His work was in high demand and changed the face of cemetery design, also adding immeasurably the durability of monuments.
He was born in Campbeltown in western Scotland on 2 November 1807, the son of James McGlashen or McGlashan, a builder.
In 1842 he set up a monumental mason business at the entrance to the newly opened Southern Necropolis in Glasgow, living at that time at 81 Lawmoor Place, nearby to the south (now demolished).
[4] He died of heart disease at home 1 Eyre Place in Canonmills, Edinburgh on 9 September 1873.
The modest granite stone lies in the overgrown area to the south-west and is hard to access.