Isa Garteray Urquhart Glenn research 1900, corroborated by a Karen Bray Keeley
"At the close of the 13th century there were three (unrelated) families bearing the surname of GLEN; two in Scotland, the other in England. The English Glens (or Glynns), in Leicestershire, came from Normandy and assumed the surname from Glen Magna ("the great glen," a place in England) ... In Scotland, "The Glen," (a place) in Traquair, Peebles, gave its name to its ancient owners. This estate comprises an extensive glen, in which stood the stronghold of its lords, who were Celtic. In the time of King Edward I, "The Glen" belonged to Duncan de le Glen, afterwards to his son Colban de Glen. The second Scots family of GLEN (the one from which our ancestors came) assumed their surname from the lordship of Glen, Renfrewshire, so called from a vale in Lochwinnoc ... This lordship, comprising Bar, Renfrewshire, Lynthills, Brigend, Gaytflat, and other lands near Paisley and Glasgow, was held by Lord Richard de le Glen in the time of King Edward I, and after Richard de le Glenndied in 1292, the lordship passed to his son John de Glen. During the revolt of Wallace, John de Glen commanded the troops of the Bishop of Glasgow against the Prince of Wales and also fought at Brannockburn. He must have distinguished himself at Brannockburn, for immediately afterwards, King Robert Bruce granted him the forfeited lands of Balmato Fife in addition to his other holdings.
It is said that this family of Glen was originally of Norman extraction. The ancestor who accompanied Walter Fitz Allan from Shropshire to Scotland bore the name of De Ness, from the place called Ness or Ness Strange, near Shrewsbury ... Henry de Ness held the lordship of Glen in the year 1180 under the Stewards (Stewart family, who were stewards for the king). John de Ness, who married a Steward, was the father of Lord Richard, who became known as Richard "de le Glen."
John de le Glen (mentioned above, who inherited the lordship in 1292), had a son named Robert de Glen. Robert de Glen married Margaret, illegitimate daughter of Robert "The Bruce," the great Scottish king of the 12th century, so all of the Glens of this family are descendants of Robert Bruce. A tradition traceable for four centuries insists that Robert de Glen was one of those who accompanied the heart of Bruce to the Holy Land. Moreover, the Glens of Bar possessed the sword of Bruce, which a descendant carried in 1606 to Ireland, where it was seen a few years since. The inscription on the blade leaves no doubt as to its original ownership.
Robert de Glen, who married Margaret Bruce, also entered the Church, becoming Rector of Liberton in Lanarkshire. His son William de Glen inherited the lordship and rebuilt the castle of Bar. William's son Robert Glen was a companion in arms of Sir Unfridi Cunynghame (Cunningham) of Glengarnock, and was with him at Perth in 1494. Robert Glen died in 1506 and was succeeded by James Glen I. James and his kinsmen were at the battle of Flodden Field in 1513. In 1517 he was captain of a company of 102 footmen in the service of the Crown. He was appointed a Justice in 1543 but died in 1544 (having been killed, supposedly, at the battle of Ancrum) and was succeeded by his son James Glen II.
In 1564 a feud, long existant between the houses of Glen and Semple, became serious, and upon the appointment of Robert, Lord Semple to be Justiciary, James Glen (II) appealed to the Queen, who held a privy council and wrote an official letter stating that, "whereas Robert Lord Semple has obtained the commission of Justiciary upon all the inhabitants of the Barony and Sheriffdom of Renfrew, within which jurisdiction "the said James (Glen) and his barnis (children) dwellis," there should not be, nor should Lord Semple "haif ony commissioun or jurisdictioun upon the said James, his brethir (brother John), barnis (children), freiendis (friends), and servandis (servants) ... because it is noutourlie Knawin (naturally known?) that the said Robert Lord Semple beiris deidlie feid and inimytie aganis (bears deadly feud and enmity against?) the said James, his barnis, brethir, kin, and freindis, and hes usit greit crudilitie (has used great cruelty) and hostilitie upoun tham ... in ony wyise, and specialie in caus criminall he may dispone upoun thair lyffs (their lives)." James Glen, his children, brother, kin and friends were made answerable to the Queen's Majesty only, and exempt from any other process of law. (The feud seems to have subsided, for one of James Glen's granddaughters, Sibilla Glen, later married James Semple).
James Glen II was kinsman to the Hamiltons, and he commanded troops for Queen Mary at Langside ... his brother John (probable ancestor of our Glenns) settled at Stirling after the battle of Langside. James Glen II had his estates forfeited in 1568 on account of his adherence to the fortunes of his kinswoman, Queen Mary, but they were restored by the treaty of Perth, 1573. Over the entrance to Bar Castle (where the Glen family of Bar lived), the motto, "For God and my Queen," rudely carved, is legible. Later Bar Castle passed to the Hamiltons. James Glen II's daughter Mary was, it is believed, one of the four Marys of the Queen (Mary Queen of Scots liked to have all of her ladies in waiting of the name Mary, and they were replaced by others of the same name whenever one of them married, died, or withdrew).
After James Glen II, his sons William and Alexander succeeded in turn to the estates. Another son of James Glen II, Archibald Glen, was Regent of the University of Glasgow and minister at Rutherglen. Lindsay Glen, who was probably another son of James Glen II, took service with a merchant of Rotterdam and married a Dutch woman. Alexander, son of this Lindsay Glen, entered the service of the Dutch (the Dutch West India Company), was stationed on the Delaware, and afterwards at New Amsterdam. He founded Schenectady, New York. A descendant of this Alexander Glen, Dr. Jacob Glen, mentions in his will around the middle of the 18th century (in Maryland), a rosary and crucifix which had belonged to Mary Queen of Scots, and which Dr. Glen wished his descendants to retain as an heirloom, forever. One of his descendants became Chief Justice of Maryland.
James Glen II's brother Alexander Glen removed to Linlithgow, Scotland before 1544 (joining others who had moved there previously, as the Glen name is found there as early as 1229), and entered the service of the Hamiltons. The Glens in Bar and Linlithgow have the same Coat of Arms, and their common ancestry can be proven. Three of this line, James, George, and Andrew, represented Linlithgow in Parliament in 1625, 1641, and 1652-53. Others of this family in Linlithgow were Provosts of the Burgh, another a Sergeant of law, and others burgesses and land owners. James Glen, who was appointed Royal Governor of South Carolina in 1739 (Captain General and Commander in Chief of South Carolina), is also descended from this line. He returned to Scotland where he died in 1777, but his cousin William Glen settled in South Carolina. Many of the Glen family had earlier settled in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, the Carolinas and other colonies, later spreading elsewhere; it has been stated by one researcher that about 40 Glen or Glenn immigrants arrived in America before the Revolution, and all but two of these were kinsmen (from the Glens of Bar/Linlithgow/Ulster). Among these were our Glenn ancestors, who settled in Virginia in the 1600s.
The cousin of Royal Governor James Glen, William Glen, who settled in South Carolina before the Revolution, became a very prominent and wealthy citizen but lost all of his fortune after the war since he was a loyalist. He and his sons were East and West Indies Merchants, planters, attorneys, doctors, etc. His son John Glen went to Savannah, Georgia, where he was twice elected Chief Justice (1776-78), Mayor of Savannah, and Judge of the Superior Court. His son James Glen was one of the founders of the Georgia Medical Society. Also in Georgia there was as early as 1740 an Archibald Glen, probably a brother of William Glen.
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