Memorial for Archibald Douglas of Douglas, esq; and for Margaret duchess of Douglas, and Charles duke of Queensberry and Dover, his curators, defenders; against George-James duke of Hamilton, Lord Douglas Hamilton, and their tutors, and Sir Hew Dalrymple of Northberwick, baronet, pursuers (Douglas Cause)

Archibald Douglas(Defendant),  James George Hamilton, Andrew Stuart, James William Montgomery, Robert Richardson

[publisher not identified], 1766

[Douglas Peerage Case] Quarto. Leather backed. Gilt ruled. Marbled boards. Spine join cracked. Binding sound. Shelf wear, rubbing to board. Hardcover. Clean, unmarked pages. 549 pages.  

Relating to the claim of Archibald Douglas, formerly Stewart, to be heir of his uncle, Archibald, Duke of Douglas, which was disputed by the Duke of Hamilton on the ground that Archibald was not the son of Lady Jane Douglas, in trials before the Scottish courts, 1761-1767, and before the House of Lords, 1769.  Douglas's mother (Lady Jane Douglas) reportedly birthed Archibald at age 50 in Paris, her husband was 63.  Lady Jane Douglas (d.1753) was the sister of the extremely wealthy Duke of Douglas, who died childless.  The inheritance would have passed to the Duke of Hamilton, if not for the birth of Archibald. The circumstances of Archibald's birth were in question, with reports that Archibald was actually the son of a French glassblower.  The peerage case was quite a scandal and was eventually overturned by the House of Lords, who ruled in favor of Archibald in 1769.