James "The Gross" Douglas, 7th Earl of Douglas

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Douglas,_7th_Earl_of_Douglas

James Douglas, 7th Earl of Douglas, 1st Earl of Avondale (1371 – 24 March 1443), latterly known as James the Gross, and prior to his ennoblement as James of Balvenie, was a late mediaeval Scottish magnate.[1] He was the second son of Archibald Douglas, 3rd Earl of Douglas and Joan Moray of Bothwell and Drumsargard (now Cambuslang), d. after 1408.

From The Douglas Archives

His exceptional rise to dominance in his family and in the kingdom began with the disastrous defeat of his elder brother, Archibald Douglas, fourth earl of Douglas, at Hamildon Hill in 1402. After the capture of the earl and his leading followers James was left to maintain Black Douglas influence in southern Scotland. He deputized for the earl as warden of the Scottish marches and keeper of Edinburgh Castle, but when he tried to maintain his family's position found himself increasingly challenged by a rival faction in the south led by Robert III's councillors, Sir David Fleming and Henry Sinclair, second earl of Orkney. Most worryingly for James, Fleming's and Orkney's support of the rebel Henry Percy, first earl of Northumberland, created tensions with England which led to attacks on Douglas lands and jeopardized negotiations for the earl's release. In early 1406 these tensions resulted in open conflict. James Douglas led a force from Edinburgh which caught Fleming, Orkney, and the young heir to the throne, the future James I, in Haddingtonshire. Orkney and Prince James escaped by sea, but Fleming was killed by Douglas's men in a running fight.

James Douglas's success preserved Black Douglas dominance in the south. ...

By inclination and experience, Douglas was not a border magnate like his predecessors. His main residences at Abercorn and Lanark confirm him as a magnate whose lands and personal connections centred on Clydesdale and Lothian. The marriages of his daughters to landowners in these two sheriffdoms support this impression. It was thus appropriate that it was at Abercorn Castle that Douglas died on 10 March 1443. His grossly fat body, which earned him his nickname and which at his death reportedly contained 4 stone of tallow, was buried in a magnificent tomb in St Bride's Church in Douglas.

family

• Father: Archibald the Grim (3rd Earl of Douglas) Douglas b: ABT. 1346
• Mother: Joan\Johana (of Strathearn) Moray b: ABT. 1350

Marriage

1. 1 Beatrix Sinclair, dau of Earl of Orkney Married: BEF. 7 MAR 1424/25 in Orkney, ORKN, Scot.

Children

1. William 8th Earl of Douglas b: ABT. 1425
2. James 9th (Black Douglas) Earl of Douglas b: ABT. 1440
3. Archibald (Earl of Moray) Douglas
4. Hugh (Earl of Ormond) Douglas,  Executed in 1455
5. John (Lord of Balveny) Douglas
6. Margaret Douglas = Henry Douglas, son of Sir James Douglas,1st Lord Dalkeith 
7. Henry Douglas
8. George Douglas
9. Beatrice Douglas = William (1st Earl of Erroll) 2nd Lord Hay
10. Elizabeth Douglas = Adam (of Craigie) Wallace (or William?)
11. Janet Douglas b: 1398 in Brechin, Lanarkshire, Scotland = Robert (Sir) 1st Lord Fleming

From Wikipedia

In 1437 he was created Earl of Avondale. He succeeded to the earldom of Douglas on the summary execution of his great-nephew William Douglas, 6th Earl of Douglas, and his brother David, in 1440. James Douglas was himself implicated in this attempt to neutralise the power of the 'Black' Douglas line.

Marriage and issue

He married first Beatrice Stewart, daughter of Robert Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany and Margaret Graham, Countess of Menteith. They had one daughter.

Beatrice Douglas

He married second Beatrice Sinclair, daughter of Henry Sinclair, 2nd Earl of Orkney, around 1425. They had four children.

William Douglas (1425–1452), who succeeded his father

James Douglas (1426–1491), who succeeded his brother as 9th earl

Janet Douglas

Margaret Douglas (d.1473)

Sources

1. Complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and ..., Volume 3 By George Edward Cokayne Pg.155

Links

• http://www.thepeerage.com/p10825.htm#i108243
• http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=glencoe&i...
• http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~hwbradley/aqwg1757.htm#49580
• http://www.douglashistory.co.uk/history/james7thearldouglas.htm#.Uj...
• https://www.clanmacfarlanegenealogy.info/genealogy/TNGWebsite/getpe...