The family name of Douglas comes from the Gaelic term "dubh-ghlas", which means "black water" or "dark stream". This is derived from the lands surrounding the Douglas Water in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The Douglases were the most powerful family in Scotland.

  The first written record about a Douglas was recorded when a man by the name of William de Douglas was mentioned. He witness charters between 1175 and 1213. There is also a Scottish tradition that says there was a man named Sholto Douglas, who helped the King of Scotland in a battle in the year 767. 

   The most colorful Douglas of all was Sir. James Douglas. He was called the "Good Sir. James Douglas" and also by some "The Black Douglas".  King Robert the Bruce, on his death bed, requested that Sir. James Douglas cut out his heart at the time of his death. Then to carry his heart to the Holy Land and bury it in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Robert the Bruce thought by doing this he would make atonement for killing John III Comyn. On the way to the Holy Land Sir. James Douglas went though Spain and there was a battle taken place against the Moors. Sir. James Douglas saw his friend, Sir William St. Clair (Sinclair) in trouble on the battlefield, went to help him.  He and his men joined the battle and charged the enemy. While he was charging the enemy's lines, he took the heart of Robert the Bruce, (which was hanging around his neck in a little silver casket) and he threw it toward the enemy and said "Onward Braveheart, Douglas will follow thee or die."

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(From a paintin

The Battl

Courtesy o

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There on the battlefield in Teba, Spain Sir. James Douglas died August 25, 1330. ( There is a monument in Teba, Spain that marks this event)  This is where the Douglas Coat of Arms derives from. It is a shield with a bold blue stripe with three white stars at the top and a red heart with a crown on top of the heart (which represents King Robert the Bruce.)

  I took a YDNA test and the test results shows that my family roots came from the Drumlanrig/Queensberry, Scotland Douglas Clan. Their family motto is "Forward". Below is an early Drumlanrig Douglas Coat of Arms. 

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This is an early Drumlanrig Douglas Coat of Arms. Courtesy of Ancestral Charts by Ky White at Www.ancestralcharts.com

   

   

 

 

There are symbolic meanings for the emblems on the coat of arms. The blue represents loyalty and strength. The 3 stars (which are also called estoiles and mullets) represents celestial goodness and noble person. The heart represents charity and sincerity. But on this specific coat of arms the heart represent the heart of King Robert the Bruce. Above the heart on some of the Drumlanrig Douglas Coat of Arms is a crown. The 6 crosses, which are called cross crosslets fitchee, in two of the sections represents the Trinity and unshakable faith. The yellow diagonal stripe represents a shield suspender for a knight or military commander. At the top of other Drumlanrig Douglas Coat of Arms is a winged crowned heart. You can see this emblem in several places in and around the Drumlanrig Castle. Drumlanrig got its name from the Scottish Gaelic term "Druim Lannraig".  So "Drum" means hill and "lan" or 'lang" means long and "rig" means ridge.  The name is actually telling the story about how the Drumlanrig Castle was built from pink stones from a "hill near a long ridge."

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 (This is a picture of the Drumlanrig Castle 1880)

 

And at this point of the research we have traced the Douglas roots to a man named William de Douglas born circa 1146 and died circa 1214.  He lived most of his life in the Lanarkshire, Scotland area, near the Douglas Water, a place where the Douglas family got their name. The research has now opened the door to Scotland and I am hearing the old Scottish bagpipes playing and a nursery rhyme being sung about Sir. James Douglas.

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"Hush ye, Hush ye"

ye little pet ye,

Hush ye, Hush ye

do not fret ye

The Black Douglas

shall not get ye"

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   The family motto is "Jamais Arriere", which means "Never Behind."  The following pages are my family tree. This journey will take you from the Douglas Water of Lanarkshire, Scotland. Then to an Immigrant ship leaving London, England headed to the Colony in Charles City County, Virginia in America around 1660. On board is a 9 year old boy named John Douglas and from that little boy, my Douglas roots are spread though out the United States of America.