This section of the Douglas Archives hosts a collection of documents related to the
search for the origins of
William Douglas, b1610 and his wife
Ann Mattie, the progenitors of a large family in America.
The connection is not made, but it is hoped that this research
will prove useful to those whose family's origins are in that county of
England.
I am most grateful to Nigel Douglas for sharing his extensive research
with us. As of now, I have just included the files in the Douglas
Archives. I have not yet begun to collate the detail into the
genealogy files. I think that there might also be a bit of
storytelling to do. Perhaps someone migt step forward to do some
of that?
WHSD April 2023
| How this section works |
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Please note that the following
documents will download to your desktop
Family Trees
Folder: A
paper showing how the Chipping Warden and nearby
towns trees relate to each other. The file for each tree
starts with a location code as explained.
28 Douglas family trees.
Douglas Births 1470 to
1901 in Northants: [Open
here] This should be your first
port of call when looking for an individual. It is NOT a
complete record, but I have expanded it to nearly 500
entries. It is weighted towards earlier Douglas’ as more
modern research is easily accomplished on Ancestry.
Towards the left of the page,
I have indexed the males from Chipping Warden in red and
Easton Maudit in blue. This identifies individuals
precisely, without resorting to dates of birth,
relatives etc.
Wherever an individual
appears in a family tree, the index in the 2nd
last column on the right gives you the code of the
tree(s), for easy reference.
Chipping Warden Births:
[Open
here] I included this file, as it was the focus
of my research, but you may find it easier to stick to
the above.
Chipping Warden and Nearby
Parish records: [Open
here] 8 pages of births, marriages and deaths
for Douglas’ in that small cluster, copied out from the
original PRs.
Byfield Parish Records:
As above. [Open
here]
Graves, St Peter & St Paul
CW. Two maps [See
here] setting out the locations of Douglas burials,
the main ones with a letter or number code. Photographs
are captioned with this code where relevant and the male
identifier number.
Miscellaneous Douglas
Related Papers: Newspaper cuttings,
extracts from the feet of fines, snippets.
.
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...the Douglases were a very respected family
in this village...
William Leonard Bruce Douglas
contributed his family history to another site, which I have
borrowed. |
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The family name was earlier "Douglass" being changed to
"Douglas" by my great great grandfather Richard Douglass on the
occasion of his marriage after Banns to Ann Forkes in
Shotteswell, Warwickshire England on 17 November 1817.
My father William John Douglas was informed by the Rev J N
Robertson-Glasgow in a long letter dated 29th December 1966
headed "Rectory, Chipping Warden, Banbury, Oxfordshire (original
held by me) that:
"... the Douglas's were a very
respected family in this (Chipping Warden) village. When I came here in 1950 I was
told that they had arrived 400 years previously."
My
paternal great-grandfather Owen Richard Douglas (a son of
Richard and Ann) accompanied by his wife Dinah Douglas (born
Jelley) and their then children John Henry (aged 14), Stephen
Emanuel (aged 12), Grover Jacob Douglas (my paternal grandfather
then aged 5) and Rufus Owen (aged 7) immigrated to New Zealand
on the sailing ship 'Corona' which sailed from London, England
on 23 May 1874 arriving in Port Otago on 24 August 1874.
Tentative earlier direct ancestor linkages are to Douglas Thomas
Douglass (1580-1613 wife Annie), Owen Douglass (1606-1666 wife
Ann), Thomas Douglass (1646-1719 wife Elizabeth}, George
Douglass (1674-1759 wife Joanna Langley), George Douglass
(1716-1795 wife Rachel Dalton), Henry Dalton Douglass (1743-1818
wife Mary). |
| William Douglas gave
evidence in the dissolution of the marriage between
Henry Scudamore, 3rd Duke of Beaufort and Frances
Scudamore in 1744. |
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In May 1744 a bill was moved in the House of
Lords to dissolve the marriage between Henry Scudamore, 3rd Duke of
Beaufort and Frances Scudamore. Among witnesses who testified
under oath before their Lordships was John Pargiter, a farmer of
Chipping Warden, who stated:
"That, in the Beginning
of June, 1741, he observed a Man (whom he described), and
afterwards found it was Lord Talbot, to meet the Dutchess as she
was walking alone in the Fields near that Place; and thereupon
mentioned adulterous Familiarities which passed between them."
Witnesses
William Douglas and Thomas Bonham corroborated
Pargiter's evidence. The Journal of the House of Lords
delicately omits the details of the "adulterous Familiarities"
but records that subsequent witnesses testified "as to the
sending for a Midwife to the Dutchess; her being delivered or
brought to Bed of a Daughter". After hearing this and
evidence of the Duchess's further adultery with Lord Talbot,
their Lordships passed the Bill for the Duke and Duchess to be
divorced. |
| St
Peter & St Paul in
Chipping Warden is one of the finest medieval churches in the
county |
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St
Peter & St Paul in
Chipping Warden is one of the finest medieval churches in
the county well set above the village green, off the main road,
and adjacent to the mainly 17th century manor house. Elements of
an earlier church can be discovered but the overwhelming effect
is a grand building from the time of King Edward 111
(1327-1377). The architecture shows considerable sophistication
and grandeur, often likened to a 'mini' cathedral. The graveyard
contains several Douglas gravemarkers.
See also the
photo album
featuring many Douglas gravemarkers.
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| Families such as the Douglases have been residents of the village
of Chipping Warden for many years, and the family are remembered by a private residence now named 'Douglas House'. |
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Families such as the Bassetts and Douglases have been residents of the village
of Chipping Warden for many years, and the latter family are remembered by a private residence now named 'Douglas House'.
Douglas House is named after one
of the old farming families and has many period features including stone
fireplaces and exposed beams. There is a 30ft-long sitting room, a
family room, dining room and a kitchen and breakfast room.
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Northamptonshire wills |
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Several wills of Douglas families can be found
here>>>
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Northamptonshire births, deaths and marriages |
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A miscellaneous list of lists of Douglas births, deaths and marriages can
be found here>>>
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Family trees |
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A selection of family trees for Northamptonshire families are listed
here>>>, and additional family trees for related families are
here>>>
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| Miscellaneous documents |
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Various notes, email trails and
references to the research into the Douglas families of, and originating
in, Northamptonshire
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| Chipping Warden |
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This document
about the adopted plan for a conservation area has some useful maps, a
history and information related to the village, past and present.
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