SEPT NAME – MACGLASHAN

by James E. Fargo, FSA Scot

This surname is derived from the Gaelic which meant ‘son of the grey lad’. Some associated spellings are Galashan, Glassin, MacGlass, MacGlossen and MacGolash.

An extract from the Session Minutes records states that on April 11, 1744, Susan McGlashan, wife of Donald Robertson in Easter Kindrochit breached the Sabbath by leading a horse with a load of baggage on its back from the boat of Apersuanie to their house. She was summoned to answer for said breach.

The inn at Blair Atholl in 1746 was called the MacGlashan Inn after the proprietor.

The MacGlashan surname is also associated with the Stewarts of Atholl. The surname may also have been assumed after the ’45 Rising when English troops were garrisoned in Atholl and it wasn’t safe to be known as either Robertson or Stewart.

References:
Kerr, John, "Church and Social History of Atholl", Perth, 1998, p. 32
McNie, Alan, "Clan Robertson", Cascade Publishing Co., Jedburgh, 1989, p. 29
Robertson, James A., "Gaelic Topography of Scotland", Edinburgh, 1869, pp. 447
Smith, Philip D., "Tartan for Me"