'Glenmark'

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 13: "A Family Pattern.”

‘A Family Pattern’ in the Rees Scott family tree, is the name ‘Glenmark’.

Currently we have twelve cases of ‘Glenmark’, all but one where it is a middle name, and a single occasion where it is the first name:

All of these Glenmarks are contained within just two branches of the family, the ‘Rees-Jones’ line and ‘Sampson-Dash’ line.

I have only found three other occurrences of the name, in the UK, but have not yet found any direct link to our family tree:

1. Jessie Glenmark THOMSON b. abt. 1867 and d. Jan 1870. Using the UK GRO birth records, Jessie’s mother was ‘MOORE’.

2. Wilfred Glenmark GORE b. 18 May 1915 d. 19 Jan 1961. According to on-line trees, Wilfred was the child of Herbert Gore and Ellen May Dowding.

3. LIVING Glenmark REES b 1970 Using the UK GRO birth records, the mother’s maiden name was NIXEY.

The earliest date in our family was for Joseph Glenmark Richard Dash, born in 1868, and given the date for Jessie Glenmark Thomson’s birth as ‘abt 1867’, is that time period a clue?

I asked ChatGPT some questions: ¹

1. Where does the name 'Glenmark' originate?
   
   The initial response was: The name “Glenmark” is a compound name made from two elements, and its origin is largely linguistic rather than tied to a single historical event.
   

2. Then I added: When was the first recorded use of the name 'Glenmark'?
   
   As well as repeating the joining of ‘Glen’ and ‘Mark’ it went on to note: The first clearly traceable, recorded use of “Glenmark” as a proper name appears to be in the modern era, most notably:

   • 1977 — founding of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals
     

3. I then added: I have several individuals in my family tree that use the name 'Glenmark' as a middle name, the earliest in 1868. Is there any historical reason for the use of such a name?
   
   The response this time was to note that the Victorian’s constructed such names, and that many of these were Scottish sounding names tied to the cultural influence of Walter Scott, whose novels made Highland imagery fashionable across Britain. It then asked for specific surnames and geographic locations.
   

4. So I added: The surnames are all Dash or Rees, with one occurrence of Adams and Lane. Three occurrences with no known link to my family tree are Thomson, Gore and Nixey. The Rees family were based in Wales and a female, Sarah Anne Rees, married a Joseph Dash, who was born in Cornwall. Their son Joseph Glenmark Richard Dash, was born in 1868.
   
   This time ChatGPT seemed more certain: There is an actual place in Scotland called: Glen Mark. It’s a Highland glen (valley), and importantly, it was known and visited in the 19th century, and visited by Queen Victoria in 1861. It cited a wikipedia page
   
   On this site there is a specific reference to the Queen’s visit and ‘The Queen’s Well’: ²
   
   Queen Victoria and her consort Prince Albert purchased Balmoral Castle and delighted in travelling the mountain routes around. In 1861 they rode the 15 miles (24 km) from Balmoral to Glen Mark and met with Lord Dalhousie beside an artesian well. Here they were refreshed by the spring water before continuing to Invermark Lodge where they stayed overnight. To commemorate the visit, Lord Dalhousie erected a monument in the shape of a royal crown over the well. An inscription on the monument reads:
   

   Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, and his Royal Highness the Prince Consort, visited this well and drank of its refreshing waters, on the 20th September, 1861, the year of Her Majesty’s great sorrow.

The reference to the ‘great sorrow’ was the death of Prince Albert.

Is it possible that Joseph and his wife Sarah, had read about the trip and as a memorial to the late Prince Albert, added the Glenmark name to their next son? If so, wouldn’t they have also given him the name ‘Albert’?

If it really was a ‘Royal’ or ‘Scottish’ thing - wouldn’t there be more ‘Glenmarks’ out there?

There was also a ship called Glenmark that had been built in Aberdeen and undertook its maiden voyage in 1864 between the UK and New Zealand. Was this named after Glen Mark? It was used with an ‘Assisted Emigration’ to Canterbury, New Zealand (departed 18th August 1867, arrived 14th November 1867 at Lyttelton). Could a relative had travelled on the ship, and the naming was to commemorate that journey?

On a passage that left London on 8th September 1868, and arrived at Lyttelton on 12th December 1868, travelling Steerage Class, was one ‘J Dash’. ³ Could this have been Joseph Dash’s brother, Robert Jenkin Dash, who we know was in new Zealand by 1876, when he is listed in a directory, as living in Donoghue Hotel, Waimea. ⁴

Given Joseph Glenmark Richard Dash was born on 2nd September 1869, just six days before ‘J Dash’ set out for new Zealand, is that too much of a coincidence, that a brother, who thought he would never see his own brother again, wanted to give his son a memory? If so, why not name him Robert, or Jenkin - why name him after the ship?

However, when I looked for records outside of the UK, I found 5 other ‘Glenmarks’, none of which appear to have any connection to my family tree:

1. Living Glenmark GODEZANO, born 1973, San Franciso.

2. Knut GLENMARK (the only potential surname version), born 1915, Vestfold, Norway

3. Margaret Glenmark McKINLEY, born 16 December 1864, on board the Ship Glenmark,⁵ to parents Allan McKinley and Janet McRae, who arrived in New Zealand on 21 January 1865. ⁶ Sadly, Margaret died on 13th February 1865. ⁷

4. Eliza Glenmark Cook STRACHAN, born 30th November 1868, on board the Ship Glenmark, ⁸ to parents James Strachan and Barbara McLennan, who arrived in New Zealand on 12th December 1868. ⁹

5. Clarisse Tronchet Glenmark MARTIN, born 25th April 1903, in Christchurch, New Zealand ¹⁰, to parents Ernest Tronchet Martin and Elizabeth Mary Hean. Elizabeth, arrived in New Zealand, on the Glenmark, with her parents, John Davies Hean and Ann Bussell, arriving in New Zealand on 12th December 1868. ¹¹

So whilst the ChatGPT suggestion may be right, about the royal connection, I’m not sure.

It does appears clear that for the three New Zealand ‘Glenmarks’ that the ship was likely the source of the name, because two were born on it, and the third’s mother came to New Zealand on it. So, whilst the ship Glenmark connection looks strong for those individuals, would you really name someone after a ship a relative sailed on - and is that a strong enough connection for the other family members. It also doesn’t explain the reason for the three non-family UK, or the other two overseas occurrences.

So whilst the “Glenmark” name is clearly a pattern across the family, I still don’t feel I have a compelling reason why.

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REFERENCES:

1. ChatGPT.com accessed 25th March 2026.

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Mark. accessed 25th March 2026

3. Passenger lists for Glenmark: https://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlists/glenmark.html accessed 25th March 2026

4. Robert Jenkin Dash: Wise´s New Zealand Post Office Directory. BAB Microfilming; Auckland, New Zealand; Collection Title: New Zealand City & Area Directories, 1866-1955; Directory: Wise's New Zealand Post Office Directory; Fiche Numbers: 1-6

5. Margaret Glenmark McKinlay. UK, Registers of Births, Marriages and Deaths at Sea, 1844-1890. The National Archives of the UK; Kew, Surrey, England; Registers of Births, Deaths and Marriages; Class: BT 158; Piece: 2 (1858-1865).

6. Allan and Janet McKinley. Passenger lists for Glenmark: https://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlists/glenmark.html accessed 25th March 2026

7. Margaret Glenmark McKinlay. Ancestry.com. Australia and New Zealand, Find a Grave® Index, 1800s-Current [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

8. Eliza Glenmark Cook STRACHAN. The National Archives of the UK; Kew, Surrey, England; Registers of Births, Marriages and Deaths at Sea, 1844-1890; Class: BT 158; Piece: 3, (1865-1871)

9. Mr & Mrs Strachan. Passenger lists for Glenmark: https://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlists/glenmark.html accessed 25th March 2026

10. Department of Internal Affairs; Wellington, New Zealand; New Zealand, Registration Birth Index, 1840-2025. Ancestry,com. New Zealand, Historical Birth Index, 1840-1925

11. Mr J D (John Davies) Hean and Mrs Hean (Ann Bussell) and ‘child’ (Elizabeth Mary Hean). Passenger lists for Glenmark: https://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlists/glenmark.html accessed 25th March 2026