This page is a stub.
You can help improve it.
Several Douglas families in Argyll may in fact trace their origins not
directly to the Lowland Douglas line, but to local Gaelic roots.
According to George Fraser Black, the surname Douglas in this region is
often an Anglicised form of the Gaelic surnames MacLucas or MacLugash,
themselves derived from Mac Lùcais - meaning “son of Luke.” This
suggests that some bearers of the Douglas name in Argyll were originally
members of families whose identity was shaped by Gaelic patronymics,
later adapted into the more widely recognised Douglas form.
At
the same time, the Douglas name in Argyll was reinforced by marital
alliances with the powerful Campbell family of Argyll. Notable marriages
include Archibald, 5th Earl of Argyll, who wed Lady Jean Douglas,
daughter of the Earl of Morton, and other unions that linked Douglas
cadet branches with Campbell houses. These marriages helped establish
Douglas connections in the west Highlands, ensuring that the name
carried both Gaelic and Lowland associations.
Glenfinart
The Douglas family of Glenfinart were prominent landowners in Cowal, Argyll, remembered for their estate at Glenfinart and their mausoleum at Kilmun. Their story intertwines Scottish landed heritage with global mercantile ventures, particularly in the sugar trade.
One of the most notable figures was Archibald Douglas (d. 1860), buried locally. He was a wealthy merchant whose fortune derived from sugar and cotton plantations in Demerara and the West Indies.
Alongside his brothers John and Thomas, he co-founded J. T. & A. Douglas & Co., a merchant house that profited from the booming sugar trade.
See also:
• Birth
Deaths and Marriages in Argyll
•
Douglas of Glenfinart
Sources:
• Black, George Fraser (1946),
The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning, and History, New York:
New York Public Library, pp. 217–218
Contributions
Do you have an ancestor whose
story should be told here? Can you add to this article? Please let us have the details.
|
