William Glass (11 May 1786 – 1853) was a Scottish

Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

and

settler A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. Settl ...

. He established the settlement that would become

Edinburgh of the Seven Seas Edinburgh of the Seven Seas is the main settlement of the island of Tristan da Cunha, in Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, an overseas territory of the United Kingdom, in the South Atlantic Ocean. Locally, it is referred to as The S ...

, the main settlement on

Tristan da Cunha Tristan da Cunha (), colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying approximately from Cape Town in South Africa, from Saint Helena a ...

Early life

William Glass was born William Glasgow in

Kelso, Scotland Kelso ( sco, Kelsae gd, Cealsaidh) is a market town in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Roxburghshire, it lies where the rivers Tweed and Teviot have their confluence. The town has a pop ...

, in the Scottish Borders region, on 11 May 1786, to David and Janet Glasgow. He enlisted into the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

at Berwick-on-Tweed in March 1804. Although it is unclear why, he enlisted under the surname Glass.

Military career

While serving in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

in 1816, Glass was sent to the remote uninhabited island of

as part of a garrison to secure the island in the event that the recently defeated

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

, then exiled on St Helena island, might use the island as a base to plan an attack. The soldiers were called back the following year. However, William and another man requested permission to remain permanently on the island. This request was granted by Lord Somerset. William also brought his South African wife, Maria Magdalena Leenders and two children. Many others soon followed and by 1852 the population was 52. Potato patches - Tristan da Cunha

Death

William Glass died on the island in 1853. Many of his descendants remain on the island. Notable descendants include police officer

Conrad Glass Conrad Jack Glass (born 20 January 1961) is a Tristanian police inspector and civil servant who was Tristan da Cunha's former Chief Islander from 2007 to 2010. Glass is the first islander to have written a book about the island: ''Rockhopper ...

and politician

Anne Green Anne Green (born 1891, Savannah, Georgia, d. 1979, Paris) was an American writer and translator, the sister of Julien Green. While a child, Green's parents moved to France, where her father, ruined by a financial crisis and poor investments, came ...

. The Glass surname remains one of the most common amongst the local population. Upon his death, his wife and their children relocated to

New London New London may refer to: Places United States *New London, Alabama *New London, Connecticut *New London, Indiana *New London, Iowa *New London, Maryland *New London, Minnesota *New London, Missouri *New London, New Hampshire, a New England town ** ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

. A son, Thomas Glass and a grandson returned ten years later and settled in the old family home on the island. He married Mary, a daughter of Thomas Hill Swain and had five sons: Joseph, John, Robert, William and Thomas, as well as a daughter Jane (she married Italian emigrant Gaetano Lavarello). Thomas Sr. would perish at sea during the 1885 lifeboat disaster.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glass, William 1786 births 1853 deaths People from Kelso, Scottish Borders History of Tristan da Cunha Scottish military personnel Tristan da Cunha