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Family
History of the North American
Douglases
Contributed
by Father Jack Douglas of Jamaica, New York
Our
North American Family can trace its origin to James Douglass.
James
Douglass was
christened on May 5, 1755 in
Coldingham
,
Scotland
. He married Mary Wallace
on May 30, 1777. Mary was
christened on June 8, 1755, in the town of
Hutton
. Scottish records indicate
that James was a black smith in the town of
Renton
. Eight children were born to
this union, among them James Douglas, who made the crossing to the
New World
. The children of James
Douglas and Mary Wallace were:
1) John
Douglass..……….....(Christened)
April 6, 1780
2) George
Douglass...............(Christened) May 5, 1782
-Witness: James Atchison
-Married: Mary Crow...(Born)
August 5, 1805
(Christened)
December 10, 1805
-Witness: Thomas Landells & Robert Thompson
3) Mary
Douglass.............…(Christened)
April 4, 1785
-Witness: David Atchison and James Fulton
4) Robert Douglass.............…(Christened)
October 8, 1787
-Witness: William Anderson and David Bairnsfather
5) James
Douglass (Our Ancestor) (C)
December 21, 1789
-Witness: John Bishop and Robert Craig
6) Anne
Douglass..........…….(Born)
August 14, 1792
(Christened) Nov 27, 1792
-Witness: Robert
Paterson and David Atchison
7) Joseph
Douglass..................(Born)
August 25, 1794
(Christened) October 6, 1794
-Witness: Rev. M.
Bethune at Chapel of
Renton
8) William
Douglass................(Born)
June 8, 1797
(Christened) June 25, 1797
-Witness: George and
Richard Pringle
James
Douglas
[December 21, 1789 - 1860]
The
Scottish progenitor of the North American Douglasses, James Douglas
continued his father's occupation and was a black smith by trade.
He apparently moved around during the early part of his marriage,
owing to the birth places of his first three children.
By the birth of his 4th child, Marion, the family had settled in
the small
village
of
Westruther
, located in the
county
of
Berwickshire
in Eastern Scotland, not far from the city of
Lauder
. The village was founded in
1657 and in the 1990 census, had a population of 829.
It is nestled amid the rolling hills of
Scotland
and its principal industry has not changed in hundreds of years, sheep
herding. It stands in the
shadow of the great Red Douglas stronghold of
Tantalon
Castle
.
James
Douglass
married Alison Laing. She
was born in 1795. Scottish
records do not indicate the location.
Ten children were born to this union.
Children:
Born In Various Locations:
1) James
(M) Christened:
April 16, 1815
Place: Duns,
Scotland
Died: In early childhood
2) Agnes
(F)
Born: October 23, 1816
Place:
Innerwick
,
Scotland
3) Thomas
(M)
Born: September 1 1818
Place:
Longformacus
,
Scotland
Children:
Born in Westruther:
4)
Marion
(F)
Born: March 10, 1820
5) John
(M) Born:
December 2, 1821
6) Robert
(M) Born:
December 2, 1824
7) Ives
(F)
Born: October 26, 1826
8) Alison
(F)
Born: August 3, 1828
9) Laing
(M) Born:
January 1830
Died in childbirth
(Last Ancestor born in
Scotland
)
Children: Born
in
Canada
:
10)
Alexander (M)
Born: 1844
For
some unknown reason, one that will never be known to us, they decided to
leave their native Scotland forever and make the difficult journey across
the sea to the New World.
They
had nine children by the time they decided to migrate.
Two sons accompanied them to
Canada
. The others either had died
or decided to remain in
Scotland
, as their names do not appear in either Canadian or
Minnesota
records. John, their third son
and Robert their fourth son (our direct ancestor) accompanied their
parents to
Canada
.
If
the other children in fact did travel to the New World, they either died
in route or died shortly after their arrival as their names are not
mentioned in any
New World
records.
Canada
was their destination.
They boarded a sailing ship and made the perilous crossing over the
North Atlantic
. They made this epic journey
in the year 1831. Alexander
was born in
Canada
in 1844.
They
came down the St. Lawrence River as far as
Montreal
and then moved inland settling in an area south of the city known as the
Eastern Townships. This area
had already been settled by English speaking peoples from
England
,
Scotland
and
Ireland
. Among them, colonists from
America
, loyal to the Crown, had also settled.
These colonists made a hasty retreat into British controlled
territory when the rebel Americans were successful in overthrowing English
rule.
They
settled in a beautiful little village known as Russeltown in
Quebec
. It was located very close to
the American border, north of the state of
New York
. This region was primarily
settled by Irish Protestants. The
low rolling hills reminded them of
county
Monaghan
. Lovell's Gazetteer of the
Dominion of Canada describes it as, "A small village in
Chateauguay
county, located on the Keithburn river.
It has one Presbyterian church, a general store, a blacksmith shop,
shoe maker's shop and a butter factory.
The recorded population in 1840 was 112."
Here amid people of his own faith James Douglass settled and
resumed his trade as a Blacksmith.
The
"History of the
County
of
Huntingdon
,” researched in
Montreal
, mentions James Douglass by name. “There
lived a Scotch Black Smith by the name of James Douglass.”
While
the Family lived in
Canada
, Alison's third son Alexander was born in 1844.
Canadian
Census records indicate at the two older brothers, John and Robert married
in
Canada
. John married a Canadian
wife. Due to the close
proximity to the
United States
, Robert married an American woman from
Vermont
.
John Douglass
Married: Mary
Born: 1843 (
Canada
)
Robert Douglass Married:
Eliza Born: 1830
(
Vermont
,
USA
)
For
another unknown reason, with the death of James Douglass in 1860 the
Family made the decision to move again to another land.
They migrated to the
United States of America
and settled in the State of
Minnesota
. Their most likely route
would be by boat, through the Great Lakes to
Duluth
and then overland to
Canton
Township
in
Fillmore County
,
Minnesota
.
Minnesota
records indicate that
Robert Douglass and his
Vermont
born wife Eliza had eleven (11) natural children and one (1) adopted
child:
1860 Records:
Fillmore
County
,
Canton Township
,
Minnesota
1)
Alison
Born: 1847
Canada
2)
Janetta
Born: 1848
Canada
3)
Catherine
Born: 1850
Canada
(Mentioned in News Clip in
Family Bible)
4)
Eliza Emma
Born: 1852
Canada
(Mentioned in News Clip)
5)
Margaret
Born: 1852
Canada
(Mentioned in News Clip)
6)
Robert Wallace
Born: 1856
Montreal
,
Canada
(Our Direct Ancestor)
7)
William
Born: 1858
Canada
(Father of Willard Douglass)
- William
is the progenitor of the Douglas-Nott Branch
1870 Records:
Martin
County
,
Nashville Township
,
Minnesota
8)
James
Born: 1864
Minnesota
9)
Amanda
Born: 1865
Minnesota
10)
Mary
Born: 1868
Minnesota
11)
John
Born: 1869
Minnesota
(Died: Scarlet
Fever)
1880
Records:
Martin
County
,
Nashville Township
,
Minnesota
12) John
W
Born: 1869
Wisconsin
(Adopted: Parents NY)
The
Minnesota Census of 1870, indicate that Alexander Douglass and John
Douglass were living on another farm in
Nashville
Township
, Martin Co.,
Minn.
They had brought their mother Alison there.
John married Mary.
John Douglass
Born:
Scotland
1821 (Age: 49)
Mary
Born:
Canada
1843 (Age: 27)
Children Born to John Douglas and Mary:
1)
Fay Elizabeth
Born:
Minn.
1865
2)
Anna
Born:
Minn.
1867
3)
Agnes
Born:
Minn.
1870
(July)
Alexander Douglass (Brother
of John)
Single
Born:
Canada
1844 (Age: 26)
The
farm was valued at $800.00 for the land and $500.00 for the buildings.
These
Census records also indicate that one of Robert Douglass's sons was living
on John's
Nashville
farm at this time. “Robert Wallace (Age: 15) lived with his
uncles, went to school and worked on the neighboring Welpington Farm.”
By
the 1900 Minnesota Census, all the Douglasses had moved from the Nashville
Farm.
Robert
Wallace Douglas
‑ Born: Feb. 13, 1856 in
Montreal
,
Canada
‑ Died: Jan. 8,
1935 in
Rochester
,
Minn.
of Bronchial, Pneumonia
‑ Lived:
2915 32nd Ave. S.
,
Minneapolis
and
1036 4th Ave S.
,
Minneapolis
‑ Buried:
Gaylord
,
Minnesota
‑ Immigrated to
U.S.A.
in 1860
‑ Sibling Known Facts: (Newspaper found in Family Bible)
- Brother: William H. Douglass - Died in 1933
- Sisters Attended His Funeral:
- Margaret (Clow) ‑
Truman
,
Minn.
- Katherine (Sager)
- (Eliza) Emma (Hancom) ‑
Osakis
,
Minn.
Robert
Wallace Douglas married: Tillie Finlay
‑ Born: Feb 15, 1864 in
McKeesport
,
Pa
‑ Died: Oct 7, 1945
in
Keewatin
,
Minn
‑ Buried:
Gaylord
,
Minnesota
‑ Of the Presbyterian Faith
The Finlay Family moved to
Minnesota
in April of 1869 and settled on a farm in the Town of
Cresco
, in
Blue
Earth
County
. Tillie was 5 years old. Tillie's Father was Robert Finlay
from
Iniocelen
,
Ireland
, he was a River Boat Captain on the Ohio River in
Pennsylvania
. Her mother was Mary Jane McCaughan from
Philadelphia
,
Pa.
Mary Jane's Parents were Alexander McCaughan and Elizabeth Ritter.
FEDERAL
CENSUS 1880: Township of
Cresco, Blue Earth Co:
Name:
Age:
Occ:
Born:
Fath:
Moth:
Read:
Robert
Finlay
59 (M)
Farmer
Ireland
Ireland
Ireland
No
Mary
J.
41 (F)
Wife
Pennsylvania
Ireland
Pennsylvania
Children
of Robert and Mary Finlay:
Elizabeth
M.
23 (F)
School Teacher
Robert
A. E.
19 (M)
Tillie
P.
16 (F)
In School
Will
14 (M)
In School
George
G.
12 (M)
In School
Rosa
9
(F)
Died of Spanish Influenza
Rubie
3 (F)
Ida (F)
Married
Bute
(F)
Married
Tillie
Finlay married Robert Wallace Douglas:
‑ Feb. 15, 1882 in
Cresco
,
Minnesota
(
Blue
Earth
County
)
-
Married in the Residence of Robert Finlay who
witnessed the wedding
with Mary Elizabeth Finlay.
The Rev. George Cooling of
Hampton
, officiating.
‑ After Robert's Death: She moved to
Keewatin
,
Minn
to live with her daughter Lorna. (4/5/1936)
‑
The Land Grant:
1.
Homestead
Certificate Number: 6902
2. Application
Number: 11571
3. Recorded
at: Registry Office,
Worthington
,
Minn.
4. Recorded
in Vol. 16, Page 12
5. Signed: Sept
3, 1890
6. Location:
Martin
County
Township
of Rolling Green,
Minnesota
‑ Robert and Tillie moved to this
Homestead
-
April 2,
1882
Apparently
Robert Wallace did not want to live as a farmer as the family sold the
farm and moved to Beatrice,
Gage County
,
Nebraska
and opened a Boarding House. It was there in 1886 that Arthur Finlay
Douglas was born. The family returned to
Minnesota
in 1888 and lived in North Minneapolis for a few years and then settled in
the
Village
of
Gaylord
in
Sibley County
,
Minnesota
. There they opened the Douglas & Company Restaurant and
Boarding House.
1900
Gaylord
Village
Census Records:
Rosa Jones...(Boarder) 25 yrs
Single (Born:
Iowa
) (Dress
Maker)
‑
Robert sold Watkins Products (Home Medical Remedies) from a horse and
carriage to supplement his
income. He sold such things as medicine, horse liniment, sheep dip, candy
and condiments.
‑
Robert then sold the carriage, bought a Model T Automobile, expanded his
route and moved to
Stillwater
,
Washington
County,
Minnesota
.
‑ Nov. 1, 1905:
They moved to
Minneapolis
,
Minn.
‑ Children born to this
union:
1)
Loraine Robert Douglass
Born: 12/18/1882
Died: 2/14/1902
- Died from complications of a gun shot wound, in a hunting
accident.
- Buried: Family Plot to the South of the town of
Gaylord
.
2)
Arthur Finlay Douglass
[Douglas-Woolever-Curran Progenitor]
3)
Dowaine Irvin Douglass
Born: 10/26/1889
Died: 5/25/1956
Buried: in
San Francisco
,
Calif.
- Married: Grace Viola Harbell
10/26/1910
[Progenitor of Douglas-Harbel Branch]
4)
Royden Orel Douglass
Born: 4/22/1982
Died: 1959
- Married: Alice Veronica Miles
6/19/16
5)
Lorna Mabel Douglass
Born: 4/1/1902
Died:
/1952
Buried: Forest Lawn,
Calif.
- Secretary: Singer Sewing Machine Co.
- Married: Joseph A. Brinkman
6/15/1934 (A Border)
Arthur
Finlay Douglas
-
Born: Oct. 31,
1886 in
Beatrice
,
Nebraska
-
Died: Feb. 16,
1955 in
Seattle
,
Wash.
‑ Buried:
Evergreen
Cemetery
,
Seattle
(In the Masonic Section)
-
Of the
Episcopalian Faith
‑ Married:
Florence
Woolever
‑ Born: 12/09/1886,
Owatonna
,
Minn.
‑ Died: 10/14/1918,
Minneapolis
-
Fairview
Hospital
from pneumonia caused by the Spanish Influenza.
‑ Buried:
Hillside
Cemetery
,
Minneapolis
‑ She married
Arthur Finlay Douglas ‑
April 29, 1908
Children
born of this union:
‑ Robert Loraine
‑ Born: 12/11/1908,
Minneapolis
‑ Died: 2/20/1970
‑ Buried:
Rose
Hills
Cemetery
,
Whittier
,
California
‑ Married: Tillie Lang
6/22/1929
- Children: Rosella Lorna 11/24/1933
‑ Kenneth Arthur
‑ Born: 7/18/1914,
Minneapolis
- Died:
‑ Married: Helen Teresa Schwarz
10/5/1935
‑ Children: Robert Kendall
- Born: 2/4/1940,
Minneapolis
‑ Divorced: Helen Schwarz (1958)
‑ Robert Kendall Douglas
‑ Married: Jacquelyn Gayle Lyle, Feb. 1973
‑ Children:
Allison Marie, 2/4/1977
Michelyn Cheriel, 11/16/1975
‑ Kenneth later married: Muriel Paulson on
1/2/1959
‑ Of the Roman Catholic Faith
‑
Robert Kendall Douglas, having no male heirs ends the
DOUGLAS‑WOOLEVER Branch of the Family.
The
CURRAN‑DOUGLAS Branch of the Family:
‑ Arthur
then married: Rosella Curran
‑ Born: March 9, 1896,
Waseka
,
Minn
‑ Died: Nov 5, 1963,
Los Angeles
,
Calif.
‑ Of the Roman Catholic Faith
‑ She married Arthur Finlay Douglas
‑ Jan 16, 1922, in
Minneapolis
,
Minnesota
- Arthur Douglas worked for Jenny Sample Hill of
Minneapolis, a Hardware Distributor. He then built the
Nacomas Hardware Store at
3441 Cedar Ave.
Arthur operated the Hardware store on the first floor, a Sheet
Metal Business, manufacturing furnace ducts and drain spouts in the
basement while the family lived on the second floor. During the
Great Depression he auctioned off the stock in the Hardware store and
rented the store to a grocer named Mr. Sorensen for $40.00 per month
and groceries for the family. He retained the Sheet Metal Business
in the basement.
‑ In February of 1940, Arthur, Kenneth and William moved to
Seattle
,
Washington
. They stayed with a cousin of Rosella named Helen Rooney. Located
at
314 W. Howe Street
,
Seattle
. Arthur found work at the Bremerton Navy Yards and later with Benny
Benson Sheet Metal Co. He purchased the home on Queen Ann Hill for
$2,300.00. William drove to
Minneapolis
in 1941 to bring his mother Rosella and brother John to
Seattle
.
-
Arthur was a member of the Northern Light
Masonic Lodge # 279 and the
Sheet Metal
Workers Union.
-
William Arthur Douglas ‑ Born: March 28, 1924 in
Minneapolis
Married Catherine Veronica Beazley
‑ Born: Jan 12, 1920 in
Dartmouth
,
Nova Scotia
,
Canada
‑ Of the Roman Catholic Faith
‑ She married William Arthur Douglas
‑ Dec. 7,
1946 in
Seattle
,
Washington
Children born to this union:
‑ John Paul
Douglas ‑
Born: Jan 2, 1948,
Seattle
,
Washington
- Ordained a Roman Catholic Priest on May 14, 1981
- Immaculate Conception
Monastery
,
Jamaica
,
New York
- This ends the DOUGLAS‑BEAZLEY Branch of the Family.
‑ Rosanne Catherine
‑ Born: Jan 30, 1949,
Seattle
, Wash.
‑ Married: Frederick East Sherrod
‑ Born: Jan 20, 1939,
Birmingham
,
Alabama
‑
Died: May 1, 1985,
Orlando
,
Florida
‑
Married: July 31, 1971,
Orlando
,
Fla.
‑ Children: Tiffany Catherine Shinkle
‑ Adopted by Charles Stephens Shinkle
‑ Rosanne later married: Charles Stephens Shinkle
‑ Born: May 14, 1950,
Huntsville
,
Alabama
‑
Married: Dec. 22, 1978,
Riverside
, Ca
‑ Children: Charles Douglas Shinkle
‑ Born: Sept 24, 1979, Minot AFB, ND
Veronica
Lee Shinkle
‑ Born: June 17, 1982, Minot AFB, ND
‑ Marie Evelyn
‑ Born March 30, 1954, Travis AFB,
California
‑ Married: Philip McLaughlin
‑ Born: May 27, 1947,
Ft. Worth
,
Texas
‑ Married:
Orlando
,
Fla.
Nov. 1, 1975
‑
Of the Roman Catholic Faith
‑ Children: William Robert McLaughlin
‑ Born: August
8, 1978
-
Newport News
,
Virginia
The
DOUGLAS-CURRAN Family continues in the DOUGLAS‑GRIFFITH Line:
John
E. Douglas
‑ Born: August 22, 1925 in
Minneapolis
,
Minnesota
‑ John married: Carol Jeannine Griffith
‑ Born: Nov
27, 1929 in
Seattle
,
Washington
‑ Married: July
16, 1949 in
Seattle
,
Washington
‑ Of the
Episcopalian Faith
Children
born to this union:
‑ William Stephen: ‑ Born: 4/23/1953,
Seattle
,
Washington
‑ Married: Elizabeth
Paula Taylor
‑ Born: Oct 28, 1955 in
Nevada City
,
California
‑ Married: March 7, 1982 in
Berkley
,
California
‑ Children: Spencer James Douglas:
‑ Born: August
7, 1983 in
Oakland
,
California
Alexander
William Douglas:
‑ Born: ________
in
Oakland
,
California
‑ Kimberly Ann:
‑ Born: 3/27/1955,
Seattle
,
Washington
‑ Married John Charles Rixey
‑ Born: May 17, 1951 in
Youngstown
,
Ohio
‑ John married: Kathy
Jean Charles in 1969
‑ Children: Sheri
May 3, 1969
Erik Nov. 23,
1972
Tammy
Jan. 1, 1975
‑ John divorced: Kathy
Jean Charles in 1976
‑ Kimberly
married John Charles Rixey
- December 2, 1978
‑
Santa Monica
,
Calif.
‑ Children:
John Edward:
‑ Born: June 20, 1979 (Lancaster, Ca.)
Ben Ryan:
‑ Born: April 22, 1984 (
San Jose
, Ca)
‑ Michael Griffith:
‑ Born: 2/8/1961
Pacific
Palisades
,
California
Our
particular line, in North America, there are only 3 individuals who
currently carry the
Douglas
name. They are:
Michael Griffith Douglas, Spencer James Douglas and Alexander
William Douglas. Our
Douglas
blood flows through many, many good people of different names, but the
continuance of our name, rests on but three.
Father Jack had the following to add (24 Feb 2006):
We have about 368 descendants from James and Allison Douglass, who
arrived in Canada in 1831. I went to the Eastern Townships in
Quebec last year to photograph my great-great-great-great grandfather's
grave. I felt I would find it in the Presbyterian grave yard
behind the old church.
I found out that he was not there. I asked some of the people from
the Church about this. They said that if he was Episcopalian he
would be buried in a separate cemetery. The French Canadian
Catholics, after the English, Irish and Scottish Protestants left the
area, plowed the graves under and used the stones to build stone walls.
Being a priest, I was not happy to hear that.
I found two descendants of James's brother John, the brother who
accompanied him to Canada. They were unknown to us, prior to this
visit to Quebec. You will notice by the (above) History that James
left 7 children in Scotland. I learned that his brother John, left
his wife and 8 children in Scotland. In speaking to this
descendant of my great-great-great-great Uncle I learned that a third
brother was arrested in Scotland and sent to the Australian penal colony
of Botany Bay. His father spoke of letters his grandfather would
receive from Australia. I asked, "Did he save these
letters?" He said, "No he burned them without answering
them."
I leave for Australia March 5th and will try to find records of him and
determine if I have any living relatives there. I now am thinking
that all three were in on the crime, one was caught and the two others
had to make a hasty departure for Canada.
See also: http://www.legacyfamilytree.ca/Anderson/3185.htm
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