James McClure Glasgow

BiographyEarly life and family
James was born in 1805 near Clough, County Antrim. He was the son of John Glasgow and Jane McClure.

His attached siblings are:

* Jane Glasgow, who married Armstrong;
* William Glasgow;
* Robert Glasgow;
* Adam Dickie Glasgow.

James’s missionary journal provides direct, first-person evidence that Adam Dickie Glasgow and Robert Glasgow were his brothers. He repeatedly wrote of “my brother Adam”, described Adam’s move from Belfast to New Zealand, and recorded receiving an encouraging letter from “my brother Robert in Victoria”. James McClure Glasgow missionary journal, 1857–1862 (https://revjamesmcclureglasgow.blogspot.com/), first-person journal in which James repeatedly identifies Adam Dickie Glasgow and Robert Glasgow of Victoria as his brothers (accessed 17 July 2026). 
Education
James was educated at Ballymena Grammar School, at the academy of the Rev. John Paul, D.D., in Carrickfergus, and at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution, where he gained medals in mathematics and natural philosophy.
Presbyterian ministry
James was licensed as a probationer by the Presbytery of Belfast on 14 December 1834. He was called to the Presbyterian congregation of Castledawson on 6 October 1835.

On 10 July 1840 the Synod of Ulster and the Associate Synod united to form the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. The first act of the first General Assembly was the “setting apart of two missionaries, for the first time, to carry the light of God’s truth to heathen lands”.

James accepted the call to missionary service.
Marriage and departure for India
On 27 June 1840 James married Mary Wightman at Fisherwick Place Presbyterian Church, Belfast.

The ceremony took place at one o’clock. Afterwards, James and Mary proceeded on a visit to the Rev. Alexander Crawford of Randalstown, little knowing that Crawford’s ninth child would subsequently marry the Glasgows’ fourth daughter.

On 29 August 1840 James boarded the Athlone, bound for Liverpool.

On 4 September 1840 James and Mary sailed from Liverpool aboard the Wave, accompanied by the Rev. Alexander Kerr and his new wife. They arrived in Bombay on 26 February 1841.

During the voyage Mary suffered from severe seasickness, possibly because she was pregnant. When the ship was becalmed in the Indian Ocean, James taught his wife calculus to help pass the time.
Missionary work in Gujarat
The Glasgows and the Kerrs remained in Bombay for almost three months.

James and Mary’s first daughter, Margaret Jane Glasgow, was born there on 16 March 1841.

The two missionary families then sailed to Gogha and travelled onward to Rajkot in Gujarat, arriving on 3 June 1841.

Margaret Jane died on 11 June 1841 and was buried in the Anglican cemetery at Rajkot.

James spent the following eleven years in Rajkot and the surrounding parts of Gujarat, establishing missionary outposts and translating religious tracts into Gujarati.

A second daughter, Jane Henrie Glasgow, was born in India. She died on 14 April 1845, aged only three months, and was also buried in the Anglican cemetery at Rajkot.

A third daughter, Mary Elizabeth Glasgow, was born in 1845. A fourth daughter, Annie Coulson Glasgow, was born in 1848.

In 1851 the Glasgow family returned to Ulster on furlough, where their fifth daughter, Harriet Glasgow, was born.

James returned alone to India in 1854 and continued his missionary work there for a further ten years.

Princeton University awarded him an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree in 1856.

Many references to James remain in Gujarat, where churches, schools and homes have been named after him.
Family correspondence
James’s journal records that on 30 June 1858 he learned that his mother had died on 21 May 1858. 

The entry does not state her name. The date matches the known chronology of the attached Jane McClure, but an independent identity source should be found before adding 21 May 1858 to her profile as a proved death date.
Academic career
After returning to Belfast in 1864, James was appointed Professor of Living Oriental Languages at both Magee College, Londonderry, and Assembly’s College, Belfast.

His towering intellect and profound scholarship were combined with an almost child-like simplicity and straightforwardness of character.

He also served as a government examiner in Gujarati for the Indian Civil Service.

In 1869 James was elected a member of the Belfast Literary Society. In 1872 he was elected its president.
Publications and translations
James’s publications included:

* The Psalms of David, Translated into Gujarati Verse, for the Use of Native Churches and Families (Surat Mission Press, 1856);
* The Apocalypse—Translated & Expounded (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1873).

He also translated Dr. Robert Stewart’s Family Worship and the Bible into Gujarati, together with many other writings in both English and Gujarati.
Children
James and Mary had five daughters, three of whom survived into adulthood:

* Margaret Jane Glasgow, born in Bombay on 16 March 1841; died at Rajkot on 11 June 1841 and was buried in the Anglican cemetery there;
* Jane Henrie Glasgow, who died on 14 April 1845 aged three months and was buried in the Anglican cemetery at Rajkot;
* Mary Elizabeth Glasgow, known as “Minnie”, born in 1845; she never married and died in 1874;
* Annie Coulson Glasgow, born in 1848; she married William Crawford;
* Harriet Glasgow, born in Ulster in 1851; she married John Acheson.

Annie’s husband, William Crawford, was the ninth child of the Rev. Alexander Crawford of Randalstown. He later became managing director of the York Street Flax Spinning Company and chairman of the Board of Governors of the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast. He was subsequently knighted.

Harriet’s husband, John Acheson, was also a linen manufacturer and was proprietor of the Bannview Weaving Factory at Portadown.
Later life
In Belfast, James and Mary lived at number 82 University Street, now numbered 86.

In 1878 they moved to Portadown to be near their daughter Harriet and son-in-law John Acheson.

Mary died on 19 February 1885.

James retired from his professorial posts in 1889.
Death and burial
James died on 30 June 1890 at Dunavon, Portadown.

His civil death registration described him as an 85-year-old widower, Presbyterian minister and Doctor of Divinity. His son-in-law John Acheson was present at the death. General Register Office, Ireland, civil death registration (https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/deaths_returns/deaths_1890/06100/4740942.pdf), Lurgan registration district, death of James Glasgow at Dunavon, Portadown, 30 June 1890; John Acheson, son-in-law, present at death. 

James and Mary were buried with their daughter Minnie in Balmoral Cemetery.
Research NotesBrothers
James’s missionary journal is direct, first-person evidence that Adam Dickie Glasgow and Robert Glasgow of Victoria were his brothers.

Those two sibling relationships may therefore be treated as certain.

The journal evidence reviewed so far does not directly discuss Jane Glasgow or William Glasgow. Their attached relationships should continue to rely on the sources already held on their respective profiles.
Mother’s death
The journal entry dated 30 June 1858 states that James had learned that day of his mother’s death on 21 May 1858.

The entry does not identify his mother by name. Although the date matches the chronology of Jane McClure, an independent source connecting the date specifically to her should be found before treating it as proved on her profile.
Further research
Useful further sources may include:

* the original baptismal or church record for James;
* records directly identifying all children of John Glasgow and Jane McClure;
* immigration or death records for Adam Dickie Glasgow in New Zealand;
* Australian records concerning Robert Glasgow in Victoria;
* an independent death notice, civil record or burial record for Jane McClure;
* original Presbyterian mission records concerning James’s appointments and service.
Sources
* Northern Ireland Dictionary of Biography.
* Family source — Rachael Jeffers.
* “Rev. Dr. James McClure Glasgow (1805–1890)” (https://www.newulsterbiography.co.uk/index.php/home/viewPerson/2198), The Dictionary of Ulster Biography.

== Biography ==

=== Early life and family ===

James was born in 1805 near Clough, County Antrim. He was the son of [[Glasgow-1657|John Glasgow]] and [[McClure-6341|Jane McClure]].

His attached siblings are:

* [[Glasgow-1779|Jane Glasgow]], who married Armstrong;
* [[Glasgow-1778|William Glasgow]];
* [[Glasgow-1656|Robert Glasgow]];
* [[Glasgow-1781|Adam Dickie Glasgow]].

James’s missionary journal provides direct, first-person evidence that Adam Dickie Glasgow and Robert Glasgow were his brothers. He repeatedly wrote of “my brother Adam”, described Adam’s move from Belfast to New Zealand, and recorded receiving an encouraging letter from “my brother Robert in Victoria”.<ref name="MissionaryJournal">[https://revjamesmcclureglasgow.blogspot.com/ James McClure Glasgow missionary journal, 1857–1862], first-person journal in which James repeatedly identifies Adam Dickie Glasgow and Robert Glasgow of Victoria as his brothers (accessed 17 July 2026).</ref>

=== Education ===

James was educated at Ballymena Grammar School, at the academy of the Rev. John Paul, D.D., in Carrickfergus, and at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution, where he gained medals in mathematics and natural philosophy.

=== Presbyterian ministry ===

James was licensed as a probationer by the Presbytery of Belfast on 14 December 1834. He was called to the Presbyterian congregation of Castledawson on 6 October 1835.

On 10 July 1840 the Synod of Ulster and the Associate Synod united to form the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. The first act of the first General Assembly was the “setting apart of two missionaries, for the first time, to carry the light of God’s truth to heathen lands”.

James accepted the call to missionary service.

=== Marriage and departure for India ===

On 27 June 1840 James married [[Wightman-3457|Mary Wightman]] at Fisherwick Place Presbyterian Church, Belfast.

The ceremony took place at one o’clock. Afterwards, James and Mary proceeded on a visit to the Rev. Alexander Crawford of Randalstown, little knowing that Crawford’s ninth child would subsequently marry the Glasgows’ fourth daughter.

On 29 August 1840 James boarded the ''Athlone'', bound for Liverpool.

On 4 September 1840 James and Mary sailed from Liverpool aboard the ''Wave'', accompanied by the Rev. Alexander Kerr and his new wife. They arrived in Bombay on 26 February 1841.

During the voyage Mary suffered from severe seasickness, possibly because she was pregnant. When the ship was becalmed in the Indian Ocean, James taught his wife calculus to help pass the time.

=== Missionary work in Gujarat ===

The Glasgows and the Kerrs remained in Bombay for almost three months.

James and Mary’s first daughter, [[Glasgow-2898|Margaret Jane Glasgow]], was born there on 16 March 1841.

The two missionary families then sailed to Gogha and travelled onward to Rajkot in Gujarat, arriving on 3 June 1841.

Margaret Jane died on 11 June 1841 and was buried in the Anglican cemetery at Rajkot.

James spent the following eleven years in Rajkot and the surrounding parts of Gujarat, establishing missionary outposts and translating religious tracts into Gujarati.

A second daughter, [[Glasgow-2899|Jane Henrie Glasgow]], was born in India. She died on 14 April 1845, aged only three months, and was also buried in the Anglican cemetery at Rajkot.

A third daughter, [[Glasgow-2900|Mary Elizabeth Glasgow]], was born in 1845. A fourth daughter, [[Glasgow-2901|Annie Coulson Glasgow]], was born in 1848.

In 1851 the Glasgow family returned to Ulster on furlough, where their fifth daughter, [[Glasgow-2894|Harriet Glasgow]], was born.

James returned alone to India in 1854 and continued his missionary work there for a further ten years.

Princeton University awarded him an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree in 1856.

Many references to James remain in Gujarat, where churches, schools and homes have been named after him.

=== Family correspondence ===

James’s journal records that on 30 June 1858 he learned that his mother had died on 21 May 1858.<ref name="MissionaryJournal" />

The entry does not state her name. The date matches the known chronology of the attached Jane McClure, but an independent identity source should be found before adding 21 May 1858 to her profile as a proved death date.

=== Academic career ===

After returning to Belfast in 1864, James was appointed Professor of Living Oriental Languages at both Magee College, Londonderry, and Assembly’s College, Belfast.

His towering intellect and profound scholarship were combined with an almost child-like simplicity and straightforwardness of character.

He also served as a government examiner in Gujarati for the Indian Civil Service.

In 1869 James was elected a member of the Belfast Literary Society. In 1872 he was elected its president.

=== Publications and translations ===

James’s publications included:

* ''The Psalms of David, Translated into Gujarati Verse, for the Use of Native Churches and Families'' (Surat Mission Press, 1856);
* ''The Apocalypse—Translated & Expounded'' (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1873).

He also translated Dr. Robert Stewart’s ''Family Worship'' and the Bible into Gujarati, together with many other writings in both English and Gujarati.

=== Children ===

James and Mary had five daughters, three of whom survived into adulthood:

* [[Glasgow-2898|Margaret Jane Glasgow]], born in Bombay on 16 March 1841; died at Rajkot on 11 June 1841 and was buried in the Anglican cemetery there;
* [[Glasgow-2899|Jane Henrie Glasgow]], who died on 14 April 1845 aged three months and was buried in the Anglican cemetery at Rajkot;
* [[Glasgow-2900|Mary Elizabeth Glasgow]], known as “Minnie”, born in 1845; she never married and died in 1874;
* [[Glasgow-2901|Annie Coulson Glasgow]], born in 1848; she married William Crawford;
* [[Glasgow-2894|Harriet Glasgow]], born in Ulster in 1851; she married John Acheson.

Annie’s husband, William Crawford, was the ninth child of the Rev. Alexander Crawford of Randalstown. He later became managing director of the York Street Flax Spinning Company and chairman of the Board of Governors of the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast. He was subsequently knighted.

Harriet’s husband, John Acheson, was also a linen manufacturer and was proprietor of the Bannview Weaving Factory at Portadown.

=== Later life ===

In Belfast, James and Mary lived at number 82 University Street, now numbered 86.

In 1878 they moved to Portadown to be near their daughter Harriet and son-in-law John Acheson.

Mary died on 19 February 1885.

James retired from his professorial posts in 1889.

=== Death and burial ===

James died on 30 June 1890 at Dunavon, Portadown.

His civil death registration described him as an 85-year-old widower, Presbyterian minister and Doctor of Divinity. His son-in-law John Acheson was present at the death.<ref name="JamesDeath">[https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/deaths_returns/deaths_1890/06100/4740942.pdf General Register Office, Ireland, civil death registration], Lurgan registration district, death of James Glasgow at Dunavon, Portadown, 30 June 1890; John Acheson, son-in-law, present at death.</ref>

James and Mary were buried with their daughter Minnie in Balmoral Cemetery.

== Research Notes ==

=== Brothers ===

James’s missionary journal is direct, first-person evidence that [[Glasgow-1781|Adam Dickie Glasgow]] and [[Glasgow-1656|Robert Glasgow]] of Victoria were his brothers.

Those two sibling relationships may therefore be treated as certain.

The journal evidence reviewed so far does not directly discuss [[Glasgow-1779|Jane Glasgow]] or [[Glasgow-1778|William Glasgow]]. Their attached relationships should continue to rely on the sources already held on their respective profiles.

=== Mother’s death ===

The journal entry dated 30 June 1858 states that James had learned that day of his mother’s death on 21 May 1858.

The entry does not identify his mother by name. Although the date matches the chronology of [[McClure-6341|Jane McClure]], an independent source connecting the date specifically to her should be found before treating it as proved on her profile.

=== Further research ===

Useful further sources may include:

* the original baptismal or church record for James;
* records directly identifying all children of [[Glasgow-1657|John Glasgow]] and [[McClure-6341|Jane McClure]];
* immigration or death records for [[Glasgow-1781|Adam Dickie Glasgow]] in New Zealand;
* Australian records concerning [[Glasgow-1656|Robert Glasgow]] in Victoria;
* an independent death notice, civil record or burial record for Jane McClure;
* original Presbyterian mission records concerning James’s appointments and service.

== Sources ==

<references />

* Northern Ireland Dictionary of Biography.
* Family source — Rachael Jeffers.
* [https://www.newulsterbiography.co.uk/index.php/home/viewPerson/2198 “Rev. Dr. James McClure Glasgow (1805–1890)”], ''The Dictionary of Ulster Biography''.