|
Dear Ernest: I have helped my
friend Valmae Sinclair Stewart with her Sinclair ancestry a little bit, from
which point of view I can say that her line started in the Shetlands, which
which was home to a number of Sinclair families in the 16-1800's. Val has
lived in Fremantle, Western Australia most of her life. HerAustralian immigrant
Sinclairs were the brothers Laurence and John Sinclair, both born in Hillock,
Dunrossness, Shetland in 1831 and 1830, respectively. Both had a good
education, John becoming a skilled navigator. When he landed in WA, he
went to work immediately for the Fremantle Port Police, spending most of his
life there and in Bunbury. Laurence headed for the gold fields out of
Esperance, and was noted for having a horse named "Norseman".
One night, the horse was tethered outside the tent where Laurence was sleeping,
and struck at an outcropping with his hoof. When his master came out the
next morning, he found that Norseman had uncovered a rich vein of gold near the
surface.
If you believe you have a tie into this family
and want more information, let me know at coqnord@goldstate.net. Ray
Lower
Note for Jenny and Ross: My
Edinburgh Sinclair line has several
lads by the name of William.
Starting with my g-g-granfather James, several were printers and were born in
Edinburgh. His father was David, who was born in Caithness, as were most
of his ancestors back as far as any record shows. I don't see any of this
line so far who had immigrated to New Zealand, but have had correspondence with
Graeme Laurenson of New Plymouth, who has made extensive research into the
Laurenson and Sinclair immigrants from the Shetlands. His book
"Northern Star to Southern Cross" is not generally available, but if
one can lay hands on a copy, there is much interesting detail about the families
in both their Shetland origins and their life as pioneers in New Zealand.
I can give you the last address at which I reached Graeme if someone wants to
try, but I suspect he may no longer be available for research
questions.
For those interested in Captain
Francis Sinclair and the saga of his family and life in early times on The
Forbidden Island of Ni'Ihau in Hawaii, I have two small books which can be quite
helpful. One is written by a descendant of the Gay family, who were
associated with the Sinclairs in the Pacific, and the other by a scholar who
researched both old as well as contemporary Ni-Ihau history to write a
very interesting story about this unique island and it's many unusual
people.
|