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| What the testament proves |
|---|
| John Glasgow was the father of Katherine Glasgow and a second child whose name is read as Marjory (accepted human reading m[ar]iory; the earlier Androw reading is superseded). Margaret, provisionally surnamed Cochrane, was John's widow. The record expressly calls the children his lawful bairns and later repeats that John was their father. It does not securely establish that Margaret was their mother. |
Record and dates
This is an Edinburgh Commissary Court testament dative and inventory, not a will dictated by John. The clear marginal date is 4 May 1577. The death clause reads March, but its year has not been securely deciphered; 1577 is the court or index year and should not automatically be used as the year of death.[1]
The derivative testament index identifies John as being in Hirmenschelis. That is useful evidence for the record's identity, but the place-name in the manuscript remains unclear in the present working reading and should not be silently supplied inside the transcription.[2]
Family named in the record
| Person | Relationship wording | Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Margaret [Cochrane?] | John's relict or widow; she submitted the inventory for the children | Margaret and her status are clear. The surname Cochrane is provisional. |
| Katherine Glasgow | One of John's lauchfull barnis and an executor-dative to her late father | Secure name and direct father–child relationship. |
| Marjory Glasgow | The second named lawful child and executor-dative to John | The relationship is clear; Marjory is the accepted human reading (m[ar]iory). |
The confirmation repeats Katherine and Marjory as executors to John, thair father. Their parentage therefore does not depend on surname, household proximity or appointment alone. A separate debt entry says that Katherin Glasgow, servant, was owed wages. She may be the same Katherine as the daughter, but that entry does not say so.
Working transcription
Abbreviations are expanded and punctuation supplied. [Name?] marks a tentative reading; […] marks unresolved text.
Opening
Johne Glasgw. Quarto Maij 1577.
The testament dative & inventar of the gudis, geir, sowmes of money & dettis pertening to umquhile Johne Glasgw in [place unclear], the tyme of his deceis, quha deceissit in the moneth of Marche, the zeir of God Iᵐ Vᶜ [numerals unclear], faithfullie maid & gevin up be Margaret [Cochrane?], his relict, in name & behalf of Katharine & [Marjory] Glasgwis, [pronoun unclear] lauchfull barnis & executouris dativis decernit to thair said umquhile father be decreit of the commissaris of Edinburgh, as the samin decreit of the dait the [day unclear] day of [Apryle?], the zeir of God Iᵐ Vᶜ lxxvij zeiris, at lenth proportis.
Inventory
John's possessions included two cows at £5 each, two two-year-old cattle at four merks each, a mare, sheep of mixed ages, apparently ten bolls of oats in the barn and barnyard, two bolls of barley valued together at £5, household utensils and furnishings, and his clothing. Some quantities, individual valuations and the total remain unresolved in the manuscript reading.
Debts due to and by the estate
The section headed Followis the dettis awand to the deid lists people who owed John money. Recoverable but variably secure names include Alexander Paterson, William [Flint?], William Douglas, John Wilson, John [Millar?], John Mathie, William [Weir?], Peter [Baillie?], James [Mathie?], and a person surnamed Murray. Grain, including a boll of oats, occurs in some entries. These are financial associates, not stated relatives.
The debts owed by John include the balance of rent to James [Stevinsoun?] of [place unclear], wages to Thomas [surname unclear], servant, and wages to Katherin Glasgow, servant. The recorded outgoing debts total £6. The free estate was then divided into three parts, but the remaining figures have not been securely read.
Confirmation
The useful surviving wording includes:
… the saidis Katharine & [Marjory] Glasgwis in executouris dativis to the said umquhile Johne Glasgw thair father, with power to thame to intromet … satisfie and pay the dettis …
In modern English, Katherine and Marjory Glasgow were confirmed as court-appointed administrators of their late father John's estate, with authority to take charge of it and pay its debts.
Genealogical assessment
- Proved: John Glasgow was father of Katherine and Marjory.
- Proved: Margaret was John's surviving wife.
- Not proved by this wording: Margaret was the children's mother.
- Possible only: the servant Katherine and John's daughter Katherine were one person.
- Unresolved: Margaret's surname, the manuscript place-name and the exact year of John's death.
The record remains compatible with the index identification of John in Hirmenschelis and with Glasgow-3181, but relationships formerly built from different readings of the widow and second child require reassessment rather than preservation as facts.
Sources
Scotland Sticker
Source references
- National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh Commissary Court, CC8/8/5, images 276–277, testament dative and inventory of Johne Glasgw; working transcription of the original manuscript. The published index is Commissariot of Edinburgh: Register of Testaments, 1514–1600, p. 109, entry dated 4 May 1577.
- Findmypast, Scotland, Will and Testament Index 1481–1807, record SCOT/WILLS/057444, John Glasgow in Hirmenschelis, 4 May 1577; derivative index entry.
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