James Glasgow

Biography
James Glasgow was born in 1731 in Kilwaughter Parish, County Antrim, Ireland, the son of Rachel Wilson Glasgow and probably her husband, Robert Glasgow.

Donna Jean Glasgow's reconstruction of the Kilwaughter family, reportedly based on records of the Old Kilwaughter/Larne Presbyterian congregation, gives James's birth as 24 May 1731. Her associated chronology records the baptism in 1731 of James Glasgow, son of Robert Glasgow and Rachel Willson. Donna Jean Glasgow, "GLASGOWS from Kilwaughter Parish and Larne, County Antrim, Northern Ireland to Newberry, South Carolina, 1669–1850," Their Story, archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20101124183914/http:/lifesweaving.com/Glasgow/Kilwaughter/TheirStory.html and continuation at https://web.archive.org/web/20101124184109/http://lifesweaving.com/Glasgow/Kilwaughter/TheirStory2.html. Donna Jean Glasgow, "Chronology of the GLASGOW Family," archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20101124184247/http://lifesweaving.com/Glasgow/Kilwaughter/Timeline.html. 

The original church entry has not yet been inspected, so the exact date should be treated as reported rather than independently verified.
Parentage
James's mother is established by a later South Carolina equity case concerning the Irish estate of Archibald Wilson. The complaint states that Rachel Glasgow, a sister of Archibald Wilson, died in 1742 leaving two children, James Glasgow and Ann Glasgow. Washington District, South Carolina, Court of Equity proceedings concerning the estate of Archibald Wilson, 1817–1819; complaint transcription archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20101124220018id_/http://lifesweaving.com/Glasgow/Paper_Complaint.html. 

James's identification as a son of Robert Glasgow is strongly supported by combined evidence rather than by an explicit father-son statement in the transcriptions presently inspected. Registry of Deeds memorial 74015, dated 13 February 1738, identifies Rachel, formerly Wilson, as Robert Glasgow's wife and names a "Jas Glasgow Junr" as one of the lives in Robert's Ballykeel lease. Registry of Deeds, Ireland, memorial 74015, dated 13 February 1738, volume 105, page 301; transcription consulted. Original memorial not yet inspected. 

The equity case independently proves Rachel to have been James's mother. Together these records make Robert's paternity highly probable, although an original baptismal entry explicitly naming both parents would provide the cleanest direct proof.
Marriage
James married Mary, identified in later family research as Mary Crosier or Crozier.

The 1817 equity complaint establishes that James and Mary were first cousins. It identifies James's mother Rachel as one of the six sisters of Archibald Wilson and then states that Mary, James's widow, was the daughter of another of Archibald's sisters. 

Thus James and Mary were children of two Wilson sisters.

The equity complaint itself does not state Mary's maiden surname. The identification of her as Crosier/Crozier requires evidence independent of that complaint and should not be treated as proved by the Wilson inheritance case alone.
Ireland
James remained associated with the Kilwaughter and Larne area into adulthood.

Donna Jean Glasgow's reconstruction identifies a James Glasgow with Robert Glasgow and Hugh Shannon among signatories from Kilwaughter Parish to a 1772 petition concerning the disturbances associated with the "Hearts of Steel." She interpreted the three adjacent names as James, his probable father Robert, and his brother-in-law Hugh Shannon. 

If those identifications are correct, James was still in County Antrim in 1772.

A separate Registry of Deeds memorial dated 28 March 1768 records a James Glasgow of the Old Town of Larne, soapmaker. For £50, he assigned to John Hill of Templepatrick his remaining interest in a piece of ground and a workhouse or workshop in the Old Town of Larne. The leasehold had originally run for thirty-one years from 1 November 1760. The memorial was sworn at Antrim on 28 January 1769 and registered on 3 February 1769. Registry of Deeds, Ireland, memorial of assignment from James Glasgow of the Old Town of Larne, soapmaker, to John Hill of Templepatrick, farmer, dated 28 March 1768; oath sworn at Antrim, 28 January 1769; registered 3 February 1769. 

The date and location make this man a plausible candidate for the future South Carolina settler, but the memorial contains no wife, parent, age, or other relationship proving the identification.
Migration to South Carolina
James and Mary emigrated from County Antrim to South Carolina sometime after the 1772 Kilwaughter petition and before November 1774.

Donna Jean Glasgow reported that the earliest record she had found placing James in South Carolina was dated 16 November 1774, when James "Glassgow" witnessed a land transaction involving James Finlay in Craven County. 

On that evidence, migration in 1772 or 1773 is plausible, but no passenger record has been found and the exact year or ship has not been established.

James settled at Gilder's Creek in Craven County, in the area that later became Newberry County, South Carolina. "Will of James Glasgow," transcription from the papers of Robert Glasgow, archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20101124215937id_/http://lifesweaving.com/Glasgow/Paper_JGlasgowWill.html; Will Book "A", p. 194; Vol. 1, Wills, p. 89. 
Will and family
On 17 October 1775, describing himself as "James Glasgow, of Gilder's Creek and Craven County, Planter," James made his last will and testament. 

He named his wife Mary and six children:

* Robert Glasgow
* John Glasgow
* Archibald Glasgow
* Wilson Glasgow
* Margaret Glasgow
* Rachel Glasgow 

James gave Mary one-third of his goods, chattels, and movable property. He also gave her, during her widowhood, the house and fifty acres formerly possessed by James Cannon, with authority eventually to give that property to whichever of their children she considered most deserving. 

His son Robert received one hundred acres together with the house in which James then lived, while John received fifty acres. 

The remainder of James's personal property was to be divided equally among all six named children. James also directed Mary, Robert, and John to use the profits of the lands in raising his younger children. 

James appointed his wife Mary as his chief executor. The witnesses named in the transcription were James Finley, Ann Finley, and Thomas Dugan. 

The will was proved on 13 July 1793. 
Death
James probably died in late 1775, although the exact date has not been established.

His will was made on 17 October 1775 while he described himself as very sick and weak in body. More significantly, the later equity complaint concerning Archibald Wilson's estate expressly states that James "died in America in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy five." 

The fact that his will was not proved until 13 July 1793 does not by itself establish that he died in 1793. 

The presently available evidence therefore supports a death sometime after 17 October 1775 and before the end of 1775, subject to confirmation from the original probate and equity records.
Research NotesBirth: 1731 versus 1734
Some family material gives James's birth year as 1734. Donna Jean Glasgow's reconstruction instead gives 24 May 1731, and her chronology records the baptism of James, son of Robert Glasgow and Rachel Willson, in 1731. 

The 1731 date fits the known chronology and is preferable to the unsupported 1734 statement, but the original Presbyterian register should be obtained before treating 24 May 1731 as independently verified.
Father
The evidence should be stated carefully:

* the equity case directly identifies Rachel Glasgow as James's mother; 
* memorial 74015 directly identifies Rachel Wilson as Robert Glasgow's wife in 1738; 
* the same memorial names a Jas Glasgow Junr among the lives in Robert's lease; and
* later Kilwaughter family research identifies the 1731 James as a son of Robert and Rachel. 

This makes Robert Glasgow a highly probable father, but the original baptismal entry remains the best target for an explicit statement of paternity.
Mary and the Crosier/Crozier surname
The equity case proves that Mary, wife of James, was James's first cousin because Mary's mother and James's mother Rachel were sisters of Archibald Wilson. 

It does not identify Mary's maiden surname. "Crosier" or "Crozier" should therefore be supported by another record before being described as proved by the equity case.
Date of death
A previous profile conclusion treated 13 July 1793, the date the will was proved, as evidence that James died shortly before that date. This conflicts with the equity complaint, which directly states that James died in 1775. 

The 1775 statement is also consistent with James making his will while seriously ill on 17 October 1775. 

Donna Jean Glasgow suggested that disruption associated with the American Revolution may explain why the will was not proved until 1793. That explanation is plausible but speculative and is not necessary to establish the earlier death date.
Possible 1768 Larne soapmaker
The James Glasgow described as a soapmaker of the Old Town of Larne in the 1768 Registry of Deeds memorial is a plausible match for this James, but not a proved one. 

If the identification is correct, the memorial supplies both an occupation and a property interest immediately before his eventual migration.

The transaction should not, however, be described as evidence that James was preparing to emigrate. Disposal of leasehold property may be consistent with such preparations, but that interpretation is speculative.
Other men named James Glasgow
Care is required because several men named James Glasgow were present in the Larne area during the eighteenth century.

A James Glasgow appearing in the 1799 will of Alexander Holmes cannot readily be this James if the evidence for his death in 1775 is correct.

A James Glasgow mentioned in Robert Callwell's will dated 9 March 1781 is likewise not safely identifiable as this man. If James died in 1775, it must refer to another James Glasgow unless the wording relates to an earlier transaction or otherwise predates his death.

These records should remain detached from this profile unless additional identifying evidence is found.
Earlier narrative claims
Claims that James was Robert and Rachel's eldest son, that his paternal grandfather arrived during the early Ulster settlement, or that particular naming customs explain the names of James's children are family reconstructions rather than conclusions established by the records cited above.

They are better retained, if at all, as clearly labelled research hypotheses rather than incorporated into the factual biography.
1747 Kilwaughter record
A 1747 record names Robert Glasgow at Kilwaughter. The exact locality and chronology make this an occurrence of the Kilwaughter Robert unless contrary detail is recovered; the surviving catalogue entry does not add parents or other relationships. Underlying record source: robert glasgow (https://archive.org/stream/christianunitari0003unse/christianunitari0003unse_djvu.txt). 
Sources
* "Will of James Glasgow," dated 17 October 1775; Will Book "A", p. 194; proved 13 July 1793; Vol. 1, Wills, p. 89. Transcription archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20101124215937id_/http://lifesweaving.com/Glasgow/Paper_JGlasgowWill.html

* Washington District, South Carolina, Court of Equity, proceedings concerning the estate of Archibald Wilson, 1817–1819. Complaint transcription archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20101124220018id_/http://lifesweaving.com/Glasgow/Paper_Complaint.html

* Registry of Deeds, Ireland, memorial 74015, 13 February 1738, volume 105, p. 301.

* Registry of Deeds, Ireland, assignment by James Glasgow of the Old Town of Larne, soapmaker, to John Hill of Templepatrick, dated 28 March 1768; sworn 28 January 1769; registered 3 February 1769.

* Glasgow, Donna Jean. "GLASGOWS from Kilwaughter Parish and Larne, County Antrim, Northern Ireland to Newberry, South Carolina, 1669–1850." Archived Internet version, November 2010.

*

== Biography ==

'''James Glasgow''' was born in '''1731''' in Kilwaughter Parish, County Antrim, Ireland, the son of '''Rachel Wilson Glasgow''' and probably her husband, '''Robert Glasgow'''.

Donna Jean Glasgow's reconstruction of the Kilwaughter family, reportedly based on records of the Old Kilwaughter/Larne Presbyterian congregation, gives James's birth as '''24 May 1731'''. Her associated chronology records the baptism in 1731 of James Glasgow, son of Robert Glasgow and Rachel Willson.<ref name="DJGStory">Donna Jean Glasgow, "GLASGOWS from Kilwaughter Parish and Larne, County Antrim, Northern Ireland to Newberry, South Carolina, 1669–1850," ''Their Story'', archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20101124183914/http:/lifesweaving.com/Glasgow/Kilwaughter/TheirStory.html and continuation at https://web.archive.org/web/20101124184109/http://lifesweaving.com/Glasgow/Kilwaughter/TheirStory2.html.</ref><ref name="DJGTimeline">Donna Jean Glasgow, "Chronology of the GLASGOW Family," archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20101124184247/http://lifesweaving.com/Glasgow/Kilwaughter/Timeline.html.</ref>

The original church entry has not yet been inspected, so the exact date should be treated as reported rather than independently verified.

=== Parentage ===

James's mother is established by a later South Carolina equity case concerning the Irish estate of '''Archibald Wilson'''. The complaint states that Rachel Glasgow, a sister of Archibald Wilson, died in 1742 leaving two children, '''James Glasgow''' and '''Ann Glasgow'''.<ref name="Equity">Washington District, South Carolina, Court of Equity proceedings concerning the estate of Archibald Wilson, 1817–1819; complaint transcription archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20101124220018id_/http://lifesweaving.com/Glasgow/Paper_Complaint.html.</ref>

James's identification as a son of '''Robert Glasgow''' is strongly supported by combined evidence rather than by an explicit father-son statement in the transcriptions presently inspected. Registry of Deeds memorial 74015, dated 13 February 1738, identifies '''Rachel, formerly Wilson''', as Robert Glasgow's wife and names a "Jas Glasgow Junr" as one of the lives in Robert's Ballykeel lease.<ref name="Mem74015">Registry of Deeds, Ireland, memorial 74015, dated 13 February 1738, volume 105, page 301; transcription consulted. Original memorial not yet inspected.</ref>

The equity case independently proves Rachel to have been James's mother.<ref name="Equity"/> Together these records make Robert's paternity highly probable, although an original baptismal entry explicitly naming both parents would provide the cleanest direct proof.

=== Marriage ===

James married '''Mary''', identified in later family research as '''Mary Crosier''' or '''Crozier'''.

The 1817 equity complaint establishes that James and Mary were '''first cousins'''. It identifies James's mother Rachel as one of the six sisters of Archibald Wilson and then states that Mary, James's widow, was the daughter of another of Archibald's sisters.<ref name="Equity"/>

Thus James and Mary were children of two Wilson sisters.

The equity complaint itself does not state Mary's maiden surname. The identification of her as Crosier/Crozier requires evidence independent of that complaint and should not be treated as proved by the Wilson inheritance case alone.

=== Ireland ===

James remained associated with the Kilwaughter and Larne area into adulthood.

Donna Jean Glasgow's reconstruction identifies a James Glasgow with Robert Glasgow and Hugh Shannon among signatories from Kilwaughter Parish to a 1772 petition concerning the disturbances associated with the "Hearts of Steel." She interpreted the three adjacent names as James, his probable father Robert, and his brother-in-law Hugh Shannon.<ref name="DJGStory"/>

If those identifications are correct, James was still in County Antrim in 1772.

A separate Registry of Deeds memorial dated '''28 March 1768''' records a '''James Glasgow of the Old Town of Larne, soapmaker'''. For £50, he assigned to John Hill of Templepatrick his remaining interest in a piece of ground and a workhouse or workshop in the Old Town of Larne. The leasehold had originally run for thirty-one years from 1 November 1760. The memorial was sworn at Antrim on 28 January 1769 and registered on 3 February 1769.<ref name="1768Assignment">Registry of Deeds, Ireland, memorial of assignment from James Glasgow of the Old Town of Larne, soapmaker, to John Hill of Templepatrick, farmer, dated 28 March 1768; oath sworn at Antrim, 28 January 1769; registered 3 February 1769.</ref>

The date and location make this man a plausible candidate for the future South Carolina settler, but the memorial contains no wife, parent, age, or other relationship proving the identification.

=== Migration to South Carolina ===

James and Mary emigrated from County Antrim to South Carolina sometime after the 1772 Kilwaughter petition and before November 1774.

Donna Jean Glasgow reported that the earliest record she had found placing James in South Carolina was dated '''16 November 1774''', when James "Glassgow" witnessed a land transaction involving James Finlay in Craven County.<ref name="DJGStory"/>

On that evidence, migration in '''1772 or 1773''' is plausible, but no passenger record has been found and the exact year or ship has not been established.

James settled at '''Gilder's Creek''' in Craven County, in the area that later became Newberry County, South Carolina.<ref name="JamesWill">"Will of James Glasgow," transcription from the papers of Robert Glasgow, archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20101124215937id_/http://lifesweaving.com/Glasgow/Paper_JGlasgowWill.html; Will Book "A", p. 194; Vol. 1, Wills, p. 89.</ref>

=== Will and family ===

On '''17 October 1775''', describing himself as "James Glasgow, of Gilder's Creek and Craven County, Planter," James made his last will and testament.<ref name="JamesWill"/>

He named his wife '''Mary''' and six children:

* '''Robert Glasgow'''
* '''John Glasgow'''
* '''Archibald Glasgow'''
* '''Wilson Glasgow'''
* '''Margaret Glasgow'''
* '''Rachel Glasgow'''<ref name="JamesWill"/>

James gave Mary one-third of his goods, chattels, and movable property. He also gave her, during her widowhood, the house and fifty acres formerly possessed by James Cannon, with authority eventually to give that property to whichever of their children she considered most deserving.<ref name="JamesWill"/>

His son '''Robert''' received one hundred acres together with the house in which James then lived, while '''John''' received fifty acres.<ref name="JamesWill"/>

The remainder of James's personal property was to be divided equally among all six named children. James also directed Mary, Robert, and John to use the profits of the lands in raising his younger children.<ref name="JamesWill"/>

James appointed his wife '''Mary as his chief executor'''. The witnesses named in the transcription were '''James Finley, Ann Finley, and Thomas Dugan'''.<ref name="JamesWill"/>

The will was proved on '''13 July 1793'''.<ref name="JamesWill"/>

=== Death ===

James probably died in '''late 1775''', although the exact date has not been established.

His will was made on 17 October 1775 while he described himself as very sick and weak in body.<ref name="JamesWill"/> More significantly, the later equity complaint concerning Archibald Wilson's estate expressly states that James "died in America in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy five."<ref name="Equity"/>

The fact that his will was not proved until 13 July 1793 does '''not''' by itself establish that he died in 1793.<ref name="JamesWill"/>

The presently available evidence therefore supports a death sometime '''after 17 October 1775 and before the end of 1775''', subject to confirmation from the original probate and equity records.

== Research Notes ==

=== Birth: 1731 versus 1734 ===

Some family material gives James's birth year as 1734. Donna Jean Glasgow's reconstruction instead gives '''24 May 1731''', and her chronology records the baptism of James, son of Robert Glasgow and Rachel Willson, in 1731.<ref name="DJGStory"/><ref name="DJGTimeline"/>

The 1731 date fits the known chronology and is preferable to the unsupported 1734 statement, but the original Presbyterian register should be obtained before treating 24 May 1731 as independently verified.

=== Father ===

The evidence should be stated carefully:

* the equity case directly identifies '''Rachel Glasgow as James's mother''';<ref name="Equity"/>
* memorial 74015 directly identifies '''Rachel Wilson as Robert Glasgow's wife''' in 1738;<ref name="Mem74015"/>
* the same memorial names a '''Jas Glasgow Junr''' among the lives in Robert's lease;<ref name="Mem74015"/> and
* later Kilwaughter family research identifies the 1731 James as a son of Robert and Rachel.<ref name="DJGTimeline"/>

This makes Robert Glasgow a highly probable father, but the original baptismal entry remains the best target for an explicit statement of paternity.

=== Mary and the Crosier/Crozier surname ===

The equity case proves that Mary, wife of James, was James's first cousin because Mary's mother and James's mother Rachel were sisters of Archibald Wilson.<ref name="Equity"/>

It does '''not''' identify Mary's maiden surname. "Crosier" or "Crozier" should therefore be supported by another record before being described as proved by the equity case.

=== Date of death ===

A previous profile conclusion treated '''13 July 1793''', the date the will was proved, as evidence that James died shortly before that date. This conflicts with the equity complaint, which directly states that James died in 1775.<ref name="Equity"/>

The 1775 statement is also consistent with James making his will while seriously ill on 17 October 1775.<ref name="JamesWill"/>

Donna Jean Glasgow suggested that disruption associated with the American Revolution may explain why the will was not proved until 1793. That explanation is plausible but speculative and is not necessary to establish the earlier death date.

=== Possible 1768 Larne soapmaker ===

The James Glasgow described as a '''soapmaker of the Old Town of Larne''' in the 1768 Registry of Deeds memorial is a plausible match for this James, but not a proved one.<ref name="1768Assignment"/>

If the identification is correct, the memorial supplies both an occupation and a property interest immediately before his eventual migration.

The transaction should not, however, be described as evidence that James was preparing to emigrate. Disposal of leasehold property may be consistent with such preparations, but that interpretation is speculative.

=== Other men named James Glasgow ===

Care is required because several men named James Glasgow were present in the Larne area during the eighteenth century.

A James Glasgow appearing in the 1799 will of Alexander Holmes cannot readily be this James if the evidence for his death in 1775 is correct.

A James Glasgow mentioned in Robert Callwell's will dated 9 March 1781 is likewise not safely identifiable as this man. If James died in 1775, it must refer to another James Glasgow unless the wording relates to an earlier transaction or otherwise predates his death.

These records should remain detached from this profile unless additional identifying evidence is found.

=== Earlier narrative claims ===

Claims that James was Robert and Rachel's '''eldest son''', that his paternal grandfather arrived during the early Ulster settlement, or that particular naming customs explain the names of James's children are family reconstructions rather than conclusions established by the records cited above.

They are better retained, if at all, as clearly labelled research hypotheses rather than incorporated into the factual biography.

=== 1747 Kilwaughter record ===
A 1747 record names Robert Glasgow at Kilwaughter. The exact locality and chronology make this an occurrence of the Kilwaughter Robert unless contrary detail is recovered; the surviving catalogue entry does not add parents or other relationships.<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/christianunitari0003unse/christianunitari0003unse_djvu.txt Underlying record source: robert glasgow].</ref>

== Sources ==

<references />

* "Will of James Glasgow," dated 17 October 1775; Will Book "A", p. 194; proved 13 July 1793; Vol. 1, Wills, p. 89. Transcription archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20101124215937id_/http://lifesweaving.com/Glasgow/Paper_JGlasgowWill.html

* Washington District, South Carolina, Court of Equity, proceedings concerning the estate of Archibald Wilson, 1817–1819. Complaint transcription archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20101124220018id_/http://lifesweaving.com/Glasgow/Paper_Complaint.html

* Registry of Deeds, Ireland, memorial 74015, 13 February 1738, volume 105, p. 301.

* Registry of Deeds, Ireland, assignment by James Glasgow of the Old Town of Larne, soapmaker, to John Hill of Templepatrick, dated 28 March 1768; sworn 28 January 1769; registered 3 February 1769.

* Glasgow, Donna Jean. "GLASGOWS from Kilwaughter Parish and Larne, County Antrim, Northern Ireland to Newberry, South Carolina, 1669–1850." Archived Internet version, November 2010.

* {{FindAGrave|167317696}}