BENJAMIN FORTNER and ISABELLA DOUGLAS

From "Biographical Sketches of Welland County" Ontario, printed in 1887, page 559: states that Lady Douglas, the daughter of the Earl of Douglas, fell in love with a young man whom the Earl forbade her to marry. The couple sailed for America in separate ships and Lady Douglas arrived safely in New York, but never heard of her lover again, his ship is supposed to have foundered. Lady Douglas found herself destitute except for her jewels which she decided not to sell. She found employment as a servant in the household of a wealthy New York merchant named Fortner. The Fortners realized that she was occupying a position subordinate to her birth, and made of her an equal. She was persuaded to marry the merchant's son A large family was born to this couple.

Source: http://www.users.voicenet.com/~jayandy/#fortnr

 

BENJAMIN FORTNER b: abt 1720      
   Spouse: ISABELLA DOUGLAS, b: 1723 Scotland
        Children: Abigail    b: 1740  (see below) 
                  Elizabeth  b: 1744
                  Mary       b: 1746
                  Francis    b: 1748
                  Joseph     b: 1750
                  Lewis      b: 1755
                  Andrew     b: 1757
                  Benjamin   b: 26 Jun 1758
                  James      b: 1760
                  Jonas      b: 1762
                  Sarah      b: 1766

 

Source: http://www.users.voicenet.com/~jayandy/chart.htm