First found in Yorkshire near Halifax where they were seated as Lords of the manor of Gledhill from very ancient times.

At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Glidden arrived in North America very early: George Gledhill who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1852; Henry and James Gledhill settled in Philadelphia in 1834; Travis Gledhill settled in Philadelphia in 1864..

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