The Skaggs-Files

Events

Parents

Families

Pedigree

1. Douglas, James of Douglas
   1. Kerr, Mary
      1. Douglas, William
      2. Douglas, Archibald
         1. Campbell, Margaret
      3. Douglas, Jane

Ancestors

Source References

1. 9XMR-T8X FamilySearch.org
   1. • Source text:

        Archibald Douglas, 1st Duke of Douglas was born between July 1694 and September 1694.1 He was the son of James Douglas, 2nd Marquess of Douglas and Lady Mary Kerr.1 He was baptised on 13 October 1694.1 He married Margaret Douglas, daughter of James Douglas and Isabel Corbet, on 1 March 1758.1 He died on 21 July 1761 at Queensberry House, Edinburgh, Midlothian, ScotlandG, dsp.1 He was buried on 4 August 1761 at Douglas, ScotlandG.1
        He was styled as Earl of Angus between 1695 and 1700.1 He succeeded as the 3rd Earl of Angus [S., 1633] on 25 February 1699/0.1 He succeeded as the 3rd Lord Abernethy and Jedburgh Forest [S., 1633] on 25 February 1699/0.1 He succeeded as the 3rd Marquess of Douglas [S., 1633] on 25 February 1699/0.1 He was created 1st Marquess of Angus and Abernethy [Scotland] on 10 April 1703.1 He was created 1st Duke of Douglas [Scotland] on 10 April 1703.1 He was created 1st Viscount of Jedburgh Forest [Scotland] on 10 April 1703.1 He was created 1st Lord Douglas of Bonkill, Prestoun and Robertoun [Scotland] on 10 April 1703.1 In 1715 he aided the Government during the Rising.1 He held the office of Lord-Lieutenant of Forfarshire between 1715 and 1761.1 He fought in the Battle of Sheriffmuir on 13 November 1715, serving as a volunteer.1 In 1725 he either murdered, or accidently killed, John Ker, who was staying with him at Douglas Castle. Immediately after this event, the Duke fled to Holland.1 In December 1758 Douglas Castle burnt down, and was afterwards rebuilt by the Duke, using the architect Adam.1
        On his death, the Dukedom became extinct. The titles Marquess of Douglas and the Earldom of Angus devolved upon his heir male, the 7th Duke of Hamilton descended from William, Earl of Selkirk, afterwards Duke of Hamilton, 4th son of the 1st, Marquess of Douglas. 019276.2 He has an extensive biographical entry in the Dictionary of Nationary Biography.3
        
        Citations
        [S6] G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume IV, page 439. Hereinafter cited as The Complete Peerage.
        [S37] BP2003 volume 2, page 1743. See link for full details for this source. Hereinafter cited as. [S37]
        [S18] Matthew H.C.G., editor, Dictionary of National Biography on CD-ROM (Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 1995). Hereinafter cited as Dictionary of National Biography.

      • Citation:

        https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/9XMR-T8X

   2. • Source text:

        Archibald Douglas, 1st Duke of Douglas was born between July 1694 and September 1694.1 He was the son of James Douglas, 2nd Marquess of Douglas and Lady Mary Kerr.1 He was baptised on 13 October 1694.1 He married Margaret Douglas, daughter of James Douglas and Isabel Corbet, on 1 March 1758.1 He died on 21 July 1761 at Queensberry House, Edinburgh, Midlothian, ScotlandG, dsp.1 He was buried on 4 August 1761 at Douglas, ScotlandG.1
        He was styled as Earl of Angus between 1695 and 1700.1 He succeeded as the 3rd Earl of Angus [S., 1633] on 25 February 1699/0.1 He succeeded as the 3rd Lord Abernethy and Jedburgh Forest [S., 1633] on 25 February 1699/0.1 He succeeded as the 3rd Marquess of Douglas [S., 1633] on 25 February 1699/0.1 He was created 1st Marquess of Angus and Abernethy [Scotland] on 10 April 1703.1 He was created 1st Duke of Douglas [Scotland] on 10 April 1703.1 He was created 1st Viscount of Jedburgh Forest [Scotland] on 10 April 1703.1 He was created 1st Lord Douglas of Bonkill, Prestoun and Robertoun [Scotland] on 10 April 1703.1 In 1715 he aided the Government during the Rising.1 He held the office of Lord-Lieutenant of Forfarshire between 1715 and 1761.1 He fought in the Battle of Sheriffmuir on 13 November 1715, serving as a volunteer.1 In 1725 he either murdered, or accidently killed, John Ker, who was staying with him at Douglas Castle. Immediately after this event, the Duke fled to Holland.1 In December 1758 Douglas Castle burnt down, and was afterwards rebuilt by the Duke, using the architect Adam.1
        On his death, the Dukedom became extinct. The titles Marquess of Douglas and the Earldom of Angus devolved upon his heir male, the 7th Duke of Hamilton descended from William, Earl of Selkirk, afterwards Duke of Hamilton, 4th son of the 1st, Marquess of Douglas. 019276.2 He has an extensive biographical entry in the Dictionary of Nationary Biography.3
        
        Citations
        [S6] G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume IV, page 439. Hereinafter cited as The Complete Peerage.
        [S37] BP2003 volume 2, page 1743. See link for full details for this source. Hereinafter cited as. [S37]
        [S18] Matthew H.C.G., editor, Dictionary of National Biography on CD-ROM (Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 1995). Hereinafter cited as Dictionary of National Biography.

      • Citation:

        https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/9XMR-T8X

   3. • Source text:

        Archibald Douglas, 1st Duke of Douglas was born between July 1694 and September 1694.1 He was the son of James Douglas, 2nd Marquess of Douglas and Lady Mary Kerr.1 He was baptised on 13 October 1694.1 He married Margaret Douglas, daughter of James Douglas and Isabel Corbet, on 1 March 1758.1 He died on 21 July 1761 at Queensberry House, Edinburgh, Midlothian, ScotlandG, dsp.1 He was buried on 4 August 1761 at Douglas, ScotlandG.1
        He was styled as Earl of Angus between 1695 and 1700.1 He succeeded as the 3rd Earl of Angus [S., 1633] on 25 February 1699/0.1 He succeeded as the 3rd Lord Abernethy and Jedburgh Forest [S., 1633] on 25 February 1699/0.1 He succeeded as the 3rd Marquess of Douglas [S., 1633] on 25 February 1699/0.1 He was created 1st Marquess of Angus and Abernethy [Scotland] on 10 April 1703.1 He was created 1st Duke of Douglas [Scotland] on 10 April 1703.1 He was created 1st Viscount of Jedburgh Forest [Scotland] on 10 April 1703.1 He was created 1st Lord Douglas of Bonkill, Prestoun and Robertoun [Scotland] on 10 April 1703.1 In 1715 he aided the Government during the Rising.1 He held the office of Lord-Lieutenant of Forfarshire between 1715 and 1761.1 He fought in the Battle of Sheriffmuir on 13 November 1715, serving as a volunteer.1 In 1725 he either murdered, or accidently killed, John Ker, who was staying with him at Douglas Castle. Immediately after this event, the Duke fled to Holland.1 In December 1758 Douglas Castle burnt down, and was afterwards rebuilt by the Duke, using the architect Adam.1
        On his death, the Dukedom became extinct. The titles Marquess of Douglas and the Earldom of Angus devolved upon his heir male, the 7th Duke of Hamilton descended from William, Earl of Selkirk, afterwards Duke of Hamilton, 4th son of the 1st, Marquess of Douglas. 019276.2 He has an extensive biographical entry in the Dictionary of Nationary Biography.3
        
        Citations
        [S6] G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume IV, page 439. Hereinafter cited as The Complete Peerage.
        [S37] BP2003 volume 2, page 1743. See link for full details for this source. Hereinafter cited as. [S37]
        [S18] Matthew H.C.G., editor, Dictionary of National Biography on CD-ROM (Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 1995). Hereinafter cited as Dictionary of National Biography.

      • Citation:

        https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/9XMR-T8X

2. Archibald Marquess Of Douglas Douglas, "Scotland Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950"
   1. • Source text:

        Name Archibald Marquess Of Douglas Douglas
        Sex Male
        Birth Date 10
        Father's Name James Marquess Of Douglas Douglas
        Father's Sex Male
        Mother's Name Mary Marchioness Kerr
        Mother's Sex Female
        Maternal Grandfather's Name Robert Marquess Of Lothian Kerr
        Maternal Grandmother's Name Jean Campbell
        Paternal Grandfather's Name Archibald Earl Of Angus Douglas
        Paternal Grandmother's Name Anne Stuart
        Event Type Christening
        Event Date 14 Oct 1694
        Event Place Douglas, Lanarkshire, Scotland
        Source Details 2:15KJBXT
        Additional Relatives Y
        Archibald Marquess Of Douglas Douglas's Parents and Siblings

        James Marquess Of Douglas Douglas
        Father
        M

        Name James Marquess Of Douglas Douglas
        Sex M
        Mary Marchioness Kerr
        Mother
        F

        Name Mary Marchioness Kerr
        Sex F
        Other People on This Record

        Robert Marquess Of Lothian Kerr
        M

        Name Robert Marquess Of Lothian Kerr
        Sex M
        Jean Campbell
        F

        Name Jean Campbell
        Sex F
        Archibald Earl Of Angus Douglas
        M

        Name Archibald Earl Of Angus Douglas
        Sex M
        Anne Stuart
        F

        Name Anne Stuart
        Sex F

      • Citation:

        "Scotland Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XYQ6-VM9 : 16 September 2021), Archibald Marquess Of Douglas Douglas, 1694.

         

3. Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Douglas, Archibald (1694-1761)
   1. • Source text:

        DOUGLAS, ARCHIBALD, third Marquis and first Duke of Douglas (1694–1761), the youngest and only surviving son of James, second marquis of Douglas [q. v.], was born in 1694. When only six years of age he was left by his father's death under the care of tutors, who looked well after his interests. They obtained for him the title of Duke of Douglas by patent from Queen Anne, dated 10 April 1703, which also conferred on him the titles of Marquis of Angus, Earl of Angus and Abernethy, Viscount of Jedburgh Forest, and Lord Douglas of Boncle, Preston, and Roberton. His estates were erected into a dukedom, and as they were encumbered the queen conferred on him two pensions of 400l. and 500l. per annum. When the Act of Union was passed in 1707, protest was made on his behalf that the treaty should not be to the prejudice of his hereditary privileges of giving the first vote in parliament, carrying the crown on state occasions, and leading the van in battle. At the close of the last Scottish parliament Douglas bore the crown from the parliament house to the castle of Edinburgh, where the regalia were deposited.

        During the rebellion of 1715 Douglas raised a regiment in support of the reigning house. He was appointed lord-lieutenant of Forfarshire. At the battle of Sheriffmuir he was present on the staff of the Duke of Argyll, and charged at the head of the cavalry as a volunteer. He maintained his loyalty also in 1745, though his castle was on that occasion occupied by the highlanders on their return from England, and sustained considerable damage at their hands. In 1725, in a fit of jealousy, he killed his cousin, Captain John Ker, while his own guest at Douglas Castle, and was obliged to conceal himself in Holland for a time. He showed such eccentricity of manner as to suggest doubts of his sanity. His treatment of his only sister, Lady Jane Douglas, is described in another article [see Douglas, Lady Jane]. He had been much attached to her, and, not wishing to marry himself, had offered to make handsome settlements upon her in the event of her marriage. On hearing of her secret marriage and the alleged birth of twin sons he cut off her allowance, refused to believe in her children, and refused to see her under circumstances of great cruelty. He is said to have been under the influence of dependents acting in the interest of the heir male apparent, the Duke of Hamilton. It is reported that when his sister was waiting at the castle gate a servant, whose advice he weakly asked, locked the duke into a room, and kept him there until Lady Jane had departed.

        In March 1758 Douglas married Margaret Douglas, of the family of Mains, and descended from the earls of Morton. She was a beautiful and an accomplished lady. A year after their marriage a separation took place, the duke making one condition of her receiving an alimentary allowance that she should not attempt to see or speak with him save by his invitation. Within a few months, however, they were reconciled, and lived together afterwards until his death. The Duchess of Douglas made it the main business of her remaining lifetime to redress the wrong done to Lady Jane. She prevailed upon the duke to investigate the circumstances of the case for himself, which he did at much expense and pains. In the end he was satisfied, expressed passionate remorse, revoked the existing entail of his estates, and settled them upon his sister's surviving son, whose claims were established by the famous Douglas cause [see Douglas, Archibald James Edward].

        Douglas could neither read nor write well, as he confessed to William, second earl of Shelburne, afterwards first marquis of Lansdowne, who paid him a visit at Holyrood House in Edinburgh, and who records a few particulars about his appearance (Lord E. Fitzmaurice, Life of William, Earl of Shelburne, i. 10). During the duke's time Douglas Castle was destroyed by fire, and the present edifice was partially built by him from plans prepared by Robert Adam [q. v.], which have never yet been fully carried out. He died at Edinburgh on 21 July 1761, one of his dying requests being that he should be buried in the bowling-green at Douglas. He was, however, interred in a vault in the parish church. The Duchess of Douglas survived till 24 Oct. 1774. Tradition pictures the duchess as travelling about the country with an escort of halberdiers. She commemorated her own share in securing the Douglas estates to her nephew by bequeathing certain lands to her brother's son, Captain Archibald Douglas, to be called the lands of Douglas-Support, and the possessor of which was to bear the name of Douglas, and as his arms the conjoined coats of Douglas and Mains, with the addition of a woman trampling a snake under her feet, and supporting in her arms a child crowned with laurels.

        [Proceedings in the Douglas Cause; Fraser's Douglas Book; Patten's History of the Rebellion.]

      • Citation:

        Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900 Volume 15
        Year 1888
        Publisher Elder Smith & Co

        https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Dictionary_of_National_Biography,_1885-1900/Douglas,_Archibald_(1694-1761)

4. The Douglas Archives / Archibald Douglas, Duke of Douglas
   1. • Source text:

        Archibald Douglas, duke of Douglas (bap. 1694, d. 1761), landowner, the son of James Douglas, second marquess of Douglas (c.1646–1700), and his second wife, Mary Kerr (Ker; bap. 1674, d. 1736) , daughter of Robert Kerr, first marquess of Lothian, was baptized on 13 October 1694. He succeeded his father as marquess of Douglas in February 1700. He was created duke of Douglas by Queen Anne in 1703 at the behest of his kinsman James Douglas, second duke of Queensberry, ostensibly in recognition of the loyalty and deeds of his forebears, but more immediately to balance the elevation of the rival marquess of Atholl to a dukedom. In addition to the title Duke of Douglas, he was aslo Marquess of Angus and Abernethy, Viscount of Jedburgh Forest, and Lord Douglas of Bonkill, Prestoun, and Robertoun.

        The bearer of the Crown of Scotland on state occasions, he conveyed it to Edinburgh Castle after the closing of the last Parliament of Scotland.

        As he was head of the senior line of one of Scotland's most illustrious families and heir to a great fortune, much was expected of Douglas as a young man. Such hopes, however, went unfulfilled. His public career was brief and spotty. In 1712 he joined nineteen other Scottish peers in a remonstrance to the queen against the decision of the House of Lords that those who had held Scottish peerages at the time of the Union could not subsequently sit in the house by virtue of British peerages. During the Jacobite rising of 1715 he was commissioned lord lieutenant of Forfarshire, and raised 500 men for the government; he also fought as a volunteer at the battle of Sheriffmuir.

        It became apparent, however, that Douglas was not cut out for political or social leadership. He was, for one thing, barely literate. Late in life he confessed to the earl of Shelburne (who characterized him as ‘the last of the feudal lords’) that ‘he could neither read nor write without great difficulty’ (Fitzmaurice, 1.6–7). Proud, irascible, and reclusive by nature, his eccentric conduct raised doubts about his mental stability. Such concerns were intensified in 1725 when, at Douglas Castle, his chief seat, he killed John Kerr, the illegitimate son of his brother-in-law, Lord Mark Kerr, and a suitor for the hand of his sister, Lady Jane Douglas. Douglas fled to the Netherlands for a time, but eventually returned to Scotland and was never prosecuted. The affair, Horace Walpole suggested, ‘had been winked at on supposition of his insanity’ (Walpole, 3.201n.). No certificate of lunacy was ever issued, but the duke ‘retired from the world’, in the words of the duke of Queensberry, and ‘lived like a prisoner’ (Laing MSS, 2.455), surrounded by retainers sympathetic to the duke of Hamilton, next heir after his sister. Douglas never participated in peers' elections, and he allowed the family's parliamentary interests in Lanarkshire, Forfarshire, and elsewhere to languish. Events occasionally intruded on his isolation. During the Jacobite rising of 1745 he denied Lord George Murray admittance to Douglas Castle on the Jacobite army's return from England. However, he was later obliged to open his door to the Young Pretender himself (Charles Edward Stuart), whose troops did much damage. In 1758 Douglas Castle burnt down, forcing the duke to divide his time between Holyrood Palace, where he had apartments, and Bothwell Castle. He began the reconstruction of Douglas Castle (unfinished in his lifetime) to plans from John Adam, with the intention, it was said, of building a house 10 feet wider and 10 feet higher than the duke of Argyll's new seat at Inveraray.

        The last decades of Douglas's life were dominated by speculation over the eventual disposition of his considerable estate, which included property in eight Scottish counties and was said to be worth more than £12,000 a year. His relationship with his only sibling, Lady Jane Douglas, was strained after Kerr's death. In 1746 she married—without his knowledge—Colonel John Stewart of Grandtully (from 1759, third baronet), a former Jacobite sympathizer, mercenary, and sometime bankrupt, and fled to the continent. In 1748 she reported her marriage from Paris and then informed the duke of the birth (in her fifty-first year) of twins. Douglas cut off Lady Jane's support and refused either to see her before her death in 1753 or to accept her offspring as genuine. He instead entailed his estates on the Hamiltons.

        Douglas, who had often stated that he would never marry, surprised many when on 1 March 1758 he wed Margaret (d. 1774), the daughter of James Douglas of Mains. (When Alexander Carlyle first met her in 1745, he noted that she had even then ‘Sworn to be Dutchess of Douglas, or never mount a Marriage Bed’ (Carlyle, 56). An eccentric in her own right, she took a sympathetic view of the claim of Lady Jane's only surviving son, Archibald, and eventually persuaded the duke to reconsider the case and recognize him as heir. This set the stage for the famous Douglas cause that would, nearly eight years after the duke's death, confirm young Archibald, now called Douglas, in possession of the Douglas estates.

        The duke died on 21 July 1761 at Queensberry House, Edinburgh, and was buried on 4 August with his ancestors in the parish church at Douglas, Lanarkshire, contrary to his wish to be buried in the bowling green. The marquessate and other titles he had inherited passed to the seventh duke of Hamilton; the dukedom and other titles conferred on him in 1703 became extinct. Once the object of high hopes, Douglas led an eccentric and reclusive life, posthumously overshadowed by the titanic legal battle to become his heir.

         

        Birth: 1694
        Death: 21 JUL 1761

        Father: James (2nd Marquess of Douglas) Douglas b: 1646
        Mother: Mary Kerr b: 1673

      • Citation:

        https://www.douglashistory.co.uk/history/archibald1stdukeofdouglas.htm

5. Archibald Douglas (1694-1761), "National Records of Scotland"
   1. • Source text:

        Landowner
        Archibald Douglas succeeded his father, the third marquis of Douglas, aged six. When he reached nine years Queen Anne created him duke of Douglas, earl of Angus and Abernethy, viscount of Jedburgh Forest and lord of Boncle, Preston and Roberton. This act restored the lands taken from the Douglas family in the 1450s when James II used bombards such as Mons Meg to destroy their power. Archibald Douglas sided with the Hanoverian government during the Jacobite rebellion of 1715 and was present at the government victory at Sheriffmuir. During the 1745 Rebellion Charles Edward Stuart ('Bonnie Prince Charlie') spent Christmas Eve at Douglas Castle and his army did much damage to the duke’s property. They carried off the 'Black Douglas sword' a gift that was traditionally thought to have been given to 'Good Sir James' Douglas by Robert the Bruce (Memorial, 1746, in Douglas Charter-Chest, cited in Scots Peerage, I, pp.210-11 ). Archibald married Margaret or 'Peggy' Douglas on 1 March 1758. She was renowned for her beauty, intelligence and sharp wit. With these attributions in addition to her social rank she was a 'recognised leader in Scottish society'.(Piozzi's Letters, i, 109, cited in Ibid, p211). That same year the castle burned down. He hired Robert Adam to build a palace grander than Inveraray but died on 21 July 1761 in Edinburgh before the plans were completed.

        Birth in 1694
        Lord Archibald (here Archbald) was baptised on 14 October 1694, son to the Marquess of Douglas. The entry in the Old Parish Register (OPR) for Douglas doesn't give the date of birth or his mother’s name. The witnesses were Lord Carmichael and Captain Walter Young.

        Testament of Archibald, duke of Douglas
        (National Records of Scotland, CC9/7/64 pp 258-263)

        As Margaret and Archibald had no heirs it may well have been her influence that settled the estate on his nephew. Archibald had disowned his sister Lady Jane for her secret marriage, but after an investigation after her death he settled his estates on her son Archibald James Edward Douglas. Also mentioned in the will is James Murray, second duke of Atholl (d.1764). James had been in the government army of the duke of Cumberland in 1746. All his male heirs died in infancy and the dukedom passed to his nephew John. Ironically John's father and James' brother was none other than lord George Murray (d.1760) who had commanded Charles Edward Stuart's army and achieved considerable military victories at Prestonpans and the siege of Carlisle in 1745 and at Falkirk in 1746.

        In his will Archibald had requested that his remains and those of his wife should be buried in the bowling green at Douglas. However his wishes do not seem to have been respected, as the Scots Peerage informs us that the couple were buried in a vault under the new church of Douglas.

      • Citation:

        https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/learning/hall-of-fame/hall-of-fame-a-z/douglas-archibald

6. Archibald Douglas, "Find a Grave Index"
   1. • Source text:

        Name Archibald Douglas
        Birth Date 13 Oct 1694
        Death Date 21 Jul 1761
        Event Type Burial
        Event Place Douglas, , South Lanarkshire, Scotland
        Cemetery Saint Bride's Cemetery
        Photograph Included Y
        Note Contains Biography

      • Citation:

        "Find a Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:7J3N-S43Z : 23 November 2022), Archibald Douglas, ; Burial, Douglas, , South Lanarkshire, Scotland, Saint Bride's Cemetery; citing record ID 196078892, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.

        https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/196078892/archibald-douglas