Glassgow, John W. (Glasgow)

Born: 1805-04-10 Blair County, Pennsylvania

Died: 1879-08-05 Pekin, Illinois

Flourished: 1850 to 1879 Pekin, Illinois

Alternate name: Glasgow

John W. Glassgow (Glasgow), stonecutter, grocer, and public official, was born in a portion of Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, which later became part of the newly-formed Blair County. He moved to Wayne County, Ohio, with his family in 1810, but following the death of his mother, Glassgow’s father returned to Pennsylvania, leaving his young son behind in Ohio. Glassgow received only four months of formal education, and at age eighteen relocated to Centre County, Pennsylvania, to become an apprentice stonecutter. He followed this trade for five years then moved to Portage County, Ohio, where he improved then sold two farms in succession. Glassgow moved permanently to Illinois in 1849, living first in Tremont in 1849, and then settling in Pekin the following year, where he was a grocer until about 1857. Glassgow was then briefly engaged in the livery business. In 1858 he was elected justice of the peace for Pekin and served in this capacity for nineteen years. Glassgow was also Pekin city treasurer in 1863 and 1864. He was appointed deputy revenue collector in the eighth district of Illinois 1862 and remained in the position until Andrew Johnson became president and removed him. In politics, Glassgow was first a Whig and supporter of Henry Clay, then adopted a Free Soil position and ultimately became a Republican upon the organization of the party. On the advent of the Civil War he supported union, and in 1862 was an organizer of the Union League of America in Pekin. At the time of the 1860 census, Glassgow owned real estate valued at $5,000 and possessed $2,500 in personal property. He married Sarah Randolph in 1826 and was survived by one daughter.

Atlas Map of Tazewell County Illinois (Davenport, IA: Andreas, Lyter, 1873), 50; History of Tazewell County Illinois (Chicago: Chas. C. Chapman, 1879), 615, 708; Ohio, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1774-1993, 21 September 1826, Wayne County (Lehi, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, 2016); U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Pekin, Tazewell County, IL, 115; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Pekin, Tazewell County, IL, 14-15; Bloomington Daily Pantagraph (IL), 7 August 1879, 3:4; Gravestone, Lakeside Cemetery, Pekin, IL.