James Glen (1701 – July 18, 1777) was a politician in the Province of South Carolina. He was appointed Royal Governor of South Carolina in 1738, but did not arrive in the province until December 17, 1743. He served as governor until June 1, 1756 and was succeeded by William Henry Lyttelton. On June 21, 1761, Glen returned to Europe and died in London. He is buried in

St Michael's Parish Church, Linlithgow St. Michael's Parish Church is one of the largest burgh churches in the Church of Scotland. It is one of two parishes serving the West Lothian county town of Linlithgow, the other being St. Ninian's Craigmailen. St Michael is the town's patron ...

, Scotland.

Early life

He was born in

Linlithgow Linlithgow (; gd, Gleann Iucha, sco, Lithgae) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a ...

in 1701 to Alexander Glen and his wife Marion Graham. The family was of relatively high social standing and he studied Law at Edinburgh University and Leyden University. He later rose to be Provost of Linlithgow from 1724 to 1726 and again 1730 to 1736, becoming official Keeper of

Linlithgow Palace The ruins of Linlithgow Palace are located in the town of Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland, west of Edinburgh. The palace was one of the principal residences of the monarchs of Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland in the 15th and 16th ce ...

in 1743. He began travelling to America in 1739 but returned permanently to his home town from 1757, living at Cross House in Linlithgow.

Governorship

James Glen has the longest term of governorship of any of those of colonial South Carolina. His term was noted for extensive dealings with Native American tribes on the colony's western and southern borders.

Controversy over Salary

Traditionally the governor of South Carolina played the role of defender of the southern frontier but with the creation of Georgia that role passed to the Georgian governor

James Oglethorpe James Edward Oglethorpe (22 December 1696 – 30 June 1785) was a British soldier, Member of Parliament, and philanthropist, as well as the founder of the colony of Georgia in what was then British America. As a social reformer, he hoped to r ...

. This transfer of roles was accompanied by the transfer of a thousand pounds that no longer went to the governor of South Carolina but now went to his Georgian counterpart. James Glen stayed in England to protest this change and William Bull acted as governor in his stead.

Dealings with Native Americans

Governor Glen was noted for forging a 1755 treaty with the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, th ...

, known as the Treaty of Saluda Old Town, in present-day

Saluda County Saluda County is a county in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,862. Its county seat is Saluda. The county was formed from northern and eastern portions of Edgefield County. Saluda County is part o ...

and the building of

Fort Prince George Fort Prince George was an uncompleted fort on what is now the site of Pittsburgh, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The site was originally a trading post established by Ohio Company t ...

near

Keowee River The Keowee River is created by the confluence of the Toxaway River and the Whitewater River in northern Oconee County, South Carolina. The confluence is today submerged beneath the waters of Lake Jocassee, a reservoir created by Lake Jocassee ...

. He was also responsible for promoting an official policy that aimed to create in Indians an "aversion" to African Americans in an attempt to thwart possible alliances between them.

King George's War

During

King George's War King George's War (1744–1748) is the name given to the military operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in t ...

, Governor Glen sent a trade delegation led by notable Indian trader and historian James Adair to win over Red Shoes (Choctaw chief) to abandon their alliance with the French and to side with the British. The efforts led to a great civil war amongst the

Choctaw Nation The Choctaw Nation (Choctaw: ''Chahta Okla'') is a Native American territory covering about , occupying portions of southeastern Oklahoma in the United States. The Choctaw Nation is the third-largest federally recognized tribe in the United St ...

. Adair blames the resulting failure on Glen for not supporting this mission.''History of the American Indians'' by James Adair, pg 143-148.

Family

His younger sister Elizabeth married James Gordon of Ellon and was known as Mrs Glen Gordon. It was she who entertained

Bonnie Prince Charlie Bonnie, is a Scottish given name and is sometimes used as a descriptive reference, as in the Scottish folk song, My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean. It comes from the Scots language word "bonnie" (pretty, attractive), or the French bonne (good). That ...

in 1746 in her capacity as Deputy Keeper of

References

External links

''The James Glen Papers''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glen, James 1701 births 1777 deaths Colonial governors of South Carolina