Alfred Douglass, son of James and Clarissa Douglass(7), was born on 14 March 1820 in Loughborough, Leicestershire. He arrived in Tasmania in March 1835 aboard the barque Wave, later moving to Victoria in 1850. His journey to Tasmania was made to join his half-brother, Charles Thomas Douglass Smith (1799-1856), one of the founders of Webster Limited(6)
- established in 1831 and recognised as the fourth-oldest company in Australia, named for the founder's nephew, Alexander George Webster.
Settling near the Breakwater on the Barwon, Alfred established the wool-scouring works known as Barwonside. In 1851 he entered into partnership with John Wright, and together they built both the Barwonside wool-scouring works and the Barwonside Tannery on Horseshoe Bend Road, Marshall. After Wright's death at his residence 'Merlin Hill', St Albans, on 25 July 1866, the tannery passed through a succession of lessees: James Munday (1869), Mr Pearson (1878), Michael Bolger (1880-81), Martin Hardyman (1883-86), and Alex Boyd James Giffen (1887). It appears to have fallen out of use thereafter. In July 1885, Alfred successfully sued the Department of Land and Works for damages caused by flooding attributed to defective construction of the railway bridge.
In 1861 Alfred purchased the Geelong Advertiser with his brother-in-law Joseph De Little, trading as Alfred Douglass and Co. Six years later, in 1867, the firm sold a 183-acre farm at Mount Duneed.
Alfred served as a trustee of the Geelong Savings Bank for twenty-eight years, a role that concluded with his death on 30 October 1883 at the age of 65.
His wife, Elizabeth Douglass (née De Little), gained recognition for her artistic work, particularly miniature portraits on ivory, as well as chalk drawings, watercolours, engravings, and oils. She died on 25 December 1902 aged 77. Alfred and Elizabeth are buried together in the old Church of England section of the Geelong Eastern Cemetery.
Alfred is believed to be a descendant of John Douglass and his wife Bridget of Yarm, Yorkshire. The family's coat of arms has been associated with Thomas Douglas, Baillie of Edinburgh in the mid-17th century and a son of the Douglases of Cavers in the Scottish Borders, though no firm genealogical link has yet been established.
Corio Villa, the distinguished and now-classified residence on Eastern Beach, was built in 1856 and became the family home. Alfred died there in October 1885. After his death, ownership passed to his son Henry Douglass, a lawyer.
In 1853 Alfred married Elizabeth De Little (born 4 July 1825 in Launceston, and likely sister of Joseph De Little). They had three known sons: Henry Percival; F. M. Douglass; and Alfred Bayley Douglass (3 May 1854 - 11 April 1855). Several earlier children had died in infancy before Henry's birth(5).
A scrapbook assembled by his wife, Elizabeth, is held in State
Library of New South Wales.
Notes:
1. In 1861 the Geelong Advertiser was offered for public sale
... ownership passed to a partnership consisting of Alfred Douglass
and Joseph De Little trading under the style of Alfred Douglass and
Company in Geelong, and Douglass De Little and Company in Melbourne.
The partnership had been formed on 28th August 1855 ... dissolved on
31st October 1864 ... the Geelong business was carried on by Alfred
Douglass and Company and the Melbourne business by Joseph De Little
and Company ... James Harrison continued to print and publish the
Advertiser for Alfred Douglass the proprietor until March 1865.
2. Alfred Douglass and Company had the Barwonside Wool Scouring Works
3. Alfred Douglas Wool Mart Yarra Street
4. I have not identified this John and Bridget Douglass, but see
here>>>
One of their sons,
also
John, rose to be the Bishop of London and one of the leading figures of the English Catholic revival. Meanwhile one of their daughters, also Bridget, was said to have met Bonnie
Prince Charlie who ‘gave her a miniature portrait of himself' which was handed down through generations but is now apparently lost.
5. They had the following children:
• Alfred Byerly, born 3 May 1854, died 12 April 1855
• Alfred William, born 21 June 1855, died 14 October 1855
• Charles Clipstone, born 2 September 1856, died 5 February 1858
• Henry Percival (Percy), born 9 June 1859 in London, married Enid Mary Webster, died 1927
• Arthur Reginald, born 16 June 1860, died 14 February 1861
• Emily Constance, born 16 June 1860, died 29 December 1860
• Frederick Montague (Monty) born 31 March 1862, married Amy Elizabeth Thompson, died 1943
• Charles Leslie, born 11 August 1863, died 1864
• Edmund, born 6 January 1865, died 1865
Percy and Monty were the only children to survive to adulthood. Both were successful early Geelong Football Club players.
6. In 2020, Stahmann Farms and Webster Limited became Stahmann Webster.
7. When James Alexander Douglass was born on 4 March 1762, in Loughborough, Leicestershire, England, United Kingdom, his father, William Hegar Douglass, was 24 and his mother, Mary Higginbotham, was 20. He married Charlotte Middleton on 7 March 1796, in Hathern, Leicestershire, England, United Kingdom. They were the parents of at least 3 sons and 4 daughters. He died on 20 January 1830, in Doveridge, Derbyshire, England, United Kingdom, at the age of 67, and was buried in Doveridge, Derbyshire, England, United Kingdom.
See also:
• The
Douglas family in Yorkshire
• The Douglas of
Cavers family
• Corio Villa
Source
Sources for this article include:
Mount Duneed History
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gratefully accepted
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