JANET DOUGLAS

Stirnet has suggested that Janet Douglas, here treated, may be the daughter of William Douglas-Hamilton, 1st Earl of Selkirk and his wife Anne Hamilton, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton but this is wrong. Stirnet: Muirhead 1

The Question of Identity

Janet Douglas, here treated, is not mentioned in the Scots Peerage accounts of her father and his family. The Scots Peerage VII: 516 The Scots Peerage IV: 381 However she is the bastard daughter of William Douglas, Duke of Hamilton, formerly Earl of Selkirk, by an unknown mother. [NRS: RS42/VIII/119 and RS42/XI/301]

Marriage

Janet Douglas, here treated, married Gavin Muirhead of Lauchope [NRS: RS42/VIII/119 and RS42/XI/301]

Evidence from the National Records of Scotland

                   1

2 June 1685 x 3 August 1688: William, Duke of Hamilton, formerly Earl of Selkirk. Janet Douglas, natural daughter of William, Duke of Hamilton. Gavin Muirhead of Lauchope, son of Sir James Muirhead of Lauchope. [Particular Register of Sasines for the Sheriffdom of Lanark, reference RS42/VIII/119]

                   2

2 June 1699 x 5 July 1709: William, Duke of Hamilton, formerly Earl of Selkirk. Janet Douglas, natural daughter of William, Duke of Hamilton. Gavin Muirhead of Lauchope, son of Sir James Muirhead of Lauchope. [Particular Register of Sasines for the Sheriffdom of Lanark, reference RS42/XI/301]

Genealogy

1. A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland. By Sir Bernard Burke, Ulster King of Arms. In Two parts - Part II. (Harrison, London, 1863) pp. 1050-51 for Muirhead of Bredisholm
2. A System of Heraldry etc. By Alexander Nisbet. The Second Edition. Volume II (Alex Lawrie and Company, Edinburgh, 1904), pp. 256-66 for Muirhead of Lauchop
3. The Scots Peerage VII: 516
4. The Scots Peerage IV: 381
5. Stirnet: Muirhead 1
6. Stirnet: Hamilton 13