James Glasgow

Identity exclusion: the 1831 Cookstown burial

This Larne man is not [James Glasgow (Glasgow-4024)](https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Glasgow-4024) of Cookstown, buried at St Luran's on 13 March 1831 aged 40. The reported age implies birth about 1790–1791, and the locality and burial context also differ. The Cookstown man was created separately, unconnected. See the [burial transcript](https://www.cotyroneireland.com/churchrecord/saintluran1830-1849.html).

Last updated: 2026-10-07

Current conclusion

James Glasgow of Larne appears in a December 1830 freehold-registration application for houses and land worth £10 yearly. Glasgow-3986 is a possible match only (lowered from 'strong compatible' by the newspaper identity review of 6 October 2026, below, because a second Larne-born adult James, who died at Demerara in 1839, cannot be excluded), and no record joins the applicant to the provisional 1795 merchant / 1797 junior sequence or establishes his parents or children. The Larne–Lisnagaver link remains unproved.

[Compare the Larne, Inishrush and American family reconstruction](/people/glasgow-951.html#larne-reconstruction), including the alternative immediate-parent routes and their source tests.

James is a possible son of the ropemaker [James Glasgow (Glasgow-1509)](https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Glasgow-1509).
That is a reasonable working hypothesis: a birth about 1773 falls
about eleven years after the reported 1762 James Glasgow-Janet Shutter marriage.
Separately, he was briefly (13 September 2026) the leading named candidate for a
possible father James of Alexander `Glasgow-951`. That hypothesis rested on naming
and generation only. The 951 research now holds John Glasgow, farmer, as Alexander's
probable father, so James is only a weak rival; if Samuel Glasgow (born about 1790)
was John farmer's son, James, reported born about 1773, is also too young to be John
farmer's father. No record connects the Larne and Lisnagaver households.

His earlier placement as a direct son of William `Glasgow-1505`, born about
1708, produced a roughly 65-year generational gap. Direct fatherhood is possible,
but grandson or later-descendant status through the ropemaker is chronologically
more natural. The proposed placement is a hypothesis refinement, not proof of
the new edge. The live biography checked on 13 September still describes an
attachment to William; a completed live relationship change has not been verified.

The derivative family chronology is internally inconsistent about which William
shared a memorial with this James. The published 1899 armorial-stone article does
not transcribe an older William-and-James stone. Until the alleged shared stone,
a baptism, marriage, will or lease succession is recovered, the uncertain
attachment should remain explicitly provisional.

Source findings

### Newspaper continuation, 4 October 2026

James Glasgow of Larne is no.16 among persons applying to register freeholds at the Carrickfergus General Quarter Sessions on 13 January 1831. His December 1830 entry describes houses and land in Upper Glenarm, townland of Larne, with a yearly value of £10.

This is an application published on 24 December 1830, not proof that registration succeeded. Glasgow-3986 is the strongest compatible local candidate, but the notice gives no age, occupation, relatives or bridge to the 1795 merchant or 1797 junior. It does not connect Larne to Lisnagaver.

[Belfast News-Letter, 24 December 1830, p.3, County Antrim freehold-registration applications](https://www.newspapers.com/image/390574399/)

[Full record account](/research/subjects/newspapers-irish-1800-1850/#james-larne-freeholder).


| Source | Finding | Assessment |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Archived Kilwaughter chronology](https://web.archive.org/web/20101124184247id_/http://lifesweaving.com/Glasgow/Kilwaughter/Timeline.html) | Places a later James in the Larne reconstruction but uses inconsistent generational/stone notation. | Useful identity lead; not reliable proof of his father. |
| [Bigger and Hughes, Larne Parish Churchyard inscriptions](https://archive.org/stream/ulsterjournalofa06ulstiala/ulsterjournalofa06ulstiala_djvu.txt), p. 47 | Publishes Hugh's family stone and the younger William-and-Elizabeth stone, but not the alleged older William-and-James inscription. | Negative source check; the missing stone must be found elsewhere. |

Priority unresolved records

- Obtain the reported shared memorial photograph or full transcription.
- Search Larne/Kilwaughter baptisms after the `MIC/1B/6` 1769 cutoff in any
  continuation or duplicate register.
- Inspect the ropemaker's possible 1803 probate and property succession for a
  son James.

Merchant and junior records — 20 August 2026

Two late Larne memorials provide the first useful occupational evidence for a younger James:

- A [release dated 16 April 1795](https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSH3-Q9B8-H) concerning garden ground on the south side of Newtown of Larne was witnessed by **James Glasgow of Larne, merchant**, and Charles McGarel, gentleman.
- An [assignment recorded in 1797](https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSH3-Q96R-C) concerning a Larne tenement near Charles Dawson Stewart's tanyard was witnessed by Alexander Kitchey and signed in the witness clause by **James Glasgow junior**.

A man born about 1773 would have been about twenty-two in 1795 and twenty-four in 1797. The merchant and junior descriptions therefore fit this profile better than the older ropemaker `Glasgow-1509`. They do not prove his parentage: “junior” distinguishes him from an older same-name man but does not necessarily mean son. The proposed relationship to `Glasgow-1509` should remain provisional.

Relationship assessment: possible connection to Alexander Glasgow of Lisnagaver — 13 September 2026

[Alexander Glasgow (Glasgow-951)](https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Glasgow-951)
used the name James for his first recorded son in 1837 and again in 1843 after
the earlier child apparently died. This makes the Larne James a worthwhile
identified candidate for Alexander's otherwise unproved father-name hypothesis.
His profile-based research score is 24/100, driven by a plausible 38-year age
gap, broad County Antrim geography and the naming pattern.

The match remains weak. The records provisionally associated with James place their subject at Larne, while Alexander's
documented network is at Lisnagaver and nearby Rasharkin townlands. No inspected
deed, baptism, will, lease or family record links the men. The score ranks the
lead and is not a probability or evidence of fatherhood.

As a possible son of the older Larne ropemaker `Glasgow-1509`, James was treated
on 13 September as an alternative later-generation route to Alexander
`Glasgow-951`, separate from the older Alexander `Glasgow-3904` tradition. That
route was withdrawn on 6 October 2026: Alexander's probable father is John
Glasgow, farmer, and this James, reported born about 1773, is too young to be
John farmer's father if Samuel Glasgow (born about 1789 to 1791) was John
farmer's son. He remains only a weak rival for Alexander's father, with no
bridge from Larne to Lisnagaver. The hypothesis does not establish a father,
permit a merge, or alter any attachment.

Source findings: bounded route search — 13 September 2026

The specific hypothesis tested was that this James was the father of
[Alexander Glasgow (Glasgow-951)](https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Glasgow-951).
No new documentary link was recovered. The existing 1795 merchant and 1797
junior references identify useful Larne occurrences, but their association with
this profile is itself provisional. Neither names a son Alexander, a spouse,
Lisnagaver, Rasharkin or a move towards the Bann Valley. His reported 1773 birth
allows fatherhood around 1811; chronology alone cannot establish it. The
reported 1831 death also remains dependent on the unrecovered memorial account;
the excluded Cookstown burial cannot verify it.

Repository review covered this case, the older ropemaker's dossier and Alexander's
maintained parent-candidate account. Bounded web searches used `"James Glasgow"
"Larne" "1831"`, `"James Glasgow" "Lisnagaver"`, `"James Glasgow"
"Rasharkin"`, `"James Glasgow" "Larne" merchant`, `"James Glasgow" "Larne"
"Alexander"`, and `site:irishdeedsindex.net "Glasgow" "Lisnagaver"`.
No returned item supplied the required identity or kinship bridge. This records
search-engine results, not an exhaustive negative search of deed indexes,
parish registers or estate papers.

An [Irish Manuscripts Commission volume of Registry of Deeds will abstracts,
1785–1832](https://www.irishmanuscripts.ie/digital/Registry%20Of%20Deeds%20Abstracts%20Of%20Wills%20Vol%20III%201785-1832/Registry%20Of%20Deeds%20Abstracts%20Of%20Wills%20Vol%20III%201785-1832.pdf)
was located for the already-known Alexander Holmes Larne will. Direct access
returned HTTP 403; it was not newly inspected and supplies no new link to
Alexander Glasgow. The older ropemaker's Holmes association must not be
transferred to this younger James solely from the shared name.

The [live WikiTree API](https://api.wikitree.com/api.php?action=getProfile&key=Glasgow-3986&fields=Name,BirthDate,DeathDate,BirthLocation,DeathLocation,Father,Mother,Bio)
returned the existing two deed citations and the reported memorial chronology;
its biography still names William as the attached father. Follow-up API checks
returned `Limit exceeded`. No live edit was made and no new original deed image
was inspected in this batch.

Priority relationship tests

1. Recover the full William-and-James memorial to establish whether the reported
   dates, family grouping and identity are correct.
2. Follow the 1795 merchant and 1797 junior through later Larne deeds, recording
   occupation, spouse, property, witnesses and any changed residence. An estate
   abstract or deed naming a child Alexander would materially advance the test.
3. Compare any resulting named relatives or property with the earliest
   Lisnagaver leases and Alexander's documented household. County-level overlap
   and repeated given names remain leads; retain the present weak candidate
   assessment until a record supplies the connection.

Current conclusion — newspaper identity review, 6 October 2026

- [Belfast News-Letter, 1830-12-24, p.3](https://www.newspapers.com/image/390574399/): James Glasgow, of Larne (applicant to register a GBP10 freehold) — **possible** match. Name + Larne residence + adult property-holder in 1830 agree with Glasgow-3986 (Larne merchant/'junior' reconstruction of 1795-97, born c.1773, reported died 1831 from a St Cedma's tombstone). No age, occupation, relative or townland bridge; an 1831 death (month unknown) does not conflict with a January 1831 registration. A second Larne-born James (died Demerara 1839, group 390552249) was also an adult in 1830 and cannot be excluded. Sources: [WikiTree Glasgow-3986 live biography (API, 6 Oct 2026)](https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Glasgow-3986)

Recommended correction — vital dates, 6 October 2026

**Birth: before about 1774**, if he is the James Glasgow of Larne, merchant, who witnessed a release on 16 April 1795 (assumed 21 or over); the reported 1773 comes from an unrecovered memorial account. **Death: after December 1830**, if he is the James Glasgow of Larne who applied to register a freehold that month; the reported 1831 is unchecked, and the Cookstown burial of 13 March 1831 aged 40 is a different man.

These are proposals for the WikiTree date fields and are queued for review; nothing has been changed on WikiTree.