Cecilia Douglas
Cecilia Douglas was a Scottish owner of West Indian plantations by marriage, and an art collector. She was one of Scotland's wealthiest women during her lifetime, with a net worth of £40,000.
Early life
Cecilia Douglas was born to John Douglas, a Scottish merchant of the planter class of the West Indies, and Cecilia Buchanan, on 28 February 1772. She was the fifth of eleven siblings, and one of only two daughters, and the sister of Lieutenant-General Sir Neil Douglas. Her nephew was Sir James Douglas, Governor of Vancouver Island.Marriage
Douglas married Gilbert Douglas, a West Indian plantation owner from Balcony, on 26 January 1794, in Glasgow. Their marriage lasted until Gilbert's death in 1807. No children resulted from the union.Gilbert owned two plantations: Fairfield, a cotton plantation in Demerara, and Mount Pleasant, a sugar plantation on the island of St. Vincent. After the death of Gilbert in 1807, Cecilia inherited half shares in his plantations, including their slaves. Her late husband also bequeathed her the use of estates in Lanarkshire in Scotland, Douglas Park and Boggs.
In the 1820s she toured Europe, acquiring a variety of artworks and made profitable investments in British industry and commerce. Douglas lived at Orbiston House for the remainder of her years. She commissioned a stained-glass window in Glasgow Cathedral to preserve her own and her family's legacy. This has since been removed.