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James Douglas (7 September 1878 – 4
December 1956) was a diplomat and Polish independence activist.
Born on 7 September 1878 in the Russian Empire, within area of modern
Ukraine, he was Polish of Scottish descent. His ancestor moved from
Scotland to Ukraine in the 19th century to open there a sugar mill.(See
sugar refiners list )
Douglas graduated from a gymnasium (middle school) in Kyiv. He was
an activist for Polish independence, and a member of the Polish
Socialist Party. In 1904 he was a foreign correspondent of Lviv-based
newspaper Słowo Polskie, based in Japan. There, together with Józef
Piłsudski and Tytus Filipowicz, he was also a part of a diplomatic
mission on by the Polish Socialist Party.
During the First World
War, from 1914 to 1918, he served in the 1st Artillery Regiment of the
Polish Legions of Austria-Hungary. During the interwar period he worked
in the diplomatic service of Poland, including being a consul in Harbin,
China from 1931 to 1933.
He died on 4 December 1956.
His
son, Jakub Douglas (1920–1998) fought in the Warsaw Uprising during the
Second World War, and his grandson, Jerzy Hardie-Douglas (born 1951) is
a politician, who was a member of the Sejm of Poland from 2019 to 2023.
Research notes:
James Hardie-Douglas was the Polish
ambassador in China in 1910.
Hardie-Douglas family derive from Scottish
settlers who came to polish Gdansk in XVIIth century.
James
Hardie-Douglas, the Polish Ambassador in China(1) in 1910, had a brother,
Edward, a sister Sophia and two further siblings.
It appears the
Zophia (Sophia) married Mr Januszewska. This is probably Jeszy
Januszewska (or Januszewski) who was co-author of testimony 301-6045;
during the occupation a member of the Resistance Movement, collaborated
with the Jewish Military Union (ZZW), in charge of the 'Passport
Section', where Waclaw Kosek was active, which was confirmed by
Janusewski in his testimony; at the moment of writing a member of the
Society of Fighters for Freedom and Democracy (Zwiazek Bojownikow o
Wolnosc i Demokracje, ZBoWiD), lived at Grochowska Street No. 240, flat
99 in Warsaw. I have found no children from this marriage.
James married Anastazja Kochalewicz and they had 3 children, Joanna,
Irena and Jakub who all married and had children.
James's grandson, Jerzy Hardie-Douglas is Mayor of Szczecinka.
Additional information:
James Douglas, McPherson(?) (born
September 7, 1878 in Ukraine , died December 4, 1956) - Polish consular
official and socialist activist.
A Pole of Scottish origin,
whose ancestor was brought in in the mid-nineteenth century to start a
sugar factory in Ukraine. He attended the 5th Junior High School in
Kiev. In 1904 he stayed in Japan, performing the duties of a
correspondent for the Lviv newspaper "Word Polskie" and carrying out,
together with Józef Piłsudski and Tytus Filipowicz, the tasks of the PPS
(Polish Socialist Party). He made the war campaign of World War I in the
1st Artillery Regiment of the Polish Legions (1914–1918).
In the
interwar period, he worked in the Polish foreign service, incl. as the
consul of the Republic of Poland in Harbin (1931–1933).
Orders
and decorations
Independence Cross (August 2, 1931)
Cross of
Valor (twice)
Golden Cross of Merit (June 28, 1939)
Notes:
1. As far as I can tell, there was no Polish
embassy in China in 1910. Probably the Consul in Harbin, China 1931-1933
- or is this his son?
2. The city of Harbin in north-eastern China was co-founded around 120
years ago by Polish engineers who built the Chinese Eastern Railway.
However, traces of this several thousand strong community have been
disappearing quickly in recent years, which is why scientists want to
document them.Polish workers came to Manchuria at the turn of the 20th century.
Tsarist Russia was buildig the Chinese Eastern Railway, which is a
branch of the Trans-Siberian Railway. Alongside the Chinese and
Russians, there were many engineers, technicians and workers from
Poland. They were refugees, specialists, as well as people looking for a
better place to live, including the intelligentsia.
The Polish community concentrated in the city of Harbin - the area
for development was selected and plans for the city drawn by Eng. Adam
Szydlowski - it was in his opinion the perfect place to reload goods due
to the favourable location near the Sungari River. Earlier there was a
village with the same name. According to one of the translations, Harbin
in Manchurian means "a place of drying nets", which indicates that it
was a fishing village. Currently, the city is one of the largest urban
centres of Manchuria, a region in north-eastern China.
I can find no evidence that there was a Polish embassy in China in
1910, but a building of the Association "Gospoda Polska" at Glucha
Street in Harbin was built with the contributions of the Polish
community as a company with shares in the years 1912-1914. It housed a
theatre stage, a primary school, clubs and associations, and in the
years 1920-1936 it housed the consulate of the Second Republic of Poland
on the top floor. A picture from 1932 shows members of the Polish
Youth Association.
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