Illustrated manuscript reading
Death January 1603; executor decree 30 April 1603; confirmation 11 May 1603
National Records of Scotland, Glasgow Commissary Court, CC9/7/3, images 113-114
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 113, opening
image 113, executor clause
image 114, debts awand out
image 114, wage debt
image 114, first outgoing debt
Follow the handwriting
Five image-led steps separate Geillis Glasgow's identity and household from executor procedure, agricultural inventory, debts and final confirmation. Numbered boxes are reading aids, not claims beyond the ink. National Records of Scotland, Glasgow Commissary Court CC9/7/3, images 113-114, Crown copyright; accessed through Scotland's People wills and testaments.
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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The reading desk
Choose a name or relationship below. Compare the original ink, a paper-free view and the same spelling in a secretary-hand teaching font. Open the reasoning only when you need it.
Proposed readingGeillis glasgw
The identity step identifies Geillis Glasgow as spouse of Thomas Wilson. This trace is confined to the name and does not infer parentage or kinship with any other Glasgow named in the testament.
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Geillis glasgw
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: Geillis Glasgow
Confidence: high for the maintained name reading
Evidence boundary: The two visible G/g features are consistent with the walkthrough's existing Geillis glasgw reading; they do not identify the later James Glasgow as kin.
Teaching typeface: Joscelyn by Peter S. Baker, based on a different Renaissance secretary hand. SIL Open Font License. Source images remain separate and unchanged.
National Records of Scotland, Glasgow Commissary Court CC9/7/3, image 113; Crown copyright
Choose a phrase to locate it in the manuscript. Only its outline is shown, so overlapping strokes stay readable.
On the page
umq[uhi]le Geillis glasgw spous to Thomas wilson in Chaplehill / within the parochin of Ardrossane ... moneth of Januar 1603
In modern English
The late Geillis Glasgow, spouse of Thomas Wilson at Chaplehill in Ardrossan parish, died intestate in January 1603.
Box 1 isolates Geillis's name. Box 2 begins with the literal relationship word spous and continues through Thomas Wilson; that word, not proximity alone, establishes marriage. Box 3 contains the January date. The place continues beyond the boxes as Chaplehill within Ardrossan parish.
Geillis's married identity, Chaplehill/Ardrossan setting and January 1603 death month.
It names neither parent and does not identify the later James Glasgow as kin.
High for the name, spouse, locality and month/year.
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
Geillis Glasgow
Compare in this hand: The same abbreviated glasgw form recurs with James in step 4.
Reading limits: The surname is abbreviated, but the personal name and surname are clear.
Phrase 02
spouse to Thomas Wilson
Compare in this hand: This explicit spous wording should be contrasted with the role word executors in step 2.
Reading limits: No uncertainty in the spouse wording; spelling is contemporary.
Phrase 03
month of January 1603
Compare in this hand: Step 5 contains the later May confirmation date in the same clerk's hand.
Reading limits: The day of death is not supplied here; only the month and year are visible.
National Records of Scotland, Glasgow Commissary Court CC9/7/3, image 113; Crown copyright
Choose a phrase to locate it in the manuscript. Only its outline is shown, so overlapping strokes stay readable.
On the page
James [unresolved] Isobell & Bessie wilson ... executors dative ... / glasgw upon the last day of Aprile ...
In modern English
James, Isobel and Bessie Wilson are named in the executor passage; the appointment follows a Glasgow commissary decree on the last day of April 1603.
Box 1 pulls the executor-role wording, while Box 2 follows the next dated line through last day of Aprile. Box 3 marks Dative at length, a closing procedural note. The words defining how the three Wilsons relate to Geillis are obscured, so the office cannot be converted into sonship or daughtership.
The named group participates in the dative-executor appointment and the decree was on 30 April 1603.
Executor appointment alone does not prove that James, Isobel or Bessie was Geillis's child.
High for the April decree; moderate for the named group; low for the missing relationship words.
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 court-appointed executors
Compare in this hand: The dative terminology recurs in the closing note marked in Box 3.
Reading limits: Surrounding words are faded; the administrative role is clearer than the relationship clause.
Phrase 02
on the last day of April
Compare in this hand: The May date in step 5 is a later confirmation event, not a competing reading of this line.
Reading limits: The phrase gives 30 April by calendar convention; the numeral 30 is not written.
Phrase 03
dative [appointment recorded] at length
Compare in this hand: It echoes executors dative in Box 1 and confirms the procedural nature of the passage.
Reading limits: The phrase is legible; its exact archival function is summarized rather than over-translated.
National Records of Scotland, Glasgow Commissary Court CC9/7/3, image 114; Crown copyright
Choose a phrase to locate it in the manuscript. Only its outline is shown, so overlapping strokes stay readable.
On the page
Inventar ... sevin ky ... ane blak kow ... insight plenissing and domicilis
In modern English
The estate inventory lists cattle, sheep, crops or grain and household furnishings before a total.
Box 1 is the centred heading. Boxes 2 and 3 pull visible livestock phrases; Box 4 marks the household plenishing entry. The repeated Item structure and price columns show accounting entries. Several adjacent quantities are too faded to normalize safely.
Geillis's estate was agricultural and included livestock and household goods.
Ownership of farm goods does not identify a father, child or heir, and the unclear valuations should not be treated as exact.
High for the record type and broad asset classes; moderate-low for quantities and values.
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
Inventory
Compare in this hand: The same heading convention appears in the John Glasgow entry, step 2.
Reading limits: The heading is clear despite faint show-through.
Phrase 02
seven cows
Compare in this hand: Another kyne form appears in the John inventory, showing a different late-seventeenth-century hand.
Reading limits: The livestock phrase is readable; the following modifier and price are not.
Phrase 03
one black cow
Compare in this hand: This singular animal follows the plural sevin ky entry immediately above.
Reading limits: The phrase is likely, but adjacent words and its valuation remain faint.
Phrase 04
household furnishings and utensils
Compare in this hand: This household entry follows the livestock and crop items in Boxes 2 and 3.
Reading limits: The core phrase is visible; surrounding valuation words and figures remain faint.
National Records of Scotland, Glasgow Commissary Court CC9/7/3, image 114; Crown copyright
Choose a phrase to locate it in the manuscript. Only its outline is shown, so overlapping strokes stay readable.
On the page
Dittis awand ... my lord of Eglintoun ... James glasgw in Stevinstoun ... Robert boyd & bessie ... servantie
In modern English
The estate owed rent or ferm to the lord of Eglinton, money to James Glasgow in Stevenston, and past wages to Robert Boyd and Bessie.
Box 1 is the debt heading. Box 2 identifies the superior or landlord account. Box 3 contains James Glasgow with Stevenston, and Box 4 contains the servant names. Because James appears under debts awand, his role here is creditor/payee; no kin word accompanies him.
A financial connection between Geillis's estate and James Glasgow in Stevenston, plus wage debt to named servants.
It does not call James Geillis's father or brother, and it does not identify servant Bessie with Bessie Wilson.
High for the section, James Glasgow/Stevenston and Robert Boyd; moderate for Bessie's surname and sums.
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
Debts owing [by the estate]
Compare in this hand: The preceding line Na dettis awand refers to debts owing to the estate; this new heading reverses the accounting direction.
Reading limits: The heading is clear; the direction is established by its position after the no-debts-to-estate note and the listed payees.
Phrase 02
the lord of Eglinton
Compare in this hand: This name heads the first debt entry immediately below Dittis awand.
Reading limits: The title and place-name are legible; the nature and amount of the rent/ferm following them are less clear.
Phrase 03
James Glasgow in Stevenston
Compare in this hand: The same-hand glasgw abbreviation can be compared directly with Geillis glasgw in step 1.
Reading limits: The name and locality are clear; the following sum and reason for payment are unresolved.
Phrase 04
Robert Boyd and Bessie
Compare in this hand: The following servantie phrase, outside the box, defines their wage-related role.
Reading limits: Robert Boyd and Bessie are legible; Bessie's surname is not securely visible.
National Records of Scotland, Glasgow Commissary Court CC9/7/3, image 114; Crown copyright
Choose a phrase to locate it in the manuscript. Only its outline is shown, so overlapping strokes stay readable.
On the page
At Glasgow the xj day of Maii 1603 yeiris ... confirme the present testament and Inventar
In modern English
At Glasgow on 11 May 1603 the commissary confirmation process records and confirms the testament and inventory.
Boxes 1 and 2 form one dated opening: At Glasgow and the xj day of Maii 1603. Box 3 follows the later line naming the present testament and Inventar. This is confirmation, eleven days after the 30 April executor decree, not Geillis's death date.
The place and date of confirmation and the legal character of the closing passage.
The confirmation formula does not add parents or children and should not be mined for invisible boilerplate.
High for Glasgow, 11 May 1603 and the testament/inventory language; lower for names inside the faded formula.
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
At Glasgow
Compare in this hand: This is a place in the confirmation formula, unlike glasgw used as Geillis's and James's surname in steps 1 and 4.
Reading limits: The place reading is clear; capitalization is editorial.
Phrase 02
the 11th day of May 1603
Compare in this hand: Step 2's last day of Aprile is the earlier executor decree; this line is the confirmation date.
Reading limits: The Roman day numeral reads xj; it is not a marriage or death date.
Phrase 03
present testament and inventory
Compare in this hand: Inventar repeats the heading in step 3 and ties the confirmation to the same estate account.
Reading limits: The phrase is readable; the surrounding confirmation boilerplate is only partly legible.
Modern interpretation
Geillis Glasgow was expressly the spouse of Thomas Wilson at Chaplehill in Ardrossan parish and died intestate in January 1603.
Thomas supplied the testament for a court-appointed executor group including James, Isobel and Bessie Wilson. The compressed words around James do not safely establish sonship or extend any kin term to Isobel and Bessie.
James Glasgow in Stevenston is named under debts owed by the estate. That is a creditor or payee association, not a kinship statement.
The estate was agricultural and debt-heavy. It owed rent or ferm to the lord of Eglinton and past wages to Robert Boyd and a servant Bessie whose surname is not secure.
The executor decree was dated 30 April 1603 and confirmation 11 May 1603; neither is a death date.
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.
High for Geillis, Thomas Wilson, Chaplehill/Ardrossan, dates, the executor group, and James Glasgow's debt-section placement. Low for the words defining the Wilson executors' relationships and for account figures. No kinship is inferred from executor, creditor, landlord or servant status.
Reviewed: 2026-09-10. Method: LLM-assisted fresh visual reread from original images.
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.
Geillis was Thomas Wilson's wife. James, Isobel and Bessie Wilson occur in the executor passage, but the relationship wording remains unresolved.