Judy Chesson -- from Wilmington -- found my website and was working on the McDougall family for a friend. She has pointed out to me, and I found someothers -- that obituaries of their children uniformly say she was Janet Houston -- so clearly she was, as it said in Malcolm’s obit.

And she also filed in more information on that art of the family.

“John Houston McDougall married Roberta Pauline Reckling, daughter of August D. G. and Theresia Meirst (Meirtz). Reckling. Roberta or “Bertha” as she preferred to be called, was born 16 Aug 1856 and died 28 Mar 1943 in Charleston, SC. They are both buried in Oakdale Cemetery, Section N.

They had another child besides John A. His name was Robert Houston McDougall. His death certificate listed John Houston and Bertha Reckling McDougall as his parents.

August seems to be from Germany(Prussia) and Theresia from Austria(Prussia). I haven’t determined if Bertha was actually born in SC or in Germany. Many of them are buried in the Ebenezer Lutheran Church Cemetery in Columbia, as are some McDougall’s.

Robert Houston married Florence Virginia Woodbury, daughter of Edgar Charles Jr. and Susie Cannon Woodbury. Virginia was born 17 Jul 1911 in Wilmington, and died 30 Jan 2011 at the age of 99 years and 6 months. Robert died of a heart attack while driving home from work. He was a traveling salesman and was on his way home. Single car accident, but death certificate states cardiac.

I only have the one daughter, but there are more children. Roberta Sue McDougall was born 13 Dec 1942 in James Walker Memorial Hospital, Wilmington, NC. She married David Weir Brown in Brunswick County in about 1968.”

I am not certain, but she may be the Janet Hamilton born 21 Nov 1835, daughter of Homer Hamilton and Jean Ramsay. I have given Jeanette, Malcolm's wife, this birth date as this is the only IGI record that might be her, but I would think there might be some confirmation of her parent's names among the names she gave her children and there is none, so this may not be her.

Obituary. 26 Dec 1907, The State, Columbia, SC. Malcolm was born in Johnstone, Renfreshire, Scotland 7 Dec 1834. Iron worker. Came to Columbia at age 20 where his brother Robert was already in business. His wife was maiden name Houston. His children are named. Robert died about 6-7 years ago in Columbia. His younger brother James also emigrated to America and came to Columbia.

A 1999 genealogy message board posting from David G McDougall (who no longer seems active in genealogy, no longer uses his old email address and whom I simply cannot find) said that John Augustus Malcolm Montgomery McDougall immigrated to Charleston in about 1858, later lived in Columbia, SC and worked at an iron foundry, and had a brother Robert. It says he served in the Confederate Army. His son, John Houston McDougall eventually ended up in Wilmington and died here in 1906, leaving six children including John A and Jeanette. It also quotes an aunt of his who commented that Robert was quite the daredevil who liked to climb up the sides of buildings. [The daredevil of course is Isabel’s father.]

Many of these facts check out. Robert did have a brother Malcolm born in 1834. I cannot find him on a particular ship but he most certainly is the same Malcolm McDougal age 46 occupation moulder living in Columbia, SC in 1880 with wife Jeannette and their younger children.

His obituary says he had been a trombone player in the "Queen's Own" regiment in Scotland and was a regimental bugler in the War of Secession and that perhaps saved his life when as a prisoner of war, he was of service as a bugler to those who held him prisoner.