William Douglass (bef. 1710 - bef. 1751)

Born before 1710 in Argyll and Bute, Scotland

Husband of Elizabeth (Jackson) Douglass — married [date unknown] in Pennsylvania

Descendants

Died before 1751 at about age 41 in Cumberland, Pennsylvania

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Tim Potter [send private message] and Janis Douglass [send private message]

Biography

Origins

William (uncertain first name) Douglass was probably born prior to 1710, as his oldest known child was born before 1730. His place of birth was either in Scotland or in Northern Ireland. According to family traditions circulating in various descendant branches that separated geographically in the late 1700s, as recorded around 1900, he lived prior to emigration to Pennsylvania in Northern Ireland at or near a location where the coast of Scotland could be seen from the shores. Further support that the family was in Northern Ireland prior to emigration to North America is provided by the fact that the closest Y-DNA matches shared by male line descendants through sons George, William and James are primarily of lines from Douglasses whose ancestry can be traced either to Northern Ireland or to Wigtownshire in Scotland, which is directly across from County Down in Northern Ireland. In addition, the area in which the family is first definitely found in America, Cumberland County Pennsylvania, was at the time of their arrival primarily settled by Scots-Irish families, and the Douglass family's close neighbors and associates in that county were Scots-Irish in origin.

Willard Douglass, a lawyer and descendant who in the early 1900s did extensive research on this Douglass family, noted that there was a concentration of the Douglass surname in the vicnity of Donaghadee, County Down, which for many years beginning at least as early as 1616 was the principal harbor used by those passing between Ulster and the Rhins of Wigtownshire. Donaghadee is said to be Northern Ireland's closest point to Scotland and it is said that the coast of Scotland is readily visible from there on a clear day. ^[1] It thus seems plausible that the family was in that vicinity for some time prior to its removal to North America sometime in the early to mid 1700s.

Research Notes

Given Name

Prior to the creation of Cumberland County, this man and his family likely lived in what was then Lancaster County, from which Cumberland County was formed. It seems probable that they resided for some period in the part of then Lancaster County that became present-day Dauphin County, as son George Douglass' wife is named as the daughter of a man who lived in Dauphin County and whose will was proved there. However, no will or other probate proceedings have been found in the records of these areas where the family may have lived prior to settling in Cumberland County, that can be connected to Unknown Douglass and which would definitely identify his given name.

Tax lists, which begin in 1750 for the relevant parts of Cumberland County, are the basis for William as the most likely given name for this man. In the 1750 tax list for West Pennsborough Township, a William Douglass is listed and is the only Douglass in the list. After that date, William ceases to appear in the tax lists for either West Pennsborough or Middleton Townships, while the name of "widow Duglas" appears in 1751 in Middleton Township, formed in 1750 from West Pennsborough, as the sole person of that surname. For reasons explained in her profile, the "widow Duglas" in this tax list is most reasonably identified with a Margaret Douglass who is shown in an application for a land survey by their son George Douglass as the owner of land later owned by his brother William Douglass.

William as the first name for this man cannot be said to be certain, as the only evidence so far known to support it in contemporary records is the above-mentioned tax list. Some further circumstantial support is given by the fact that eldest son George named his eldest son William, which would then be consistent with traditional Scots and Irish naming customs, but it should be noted that the eldest sons of this man's other sons were given different names.

William Douglass 1705-1750 is the son of Archibald Douglass 1665–1728 and Margaret Smith 1674–1761. William Douglass is from Argyll and Bute, Scotland which are the large penninsulas and islands due west of Glasgow, Scotland.

William Douglass 1705-1750 married Elizabeth Jackson 1707–1754.

Their son is James Douglass 1746–1811.

Margaret Douglass 1734–1789.

George Douglass 1735–1801.

Jane Douglass 1740–1811.

William George Douglas 1741–1833.

William Douglas 1746–.

James Douglass 1746–1811. (1)

Their daughter is Agnes Douglass 1725–1806. (2)

Sources

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donaghadee

• Tax lists, West Pennsborough and Cumberland County, Pennsylania, 1750-1800.

1. William Douglass, AncestryLibrary.com. [1]

2. William Douglass, Familysearch.org. [2]