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FYI - Additional Response to => Re: 1776 Clan Chief




The Earldom of Caithness was in dispute at that time. Reference "The
Sinclairs of Scotland" author: Thomas Sinclair (M.A., Edinb) who had an
article in the "Highland Monthly" autumn of 1889.  In this article he
maintained that David Sinclair (brother of the 8th Earl of Caithness)
of Broynach's marriage to Janet Ewing was valid though irregular; and
that therefore his grandson, Captain James Sinclair, H.E.I.C.S. should
have got the Earldom when the 9th Earl died, whereas the title was
awarded to a scion of the Rattar section of the Sinclairs.....

Mr Thomas Sinclair, writing to the Aberdeen 'Weekly Free Press', under 
date 23rd April 1898, says:-

"Captain James Sinclair could not prove Hon. David's marriage to Janet
Ewing, his grandmother, and William of Rattar gained his point by
therefore falsely attributing illegitimacy to him.  In 1786 Captain
James returned wealthy from India, and discovered ecclesiastical
evidence of his grandmother's marriage in the Caithness records.  He
immediately began action before the Court of Session to recover his 
undoubted rights, but died prematurely and unexpectedly in London, on
11th January 1788, on the point of gaining title.  His uncle, Donald
Sinclair's son William, baron-tacksman of Islaud, was the next heir; but
he was then a fugitive in Rothes for manslaughter.  He would,
nevertheless, have put in his claim, because the accident, rather than
offence, of 1760 was in self-defence and hot blood, but he also died in
December, 1788, and his eldest son, John, did nothing, dying at 40 in
1798. His younger brother ultimately, in 1829, became the 'de jure'
Earl of Caithness, James Sinclair, Muirends Farm, Black Isle, Ross-shire
father of John, his successor there.  The Rev. John Sinclair, M.A., B.D.
(Aberd.), Kinloch-Rannoch Manse, perthshire, is the eldest son of this
John; and genealogists are satisfied that he is the right and only Earl
of Caithness, as against the Aberdeen bank agent's eldest son in
particular, the American fruit farmer of Dakota, U.S.A. "........

Thought you'd be interested in the above which I had acquired from an
issue of Scottish Notes and Queries, Vol XI, dated June, 1898, page 189.
 
Just another 'angle/path' for one's descendancy/ancestral chart to take
into consideration..
   Happy hunting !!  John Sinclair
       
Ian G. Sinclair wrote:
> 
> Ed Brumby in Scotland
> 
> Assuming that the Clan chief is the Earl of Caithness, then the chief in
> 1776 was William III of Rattar, Earl from 1775 to 1779
> 
> His sons were:
> John, William, James, Alexander & David
> John succeeded to,the title.
> James, Alexander & David died young and single.
> His daughters were:
> Isabella & Jane
> 
> The above was extracted from 'Those Saint Clairs of the Isles'
> 
> Ian Sinclair
> 
> ----------
> > From: Ed Brumby <EdBrumby@71stfraserregt.freeserve.co.uk>
> > To: Sinclair Clan List <Sinclair@jump.net>
> > Subject: 1776 Clan Chief
> > Date: Monday, 5 April 1999 23:32
> >
> >
> > Who was the Caln Chief of the Sinclairs in 1776, and what were the names
> of
> > his sons.
> > Ed in Scotland
> >
> > [ This is the Sinclair family discussion list, sinclair@jump.net.
> > [ To get off or on the list, see http://www.mids.org/sinclair/list.html
> [ This is the Sinclair family discussion list, sinclair@jump.net.
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