This picturesque surname is of ancient Celtic origin and is locational from a place called Glazebury in Lancashire, which is derived from a British (pre Roman) river name 'Glas', itself from the Welsh 'glas', meaning blue, green or grey, thus describing the colour of the water, with 'burgh', a settlement or fortification. Glazebury originally took its name from Glazebrook, which was a stream, first recorded circa 1230 in the 'Cockersand Chartulary' as 'Glastbroc'. In this instance, Glassborow is a dialectal variant of Glazebury, as a result of the migration, which became common during the Middle Ages, when people seeking work elsewhere often took the placename as a means of identification. One George Glassborow was christened on July 2nd 1620 at St. James's, Clerkenwell, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Glasborow, which was dated June 21st 1585, Kirkham, Lancashire, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, 'Good Queen Bess', 1558-1603. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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