James Glasgow (c. 1735 – November 17, 1819) served as the first

North Carolina Secretary of State The North Carolina Secretary of State is an elected constitutional officer in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of North Carolina, and is fourth in the line of succession to the office of Governor of North Carolina. The se ...

, from 1777 to 1798.

Biography

Early life

James Glasgow, the son of a Scottish minister, Reverend James Patrick Glasgow and his wife, Martha Jones, of Cecil County, Maryland. He was born in the Colony of Maryland and educated at the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III ...

. After graduation he served as an accounting and corresponding clerk for an import-export house in Suffolk, Virginia.

Career

He was an officer in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

in North Carolina, and in December 1776, was rewarded by the last of the state's provincial congresses with the office of Secretary of State. From 1777 to 1781, Glasgow lived at Harmony Hall in Kinston. Service record: * Adjutant in the

Dobbs County Regiment The Dobbs County Regiment was a unit of the North Carolina militia that served during the American Revolution. The regiment was one of thirty-five existing county militias that were authorized by the North Carolina Provincial Congress to be organ ...

of the

North Carolina militia North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

(1776) * Major in the Dobbs County Regiment (1776-1777) * Colonel in the Dobbs County Regiment (1777-1778, 1779-1780) * Secretary of State (1776-1799) In 1791, while he was still serving as Secretary of State, the state legislature named a county after him. He resigned in disgrace after a scandal known as the " Glasgow Land Fraud." After his resignation, the county was renamed Greene County.

Personal life

His daughter, Nancy Glasgow, married

Willoughby Williams Willoughby Williams was an American war veteran and politician from North Carolina.Zella Armstrong, ''Some Tennessee Heroes of the Revolution: Compiled from Pension Statements'', Genealogical Publishing Com, 2009, p. 11/ref>William Stevens Powell ...

, a member of the

North Carolina House of Representatives The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House, who holds powers similar to those of the President pro-tem in the North Ca ...

, and later remarried to

Joseph McMinn Joseph McMinn (June 22, 1758October 17, 1824) was an American politician who served as the fourth Governor of Tennessee from 1815 to 1821. A veteran of the American Revolution, he had previously served in the legislature of the Southwest Territo ...

, who served as

Governor of Tennessee The governor of Tennessee is the head of government of the U.S. state of Tennessee. The governor is the only official in Tennessee state government who is directly elected by the voters of the entire state. The current governor is Bill Lee, a ...

from 1815 to 1821.

References

External links

NC Historical Markers
* 1735 births 1819 deaths American people of Scottish descent College of William & Mary alumni Secretaries of State of North Carolina North Carolina militiamen in the American Revolution {{NorthCarolina-politician-stub