Dougall Ephemera

Thunder Bay Airport, one I can claim:
First World War pilot and aviation pioneer

A scattering of DOUGALL place names from my "Other Families" collection ― lore that I randomly, sporadically track. Optimistically, pursuing them might lead to clues about pre-1750 origins for my own Scottish Lothian ancestors.

Dougall Avenue, Windsor, Ontario 

A main thoroughfare in Windsor was named for James Dougall (1810-1888) an early merchant and public official when the town was still called Sandwich. Purportedly he chose the name of Windsor in 1836. James married into the old prestigious Baby family; his brother John was the founder of the Montreal Witness newspaper among other ventures. Both were born in Paisley, Scotland, sons of John Dougall (died 1836 Montreal) and Margaret Yuill, according to the Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Their origins west of Glasgow probably preclude any known connection to my ancestry ― I'm aware of different Dougall lines in/near Glasgow.

Dougall Park in Gibsons, BC

I'd come across several references to this park in the former Gibson's Landing. Research led to the widow Louisa Bryson Dougall who originally donated the park land to the Anglican church there. Louisa was a large property owner and social force in the town's formative days. Her husband was George M. Dougall, a journalist in the 1911 census; both were born in Montreal. But all my (born) nineteenth century Georges are accounted for. Thanks to the Drouin Collection on Ancestry.com, I know George Matile Dougall was born 1 March 1866, son of James Duncan Dougall, merchant in Montreal, and Laure Emily Matile on 27 June 1888; a John Dougall was a witness at the June baptism, Zion Congregational church. I believe he is connected to what I call the Montreal Witness Dougalls.

Dougall Road in Kelowna, BC

Also out west, peripheral reference from a British Columbia newspaper article, unknown yet when or why this street naming was done. Dougalls are alive and well in Kelowna today.

Dougall Canal in Orillia, Ontario

I once met a Toronto resident from this family and we could establish no connection. Bruce Dougall's family began spending summers on Lake Couchiching in the late 1800s. Bruce "designed, financed and constructed" the canal over fifty years ago to open up Orillia's development. Clearly the family has been in Ontario well over one hundred years ― I've found nothing about their origins but haven't looked very hard. In 2015 the town re-named the canal to honour him.

Bench, Linlithgow, Scotland

A 2012 news item in the Linlithgow Gazette: a bench at Linlithgow Loch named for him is a tribute to local man Andrew Dougall. Nicknamed "Bushy," he was an avid fly-fisher, founding member of local fly-fishing clubs. Mr. Dougall died in 2008 at the age of 50. The locale where he loved to spend his time is among my family parishes. And the fishing gene runs strong in my family's Y-DNA!

Andrew Dougall's kin; I spy some red hair

A scenic group of places, if not exactly genealogically rewarding.

© 2015 Brenda Dougall Merriman. All rights reserved.