Michael Glasgow

Conclusion

An official National Records of Scotland catalogue entry now places **Michael
Glasgow** in the Glencairn/Stevenston estate network on 28 January 1549, when he
witnessed an instrument of sasine concerning the lands and barony of Stevenston.
The uncommon name and repeated estate setting make him a probable match for the
Michael Glasgow tenant at Brakpleuch Over and Nether in the 1559-60 Cunninghame
teind list. This is strong suggestive identity evidence, not an explicit
identification: neither record supplies an occupation, patronymic or exact
property chain.

Michael remains distinct from [[Glasgow-3908|Matthew Glasgow]] at Ardeer Nether.
He may also be the same-name tenant at Dubbs in 1559-60, but that source does not
establish whether one or two Michaels held those tenancies.

See the [graph-claim audit](../../surname-research/pre-1700/graph-claim-audit-2026-07-27.md).

Source findings

- **28 January 1549:** National Records of Scotland, Charter Chest of the Earls
  of Glencairn, [GD39/1/59](https://catalogue.nrscotland.gov.uk/nrsonlinecatalogue/details.aspx?reference=GD39%2F1%2F59).
  Michael Glasgow was one of the witnesses to an instrument of sasine in favour
  of Janet Cunningham, daughter of John Cunningham of Caprington, and the heirs
  to be born between her and Alexander, Earl of Glencairn, in the lands and
  barony of Stevenston and other lands. William Cunningham of Legland and Adam
  Mure were among the other witnesses. Catalogue entry inspected; no manuscript
  image is available online.
- **1559-60:** Margaret H. B. Sanderson, *The People of Sixteenth Century
  Ayrshire*, appendix "The Cunninghame Teind Lists of 1559-60," [p.
  331](https://aanhs.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/people-of-ayrshire.pdf#page=36).
  Michael Glasgow appears with John Sparling, John Wilson and Robert Wilson at
  Brakpleuch Over and Nether; another Michael Glasgow appears at Dubbs.

Relationship assessment

The 1549 and 1559-60 records probably describe the same Michael Glasgow. No
reviewed source identifies his parents, spouse or children. James Glasgow,
Matthew Glasgow and the other surname bearers in the 1559 Stevenston rental are
a locality/co-tenancy cluster, not a documented family. No parent should be
attached without additional evidence.

Birth-estimate audit - 30 August 2026

The live structured birth was corrected to **about 1525, uncertain** after the
1549 witness record was found. It is an identity-defining estimate for an adult
legal witness, not a recorded birth year. The uncertain Stevenston birthplace
was retained because it is the place of Michael's earliest documented event.

Mathie–Glencairn bridge - 30 August 2026

The Stevenston cluster now has a documented route into Glasgow burgh society.
David Mathy and Robert Glasgow were fellow burgesses and co-witnesses on 10 May
1554. David's documented son John is a plausible match for the writer admitted
with the Earl of Glencairn's burgess group in 1583. Tutory retours entered in
January 1607 directly identify the deceased John Mathie of Ibert's full brother
Matthew as a Glasgow burgess and name John's lawful children James, David,
Agnes and Margaret. Ibert lay in Glencairn's Kilmaronock barony.

Together with the three Mathies and four Glasgow men in the 1559-60 teind list,
this establishes a recurring Mathie–Glasgow network across Glencairn's estates
and the city. It strengthens the possibility that Michael, Matthew and the
Corsinkell Glasgows belonged to associated households, but supplies no stated
kinship between them. See the [focused analysis](../Glasgow-3908/mathie-glencairn-bridge-1554-1618.md).

Recommended next records

1. Inspect the original of NRS GD39/1/59 for any omitted designation or
   residence following Michael's name.
2. Search adjacent Glencairn charter-chest instruments for Michael Glasgow,
   Brakpleuch and Dubbs between 1540 and 1565.
3. Inspect the underlying Register of Acts and Decreets, vol. 22, fols.
   102v-167v, for fuller tenant descriptions or grouping not preserved by the
   published appendix.

Family-cluster placement - 31 August 2026

Michael is best placed as a **probable brother or cousin**, rather than a son,
of [James Glasgow elder of Corsankell (Glasgow-1168)](https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Glasgow-1168).
Michael was an adult legal witness within the Glencairn estate network in 1549;
James elder was head of the Corsankell household in the same estate landscape
in 1559-60. Their generation and repeated microregion fit close collateral
kinship, while no source identifies either man's father.

Do not manufacture a father edge merely to connect Michael. Record the
brother/cousin hypothesis until Glencairn tenant succession distinguishes the
degree.