He then followed his father to St. Louis, Missouri where Glassford engaged first in the sugar trade, then purchased some coal mines.
When he was eight years old, his family moved to Mason County, Kentucky; his father George had opened a blacksmith shop in May's Lick.
Glassford attended public schools there until 1841, when the family moved to Johnson County, Illinois near Vienna.
[1] In 1860, Glassford sold his interest in coal to his brother John, then retired to the family farm in Elvira, Illinois.
He continued to accumulate land for the farm until his estate totaled approximately 1,500 acres (610 ha).