Douglas

[Ken S]

 The only source that I have for death dates of William and Helen Douglas, is the 1903 Lambton County Commemorative Biographical Record book .. which I gave a link for .. a few replies ago.
 Ancestry has Ontario death records, online ... but they only go back to 1869 (so that does not help.
The only other records, that I can think of ... would be Presbyterian Church records for London Township.. here in Ontario.. which I am trying to follow up on. But that likely would only give me a day / month & year burial date .. and possibly the cemetery .. but not parents names .. I'm sure.

[Blanched]

You could try the Canada GenWeb Cemetery Project for their burials. www.cemetery.canadagenweb.org

BlancheD

[rbell35]

Hello guys I am from Australia & believe some of us are related! My gg grandparents were William Douglas (b. 1816 in Northumberland) & Isabella Douglas (b, 1824 at Farr in Sutherland). Isabellas parents were Helen Douglas (died 1864) & John Douglas (d.1865) from Connafearn by the Hills of Clibrig near Farr in Sutherlandshire. . I know they were shepherds & had Roxburghshire/Northumbrian ancestry. I would however love to know when they made this big move & why?? Did they have existing family in Sutherland? How did the Highland Clearances really affect them?? I have been doing genealogy for many years but not learnt much about these people. If anyone can assist me in knowing more I would appreciate it very much. thanks.. cheers, Rob

[rbell35]

Hello all, also have noticed the middle name 'Hamilton' has been used in my family in my grandmother's generation. Does anyone know how the Hamiltons fit into my Douglas ancestry?I have always wondered about this but no-one in my immediate family knows anything about it! Any help much appreciated. Thanks Rob

[Forfarian]

I know they were shepherds & had Roxburghshire/Northumbrian ancestry. I would however love to know when they made this big move & why?? Did they have existing family in Sutherland? How did the Highland Clearances really affect them??

The thing about the Clearances is that they were mainly driven by the landowners' desire to get more income from their land. Sheep were seen as more profitable than people, so the people had to go to make room for the sheep.

In that context, it's not really surprising that landowners would have imported shepherds from outside their estates - for one thing, there may not have been enough home-grown shepherds, and for another, any home-grown ones might not have wanted to tend flocks in the homes and on the land of their friends, neighbours and relatives, or might have feared alienation from those relatives, friends and neighbours who had been dispossessed and evicted.

You need to find out who actually owned the land where your Douglases lived. Did the same landowner also have estates in Roxburgh or Northumberland? This might be the explanation why they moved so far. If you can find the records of whichever estate it was, it's not impossible that there just might be some record of them, though it's more likely that they were employed by a tacksman or sheep farmer who rented land from the estate, rather than directly by the landowner.

[rbell35]

Hello all, my gg-grandfather William Douglas was living at Farr Sutherlandshire in 1841 and appears in the 1841 Census aged 20 years. He later married an Isabella Douglas (b. 1824 at Farr) at Rean in 1846. They came to Australia in 1848 on board the 'Aurora". I know his father was also a William Douglas, apparently a schoolteacher at some stage. I believe that William Douglas senior's wife died young. I also am wondering whether he is the same William Douglas who married Ellen Patterson. This William Douglas (born in 1798 in Yetholm Roxburghshire) was the son of Oliver Young and Thomas Douglas. It also appears Thomas's brother John was the father of young William's bride Isabella! Family talk was always about them being cousins too. Vague references to William Douglas's migration to Canada are also evident in my family. Assuming William senior did marry Ellen, does anyone know to whom he married first? Thanks Rob

[Ken S]

 just going over all these messages (Jan 2018) .. haven't looked at all this in a while .. interesting. One unanswered question here in Ontario. William Douglas died near London Ontario 1859 .. his wife Helen (not sure on spelling) 1862. But I can not find  where buried .. all I have is a story on William .. that he was a cattle butcher .. and on a winter day (and yes the winters in southern Ontario, can be bad) he went looking in the area (likely London Township, Middlesex County Ont) for a cow to buy (and butcher at home) but no luck ... and coming home he got somewhat lost .. pulled the horse and buggy or wagon into a some what sheltered area and was found frozen to death in the morning. My uncle Delmar Douglas told me this.
 Most of his family ended up in Strathroy (Middlesex County Ontario) and Brooke township Lambton County Ontario Canada

[Skoosh]

There were no great flocks of blackfaces or cheviot sheep in the Highland's before the "Clearances!" The hill land was divided into "Shielings!" & the people migrated there to the huts for the summer months with the cattle, making cheese & butter & sending it back to the farm, the rents in many districts were paid in cattle, the basis of the Highland economy. Things for the Highland sheep industry went down the tubes when Bell & Co on the Clyde developed the refrigerated ship, (1870's) & whereas only wool was formerly imported from Oz & NZ. cheap frozen lamb & beef could be shipped to Britain also. Many Highland estates switched from sheep production to deer-stalking & shooting lodges proliferated, shepherds switching jobs or emigrating.  Ironically much of this frozen meat was produced by descendants of people cleared to make way for sheep in Scotland in the first place.

Skoosh.