James Glasgow

Biography
James Glasgow—also recorded as James Glasco—was a mariner and shipmaster associated with Belfast, County Antrim, during the later seventeenth century. His origins, parentage, date of birth, wife, and children have not been identified.

The available evidence places James in Belfast’s maritime community from at least 1667 until 1679. Although an estimated birth around 1600 has sometimes been assigned to him, no contemporary record supporting that date has been found. He was necessarily born before 1667 and was probably an adult by then.

On 29 October 1667, Belfast merchant George Macartney reported that Mr Arthur wished to ship butter from Belfast to Rouen but had been unable to obtain a vessel. Macartney therefore proposed sending the butter to Dublin aboard the Blessing of Saltcoats, of which James Glasgow was master. Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, MIC19/2, business correspondence of George Macartney, letter dated 29 October 1667. This record identifies James as the master of a Scottish vessel engaged in trade between Belfast and Dublin, with the cargo intended ultimately for France.

On 21 January 1669/70, James was admitted and sworn as a free commoner of the Corporation of Belfast. The entry records him as:

: “James Glasco Marriner Admitted and sworne a ffree Comoner”

A fee of ten shillings was entered beside his name. Robert Magill Young, ed., The Town Book of the Corporation of Belfast, 1613–1816 (Belfast: Marcus Ward & Co., 1892), p. 271; entry dated 21 January 1669 [Old Style, equivalent to 21 January 1670 New Style]. 

Admission as a free commoner gave James formal standing within the borough. The record is also direct contemporary evidence of his occupation and presence in Belfast.

James continued to work as a shipmaster during the following decade. On 8 November 1679, George Macartney recorded that he had freighted the James of Belfast, commanded by James Glasgow, to carry butter and tallow to Havre de Grâce, now Le Havre, France. Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, MIC19/2, business correspondence of George Macartney, letter dated 8 November 1679. Macartney referred to the arrangement again that day in correspondence with Sir Joshua Allen concerning the payment of bills. Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, MIC19/2, business correspondence of George Macartney, letter from George Macartney to Sir Joshua Allen, dated 8 November 1679. 

These records show James commanding at least two vessels—the Blessing of Saltcoats in 1667 and the James of Belfast in 1679—and participating in trade linking Belfast with Dublin and French ports. The surviving evidence supports describing him as a mariner and shipmaster. It does not establish that he owned either vessel or that he held the title of captain in a military or naval sense.

A testamentary record for a James Glasgow of Belfast was registered in 1686 among the Connor diocesan will records. Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, T/828/15, Connor Will Extracts and pre-1858 wills index, entry for James Glasgow of Belfast, 1686. The original will has not been examined, and its contents are presently unknown. The close agreement of name, place, occupation period, and date makes it probable that the testamentary record relates to the mariner, but this identification should remain qualified until the extract or surviving copy is consulted.

James therefore died in or before 1686, probably in the Belfast area. No reliable evidence has yet been found identifying his wife, children, parents, or descendants.
Research Notes
* The surname appears as both Glasgow and Glasco.
* The Corporation record uses Old Style dating. Its “21 January 1669” corresponds to 21 January 1670 under the modern calendar because the legal year then began on 25 March.
* A birth around 1600 is not supported by the cited records. It would make James about sixty-seven when first recorded as a working shipmaster and about seventy-nine in 1679. This is possible but presently speculative.
* Belfast should be treated as James’s place of residence or occupational association, not as a proved birthplace.
* The 1686 will-index entry is probably his, but the identification is not conclusive without examining the will extract.
* No evidence currently supports the claim that he left descendants or property in Belfast.
Sources
* Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, MIC19/2, business correspondence of George Macartney, merchant, 1672–1681, including related earlier material.
* Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, T/828/15, Connor Will Extracts and pre-1858 wills index.
* Young, Robert Magill, ed. The Town Book of the Corporation of Belfast, 1613–1816. Belfast: Marcus Ward & Co., 1892, p. 271.

== Biography ==

'''James Glasgow'''—also recorded as '''James Glasco'''—was a mariner and shipmaster associated with Belfast, County Antrim, during the later seventeenth century. His origins, parentage, date of birth, wife, and children have not been identified.

The available evidence places James in Belfast’s maritime community from at least 1667 until 1679. Although an estimated birth around 1600 has sometimes been assigned to him, no contemporary record supporting that date has been found. He was necessarily born before 1667 and was probably an adult by then.

On 29 October 1667, Belfast merchant George Macartney reported that Mr Arthur wished to ship butter from Belfast to Rouen but had been unable to obtain a vessel. Macartney therefore proposed sending the butter to Dublin aboard the ''Blessing'' of Saltcoats, of which James Glasgow was master.<ref>Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, MIC19/2, business correspondence of George Macartney, letter dated 29 October 1667.</ref> This record identifies James as the master of a Scottish vessel engaged in trade between Belfast and Dublin, with the cargo intended ultimately for France.

On 21 January 1669/70, James was admitted and sworn as a free commoner of the Corporation of Belfast. The entry records him as:

: “James Glasco Marriner Admitted and sworne a ffree Comoner”

A fee of ten shillings was entered beside his name.<ref>Robert Magill Young, ed., ''The Town Book of the Corporation of Belfast, 1613–1816'' (Belfast: Marcus Ward & Co., 1892), p. 271; entry dated 21 January 1669 [Old Style, equivalent to 21 January 1670 New Style].</ref>

Admission as a free commoner gave James formal standing within the borough. The record is also direct contemporary evidence of his occupation and presence in Belfast.

James continued to work as a shipmaster during the following decade. On 8 November 1679, George Macartney recorded that he had freighted the ''James of Belfast'', commanded by James Glasgow, to carry butter and tallow to Havre de Grâce, now Le Havre, France.<ref>Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, MIC19/2, business correspondence of George Macartney, letter dated 8 November 1679.</ref> Macartney referred to the arrangement again that day in correspondence with Sir Joshua Allen concerning the payment of bills.<ref>Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, MIC19/2, business correspondence of George Macartney, letter from George Macartney to Sir Joshua Allen, dated 8 November 1679.</ref>

These records show James commanding at least two vessels—the ''Blessing'' of Saltcoats in 1667 and the ''James of Belfast'' in 1679—and participating in trade linking Belfast with Dublin and French ports. The surviving evidence supports describing him as a mariner and shipmaster. It does not establish that he owned either vessel or that he held the title of captain in a military or naval sense.

A testamentary record for a James Glasgow of Belfast was registered in 1686 among the Connor diocesan will records.<ref>Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, T/828/15, Connor Will Extracts and pre-1858 wills index, entry for James Glasgow of Belfast, 1686.</ref> The original will has not been examined, and its contents are presently unknown. The close agreement of name, place, occupation period, and date makes it probable that the testamentary record relates to the mariner, but this identification should remain qualified until the extract or surviving copy is consulted.

James therefore died in or before 1686, probably in the Belfast area. No reliable evidence has yet been found identifying his wife, children, parents, or descendants.

== Research Notes ==

* The surname appears as both ''Glasgow'' and ''Glasco''.
* The Corporation record uses Old Style dating. Its “21 January 1669” corresponds to 21 January 1670 under the modern calendar because the legal year then began on 25 March.
* A birth around 1600 is not supported by the cited records. It would make James about sixty-seven when first recorded as a working shipmaster and about seventy-nine in 1679. This is possible but presently speculative.
* Belfast should be treated as James’s place of residence or occupational association, not as a proved birthplace.
* The 1686 will-index entry is probably his, but the identification is not conclusive without examining the will extract.
* No evidence currently supports the claim that he left descendants or property in Belfast.

== Sources ==

<references />

* Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, MIC19/2, business correspondence of George Macartney, merchant, 1672–1681, including related earlier material.
* Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, T/828/15, Connor Will Extracts and pre-1858 wills index.
* Young, Robert Magill, ed. ''The Town Book of the Corporation of Belfast, 1613–1816''. Belfast: Marcus Ward & Co., 1892, p. 271.