Archibald Douglas (British Army officer, born 1707) - Wikipedia - Recent changes [en]

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[[File:Witham Public Library (geograph 5405138).jpg|thumb|Former White Hall, Witham, now the Witham Public Library.]]

Lt-General '''Archibald Douglas of Kirkton''' (1707 – 8 November 1778) was a Scottish Army officer and [[Member of Parliament]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1754-1790/member/douglas-archibald-1707-78|title=DOUGLAS, Archibald (1707-78), of Kirktoun, Dumfries and Witham, Essex|publisher=History of Parliament Online|accessdate=9 January 2018|archive-date=30 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430035720/http://historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1754-1790/member/douglas-archibald-1707-78|url-status=live}}</ref>

Lt-General '''Archibald Douglas of Kirkton''' (1707 – 8 November 1778) was a Scottish Army officer and [[Member of Parliament]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1754-1790/member/douglas-archibald-1707-78|title=DOUGLAS, Archibald (1707-78), of Kirktoun, Dumfries and Witham, Essex|publisher=History of Parliament Online|accessdate=9 January 2018|archive-date=30 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430035720/http://historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1754-1790/member/douglas-archibald-1707-78|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Early life==

He was the eldest son of [[Annie Laurie#William Douglas|William Douglas of Fingland]] and Elizabeth (Betty) Clerk. His father, a former Jacobite, had been forced to sell the family estate.

He was the eldest son of [[Annie Laurie#William Douglas|William Douglas]] of [[Fingland]] and Lanarkshire heiress, Elizabeth "Betty" Clerk of [[Glenboig]]. His father was a Captain in the [[Royal Scots]] and fought in Germany and Spain. A former Jacobite, however, he had been forced to sell the family estate.<ref name="Johnston1907">{{cite book |last1=Johnston |first1=George Harvey |title=The Heraldry of the Douglases: With Notes on All the Males of the Family, Descriptions of the Arms, Plates and Pedigrees |date=1907 |publisher=W. & A.K. Johnston |page=74 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Heraldry_of_the_Douglases/FwwtAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA74 |access-date=17 July 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

==Career==

[[File:Witham Public Library (geograph 5405138).jpg|thumb|Former White Hall, Witham, now the Witham Public Library.]]

He joined the army as a Cornet in the [[4th Dragoons]] (then Sir Robert Rich's Dragoons) in 1739, rising to lieutenant in 1742, captain in 1745, major in 1746, lieutenant-colonel in 1746, colonel in 1756, major-general in 1759 and lieutenant-general in 1761. He took part in the [[Battle of Dettingen|Battles of Dettingen]] (where he had 3 horses shot from under him and an eyebrow shot away) and [[Battle of Minden|Minden]]. In 1756 he was made Aide-de-Camp to King George II. In 1758 he was made Regimental Colonel of the [[13th Hussars|13th Dragoons]], a position he held until his death.

He joined the army as a Cornet in the [[4th Dragoons]] (then Sir Robert Rich's Dragoons) in 1739, rising to lieutenant in 1742, captain in 1745, major in 1746, lieutenant-colonel in 1746, colonel in 1756, major-general in 1759 and lieutenant-general in 1761. He took part in the [[Battle of Dettingen|Battles of Dettingen]] (where he had 3 horses shot from under him and an eyebrow shot away) and [[Battle of Minden|Minden]]. In 1756 he was made Aide-de-Camp to King George II. In 1758 he was made Regimental Colonel of the [[13th Hussars|13th Dragoons]], a position he held until his death.

He sat as member for the [[Dumfries Burghs (UK Parliament constituency)|Dumfries Burghs]] ([[Lochmaben]], [[Annan, Dumfries and Galloway|Annan]] and [[Sanquhar]]) from 1754 to 1761, and for [[Dumfriesshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Dumfriesshire]] from 1761 to 1774.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.electricscotland.com/history/dumfries/chapter12.htm |title=Electric Scotland |accessdate=31 July 2011 |archive-date=4 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120404102602/http://www.electricscotland.com/history/dumfries/chapter12.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1763 he purchased a country house in Newland Street, Witham, Essex which was later known as White Hall.

He sat as member for the [[Dumfries Burghs (UK Parliament constituency)|Dumfries Burghs]] ([[Lochmaben]], [[Annan, Dumfries and Galloway|Annan]] and [[Sanquhar]]) from 1754 to 1761, and for [[Dumfriesshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Dumfriesshire]] from 1761 to 1774.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.electricscotland.com/history/dumfries/chapter12.htm |title=Electric Scotland |accessdate=31 July 2011 |archive-date=4 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120404102602/http://www.electricscotland.com/history/dumfries/chapter12.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1763 he purchased a country house in Newland Street, Witham, Essex which was later known as White Hall.

==Personal life==

Douglas died in Dublin in 1778 and was buried at St Nicholas church, Witham, where there is a memorial to him.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Janet|first=Gyford|date=27 April 2020|title=The history of Witham, Essex|url=https://www.janetgyford.com/douglas-family-memorial-in-parish-church/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715110910/https://www.janetgyford.com/douglas-family-memorial-in-parish-church/ |archive-date=15 July 2020 |access-date=15 Jul 2020|website=The history of Witham, Essex}}</ref> He had married in 1746 Elizabeth, daughter of Edmund Burchard of Witham, Essex, with whom he had 6 sons, including [[Philip Douglas|Philip]], and 5 daughters.

In 1746 he married Elizabeth Burchard, a daughter of Edmund Burchard of Witham, Essex, with whom he had six sons and five daughters, including:<ref name="Adams1921">{{cite book |last1=Adams |first1=Percy Walter Lewis |title=A History of the Douglas Family of Morton in Nithsdale (Dumfriesshire) and Fingland (Kirkcudbrightshire) & Their Descendants |date=1921 |publisher=Sidney Press |pages=472-475 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_History_of_the_Douglas_Family_of_Morto/nGQdu24aB1cC?hl=en&gbpv=1 |access-date=17 July 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

* Archibald Martin John Douglas (1747–1787), a Captain of the [[13th Hussars|13th Dragoons]]; he married Mary Elizabeth Crosbie.

* William Douglas (1755–1802), a Judge in India; he married Jane Bell in 1785.

* Alexander Douglas (1756–1793), a Captain in the [[Royal Navy]]; he married Margaret Maxwell.

* [[Philip Douglas]] (1758–1822), the [[vicar]] of [[Gedney, Lincolnshire|Gedney]] from 1796 until his death.<ref>[http://www.douglashistory.co.uk/history/Biogs/Biographies_religious.htm Douglas Archives]</ref>

* Jane Douglas (1760–1837), who married [[William Van Mildert]], the [[Bishop of Durham]] who was the last to rule the [[County Palatine of Durham]].

* Robert Douglas (1765–1806), who married Frances Vaughn, a daughter of Henry Vaughn Jeffreys of [[Kirkham Abbey]], in 1787.

Douglas died in Dublin in 1778 and was buried at St Nicholas church, Witham, where there is a memorial to him.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Janet|first=Gyford|date=27 April 2020|title=The history of Witham, Essex|url=https://www.janetgyford.com/douglas-family-memorial-in-parish-church/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715110910/https://www.janetgyford.com/douglas-family-memorial-in-parish-church/ |archive-date=15 July 2020 |access-date=15 Jul 2020|website=The history of Witham, Essex}}</ref>

===Descendants===

Through his son William, he was a grandfather of Philip Henry Douglas (1786–1867), who married Susanna Aplin; Jane Douglas (1789–1868), who married the Rev. [[William Wescomb]] of [[Thrumpton Hall]] in [[Nottinghamshire]]; and Mary Douglas (1794–1884), who married [[Edward Stanley (1790–1863)|Edward Stanley]] of Dalegarth and Ponsonby, MP for [[West Cumberland (UK Parliament constituency)|West Cumberland]].<ref name="Mosley2003">Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes.'' [[Wilmington, Delaware]]: [[Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd]], 2003, vol. 2, p. 1618.</ref>

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