The great great grandfather of your immigrant William Sinclair was, John
(Master of Caithness) Sinclair. John was b. bef.1543 in Caithness. He married
Jean Hepburn, she was b. abt. 1566. Issue as follows;
1. George (Earl Caithness) b.abt 1570 d. 1643.
2. James (of Murkle) Sinclair b. abt.1580.
3. John (of Ratter) Sinclair b. abt. 1580 d. after 1620.
4. Agnes Sinclair b. abt. 1580.
5. David Sinclair b. abt. 1580. He married Barabara Sinclair in 1640 @ Reay,
Scotland. She was b. abt. 1600, the daughter of George (of Downreay/Durran)
Sinclair.
6. Henry Sinclair b. abt. 1580 d. 1614. Henry was a "natural" son to John, by
a lady unother than his wife, Jean. Henry was granted land in neighboring
Borrowston & Lybster. He became a farmer and a fisherman. Henry later became
Executive officer of Caithness, Strathenover, and Sutherland. In 1614 Henry
led a force of 100 soldiers to Orkney, where he fell sick with numbness and
died while sieging Kirkwall Castle.
Master John was often at odds with his father, Earl George. One such occasion
involved the Murrays and MacKays, whom John sided with in a dispute. This so
angered Earl George, That John had to seek refuge with the MacKays for an
extended time. However the desire to renew family bonds caused John to visit
Earl George, who had John thrown into the dungeon at Girnigoe Castle. There
John was fed salted beef, but given nothing to slake his thirst. This turned
John into a madman. Some stories say he was poked and teased while in
captivity, until he rose and strangled a man with the chains that bound his
hands. John died at Girnigoe. My wife and I visited Girnigoe castle in June
this year. The seas of Sinclair's bay were crashing into the rocky cliffs, it
was raining, and the wind was fierce. Seabirds now nest in the walls of the
one time home of our family. I was standing in the courtyard thinking of
Master John and Earl George, and how life was in the 16th. century.
Kay, most of this info. comes from the book, Descendants of George Sinclair,
4th. Earl Caithness for Ten Generations. Does anyone know if the book is
still available for "cousins" Lynn & Kay from the Clan Sinclair U.S.A?
Donald Sinclair (Indy)
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