Descent

[Niven Sinclair <niven@niven.co.uk>]

The best book on the Sinclairs/St Clairs was written by a New Zealander
called Roland William
St Clair and was published in Auckland by H. Brett in 1898.

Although he covers the Sinclairs of Rosslyn, Caithness, Orkney, Shetland,
North America
and Sweden at some length his references to Sinclairs in NZ are confined to
eminent
Antipodeans.  He names:

					The Hon. Andrew Sinclair who was Colonial Secretary who was 
					a well-known botanist who sent many pant species to Kew Gardens.
					He died whiolst trying to wade across the Rangitata River.
					Sinclair Head in Cook Straits and Sinclair Mountain in the Province
					of Nelson are named after him*

					James Sinclair of Wick and his wife, Catherine Sutherland of Lybster
					became the founders of Blenheim.  They had numerous children and
					grandchildren.

					John Sinclair became Mayor of Invercargill.

All of the above familes arived in NZ before your great great great
grandfather.  There is no
reference to any of the above Sinclairs adding Roskelyn to the family name.
 Roskelyn was
the way some of the Sinclair Barons of Rosslyn would sign their names e.g.
William of
Roskelyn but this should be attributed to their inability to spell or the
fact that people wrote
the names of places phonetically.  There are 70 known spelllings of the
name Sinclair.

We hope you will be able to trace a copy of the St Clair .of the Isles in
one of your libraries.
As the book was by 'subscription only' those New Zealanders who are known
to subscribe and whose descendants may still be with you are:

							Thomas Gellibrand
							William Gray of Cook and Gray
							J.W.Hall, Merchant, Auckland
							Leo M. Myers, of Campbell Ehrenfried Company, Auckland
							Basil Sievewright, Solicitor, Dunedin
							Sir Robert Stout, K.C.M.G., Wellington
							Richard Ker Sinclaire (note the 'e') Auckland
							Andrew Sinclair, 'Kuranni', Symonds Street, Auckland
							David Sinclair, Springlands, Blenheim 
							D.P.Sinclair, Solicitor, Blenheim
							George Sinclair, 161 Queen Street, Auckland
							James J. Sinclair, 115 Durham Street, Christchurch
							John Sinclair, Clyde Street, Invercargill
							J.P. Sinclair, Swanson
							Robert Sinclair, Waipawa
							William Sinclair, Solicitor, Blenheim

To John Quarterman:

				You may wish to add these additional place names* to the list which I sent
				last week which omitted New Zealand.

Niven Sinclair


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