Rev William Douglas
William Douglas (1708-1798) was a Scottish Reverend of St. James Northam
Parish, Goochland County, and was the tutor of young Thomas Jefferson
from 1752 until the death of the latter's father in 1757. Jefferson was
sent to the Reverend's Latin school to study Greek, Latin, and French
upon the return of his family from Tuckahoe to Shadwell.
Jefferson later wrote of his teacher in his Autobiography: "My teacher
Mr. Douglas a clergyman from Scotland was but a superficial Latinist,
less instructed in Greek, but with the rudiments of these languages he
taught me French..." According to Henry Randall, Jefferson also had
recollections "of mouldy pies and excellent instruction" at the Rev.
Douglas's school. Regardless of his mixed reviews of his education under
Douglas, Jefferson had continued to keep in touch with his tutor until
his death in 1798. No direct correspondence between them has survived,
however.
William was the son of William Douglas and Grizel
McKeand, and uncle to Sir William Douglas
of Castle Douglas. He married Miss Nicholas Hunter, and they had a
daughter, Margaret (Peggy), who married Nicholas Merriwether, of Albemarle.
He emigrated to America from Scotland in 1748.
They may also have had a son, Captain William James Douglas, born 1733,
an army officer who was killed at the battle of the Plains of Abraham on
13th September 1759(a). He was a widower, his wife probably dieing in
childbirth, and left a daughter, Jane, who married Captain Thomas Condon Mellish.
William's brother, James, settled in New York where he 'left a
numerous prosperity'.
Note:
1. Rev William Douglas is the great uncle of Elizabeth
(Betsy) Mary Douglas, who marries Col. James Monroe, nephew and adopted
son of President James Monroe.
2. Jane Douglas was orphaned after her father's death,
and she actually married thee times: Thomas Mellish, Mr. Gaudreau (sp?),
and John Burhoe. They all were from PEI, Canada.
Research note:
a. It has been suggested to me that the Douglas
who died on the battlefield at Plains of Abraham was a John Douglas, and
not William James Douglas. Lt John Douglas, of the 78th Foot (Fraser’s
Highlanders), did indeed die in 1579.
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
Our newsletter service has been temporarily withdrawn.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
