Jean Glover or Jennifer Glover (1758–1801) was a Scottish

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

and singer. She was the daughter of James Glover,

handloom weaver A loom is a device used to weave cloth and tapestry. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of the loom and its mechanics may vary, but th ...

and Jean Thomson, born in Townhead,

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

; was well educated for the time she lived in, clever and sharp-witted.Burns Encyclopedia
Retrieved : 2012-11-25 She had a fine singing voice and exceedingly good looks of ''"both face and figure"''.

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

admired her voice and additionally he copied down her song ''"O'er the moor amang the heather"'' and sent it for printing in the

Scots Musical Museum The ''Scots Musical Museum'' was an influential collection of traditional folk music of Scotland published from 1787 to 1803. While it was not the first collection of Scottish folk songs and music, the six volumes with 100 songs in each collected ...

in 1792. Dougall records that Burns heard Jean in the Old Commercial Hotel in Croft Street, Kilmarnock. He matched it with a tune which first appeared in Bremner's Reels of 1760, and the song was also published in several later 18th Century collections. It is not clear where he heard her sing this song, however it may have been at

Irvine Irvine may refer to: Places On Earth Antarctica *Irvine Glacier *Mount Irvine (Antarctica) Australia *Irvine Island *Mount Irvine, New South Wales Canada *Irvine, Alberta * Irvine Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom *Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotla ...

in 1781 as she was well known there and clearly he knew her well enough to record that she was ''"not only a whore but also a thief"'' and it has been suggested that he had one of his many affairs with her.Strawhorn, Page 104

Life and character

Jean eloped at an early age with Richard, either a surname or a first name,

Dictionary of Biography A biographical dictionary is a type of encyclopedic dictionary limited to biographical information. Many attempt to cover the major personalities of a country (with limitations, such as living persons only, in '' Who's Who'', or deceased people on ...

Retrieved : 2012-11-25 a 'sleight of hand performer' and leader of the group, one of the heroes of 'sock and buskin' (idleness and dressing in gaudy clothes). Jean had become both stage and star-struck. She is recorded as having performed with her partner at various public houses, theatres being few and far between, such as in 1795 at the Black Bottle Inn at

Muirkirk Muirkirk ( gd, Eaglais an t-Slèibh) is a small village in East Ayrshire, southwest Scotland. It is located on the north bank of the River Ayr, between Cumnock and Glenbuck on the A70. Conservation The Muirkirk & North Lowther Uplands Special ...

and other small places of entertainment up and down the country, including

as well as

at the 'Croft Lodge' where she was famed for singing 'Green grow the rushes'. Other contemporaries are recorded as having said that she was merely ''"a roughly hardened tramp, a wilful, regardless woman."''Dictionary of National Biography A contact of the author James Paterson told him that she had seen Jean Glover ''"gally attired and playing on a tambourine at the mouth of a close, in which was the exhibition room of her husband the conjurer"'', and thought her ''"the bravest woman I had ever seen step in leather shoon."'' A few months prior to her death a final 'sighting' is known of her performing at

Letterkenny Letterkenny ( ga, Leitir Ceanainn , meaning 'hillside of the O'Cannons'), nicknamed 'the Cathedral Town', is the largest and most populous town in County Donegal, a county in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. Letterkenny lies on the R ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, in apparent good health. However, she died only a few months later.

Association with Robert Burns

Burns took a surprisingly negative view of Jean Glover, explaining how he came to collect ''"O'er the moor amang the heather"'', although we cannot be sure that she did in fact compose the song : ''"This song is the composition of a Jean Glover, a girl who was not only a whore but also a thief; and in one or other character has visited most of the correction houses in the west. She was born, I believe, in Kilmarnock. I took the song down from her singing as she was strolling the country with a slight of hand blackguard"''. PG 1063Burns Naysmith

It has been suggested that the song is based on the Scots ballad ''"The Laird o' Drum"'', but little evidence can be found for this in any published collections. It was certainly a popular song in

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

in the past.Heather down the moor.
Retrieved : 2012-11-25

Micro-history

Jean's brother James worked at the Muirkirk iron-works.

References

;Notes ;Sources # Dictionary of National Biography. London : Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900. # Dougall, Charles S. (1904). ''The Burns Country''. London: A & C Black. # Mackay, James (2004). ''A Biography of Robert Burns. Edinburgh : Mainstream Publishing''. . # Paterson, James (1840). ''The Contemporaries of Burns and the More Recent Poets of Ayrshire.'' Edinburgh : Hugh Paton, Carver and Gilder. # Strawhorn, John (1985). ''The History of Irvine. Royal Burgh and Town''. Edinburgh : John Donald. .

External links

Full text of O'er the moor.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glover, Jean 1758 births 18th-century Scottish women singers 18th-century Scottish poets 1801 deaths 18th-century Scottish actresses People from Kilmarnock Scottish stage actresses Scottish women poets 18th-century British women writers

Life and character

Association with Robert Burns

Micro-history

See also

References

External links