Douglass, Alexander, b. 1834

Alexander Douglass, son of Robert and Jane McGill Douglass, was born December 4, 1834, in Halton County, Ontario. In December 1856, he married Anna Belyea, daughter of John Belyea, III and Mary Livingston of Bronte, Ontario. The 1857 Directory of Ontario lists Alexander Douglass as a merchant/dealer in Oakville, Ontario. Just when he moved to Bruce County is not known. His father moved there in 1864. Alexander’s name appears in the Directory of Bruce County, 1867, as “Douglas & Co”, merchants, Southampton. He was both a wholesale and retail dealer. Sometime between 1881 and 1891 He moved his family to Winnipeg, Manitoba, where he became a real estate agent in addition to his mercantile business. Eventually he turned over the store to his son-in-law. He died in Winnipeg December 22, 1914 at the age of 90.

Alex and Anna had two daughters both of whom moved to Winnipeg with them: Eva (mar. Frederick Proudfoot) and Alma (mar. Bruce Gordon).

3 thoughts on “Douglass, Alexander, b. 1834

  1. Good morning. I would like to learn more about Fredrick Proudfoot. Can you give me any leads? Thank you for your time and trouble. NJW

  2. I found Fred Proudfoot, 40, barrister, in the 1881 Canadian census in Southampton, Bruce County, Ontario. In the household was an Alexander Proufoot, 80, who was born Scotland and may be Fred’s father.

    In the 1891 census Fred was living in Winnipeg, Manitoba, 50, widowed, living with his in-laws, working in real estate, quite probably with his father-in-law who dealt in real estate.

    In the 1901 census Fred, dob 7/28/1845, was living as a lodger with a family. He was the only Proudfoot in the city of Winnipeg. He and Eva had no children.

    According to vital records of Manitoba, Fred Proudfoot died Oct 31, 1904 in Winnipeg, registration number # 1904-0010108.

    That is all I have on Fred. It might prove interesting to search for more info on Alexander Proudfoot. Fred was born in Trafalgar, Halton County Ontario. Alexander was born in Scotland. You might be able to track down a land grant in the Halton County area if Alexander applied for one.

  3. hello – I have recently been researching alexander proudfoot (1804-1885 (?)) as part of my family tree and have found in the 1841 Trafalgar census that he noted coming to Canada in 1820. he opened a general store in Trafalgar at 9th line and Dundas which as of 1822 also included a post office – the only stop between York and Hamilton for several years. He became Magistrate for Gore district in 1833, was a Lt. Col for the 1st Battalion of Halton and a church warden at St. Jude’s Anglican church in Oakville and by the 1861 census is listed as a bank agent in Southhampton, Bruce County.
    in 1836, he married Amelia Jarvis (1819-1871) at her father’s home – Frederick Starr Jarvis (1786-1852) – Sheriff of the United Counties of York & Peel.
    her grandfather was Stephen Jarvis (1756-1840)
    Frederick Proudfoot was their second child and son, from a family of 7 – 4 sons and 3 daughters.
    Alexander Proudfoot had many young relatives who clerked for him in his mercantile and shipping business. Nephew Robert Young (1808-1878) went onto become the town clerk for Georgetown, his brother (my GG grandfather) James Young was the first reeve of Georgetown and had several other careers and Alexander’s brother-in-law, Peter Robinson Jarvis (1824-1904) went onto a successful sailing career among other adventures after working with A. Proudfoot.
    One family history maintains that Alexander died in Montreal in 1885, when visiting his son Alexander Proudfoot, Jr – a physician (1848-1900). Yet confirmation of this fact remains elusive.

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