William D. Douglass

William Douglass was a native of Pennsylvania and was the son of George Douglass, soldier of the Revolutionary War. William Douglass, himself though only a youth in his teens when the war ended, had the honor of being enrolled in the Continental Army, and served as a teamster in the same regiment with his father. After the war, he married Mary, daughter of Samuel Scott, also a soldier of the Revolution. Thus he left to his descendants a family history particularly rich in patriotic endeavor.

Soon after 1810, William Douglass settled near Greenfield where he purchased nearly 1000 acres of land. Here he spent the remainder of his life was spent. His death occurred Dec. 23, 1852, his wife having passed away some years previously. Though never prominent in public life, he was loyal in support of the church and schools and his name appears among the subscribers to the Greenfield Academy, founded in 1845.