James William Douglas was a political figure in British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

. He represented Victoria City

Victoria City (provincial electoral district)

Victoria City was one of the first twelve provincial electoral districts in the province of British Columbia, Canada, upon its entry into Confederation that year. It was originally a four-member riding, and elected to the Legislature several prominent Members of the Legislative Assembly and...

 in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is one of two components of the Parliament of British Columbia, the provincial parliament ....

 from 1875 to 1878.

He was born in Victoria

Victoria, British Columbia

Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...

, the son of Sir James Douglas

James Douglas (Governor)

Sir James Douglas KCB was a company fur-trader and a British colonial governor on Vancouver Island in northwestern North America, particularly in what is now British Columbia. Douglas worked for the North West Company, and later for the Hudson's Bay Company becoming a high-ranking company officer...

, the first governor of Vancouver Island, and Amelia Connolly, and was educated there. Douglas served in the local militia. For a time, he studied law with John Foster McCreight

John Foster McCreight

John Foster McCreight QC was a jurist and the first Premier of the Canadian province of British Columbia.-Early life:...

. In 1877, Douglas married Mary, the daughter of Andrew Charles Elliott

Andrew Charles Elliott

Andrew Charles Elliott was a British Columbian politician and jurist. Elliott's varied career in British Columbia included Gold Commissioner, stipendiary magistrate and, following the union of the Island and Mainland Colonies in 1866 was appoint High Sheriff of the province, resigning his...

. He died in San Francisco at the age of 32.