Re: Sinclairs, Long Island New York

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

At 21:40 06/05/00 -0400, you wrote:
> Dear Kay,
>               
> How far back do you want info.  I had a great uncle Donald 
> 'Dan' Sinclair whose brother John Henderson Sinclair in Glasgow, Scotland
> was 
> my grandfather.  Dan lived on Long Island in the 30's.  He
> worked with the 
> Met. Life.  Let me know if you want further info'  Donald J.H.
> Sinclair, San 
> Rafael, Ca.  My e-mail is djhsmfs@aol.com.  regards.
> [ This is the Sinclair family discussion list, sinclair@mids.org
> [ To get off or on the list, see
> http://www.mids.org/sinclair/list.html


"Dan" Sinclair, who became a millionaire, was also my
grandfather's brother.

Alas, I never met "Dan" but, wherever I went in Caithness (as a
young boy with
my parents) the remark "Isn't he like his Uncle Dan" came
tumbling from
everyone's lips.  Of course, he was actually my 'great' uncle Dan
whose photograph
has pride of place on the side-board in the dining room of my home.

My cousin and good friend,  Donald H. Sinclair of California, should
be able to
give you more information on "Dan".  He was an exceptional
man in an exceptional
family because Donald's grandfather had the largest bonded warehouse in
Glasgow.
Another brother, James Calder Sinclair, also became a millionaire in
Canada.
My own grandfather was President of the Caithness Horsebreeders'
Association.

But, apart from their ability to make money, they also contributed vastly
to the
communities in which they lived.  For example, Dan founded and
funded a hospital
but they all worked on the premise:  "If you do someone a good
turn and someone
else finds out about it, it doesn't count".  My
own father drummed this golden rule
- this Sinclair precept - into me from an early age.

I pass this ideal  on because "giving" can be the most
selfish thing we do 
if the "giving" is subsequently broadcast to all and sundry to
inflate our own feeling
of self-importance. or, worse, in an attempt to be 'holier than
thou'.

We learned about the "good" which Dan had done - after his
death.
Niven Sinclair