logoTitleMasthead
 

William Douglas, 14th of Cavers
This page was last updated on 30 September 2021

Click here to 
Print this page

Biography finder

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

 

 

Index of first names

  

 
William Douglas (c. 1688 – January 1748), 14th of Cavers was a Scottish politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1715 and 1747.

Douglas was the eldest son of Archibald Douglas of Cavers and his wife Anna Scott, daughter of Francis Scott of Gorrenberry.

Douglas was returned at the 1715 British general election, as Member of Parliament (MP) for Roxburghshire on his father's interest. He voted with the Government in every recorded divisions, including that on Lord Cadogan on 4 June 1717. At the 1722 British general election he moved to Dumfries Burghs and was returned as MP on the Queensberry-Annandale interest. At the 1727 British general election, he left his seat at Dumfries in favour of his father and returned to Roxburghshire. He was appointed Keeper of the Register of Hornings in 1728. He voted against the Hessians in 1730 but was absent from other divisions. He did not stand in 1734 or 1741.

In 1741, Douglas succeeded his father and became hereditary Sheriff of Roxburgh. In 1742 he resigned as hereditary sheriff in favour of his brother Archibald in order to become Member of Parliament again. He was returned as MP for Roxburghshire at a by-election on 18 February 1742. He was a member of a group of Scotch MP's who were known as the Duke of Argyll's gang. He voted with the Opposition in all three divisions on the Hanoverians. He did not stand at the 1747 British general election.

Douglas died unmarried in 1748. His brother Archibald became 15th Laird of Cavers.

See also:
•  Douglas of Cavers

Source

Sources for this article include:

  • The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1715-1754.


    • Any contributions will be gratefully accepted





    Errors and Omissions

    The Forum

    What's new?

    We are looking for your help to improve the accuracy of The Douglas Archives.

    If you spot errors, or omissions, then please do let us know


    Contributions

    Many articles are stubs which would benefit from re-writing. Can you help?


    Copyright

    You are not authorized to add this page or any images from this page to Ancestry.com (or its subsidiaries) or other fee-paying sites without our express permission and then, if given, only by including our copyright and a URL link to the web site.

    		  

    If you have met a brick wall with your research, then posting a notice in the Douglas Archives Forum may be the answer. Or, it may help you find the answer!

    You may also be able to help others answer their queries.

    Visit the Douglas Archives Forum.

     

    2 Minute Survey

    To provide feedback on the website, please take a couple of minutes to complete our survey.

    		  

    We try to keep everyone up to date with new entries, via our What's New section on the home page.

    We also use the Community Network to keep researchers abreast of developments in the Douglas Archives.


    Help with costs

    Maintaining the three sections of the site has its costs.  Any contribution the defray them is very welcome
    Donate

     

    Newsletter

    If you would like to receive a very occasional newsletter - Sign up!
    Temporarily withdrawn.
    		 
    		 
     


     

    Back to top

     



    The content of this website is a collection of materials gathered from a variety of sources, some of it unedited.

    The webmaster does not intend to claim authorship, but gives credit to the originators for their work.

    As work progresses, some of the content may be re-written and presented in a unique format, to which we would then be able to claim ownership.

    Discussion and contributions from those more knowledgeable is welcome.

    Contact Us

    Last modified: Friday, 02 August 2024