User Home Pages: The Anderson, Ridall (Douglas), Shaul & Samazeuilh families

The Anderson, Ridall (Douglas), Shaul & Samazeuilh families

Updated November 4, 2010
William Warner Anderson, junior
[email protected]

This site is the compilation of research primarily on the Douglas and Anderson families. It includes Lady(?) Isobel (Isabel/Isabella) Douglas of Glasgow, Scotland and her family in and around Hunterdon County, New Jersey; William Anderson of Berwick-upon-Tweed, England, his ancestors in Lanarkshire/Dumbrieshire and his descendents in and around St. James Parish (formerly the Old Herring Creek Parish), Anne Arundel County, Maryland.
Other families to be researched further include the Shaul family from Oklahoma by way of Nebraska from New York, and the Samazeuilh and Wijk families from France and Sweden.
This project began in 2000 with picking up where my family left off in the quest of Isobel Douglas. In 1914 my family helped sponsor Col(ret) Robert Bruce Ricketts, esq. in laying claim to the family fortune (52,000 pounds sterling on interest from circa 1761 and the estates of her four childless brothers!) deeded to the fifth generation of Lord(?) Archibald or Lord James Douglas. I am still skeptical about whether her father was James or Archibald and whether she hails from Bothwell Castle or Blythswood Estate (between Inchinnan and Renfrew, Renfrewshire - near the airport) both of greater Glasgow. I am more inclined to believe her father was in fact Archibald .... however I am willing to concede James Douglas of Mains (Renfrew) could be her father (or even perhaps her Uncle) and Archibald her grandfather.Time will tell!
I have several unturned stones and clues (sister drowned at Hazel Run, a brother named Sholto, Isobel Elphinstone near Renfrew, etc.) that I am convinced will help narrow the search. Most recently I obtained a copy of the baptismal entry for her and Benjamin as adults. I am now focused on obtaining a record of her marriage. I am intent upon obtaining clear evidence (official if at all possible) as to who her parents were in Scotland. Please let me know if you would like to join me in this pursuit of truth. There is much work to do ... and if and when I get this all sorted out perhaps a book is in order to properly tribute this colorful ancestral story.
My most recent hope is to find a family bible that documents Isobel's ancestry. The closest I have come is to obtain a copy of Lewis Fortner's (son of Benjamin and Isobel) family bible.
Circa 2008 I have added my DNA to the Anderson Family project - this has helped confirm my origins in Scotland.In 2009 I have contacted Mr. Hope Vere Anderson, Dumfrieshire, Scotland in that we are an exact DNA match for sharing a common ancestor.I hope to learn more from my "cousin" in Scotland that will permit greater understanding of my ancestry.
Much credit is owed to contrbituions made by family, associates and friends made while conducting this research to include Ms. Bonnie Jean Everhart, of Clinton, North Carolina (formerly a genealogist in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania); Mr. George A. Fortner, of Cincinnati, Ohio; Mr. Percy Douglas, The Hague, The Netherlands; Ms. Yvonne Balcer, Ridgecrest, California; Mr. Robert Guthrie, Glasgow, Scotland; Mr. H. Roger Miller, Elmira, Ontario, Canada; Ms. Mary Claire Fiorello, Waverly, New York; Ms. Crystal Wood, Fairbanks, Alaska; Ms. Constance Lane, Flanders, New Jersey; Ms. Katherine Ricker, California; Mr. Marvin H. Anderson, esq., Gambrills, Maryland; Ms. Eve McLaughlin, Bucks, England; Mr. Peter Milne, National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh, and the late Professor A. Bruce Black, Bloomsburg Normal School (now Bloomsburg University), Pennsylvania.

GEDCOM Trees(viewing trees requires 4.0 or later)

 

Family Photos

  • Deposition (81 KB)
    1836 Deposition, p. 5
  • Elizabeth Fortner Garrison's tombstone (232 KB)
    Photo of her grave (13 July 1825) at Brown's Cemetery, Mifflinville, Pennsylvania
  • Deposition (46 KB)
    1836 Deposition, p. 15
  • Deposition (133 KB)
    1836 Deposition, p. 6
  • Bothwell Castle (78 KB)
    Artist's rendering of Bothwell Castle
  • Deposition (102 KB)
    1836 Deposition, p. 7
  • Map of Mains & Renfrew (27 KB)
    A susbtantial farm/house called Mains shown based on 16th century manuscripts close to where the Cart(s) flow into the Clyde, on the opposite bank from Blythswood estate.
  • Deposition (40 KB)
    1836 Deposition, p. 8
  • Modern day map showing the Mains farms (134 KB)
    By the late 19th century , the farm is referred to as Old Mains, probably to differentiate it from a farm called New Mains on the other side of Inchinann. Both the names New Mains and Old Mains (more modern farms on the original sites) still exist with Inchinnan, and the Rivers Cart(s) and Clyde, - the little flag on the 'right' (east) bank of the Cart is Renfrew Golf Course which is built on the Blythswood Estate.
  • Deposition (53 KB)
    1836 Deposition, p. 9
  • Detailed map which shows Old Mains and Renfrew (136 KB)
    The small island that sits between these two place is called Colin's Isle - more than likely called after Colin Campbell.... a shortcut between Mains and Blythswood perhaps!!!
  • Deposition (48 KB)
    1836 Deposition, p. 10
  • Deposition (106 KB)
    1836 Deposition, page 1
  • Deposition (114 KB)
    1836 Deposition, p. 11
  • Deposition (119 KB)
    1836 Deposition, p. 2
  • Deposition (122 KB)
    1836 Deposition, p. 12
  • Deposition (128 KB)
    1836 Deposition, p. 3
  • Deposition (133 KB)
    1836 Deposition, p. 13
  • Deposition (35 KB)
    1836 Deposition, p. 4
  • Deposition (118 KB)
    1836 Deposition, p. 14
 

Family Tree Maker Reports and Trees

 

Related Files

  • The Storytellers (25 KB)
    Why I am compelled to tell this story.
  • Facts & Clues for Isobel Douglas Fortner (38 KB)
    This document is a summary of relevant facts and then clues for Isobel Douglas. The clues are what I consider useful information in pursuing further evidence of her family history.
 

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