Sir Robert Douglas, 6th Baronet facts for kids
Sir Robert Douglas of Glenbervie, 6th Baronet (born in 1694, died on April 24, 1770) was a famous historian who studied family trees, especially Scottish ones. He wrote an important book called The Baronage of Scotland, which is all about the history of Scottish families.
His Books and Work
Sir Robert Douglas wrote a very important book called The Peerage of Scotland. It was published in 1764. Before his book, no major works about Scottish noble families had been published for a long time, since 1716.
In his book, Douglas dedicated it to the Earl of Morton. He also included a list of people who had helped support his work. He even sent parts of his book to the noble families themselves to check for mistakes!
Douglas also planned to write a second part, which he called a "baronage" of Scotland. This book would be about the "gentry" – important families who weren't nobles but still had a lot of land and influence. He announced this book was being printed in 1767. Sadly, he passed away before it could be published.
The first volume of his Baronage of Scotland was finally published in 1798. It shared the history and family trees of many important Scottish families, including the baronets of Scotland. The people who finished the book promised a second volume, but it never came out.
In 1813, a new version of Douglas's main book, The Peerage of Scotland, was released. It was updated and corrected by John Philip Wood. This new edition even had pictures of the family crests of the nobles! Many Scottish noblemen and gentlemen helped Wood by providing information for the book. Some corrections from Lord Hailes were also added. Later, another expert named John Riddell pointed out that there were still a few small mistakes in both Douglas's and Wood's versions.
In 1795, some of Douglas's other family tree writings were printed just for a few people in Windsor. These included the "Genealogies of the Family of Lind and the Montgomeries of Smithton."
His Family
Robert was the second son of Sir Robert Douglas, 4th Baronet, of Glenbervie. His mother was Jane Paterson. Robert became the 6th Baronet after his half-brother, Sir William Douglas, 5th Baronet, passed away without children.
Around 1738, Sir Robert married Margaret. She was the daughter of Sir James Macdonald, 3rd Lord Sleat. Robert and Margaret had three sons, but two of them died when they were young. They also had a daughter named Janet. Janet later married Kenneth Mackenzie and had children. Their son, Lieutenant Kenneth Mackenzie, later changed his name to Douglas and became a baronet.
Sir Robert was followed as Baronet by his son, Sir Alexander Douglas (1738–1812). He was the 7th Baronet of Glenbervie. Sir Alexander married Barbara Carnegie, but they did not have any children.
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