James Douglas GCB (1803 - 1877)

Ancestors Descendants

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Family 1.2 Career 1.3 Legacy 2 Sources

Biography

Sir James Douglas was Governor of British Columbia and Vancouver Island, and considered by many to be the "father of British Columbia."^[1][2][3]

Family

Sir James Douglas was born August 15, 1803 in Demerara, which, while then a colony of the Netherlands, was occupied and effectively ruled by the British from 1803-1812, due to the Napoleonic Wars, and finally ceded to them by the Dutch in 1814 (ratified 1815). Had this not been the case, Sir James is unlikely to have been born there^[4]. Demarara later became part of several British colonial entities, latterly British Guiana, and is now part of the independent Commonwealth country, Guyana.^[1] (His death record lists Scotland as his place of birth. There can be little doubt that this was due to his parentage, which, per the time, measured ethnicity via the paternal line, which was, of course, further underlined by his Scots surname. Scots were also pre-eminent in many aspects of the fur trade, another factor important to the creation of this natural, but inaccurate portrayal of his birthplace.)^[5] His father, John Douglas, was a Scottish planter and merchant from Glasgow, Scotland.^[2] His mother was Martha Ann Ritchie, a Creole of mixed race from Barbados.^[2] His parents were never married, but did have three children together.^[3]

As a child, young James attended school in Lanark, beginning around age 12.^[2] He found himself regularly in conflicts, fighting his way through school.^[2] He also had a French Huguenot tutor while in Chester, England.^[2] His grasp of the French language would help him later in the fur trade.^[2]

Sir James was a member of the Reformed Episcopal Church.^[5]

Sir James married Amelia Connolly, daughter of William Connolly, whom he had accompanied on a fur brigade to Vancouver, on 27 August 1828.^[1][2] The marriage was confirmed in 1837.^[2] Their children included Cecelia (Douglas) Helmcken^[1], James William Douglas^[1], and Martha (Douglas) Harris^[1].

Sir James was described as a "stout, powerful, active man of good conduct and respectable abilities."^[2] He was also known for his raging temper, nonetheless.^[2] Later he would even be considered "pompous" and inclined to despotism, as well as aloof.^[2]

Career

Preceded by Richard Blanshard

Governor of the Colony of Vancouver Island October 30, 1851 – March 25, 1864

Succeeded by Arthur Kennedy

Preceded by Office Established

Governor of the Colony of British Columbia November 19, 1858 – April 21, 1864

Succeeded by Frederick Seymour

He began his career at age 16, apprenticed to the North West Company, a notable player in the North American fur trade.^[1][2] It would merge with the Hudson's Bay Trading Company in 1821.^[2] James became Chief Trader at Fort Vancouver (now part of the state of Washington, USA) in 1835.^[1] In 1839, he was made Chief Factor.^[1] Once it appeared that Fort Vancouver would become part of the young United States, he moved onto Fort Victoria to help establish it. ^[1] This led to him being considered the founder of Victoria.^[1] He went on to help the Hudson's Bay Company establish something of a trading monopoly in the Pacific Northwest.^[2]

He would go on to become the Governor of the Colony of Vancouver Island after the original choice vacated the post, not happy with the treatment of miners or indigenous people in the region.^[1][2] Sir James had antiquated views about the rights of the population and genuinely thought that people wanted to have a ruling class governing their lives, instead of complete individual liberty.^[2]

The Gild Rush changed the way Douglas did things, and Great Britain insisted on the changes in order to accommodate incoming gold seekers from California, removing much of the favour it had previously bestowed upon the HBC.^[2] Insisting he sever his ties with the fur trade, Douglas was offered the role of first colonial Governor of the Colony of British Columbia, in 1858.^[1][2] His primary concern during his governorship was maintaining peace between the indigenous people and the miners.^[2] Douglas also encouraged a large number of black settlers from California to move to British Columbia in order to try to maintain a balance between American Gold Rush immigrants and those who were loyal to Great Britain.^[6]

At the end of his career, Queen Victoria advanced his grade within the Order of the Bath from Knight Commander (KCB) to Knight Grand CrossGCB)^[3][2]

Legacy

Sir James died in Victoria, British Columbia on August 2, 1877 of a heart attack.^[5][1], and was buried in Ross Bay Cemetery, Victoria^[1][3] On his death certificate, James's occupation is listed, slightly inaccurately, as "Knight Commander of the Bath, + Late Governor of British Columbia".^[5]

Sir James had prepared a will on 4 Jan 1872.^[7] Probate of his estate spanned multiple years, not concluding until 1890.^[8]

Many places were named for him throughout British Columbia, to honour his role as the "Father" of the region.^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14} Find a Grave, database and images, memorial page for Sir James Douglas (15 Aug 1803–2 Aug 1877), Find A Grave: Memorial #2548, citing Ross Bay Cemetery, Victoria, Capital Regional District, British Columbia, Canada ; Maintained by Find A Grave .]
2. ↑ ^{2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20} Ormsby, Margaret A., “Sir James Douglas”, in The Canadian Encyclopedia, Toronto, ON: Historica Canada (2008) Accessed July 1, 2017, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/douglas_james_10E.html.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4} Wikipedia: James Douglas (governor)
4. ↑ Demerara. History. Including dates and de facto status. Wikipedia.org
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3} Registration of Death for James Douglas, Event Type: Death, Registration Number: 1877-09-001090, BC Archives Mfilm Number: B13077, GSU Mfilm Number: 1927287, Event Date: 1877-08-02, Event Place: VICTORIA, Age at Death: 74, Person: JAMES DOUGLAS, Vital Stat Images(s): 004438045_00128.jpg, BC Archives - Royal BC Museum.
6. ↑ Kilian, Crawford, "Sir James Douglas: Colonial Governor", Library and Archives of Canada. Accessed 11 July 2017.
7. ↑ "Canada, British Columbia Wills, 1861-1981," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89SD-1QG3?cc=2001882&wc=M6VR-QNG%3A285567101%2C285568501 : 20 May 2014), Wills > no 1321-1870 > image 2121 of 2486, Record 1806; British Columbia Archives and Records Service, Victoria.
8. ↑ "Canada, British Columbia Estate Files, 1859-1949," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L978-S4GW?cc=2014768&wc=M69N-LMS%3A332531901%2C332530502%2C332643801 : 22 May 2014), Victoria > Supreme Court > Estate files 1859-1924 no 1031-1125 > image 371 of 3392, Record 1039; British Columbia Archives and Records Service, Victoria.

See also:

• Perry, Adele. Colonial Relations: The Douglas-Connolly Family and the Nineteenth-Century Imperial World Cambridge University Press, Apr 2, 2015. Recent work on the family of Douglas and Connolly
• Wikipedia: James Douglas (governor)
• The Douglas Archives: Sir James Douglas
• Wikidata: Item Q358904, en:Wikipedia
• Perkins, Martha, "How a man of mixed race helped create British Columbia", Vancouver Courier, Vancouver, British Columbia, 14 Feb 2017. Accessed 11 July 2017.
• African Americans migrate to British Columbia 1858