[3] He was educated at King's College London, where he trained as a surgeon, and Magdalen Hall, Oxford.

[5] On leaving Oxford, McDougall found employment in superintending the Trimsaran iron-works in South Wales, in which Robert John Bunyon had an interest; Francis married his daughter, Harriette, in Llanelli in July 1843.

This was around the time of the Rebecca Riots, and McDougall was a prospective target for planning to open a company 'truck' shop.

[3] The McDougalls sailed for Borneo via the Cape and Singapore on 30 December 1847, arrived in Sarawak on 29 June 1848.

[7][8] William Bodham Wright was a second missionary, who made the same journey with his family, arriving with them in Kuching in June 1848.