Glasgow Surname Project

Individual research record

William Glasgow

c. 1500 (estimated) – before 1564-10-28

Glasgow-1098 · 1 mapped association

Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland→High Street, Merchant City, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland
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At a glance

Identity & family

Tree links organise the family; documentary status still varies.

1Mapped records
7Close relations
6Evidence items
2Candidate leads
Birth
c. 1500 (estimated) · Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland
Death
before 1564-10-28 · High Street, Merchant City, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland
Parents
John Glasgowuncertain
Spouses
Isobel (Brade) Glasgow
Children
Archibald GlasgowIsobella (Glasgow) HerbisonJames GlasgowJohn GlasgowRobert Glasgow
Gender
Male
WikiTree
Glasgow-1098
Research clusters
Scotland One-Tree profile leads
Mapped descendants
1151

Comparison context

These child positions and checks are the subject details used to rank possible parents below.

Naming sequence used by the parentage model

Paternal grandfather positionJames Glasgow (1515)
Maternal grandfather positionJohn Glasgow (1516)
Maternal grandmother positionIsobella (Glasgow) Herbison (1530)
Paternal grandmother positionNot identifiable from dated child profiles

Known-position checks: 0 support · 1 conflict. Ordinals retain unnamed children and recognise reused names.

Estimate and relationship notes
  • Estimated from a birth or baptism record (b. 1500).

Relationship comparison

Potential parents or duplicates

Compare scored leads with the subject details above—not proof.

Higher-signal leadReview carefullyWeak lead

No candidate met the minimum age, location or family-naming threshold.

How parent leads are calculated

Automated leads use birth surnames—not married surnames—as parental eligibility, role-specific biological age limits, bounded and approximate-date uncertainty, household chronology, specific time-aware localities, mapped distance, tenancy succession, migration destinations and sex-aware Scottish naming positions across generations. People already attached as the subject's parents stay in the identity summary and are excluded from this alternative-candidate list, regardless of relationship confidence. The main calibration uses clues available on disconnected profiles; existing parent and sibling links are retained as comparison context rather than treated as transferable evidence. Common ordered names and grandparent-to-child echoes receive a small non-zero weight, so a John or James match can support several independent criteria without producing a lead alone. Rare names, repeated bearers and bundles across otherwise distinct branches receive substantially more weight according to catalogue frequency. An exact migration place is weighted by its rarity and repetition across both branches; a shared destination country is worth only one point. Extra weight is added only when at least three independent clue types converge: naming, locality, specific migration, household chronology or collateral networks. Sparse profiles retain a clearly labelled chronology-only fallback instead of disappearing. Countries, states, counties and research clusters do not count as a shared locality, and fallback, broad representative or kin-inferred coordinates are excluded from distance scoring. Shared descendant profiles are removed before branch-name comparison. A candidate already recorded as a parent-in-law is excluded. A confident or independently supported parent is treated as settled; uncertain and unassessed attachments remain open to alternative comparison. A different linked parent, an uncle/aunt or grandparent path, and a matching existing child profile prevent an alternative from being classified as a strong direct-parent lead until the underlying tree conflict or duplicate is resolved. Familiar forms such as Bessie are normalised. Surname remains an eligibility filter worth zero points.

Naming customs, shared farms and occupations are circumstantial. Children, spouses and collateral relatives may be missing, and tree-derived family networks are not independent evidence. Scores rank research leads; they do not prove parentage.

Same-name candidate

William GlasgowGlasgow-3522

Automated fit22/100
Similar Person
Dates1540–1586PlacesGlasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland → High Street, Merchant City, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, ScotlandParent comparisonSame parent name; profile identity unproved
Why it may fit
  • same first and last name (+18)
  • shared recorded place (+20)
  • same parent name without a shared profile ID: John Glasgow (+2)

record-derived birth estimates differ by 40; retained without deduction; death years differ by 22 (−18); uncertain father attachments differ (no deduction)

Full comparison detail
  • same first and last name (+18)
  • shared recorded place (+20)
  • same parent name without a shared profile ID: John Glasgow (+2)

Conflicts: record-derived birth estimates differ by 40; retained without deduction; death years differ by 22 (−18); uncertain father attachments differ (no deduction)

Open side-by-side comparison

Same-name candidate

William GlasgowGlasgow-3555

Automated fit18/100
Similar Person
Dates?–?PlacesPlaces not recordedParent comparisonNo shared parent is indexed
Why it may fit
  • same first and last name (+18)

one birth year is unavailable

Full comparison detail
  • same first and last name (+18)

Conflicts: one birth year is unavailable

Open side-by-side comparison
How duplicate leads are calculated

Dates are eligibility gates, not merely deductions: chronologically impossible people are excluded. Dates, places, spouses, parent certainty and children's profiles and names are then compared. A high score is a prompt to inspect records, not a merge recommendation.

Open only what you need

Research & records

Latest case researchThe current conclusion from the durable research case file.Updated

Current conclusion

Glasgow-1098

William is directly documented in Glasgow burgh with wife Esbell Brade and son John Glasgow in 1534. John was served heir of his father William in 1564, proving William had died by then. These records do not prove William's own birth, death place or parents.

The current 1500, Stirlingshire birth and 1543, High Street/Merchant City death are not established by the inspected evidence. A Glasgow property record does not prove either vital-event location. The claimed marriage before 1514 is also unsupported; the direct evidence proves only that William and Esbell were spouses by 31 December 1534.

John Glasgow (Glasgow-1095) remains a possible father, not a proved one. Of William's attached children, only John-1093 is named as his son in the inspected protocols.

Life and record timelineChronological mapped occurrences and their underlying sources.1 record
b. 1500

Profile-stated birthplace: Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland

Glasgow

One-Tree export profile fields are search leads, not sources; relationships are shown only where the export supplies parent links.

One-Tree profile leadunknown
Source and mapping detail

WikiTree profile export for Glasgow-1098

No sufficiently specific citation match found.

Precision: Settlement centrepoint

Case-file source findingsSource extracts and analysis regenerated from findings.md.1 section(s)

Source findings

Glasgow-1098

SourceFindingAssessment
*Registrum Secreti Sigilli*, entry **3412**, 2 July 1526A remission for the killing of James Somervile includes Willelmi Glasgw among a long list headed by James Sandelandis of Calder and Robert Bruce of Auchinbowy.Corrects the profile's 3433 citation. The entry supplies no residence, trade or kinship, so identity with the later Glasgow burgess is plausible rather than certain.
Robert Renwick, ed., *Abstracts of Protocols of the Town Clerks of Glasgow*, vol. 4, protocol 1058, 28 February 1530/31William Glasgow witnessed John Allason's sasine.Adult occurrence in Glasgow; the entry gives no identifying relationship.
Same volume, protocol 1196, 31 December 1534William, with consent of Esbell Brade, resigned a Glasgow back tenement to their son John Glasgow and John's wife Janet Spreull, reserving the profit during the grantors' lives.Direct spouse, parent-child and property evidence. It proves William and Esbell alive and married on this date.
*Abstracts of Protocols*, vol. 3, protocol 805, 28 October 1564John Glasgow received sasine as heir of William Glasgow, explicitly his father.Independent direct proof of John-1093's father and that William was dead by this date.
Current profile's 1543 boundary/death claimThe cited printed-text searches did not recover a passage securely identifying this William as a late adjoining owner.Do not retain an exact 1543 death or death location until the original passage and correct citation are supplied.
Evidence assessmentWhat is supported, uncertain or disputed in the current case model.8 claims
5Unknown
1Tree Only

Documented or strongly supported

No claims in this category have been formally assessed.

Working hypotheses and conflicts

Archibald Glasgow was son of William Glasgow

possible1 linked evidence item

Archibald was a married burgh property holder in 1551 and Robert Glasgow witnessed his purchase. The burgh, chronology and close surname association fit William's household, but no record says son, brother or heir.

James Glasgow was possible son of William Glasgow

possible1 linked evidence item

Corrected chronology permits the relationship, unlike the contradicted attachment to John-1093. No record connects the Glasgow burgh and Corsankell tenancy; James may head a separate collateral line.

Research questionsOpen problems, missing bridges and the next records to inspect.4 open

Which records prove the subject's identity across events?

No current conclusion recorded.

Missing bridge: Not specified

Which original or indexed records identify the parents?

No current conclusion recorded.

Missing bridge: A contemporary record explicitly identifying the parent or parents.

Which spouses and children are directly supported by records?

No current conclusion recorded.

Missing bridge: Not specified

What conflicts or same-name conflations must be resolved?

No current conclusion recorded.

Missing bridge: Not specified

Case-file priorities and cautions

Recommended WikiTree changes

Glasgow-1098

  1. Replace the 1526 citation number 3433 with 3412 and explain that this

William is not individually identified as the later burgess.

  1. Add protocol 1196 as direct proof of wife

Brade-232 and son John-1093.

  1. Change marriage to **before 31 December 1534, Glasgow, Lanarkshire,

uncertain**; remove the unsupported before 1514 claim.

  1. Change death to before 28 October 1564, place unknown. Retain 1543 only

if its original record is recovered and shown to mean that this William was already deceased.

  1. Change birth to before 1526, place unknown, uncertain, or leave it blank.

Do not present 1500 or Stirlingshire as recorded facts.

  1. Keep John-1093 as a confirmed son. Mark the other attached children

James-1168, Robert-1096, Isobella-3916 and Archibald-1097 uncertain unless each profile supplies independent parent evidence.

  1. Keep Glasgow-1095 as an uncertain father and state that no inspected record

names William's parents.

Sources and provenanceStructured citations and source-quality classifications.6 sources

Source or provenance: quality describes the record layer, not every conclusion drawn from it.

  1. unknown Registrum Secreti Sigilli Regum Scotorum, vol. 1, entry 3412 (https://archive.org/stream/registrumsecret00scotgoog/registrumsecret00scotgoog_djvu.txt), 2 July 1526.
  2. unknown Robert Renwick, ed., Abstracts of Protocols of the Town Clerks of Glasgow, vol. 4, protocol 1196 (https://archive.org/stream/abstractsprotoc08robegoog/abstractsprotoc08robegoog_djvu.txt), 31 December 1534.
  3. unknown Robert Renwick, ed., Abstracts of Protocols of the Town Clerks of Glasgow, vol. 3, protocol 805 (https://archive.org/details/abstractsprotoc06scogoog/page/n69/mode/2up), 28 October 1564.
  4. tree_only WikiTree profile export for Glasgow-1098
  5. unknown Robert Renwick, ed., Abstracts of Protocols of the Town Clerks of Glasgow, vol. 1, protocol 84, printed p. 31, 21 May 1551, scan (https://archive.org/details/abstractsprotoc07robegoog/page/n59/mode/2up).
  6. unknown Controlled relationship assessment
Technical profile and raw captureDataset metadata, machine dossier and captured WikiTree biography.Advanced

WikiTree profile information

Dataset: ONT_Glasco_2026-08-18T16_05.json · generated 2026-08-20

Machine-readable dossier

WikiTree biography, citations and relationship snapshot

Glasgow-1098 was captured 2026-08-19T10:16:23+00:00; WikiTree profile revision 2026-08-19.

Immediate relationship snapshot

RelationshipPersonWikiTree IDDates and places returned
ParentsJohn GlasgowGlasgow-10951475-00-00 · Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland · 0000-00-00
ChildrenJohn GlasgowGlasgow-10931510-00-00 · Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland · 1575-11-08 · Stockwell Street, Merchant City, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland
ChildrenJames GlasgowGlasgow-11681515-00-00 · Scotland · 1571-00-00 · Stevenston, Ayrshire, Scotland
ChildrenRobert GlasgowGlasgow-10961520-00-00 · Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland · 1572-00-00 · High Street, Merchant City, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland
ChildrenIsobella HerbisonGlasgow-39161530-00-00 · Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland · 1563-01-27
ChildrenArchibald GlasgowGlasgow-10971533-00-00 · Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland · 1560-00-00 · Bridgegate, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland
SpousesIsobel GlasgowBrade-2321500-00-00 · Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland · 0000-00-00 · 1534-12-31

Profile categories

Estimated_Birth_Date Glasgow_Name_Study

Record-bearing passages

  • Biography William Glasgow was a burgess of Glasgow. He was married to Esbell Brade, and they had a documented son, John Glasgow. William's birth date, birth place and death place are not recorded in the sources inspected. Records A William Glasgow was among the men granted a royal remission on 2 July 1526 for the killing of James Somervile and other offences. Registrum Secreti Sigilli Regum Scotorum, vol. 1, entry 3412 (https://archive.org/stream/registrumsecret00scotgoog/registrumsecret00scotgoog_djvu.txt), 2 July 1526. The record gives no residence, occupation or relationship with which to distinguish him, so his identity as the later Glasgow burgess is possible rather than proved.
  • On 28 February 1530/31, William Glasgow witnessed the sasine of a property on Our Lady's Street to John Allason. Robert Renwick, ed., Abstracts of Protocols of the Town Clerks of Glasgow, vol. 4, protocol 1058 (https://archive.org/stream/abstractsprotoc08robegoog/abstractsprotoc08robegoog_djvu.txt), 28 February 1530/31.
  • On 31 December 1534, William, with the consent of his wife Esbell Brade, resigned a back tenement in Glasgow to their son John Glasgow and John's wife Janet Spreull. William and Esbell reserved the profits for their lifetimes. Robert Renwick, ed., Abstracts of Protocols of the Town Clerks of Glasgow, vol. 4, protocol 1196 (https://archive.org/stream/abstractsprotoc08robegoog/abstractsprotoc08robegoog_djvu.txt), 31 December 1534. This record directly establishes William's marriage to Esbell and his relationship to John.
  • On 28 October 1564, John Glasgow received sasine as heir of William Glasgow, expressly described as his father. Robert Renwick, ed., Abstracts of Protocols of the Town Clerks of Glasgow, vol. 3, protocol 805 (https://archive.org/details/abstractsprotoc06scogoog/page/n69/mode/2up), 28 October 1564. William was therefore dead by that date. Research Notes The attached father, John Glasgow, remains uncertain: no record inspected names William's parents. Of the attached children, only John is identified as William's son in the records above; the relationships to James, Robert, Isobella and Archibald remain unproved.
  • The former birth estimate of 1500 in Glasgow and death claim of before 1543 at High Street/Merchant City were not supported by the cited evidence. A property location should not be used as a vital-event place. Sources

Profile source citations

  1. Registrum Secreti Sigilli Regum Scotorum, vol. 1, entry 3412 (https://archive.org/stream/registrumsecret00scotgoog/registrumsecret00scotgoog_djvu.txt), 2 July 1526. source link 1
  2. Robert Renwick, ed., Abstracts of Protocols of the Town Clerks of Glasgow, vol. 4, protocol 1058 (https://archive.org/stream/abstractsprotoc08robegoog/abstractsprotoc08robegoog_djvu.txt), 28 February 1530/31. source link 1
  3. Robert Renwick, ed., Abstracts of Protocols of the Town Clerks of Glasgow, vol. 4, protocol 1196 (https://archive.org/stream/abstractsprotoc08robegoog/abstractsprotoc08robegoog_djvu.txt), 31 December 1534. source link 1
  4. Robert Renwick, ed., Abstracts of Protocols of the Town Clerks of Glasgow, vol. 3, protocol 805 (https://archive.org/details/abstractsprotoc06scogoog/page/n69/mode/2up), 28 October 1564. source link 1
Full captured biography text
Biography
William Glasgow was a burgess of Glasgow. He was married to Esbell Brade, and they had a documented son, John Glasgow. William's birth date, birth place and death place are not recorded in the sources inspected.
Records
A William Glasgow was among the men granted a royal remission on 2 July 1526 for the killing of James Somervile and other offences. Registrum Secreti Sigilli Regum Scotorum, vol. 1, entry 3412 (https://archive.org/stream/registrumsecret00scotgoog/registrumsecret00scotgoog_djvu.txt), 2 July 1526. The record gives no residence, occupation or relationship with which to distinguish him, so his identity as the later Glasgow burgess is possible rather than proved.

On 28 February 1530/31, William Glasgow witnessed the sasine of a property on Our Lady's Street to John Allason. Robert Renwick, ed., Abstracts of Protocols of the Town Clerks of Glasgow, vol. 4, protocol 1058 (https://archive.org/stream/abstractsprotoc08robegoog/abstractsprotoc08robegoog_djvu.txt), 28 February 1530/31. 

On 31 December 1534, William, with the consent of his wife Esbell Brade, resigned a back tenement in Glasgow to their son John Glasgow and John's wife Janet Spreull. William and Esbell reserved the profits for their lifetimes. Robert Renwick, ed., Abstracts of Protocols of the Town Clerks of Glasgow, vol. 4, protocol 1196 (https://archive.org/stream/abstractsprotoc08robegoog/abstractsprotoc08robegoog_djvu.txt), 31 December 1534. This record directly establishes William's marriage to Esbell and his relationship to John.

On 28 October 1564, John Glasgow received sasine as heir of William Glasgow, expressly described as his father. Robert Renwick, ed., Abstracts of Protocols of the Town Clerks of Glasgow, vol. 3, protocol 805 (https://archive.org/details/abstractsprotoc06scogoog/page/n69/mode/2up), 28 October 1564. William was therefore dead by that date.
Research Notes
The attached father, John Glasgow, remains uncertain: no record inspected names William's parents. Of the attached children, only John is identified as William's son in the records above; the relationships to James, Robert, Isobella and Archibald remain unproved.

The former birth estimate of 1500 in Glasgow and death claim of before 1543 at High Street/Merchant City were not supported by the cited evidence. A property location should not be used as a vital-event place.
Sources
Raw WikiTree biography markup
{{Estimated Date}}
{{One Name Study|name=Glasgow}}

== Biography ==

'''William Glasgow''' was a burgess of Glasgow. He was married to [[Brade-232|Esbell Brade]], and they had a documented son, [[Glasgow-1093|John Glasgow]]. William's birth date, birth place and death place are not recorded in the sources inspected.

=== Records ===

A William Glasgow was among the men granted a royal remission on 2 July 1526 for the killing of James Somervile and other offences.<ref name="remission1526">[https://archive.org/stream/registrumsecret00scotgoog/registrumsecret00scotgoog_djvu.txt ''Registrum Secreti Sigilli Regum Scotorum'', vol. 1, entry 3412], 2 July 1526.</ref> The record gives no residence, occupation or relationship with which to distinguish him, so his identity as the later Glasgow burgess is possible rather than proved.

On 28 February 1530/31, William Glasgow witnessed the sasine of a property on Our Lady's Street to John Allason.<ref name="protocol1058">Robert Renwick, ed., [https://archive.org/stream/abstractsprotoc08robegoog/abstractsprotoc08robegoog_djvu.txt ''Abstracts of Protocols of the Town Clerks of Glasgow'', vol. 4, protocol 1058], 28 February 1530/31.</ref>

On 31 December 1534, William, with the consent of his wife Esbell Brade, resigned a back tenement in Glasgow to ''their son'' John Glasgow and John's wife Janet Spreull. William and Esbell reserved the profits for their lifetimes.<ref name="protocol1196">Robert Renwick, ed., [https://archive.org/stream/abstractsprotoc08robegoog/abstractsprotoc08robegoog_djvu.txt ''Abstracts of Protocols of the Town Clerks of Glasgow'', vol. 4, protocol 1196], 31 December 1534.</ref> This record directly establishes William's marriage to Esbell and his relationship to John.

On 28 October 1564, John Glasgow received sasine as heir of William Glasgow, expressly described as his father.<ref name="protocol805">Robert Renwick, ed., [https://archive.org/details/abstractsprotoc06scogoog/page/n69/mode/2up ''Abstracts of Protocols of the Town Clerks of Glasgow'', vol. 3, protocol 805], 28 October 1564.</ref> William was therefore dead by that date.

== Research Notes ==

The attached father, [[Glasgow-1095|John Glasgow]], remains uncertain: no record inspected names William's parents. Of the attached children, only [[Glasgow-1093|John]] is identified as William's son in the records above; the relationships to [[Glasgow-1168|James]], [[Glasgow-1096|Robert]], [[Glasgow-3916|Isobella]] and [[Glasgow-1097|Archibald]] remain unproved.

The former birth estimate of 1500 in Glasgow and death claim of before 1543 at High Street/Merchant City were not supported by the cited evidence. A property location should not be used as a vital-event place.

== Sources ==
<references />