans new Saddle and Bridle and
a feather Bed and furniture the horse saddle and Bridge to be paid
immediately after my Death & the money As soon as she Arrives at the
Age of Eighteen or immediately after her marriage if She Shold marry
Sooner." He divides his father's inheritance (if it can be obtained
from England) between his children. On 9/24/1782, after his wife's death,
he added "the Negroe Wench Molly I Leave her to be Sett free for the
Good Services she has done me since I have been sick."
Children:
- Catherine, m.
Philip Smith Hale; lived near Warrensburg TN
- Elizabeth, m.
William Dixon of Greenville TN
- Nancy,
m. Smith Hale
- Hannah, m.
Charles Binns of Leesburg Va.
- Margaret
- Gen.
Hugh Douglas (Revolutionary Army), m. Catherine Nasmythe in
England (his cousin)
His second
marriage was to Sarah Orrick, widow of William Chilton (d. 1782); they
had one son, Patrick Hume Douglas(3).
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Arms of Col William Douglas, of Loudoun Co, Va, 1770
Argent a heart Gules imperially crowned Proper between two buckles Azure all within a bordure Gules and on a chief Azure three stars Argent
As
found in Crozier's General Armory. Vol.2 |
Notes:
1. The estate is named after the French mon tresor, my treasure.
In 2024, the farm is owned by
the McCarry family.
2. Charles Alexander Binns (1763-1837), the
second clerk of court of Leesburg, Virginia, married Hannah Douglass,
the daughter of William Douglass, Sheriff of Loudoun County.
His
grandfather (Charles Binns), his father (Charles Binns, Jr.), and his
brother William all owned Rokeby in Leesburg. During the burning of
Washington in 1814, the U.S. National treasures (the Declaration of
Independence, the Constitution, and the Articles of Conferation) were
housed in the vault in the basement of their estate. The first Charles
Binns married Anne Alexander. Her father was a Scotsman named John
Alexander for whom the city of Alexandria, Virginia was named.
3.
Patrick Hume Douglas married Evelyn Beverley by whom he
had two sons, Hugh Douglas and William Byrd Douglas.
William Byrd Douglas, known as Byrd, was born on 8 Dec 1815 in
Loudon County, Virginia.
He and
his brother Hugh went to live in Greenville, Tennessee with his uncle
Dixon when they were young, after their father died, but not
immediately. They learned the skills of merchants in his store, and then
became merchants themselves (with his help and support) in Nashville.
In the 1850 census, he was living in Davidson, Tennessee with his
second wife and a blended family, with what appears to be three of his
children from the first marriage, one of hers from her first marriage,
and two of theirs.
He was a Secessionist during the Civil War and
was estranged from his brother Hugh, who was a Unionist. The
estrangement between the two was not too bad, though, because Hugh
helped William when William got put in jail for assisting the
Confederacy.
Research:
His
Scots ancestry and descendents are documented in Col. John Wise of England and Virginia
(1617-1695) by C. Jennings Wise.
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