Project Goals:

Our surname has numerous ethnic origins including Irish, Scottish and English. It is the goal of this project to help identify different ethnicities and genetic homelands of the many different branches. Branches will be assigned using genetic matches, haplogroups, genealogies, surname mapping and historical records.

Scottish families:

Predicted independent Scottish families based on recorded histories are:

Glen family of Barr, Renfrew, Scotland

• The Glen family of Barr, original holders of Barr Castle, Renfrewshire and the lands of Barr, Bridge-end, and Lyntchels in Renfrew, Scotland (Crawfurd & Watson, 1710).

• It is believed that Henry de Ness (of Norman ancestry) was granted the lands from the Steward family through marriage around 1180 and his descendants are said to have adopted the surname Glen (Bulloch, 1923).

• Identified as Anglo-Norman (Glenn,1912).

• Web Links: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barr_Castle

Glen family of Lennoxtown, Dumbarton, Scotland

• Possible branch of Barr but may be independent.

• Richard de Glen is recorded as deceased in 1292. The lands of Richard de Glen are described as being situated within the area of the modern parishes of Campsie and Strathblane, Lennoxtown, Scotland (Rogers, 1888).

• Identified as Anglo-Norman (Glenn,1912).

Glen family of Fife, Scotland

• Likely branch of Lennox.

• To John de Glen, second son of David de Glen, is granted a charter of the lands of Balmutache (Balmuto) in Fife, Scotland by King Robert the Bruce (Rogers, 1888).

• These lands continued in the family of Glen till the beginning of the fifteenth century, when Mariota, daughter and co-heiress of Sir John Glen, married Sir John Boswell of Balgregie, in Western Fifeshire and the estate moved to the Boswell family.

• Margaret, the youngest daughter of King Robert the Bruce, married Robert de Glen, with the approval of her brother King David, who granted him and his wife a charter of the lands of Pittedie, Kinghorn, Fife, Scotland circa 1340 AD (Rogers, 1888).

• Identified as Anglo-Norman (Glenn,1912).

• Web Links: http://www.stravaiging.com/history/castle/balmuto-castle

Glen family of Linlithgow, Scotland

• Possible branch of Renfrew or Lennox

• A supposed descendant of John de Glen of the Lennox, An Alexander Glen is connected with a meeting of the estates held at Linlithgow on the 28th September 1545, named as Sergeant in Parliament(Rogers, 1888).

• Son of Robert Glen of Renfrew, Alexander Glen removed to Linlithgow before, or in, 1544-5, and entered the service of the Hamiltons. He was witness to a charter at Linlithgow, 6 Jan.1545-6 (Glenn, 1912).

• Rogers and Glenn appear to contradict each other regarding Alexander Glen’s lineage, Rogers claims he is a descendant of John de Glen of Lennox while Glenn claims Alexander is a Glen of Renfrew.

Glen family of Peebles

• Likely independent family

• The lands of Glen, on the left bank of the Quair stream Traquair parish, in the County of Peebles, gave name to their owner at a period prior to the War of Independence (Rogers, 1888).

• In 1296 Sarah of the Glen took the oath of fealty to Edward I and on the 3d September of the same year, she, as widow of Duncan Glen, who died in1292, begged of Edward that her lands might be restored. The lands were then in the keeping of Patrick, fourth Earl of Dunbar (Glenn, 1912).

• Identified as Celtic (Glenn, 1912).

• Web links: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Glen,_Scottish_Borders

Irish families:

Predicted independent Irish families based on recorded histories are:

McGlynn family of Donegal, Ireland

• Owen McGlynn last clan chieftain of the McGlynn’s of Donegal, Ireland. Born circa 1565 in the Galway area before the 9 Years War between the Irish Gaelic forces of Hugh O’Neil and the English Crown (McGlynn, 2012)

• It is believed he took a large number of McGlynns with him and the settled in the Finn Valley of Donegal, Ireland (McGlynn, 2012).

• Identified as Celtic (McGlynn, 2012).

Glenn family of Londonderry, Northern Ireland

• May be a branch of the McGlynn Clan of Donegal need more Irish McGlynns to determine.

• Identified as Celtic.

English families:

Predicted independent English families based on recorded histories are:

The English Glens of Leicestershire

• Possibly came from Nanancort, Normandy. The name appears in Leicesterhire 1170 AD (Glenn, 1912).

• Identified as Norman (Glenn, 1912).

Glen family of Humberston

• Branch of Leicestershire (Glenn, 1912).

• Identified as Norman (Glenn, 1912).

References

Bulloch, J. G. (1923). A history of the Glen family of South Carolina and Georgia. Washington, DC: Privately printed. Retrieved February 10, 2016, from https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE84740.

Crawfurd, G., & Watson, J. (1710). A general description of the shire of Renfrew, the peculiar residence and ancient patrimony of the Stewarts: And secondly, a deduction of the noble and ancient families, proprietors there for upwards of 400 years, down to the present times. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=PHRbAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

Glenn, T. A. (1912). Genealogical Notes regarding the Family of Glen, or Glenn. The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 36. Retrieved February 10, 2016, from https://archive.org/details/jstor-20085618.

McGlynn, D. E. (2012). McGlynn an Irish History. Glasgow: Privately printed. Retrieved February 10, 2016,from http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mcglenn/Preface.html

Rogers, C. (1888). Memorials of the Scottish family of Glen. Edinburgh: Privately printed. Retrieved February10, 2016, from https://archive.org/details/memorialsofscglen00roge.