Illustrated manuscript reading
10 July 1598 marginal date; will 6 February 1597 as written; death 7 February [1597 as written?]
NRS Edinburgh Commissary Court CC8/8/32, images 123-124; both record images freshly reviewed
Second manuscript pass · 10 September 2026
New readings and unchanged uncertainties are both recorded. A confirmed name or role does not by itself confirm a WikiTree identity or a relationship.
image 123 opening
image 124 family clause
image 124 alternative distribution
image 124 pregnancy condition
image 124 succession clause
image 124 counsel passage
image 123 witnesses and account names
image 124 lower boundary
Follow the handwriting
Image 123 identifies Andrew and begins his latter will; image 124 continues without a gap. The continuation directly names Elizat Stevinsoun as his spouse, Robert as their son, and Marione, Jonet and Isobell as Andrew's daughters, while keeping the possible unborn child conditional.
Follow the writing line. Ascenders rise above small letters; descenders fall below them. A neighbouring line can cross the word you are reading.
Count the short strokes. These are called minims. Joined i, m, n and u shapes can be ambiguous; compare a clear repeated word by the same clerk rather than guessing from a modern alphabet.
Separate reading from expansion. A contraction is not a fully written modern word. Square brackets retain doubtful letters or editorial additions. A familiar legal formula is a clue, not permission to fill a gap.
Then assess the relationship. Reading a name securely is not the same as proving kinship. Look for the actual role words and who they refer to.
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Proposed readingandro
The existing transcription identifies the late Andro Glasgow as the decedent; ‘Andrew’ is the normalised form, not a claim that every modern letter appears on the page.
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andro
The white-background view suppresses paper colour; reviewed focus boundaries exclude separable neighbouring fragments where available. It does not restore missing strokes. Colour follows retained source pixels inside proposed letter groups, not a reconstructed pen path. Ambiguous crossings remain neutral where reviewed; other crossing ink may still belong to another line.
The font repeats the proposed spelling, not this clerk's handwriting. Similarity is a teaching aid, not confirmation; uncertainties remain in the reading above.
Expansion: Andrew
Confidence: high
Evidence boundary: The trace is illustrative of the already maintained subject-name reading and does not alter the established record or family conclusions.
Teaching typeface: Joscelyn by Peter S. Baker, based on a different Renaissance secretary hand. SIL Open Font License. Source images remain separate and unchanged.
NRS Edinburgh Commissary Court CC8/8/32, image 123
Choose a phrase to locate it in the manuscript. Only its outline is shown, so overlapping strokes stay readable.
On the page
The testament testamentar and Inventar ... pertening to vmqle andro glasgw in corsoun[?] within the parochin of calder cleir[?]
In modern English
The testament-testamentar and inventory ... belonging to the late Andrew Glasgow in Corsoun [?], in the parish of Calder Cleir [?]
Testament testamentar signals that a will follows the inventory. In the enlarged words, the tall ascenders and long terminal strokes cross the ruled baseline, so the boxes deliberately include space above and below. Vmqle means deceased. The residence and parish spellings remain provisional because crowded minims can support more than one vowel sequence.
Andrew Glasgow is the deceased testator associated with this inventory and surviving will opening.
The opening does not name his wife or children, and the uncertain locality spellings should not be normalized from this image alone.
high for Andrew and the record type; moderate for the localities
Slow reading
Compare the original strokes with the proposed reading. Tall or trailing strokes from neighbouring lines may enter a sample; the notes distinguish what is visible from what remains uncertain.
Phrase 01
Andrew Glasgow
Compare in this hand: The last visible line of image 123 repeats 'said andro' with the same tall d.
Reading limits: The personal name is secure; the box does not include the preceding deceased abbreviation.
Phrase 02
Corsoun [?], a residence
Reading limits: Corsoun is a plausible reading, not a normalized place identification.
Phrase 03
Calder Cleir [?], the parish wording
Reading limits: Calder is strong; the following qualifier remains provisional.
NRS Edinburgh Commissary Court CC8/8/32, image 123; continued on image 124
Choose a phrase to locate it in the manuscript. Only its outline is shown, so overlapping strokes stay readable.
On the page
Followis the deidis latter will / Vpoun the sext day of februar 1597 The said day the said andro [continues]
In modern English
The deceased's latter will follows. On 6 February 1597, on that day, the said Andrew ... [continues beyond this crop]
Latter will means the testamentary directions following the estate account. Read the heading as one line, then move to the dated line below; its long capitals and descenders overlap neighbouring ruled space. The written date is 1597; interpreting it as 1597/8 is a calendar convention, not different lettering on the page. The sentence continues on image 124.
Andrew's latter will begins on 6 February 1597 as written.
Image 123 alone contains no visible wife, son, daughter, or unborn-child clause; those relationships come from the freshly read continuation on image 124.
high for the heading, written date, and page limitation
Slow reading
Compare the original strokes with the proposed reading. Tall or trailing strokes from neighbouring lines may enter a sample; the notes distinguish what is visible from what remains uncertain.
Phrase 01
The deceased's latter will follows
Reading limits: The heading is secure and announces the will section; it is not itself a kinship statement.
Phrase 02
sixth day of February 1597
Reading limits: 1597 is what is written; 1597/8 is an editorial calendar interpretation.
Phrase 03
the said Andrew
Compare in this hand: Compare andro in the opening line above; both occurrences show the distinctive tall looped d.
Reading limits: The phrase is secure, but the continuation beyond it is outside this crop.
NRS Edinburgh Commissary Court CC8/8/32, image 124, top continuation
On the page
Elizat stevinsoun his spous and Robart glasgw his sone begottin be him vpoun the said Elizat his wyff
In modern English
Elizat Stevenson, his spouse, and Robert Glasgow, his son begotten by him upon the said Elizat his wife
The manuscript supplies both relationship terms. His spous links Elizat to Andrew; his sone links Robert to Andrew; begottin ... vpoun the said Elizat his wyff explicitly supplies Robert's maternity. The modern Elizabeth/Stevenson forms are expansions, not replacement manuscript readings.
Andrew and Elizat were spouses, and Robert was their son.
It does not identify an existing WikiTree profile for Robert or prove that Elizat was mother of every daughter named later.
high
NRS Edinburgh Commissary Court CC8/8/32, image 124, dispositive clauses
On the page
incais his said spous be with bairne ... and gif scho be not with bairne ... his said sone and his said [dochter- struck through] Marione Jonet Isobell ... his said Robart cum to aige
In modern English
If his spouse was pregnant, provision was made for that child; if she was not, Andrew's share was distributed among his son and his daughters Marione, Jonet and Isobell. Robert had not yet reached the stated age.
The pregnancy wording is conditional and cannot be converted into a born child. The three women's names follow a cancelled daughter-word sequence but are identified by the surrounding dispositive grammar as Andrew's daughters. The later age clause makes Robert's future succession relevant without supplying his exact age.
Andrew had named daughters Marione, Jonet and Isobell, and Robert was below the relevant age or majority for the land succession.
It does not prove that another child was born, identify the daughters' mother, resolve the land tenure, or establish matches to candidate profiles.
high for the names, family roles and conditional sense; moderate for the land-succession detail
Modern interpretation
The supplied page is Andrew Glasgow's testament-testamentar and inventory. His residence is provisionally read as Corsoun in the parish of Caldercleir, sheriffdom of Edinburgh. It records his death on 7 February and says that he gave up the inventory himself on 6 February. The latter-will opening at the bottom expressly bears 6 February 1597 as written.
The inventory includes cows with calves, young cattle, horses, sheep, oats, barley, household furnishings and clothing. Incoming and outgoing accounts name financial associates, but their appearance here does not establish family relationships.
The continuation freshly confirms Elizat Stevinsoun as Andrew's spouse and Robert Glasgow as his son begotten upon Elizat his wife. It names daughters Marione, Jonet and Isobell in the alternative distribution, provides for a possible unborn child only conditionally, and directs that Elizat retain the land or holding until Robert came of age.
Evidence and limits
Still open
LLM-assisted working transcription
Square brackets mark uncertainty, editorial expansions or missing text. Ellipses mark omitted or unresolved wording. Numbering identifies lines in this working reading, not official manuscript line numbers. This is not a complete diplomatic edition.
Fresh visual review of both images and enlarged crops, with the earlier saved account consulted afterwards. High confidence in document type, written will date, Elizat as spouse, Robert's explicit parentage, the three daughter names, conditional unborn-child wording and record boundary; moderate confidence in the land-succession sense; low confidence in many financial names, sums, localities and legal formula. Full coverage describes the supplied span, not a complete diplomatic transcript.
Reviewed: 2026-09-10. Method: LLM-assisted fresh image review.
The full originals remain in the local research archive. Selected unaltered crops are shown above for reading and commentary, with separate switchable highlights. Image credit: Crown copyright, National Records of Scotland / ScotlandsPeople. Duplicate downloads are not independent evidence. Consult the original using the reference above through ScotlandsPeople.
| Direct genealogical result |
|---|
| Andrew Glasgow named Elizat Stevinsoun as his wife and expressly identified Robert Glasgow as their son. He also named daughters Marion, Janet and Isobel. His provision for a child with whom Elizat might be pregnant is conditional and does not prove that another child was born. |
This testament-testamentar and inventory is NRS CC8/8/32, images 123–124. Andrew lived at a place provisionally read as [Corsoun?] in the parish of [Calder Clair/Cleir], within the sheriffdom of Edinburgh. He made the will on 6 February 1597 as written, died on 7 February, and was confirmed on 10 July 1598. Because the official Scottish year then began on 25 March, the February dates are conventionally recorded as 1597/8; this adjusts the year numbering, not the calendar day.
The strongest parentage clause reads:
First, he nomis Elizat Stevinsoun his spous and Robart Glasgw his sone, begottin be him vpoun the said Elizat his wyff, to intromet with his guidis and geir and moveabill dettis awin to him, and to pay his dettis awin be him to vtheris.
Elizat is the manuscript form and probably represents Elizabeth; it should remain visible in research notes. Stevinsoun, his spous and the parentage wording are clearer. James Stevisoun appears among the named advisers whose counsel Elizat and Robert were to use, but the testament does not state whether he was her father, brother or another relative.
The inventory appears to include three cows with calves valued at £8 each, two yearling cattle, two horses valued at £10 each or £20 together, nine sheep, eight bolls of oats in the barn and barnyard, four firlots of barley, household utensils and furnishings, and Andrew's clothing. The number of cows and several valuations remain tentative, and neither the inventory total nor the debt totals have been securely transcribed.
Among the people apparently owing Andrew money are John Mure, a person described as the widow of a deceased John whose full name remains unclear, and James Stevisoun. The debts owed by Andrew include an item for a brown horse and entries involving David Lyoun, James Stevisoun and a laird tentatively read as [Westhall?]. These financial names are research leads, not evidence of kinship.
After debts, Andrew directed that the free estate be divided into three parts: one third to Elizat and a second third to Robert. For Andrew's own third he provided:
… incais his said spous be with bairne to him, the samin sall [pass?] to the said bairne. And gif scho be not with bairne, that his said thrid be deuidit equallie betuix his said sone and his said [word beginning dochter…, struck through] Marione, Jonet, Isobell.
The named women are therefore Andrew's daughters, although the same explicit maternal wording used for Robert is not repeated for them. No profile should be created for the merely possible unborn child.
Andrew further directed that Elizat should bruik his [word unclear] land quhill his said Robart cum to aige, after which the holding was to pass to Robert. This establishes intended succession within Andrew's household and shows that Robert had not attained the relevant age or majority. It does not establish whether the land was heritable or tenanted, from whom Andrew obtained it, or any descent from the Glasgow burgh family.
The will also provides that, if Elizat his spous do not hir pairt to his said bairnis, she was to be removed from the administration. The closing notarial formula indicates that the notary signed at Andrew's direction because Andrew could not write. The remaining execution and confirmation formula is only partly resolved.
The current profile candidates for Robert, Marion, Janet and Isobel remain identity hypotheses, not established matches. The strongest next evidence would be a Caldercleir estate rental, tack, transfer, marriage or later testament carrying the Corsoun residence, Stevenson connection or Andrew-to-Robert succession into another record.