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The following is extracted from "Dubh Ghlase", the newsletter of the
"Clan Douglass Society of America", September, October 1985 issue,
Volume XI, No. 2, pp. 22-24
History of the Douglass Family of Abbeville, South Carolina (Taken
from the Abbeville Press and Banner, dated September 1, 1924) Recopied
by Pauline Young, 14 Langley Street, Abbeville, South Carolina.
George C. Douglass, City Clerk and Treasurer of Abbeville,
South Carolina, armed with a pick and shovel, started out last Sunday to
dig up the remains of his great grandfather, Archibald Douglas which lie
buried in a small neglected graveyard near Verdery.
The elements
seemed to disapprove of the remains being disturbed however, as black
angry clouds arose accompanied by lightning, thunder, wind, and a heavy
downpour of rain, all coming on so suddenly it was decided that the
occasion digging was abandoned, according to Mr. Douglass.
It is
not known if any further attempt will be made to exhume the late
Archibald, as Frank Hodges of Abbeville another descendant, upon hearing
of the attempted disinterment warned Mr. Douglas to "leave the old
fellow alone, lightning struck my chimney while you were down there
trying to dig him up".
It is a fact that lightning did strike the
chimney of Mrs. J. C. Ellis, a sister of Mr. Hodges, with whom he lived,
on this same afternoon and another strange coincidence was the fact that
all the lights in the city that night was out though the residences
adjoining remained lighted. Services had to be called off on account of
no lights and the superstitious might be able to connect up these
incidences with the wrath of the Gods.
The disinterment Sunday
was to be accomplished with a view to finding the will of Archibald
Douglass. This will, after being probated was, with other papers and
keepsakes, sealed in a copper pot, and buried with the remains of the
late Archibald Douglass, so Mr. Douglass, the City Clerk, has been
informed. It is also believed that a certain ring, presented some 300
years ago, along with "We=Wyn-We" Castle and other properties, by his
most Gracious Majesty, King James of Scotland and England, to one James
Douglass of Scotland, is also buried in this pot.
Upon the
finding of this grave and other data is said to have hinged, for many
years, on the disposal of an immense fortune consisting of some millions
of pounds Sterling in cash and Gilt Edge securities. In addition to an
immense Castle and vast estates held by the Chancery Court of England
for the heirs of James Douglass, who was known as "James of Virginia".
The grave in question is almost unfindable, deep in a pine thicket
some 200 to 300 yards to the left of the highway, doing from Verdery to
Bradley and about halfway between these two towns.
On the
tombstone are these words, "to the Memory of Archibald Douglass, who was
born March 10, 1770, and departed this life March 27, 1815, Has Left a
wife and six children to lament the loss of an affectionate husband and
a tender parent".
(page 23)
Just at the head of this grave
and in direct line therewith, from head to foot, is the grave of his
first wife, of the tombstone of which is inscribed "Sacred to the memory
of Mrs. Elizabeth Douglass who departed this life on the 27th day of
September 1809, aged 33 years".
It is said that his second wife,
"for good and sufficient reasons of her own" as she expressed it, had
Archibald buried at the feet of his first wife and had "Douglass"
instead of "Douglas" inscribed on his tombstone.
Strange as this
may appear, stranger still is the fact that the second wife, with an
only child, David, disappeared about this time leaving no trace
whatsoever of themselves, even to this day.
To obtain the immense
fortune in Scotland it is necessary for the descendants of Archibald
Douglass buried near Verdery to establish the fact, not only of their
relationship, but also that Archibald Douglass was heir to James Douglas
of Virginia. Was he an only child?
Going back some 300 years, the
descendants claim James Douglas of Scotland, came into the possession of
We-Wym-Wye Castle and the lands attached thereto through the generosity
of His Most Gracious Majesty, King James, King of Great Britain, Ireland
and France, Defender of the Faith, etc., etc., who as was in the custom
in those days, presented this castle and lands to James Douglas, his
heirs, assigns, etc., to have and hold as freehold property forever and
in perpetuity, in consideration of most valuable, valiant and glorious
service rendered His Majesty King James by the said James Douglas who
with a mere handful of faithful followers, put the quietus to several
thousand of the King's enemies.
And further, that on this
occasion, King James placed the utmost faith and confidence in the
honor, loyalty and fidelity of his most worth subject, James Douglas,
did present unto him, the said James Douglas, as signet ring.
According to the records, hundreds of years prior to this James Douglas,
another James Douglas, on returning from fighting in Palestine, fought
for and assisted in establishing Robert Bruce on his throne, and "The
Bruce" presented this James Douglas of Castle Dangerous with vast lands.
James Douglas of Scotland enjoyed the peace and quiet of beautiful
We-Wym-Wye for many years. He married and had one son, Archibald
(Archibald of We-Wym-Wye). Archibald grew to manhood, married and had
two children, both boys, James and Archibald. James, the elder, was wild
and reckless and kept his father in hot water most of the time.
Archibald the younger was of a quieter nature and disposition and was
his father's favorite.
James, the elder son, fell desperately in
love with his brother Archibald's promised wife and was on the verge of
eloping with this lady, who returned his love twofold, when his father
who had made other plans for a wife for James, hearing of this plot, had
James brought before him.
(page 24)
Father and son had a
quarrel and James was thrown into the Castle dungeon. The father
determined to disown and disinherit James and leave the immense fortune,
which he had accumulated to the younger, and favorite son, Archibald.
Accordingly, and with this end in view, the father had James
smuggled forcibly and in chains aboard a sailing vessel bound for the
Colonies (the 13 original) trusting that if James wasn't lost overboard,
the ship didn' sink, he didn't die of some disease, the red men or some
varmint didn't get him, didn't get lost in the swamps or freeze or
starve to death, James would remain and die in his chosen Country and
never return to Scotland.
The lady in the case, hearing of the
fate of her lover, threw herself over a cliff and was lost at sea. This
was a great shock to Archibald and he never married.
James duly
arrived in America and settled in America where he married and reared a
family. He became known far and wide as James of Virginia and it is his
eldest son, possibly his only child Archibald Douglas, who is buried
near Verdery. The date and birth on the tombstone establishes this fact
beyond a doubt, the City Clerk of Abbeville believes that Archibald of
We-Wym-WyeWym-Wye died and his remains were laid to rest alongside his
father in the Ivory Chapel at the Castle.
The property not being
claimed by James, the elder son, upon the death of his father, had
passed to Archibald, the younger. This Archibald died without issue. He
left a will that was not to be opened for 50 years after the death of
his brother, James, bequeathing the property of the estate to the heirs
of his brother, James.
The Archibald Douglas buried near Verdery,
South Carolina, claimed by his descendants to the only child of the
elder brother James of Virginia, married Miss Elizabeth Cochran of
Cokesbury, and to this union were born five children: Donald, Rebecca,
Phoebe, John and Thomas Jefferson.
Donald Douglas, the eldest
child married Drucilla Hodges and had five children: Fannie, Matilda,
Celeste, Mary and Elizabeth.
Rebecca and Phoebe were carried off
by the Indians, but after months of hardship among the red men, got away
and returned home and were afterwards happily married. Rebecca married
General George Washington Hodges and Phoebe married Gabriel Hodges.
Washington, Gabriel and Drucilla were brothers and sisters. Frank Hodges
of Abbeville whose chimney was struck by lightning is descended from
Rebecca.
John Douglas went to La Grange, Georgia, where he
married and reared a family.
Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Douglas'
first wife was Matilda Lomax and they had three children: George
Archibald "Arch", Thomas Dilworth, and Elizabeth. His second wife was
Emily.
(page 25)
Adkins and to them were born several sons
and daughters, three of whom are still living: Mrs. Ida Douglas Fell of
Verdery, Mrs. Emily Agnew of Greenwood and Thomas Lucien Douglas, also
of Greenwood.
The City Clerk of Abbeville is a grandson of Thomas
Jefferson and a son of the late George Archibald, known by his friends
as Arch Douglas.
Mrs. Rebecca Douglas Lowe, then of Atlanta,
daughter of John Douglas, some 25 years ago with her lawyer, visited and
searched in vain over the State of South Carolina, in an endeavor to
locate the grave of her grandfather, Archibald Douglas, with a view to
obtaining the fortune in Scotland. Mrs. Lowe at that time, possessed
practically all the data, records, etc., necessary to secure the fortune
for the descendants of Archibald Douglas. All that was lacking at that
time being the grave. Other descendants have spent much time and money
in fruitless searching.
The grave however, was not located until
some 15 years later after Mrs. Lowe's visit and strange to relate it was
a great grandson Archibald Fell, now of Augusta, Georgia, who had never
joined the search or interested himself in any way in the grave or
fortune, who was the finder.
Mr. Fell accidentally stumbled over
the grave while going over an old farm he had rented and he says it is a
mystery to him in the "first off" how anybody ever found the out of way
place on which the graveyard is located.
A peculiar coincidence
is the fact that Mrs. Rebecca Douglas Lowe died on the same day that the
grave was found. It is not known what became of the numerous data,
records, information and so on that Mrs. Lowe collected.
Mr. John
Boozer of Denmark, South Carolina, a great grandson of Donald Douglas
and other relatives have secured the services of a lawyer in Washington,
D. C. who expects to go to Scotland to look into the matter for
descendants.
Articles in the newspapers recently regarding the
finding of the grave near Verdery have started a deluge of letters to
postmasters, preachers, judges, doctors and others from claimants who
Mrs. Douglas states are as numerous as Grasshoppers seeking information
as to Who's Who and Why.
From "Bee" Lane, #0033, Route 7-B,
Bluffton, South Carolina 29910
This newspaper article was found
in the collection of genealogical records of the noted genealogist
Leonardo Andrea of South Carolina. After his death his collection was
put on microfilm. I read the microfilm at the Library of the Georgia
Historical Society, Savannah, Georgia, and secured a photocopy of this
article as typed by Pauline Young. I, in turn, retyped it as I found it,
not making any corrections except in the typing errors. Evidently, Mr.
Andrea did not do any research for this Douglass family, as only this
article was found in this file.
A slightly different version of
the above legend can be found on page 215 of "Greenwood County Sketches"
by Margaret Watson. The following is verbatim from page 215.
Archibald Douglass, 1770-1815, and his first wife, Elizabeth Cochran
Douglas, 1776-1809, are buried on a family cemetery just off Highway 221
about 1 1/2 north of Bradley. Their home must have been in that area.
Archibald Douglass was the son of James Douglass who immigrated to
Virginia from Scotland. James was a brother of Margaret, Duchess of
Douglass, and that link had some of the descendants interested in
sharing an inheritance in Scotland, but their efforts were futile.
It appears that Duchess Margaret set up entailed property designated
"Douglass Support" for the benefit of children of her brothers and
sisters. There is no record that Archibald Douglass made any effort to
claim his share of this property. He may not have known the inheritance
existed, and the family in Scotland apparently did not know that he had
six children as "Burke's Peerage" official register of noble families in
England and Scotland, says that Archibald Douglass, son of James, died
in America unmarried or without issue. The "Douglass Support" property
in and around Glascow went to children of Lady Margaret's two sisters
and became quite valuable. In 1921 Douglass descendants in Georgia came
to this area seeking the grave of Archibald Douglass to start
establishing a claim to the Scottish property. They believed that a
necessary part of the identification was a family seal ring, which
Archibald was known to have owned, and tradition was that the ring had
been buried with him. Church and family cemeteries in much of Abbeville
and Greenwood counties were checked without success. Some months later,
Andrew Fell of Verdery, a Douglass descendant, found the family
cemetery, notified two other descendants, L. C. Douglass and McNary
Cochran. When those latter two men visited the site they found the grave
of Archibald Douglass had been opened, and there was no sign of a signet
ring.
In the meantime, information was obtained that under Scotch
law an inheritance could not be pursued after a family had peaceful
possession for 20 years and since the American Douglasses had made no
claim in more than 120 years, further effort was not advised. A
suggestion was made that the family might pay the required fee,
"possibly several thousand dollars" to secure the right to assume the
coat of arms matriculated by Margaret, Duchess of Douglass, with the
Lyon King of Arms in Edinburgh. So far as is known no one pursued that
suggestion.
The name of Archibald Douglass's second wife is not
known. There was one child, David Douglass who sent West and nothing
further was know of him by relatives here.<sic>
Lillie Ann Simmons
Griffin believes that the story about the two daughters being kidnapped
may well be untrue. At about the same time Dorothy Hodges (Rosamond) was
indeed kidnapped by the Indians and she had a son by one of them.
Permitted by her Indian captor to return home for a visit, she extended
the visit to a permanent stay. He son returned to the Indian father and
was not heard from again. Ann thinks it very likely that these two
stores were confused over the years.
The following abstract of
estate administration of Archibald Douglass RN 126 provided by Erline
Black Wilkerson 330 Irene Bridge Highway, Hickory Grove, South Carolina
29717 on 10 Jul 1990 with the notation that it comes from page 88 of
"Abstracts of Old Ninety Six and Abbeville District Wills and Bond" by
Pauline Young.
"Douglass, Archibald - Box 27, Pack 607
Est. admin. April 25, 1815 by Nancy Douglass, Jno. Cochran, Jno. Donald,
Andrew Gray, Jas. Pettus, Wm Cochran bound to Moses Taggard, Ord.
Abbeville Dist. Sum $20,000. Cit to acct. on petition of Wm. Cochran a
distributee of est. of Phepe Hearst alias Phebe Cochran, July 8, 1816
Pd. Nancy Douglas $510.00, Jan 16, 1817 paid Jno. McGee for schooling
and boarding Jno., David Douglass 1 yr. $96.00, decd. $24.44 Apr 12,
1817 paid Joseph Foster for boarding Phebe Douglass to school $27.50."
Mrs. Erline Black Wilkerson, same date as above states:
"Dr.
Alexander Donald of Opelusas, La., wrote in 1861 that Lydia Donald had a
m. first Archibald Douglass and second William Morrow. Dr. Donald said
that Nancy had not married. He was writing from memory and should have
said that Lydia never married."
Mrs. Erline Black Wilkerson, in a
letter dated February 21, 1991 provides abstract of will of Alexander B.
Donald RN 33834 which mentions Archibald Douglass as follows:
"Alexander Donald - Box 106, Pack 2775 - will dated 5 July 1803 in
Abbeville Dist. {SC} Rec. 2 March 1806. "A tract of land lying in
Chester Co. which my son James Donald had in his possession when he
died." "Grandson: Archibald Douglass land lying on Bever Creek in
Fairfield Co. {SC}" "Great Grandson: Donald Douglass land on Bever Creek
in Fairfield Co. {SC}" p. 393"
Added by David W. Thomson III, 5
Dec 2019: Archibald did have a brother, John Douglass, who lived near
him at Abbeville, South Carolina during the 1800 and 1810 censuses.
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