John Sinclair, Master of Caithness

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John Sinclair, Master of Caithness (died 1576) was a Scottish nobleman.

Contents

George Sinclair
Master of Caithness
Predecessor George Sinclair, 4th Earl of Caithness
Successor George Sinclair, 5th Earl of Caithness
Died15 March 1576
Noble family Clan Sinclair
FatherGeorge Sinclair, 4th Earl of Caithness
MotherElizabeth Graham

Early life

John Sinclair, Master of Caithness was the eldest son of George Sinclair, 4th Earl of Caithness and his wife Lady Elizabeth Graham, daughter of William Graham, 2nd Earl of Montrose. [1]

Master of Caithness

Castle Sinclair - geograph.org.uk - 1573688.jpg
Castle Sinclair Girnigoe, Caithness
New access bridge at Castle Sinclair - geograph.org.uk - 892435.jpg
Footbridge into Castle Sinclair Girnigoe

John Sinclair, Master of Caithness received a charter for the earldom of Caithness and to his male heirs dated 2 October 1545. [2]

In July 1569 the Master of Caithness besieged Lord Oliphant and his servants for 8 days in Old Wick or "Auldwick" castle near Wick. [3]

His father, George, Earl of Caithness had feuded with the Earl of Sutherland and the Murrays of Aberscross which had resulted in the Battle of Torran-Roy in 1570 where Caithness was initially defeated, but returned to besiege the Murrays at Dornoch where several of them were subsequently beheaded. [4] John Sinclair, Master of Caithness was later imprisoned by his father for making peace with the Murrays. [5]

The Master of Caithness died at Castle Sinclair Girnigoe in 1576, [1] and this was apparently by famine and vermine. [2] A man named Murdoch Roy was accused by the Earl of Caithness of planning the escape of the Master of Caithness, and Roy was subsequently hanged. According to Roland Saint-Clair, food was withheld from the Master of Caithness for a few days, he was then supplied with abundantly salted beef. This brought on a raging thirst, but he was denied water and left to die in agony. His remains were interred in the "Sinclair Aisle" in the churchyard of Wick which his father had built some years before. The inscription over his grave read: "Here lies the entombed ane noble and worthie man, John, Master of Caithness, who departed this life in the 15th day of March, 1576". [6]

Family

In 1543, John Sinclair, Master of Caithness had obtained a charter from Mary, Queen of Scots by which the Earldom of Caithness became a male fee, to him and his male heirs. He married Jean Hepburn, daughter of Patrick Hepburn, 3rd Earl of Bothwell and had the following children: [1] [2] [6]

  1. George Sinclair, 5th Earl of Caithness.
  2. James Sinclair, 1st of Murkle, who married Elizabeth Stewart, third daughter of Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney. He received a charter for the lands of Halcro, Orkney and was styled as Master of Caithness. [2]
  3. John Sinclair, 1st of Greenland and Rattar.
  4. Agnes Sinclair.
  5. Henry Sinclair, a natural (illegitimate) son, who married Janet Sutherland and had a son, John, who is probably the ancestor of the Sinclairs of Lybster. Henry Sinclair accompanied George, Earl of Caithness in an expedition to Orkney, where, whilst besieging Kirkwall Castle, he died in bad health.
  6. According to Henderson, a historian named Douglas gives the Master of Caithness another legitimate son named David, but that this is an error. However, Henderson does confirm that this David Sinclair was the laird of Stirkoke who descended from an illegitimate son of George Sinclair, 5th Earl of Caithness, and who was the father of George Sinclair who was killed in an expedition to Norway in 1612. [7] According to Roland Saint-Clair, David Sinclair, was a natural (illegitimate) son of the Master of Caithness, who acquired Stirkoke in 1587 and who was legitimated in 1588. He left a son, John, who was slain at Thurso in 1612. He also left a natural son, Colonel George Sinclair, ambushed in Norway. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barony of Roslin</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Sinclair, 3rd Earl of Caithness</span> Scottish nobleman

John Sinclair was a Scottish nobleman, 3rd Earl of Caithness and chief of the Clan Sinclair, a Scottish clan of the Scottish Highlands.

John Sinclair, 11th Earl of Caithness was a Scottish noble, Earl of Caithness and chief of the Clan Sinclair, a Highland Scottish clan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Sinclair, 4th Earl of Caithness</span> Scottish nobleman

George Sinclair was a Scottish nobleman, the 4th Earl of Caithness and chief of the Clan Sinclair, a Scottish clan of the Scottish Highlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Sinclair, 5th Earl of Caithness</span>

George Sinclair was a Scottish nobleman, the 5th Earl of Caithness and chief of the Clan Sinclair, a Scottish clan based in northern Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Sinclair, 6th Earl of Caithness</span>

George Sinclair was a Scottish nobleman, 6th Earl of Caithness, and chief of the Clan Sinclair, a Scottish clan of the Scottish Highlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Sinclair, 7th Earl of Caithness</span>

George Sinclair, previously of Keiss, died 1698, was a Scottish nobleman, 7th Earl of Caithness and chief of the Clan Sinclair, a Scottish clan of the Scottish Highlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Sinclair, 8th Earl of Caithness</span>

John Sinclair was a Scottish nobleman, 8th Earl of Caithness and chief of the Clan Sinclair, a Scottish clan of the Scottish Highlands.

Alexander Sinclair, 9th Earl of Caithness was a Scottish nobleman, Earl of Caithness and chief of the Clan Sinclair, a Highland Scottish clan in Caithness.

William Sinclair, 10th Earl of Caithness, was a Scottish nobleman, Earl of Caithness and chief of the Clan Sinclair, a Highland Scottish clan in Caithness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Sinclair, 3rd Lord Sinclair</span> Scottish nobleman

William Sinclair of Newburgh, Aberdeenshire was a Scottish nobleman and the 3rd Lord Sinclair. In The Scots Peerage by James Balfour Paul he is designated as the 2nd Lord Sinclair, but historian Roland Saint-Clair designates him the 3rd Lord Sinclair in reference to his descent from his grandfather, Henry II Sinclair, Earl of Orkney, the first Lord Sinclair. Roland Saint-Clair references this to an Act of the Scottish Parliament in which William Sinclair's son, Henry Sinclair, 4th Lord Sinclair, was made Lord Sinclair based on his descent from his great-grandfather, Henry II Sinclair, Earl of Orkney, the first Lord Sinclair. Bernard Burke, in his a Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire, agrees with Roland Saint-Clair and says that Henry Sinclair was "in reality" the fourth holder of the title of Lord Sinclair.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Sinclair, 5th Lord Sinclair</span>

William Sinclair was a Scottish nobleman and the 5th Lord Sinclair. In The Scots Peerage by James Balfour Paul he is designated as the 4th Lord Sinclair in descent starting from William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness and 3rd Earl of Orkney, but historian Roland Saint-Clair designates him as the 5th Lord Sinclair in descent from the father of the 1st Earl of Caithness and 3rd Earl of Orkney, Henry II Sinclair, Earl of Orkney, who is the first person recorded as Lord Sinclair in public records. Roland Saint-Clair references this to an Act of the Scottish Parliament in which the 4th Lord Sinclair was made Lord Sinclair based on his descent from his great-grandfather, Henry II Sinclair, Earl of Orkney, the first Lord Sinclair. Bernard Burke, in his a Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire, agrees with Roland Saint-Clair and says that William Sinclair was "in reality" the fifth Lord Sinclair.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Sinclair, 6th Lord Sinclair</span>

Henry Sinclair was a Scottish nobleman and the 6th Lord Sinclair. In The Scots Peerage by James Balfour Paul he is designated as the 5th Lord Sinclair in descent starting from William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness and 3rd Earl of Orkney, but historian Roland Saint-Clair designates him as the 6th Lord Sinclair in descent from the father of the 1st Earl of Caithness and 3rd Earl of Orkney, Henry II Sinclair, Earl of Orkney, who is the first person recorded as Lord Sinclair in public records. Roland Saint-Clair references this to an Act of the Scottish Parliament in which the 4th Lord Sinclair was made Lord Sinclair based on his descent from his great-grandfather, Henry II Sinclair, Earl of Orkney, the first Lord Sinclair. Bernard Burke, in his a Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire, agrees with Roland Saint-Clair and says that Henry Sinclair's father, William Sinclair, was "in reality" the fifth Lord Sinclair.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Sinclair, 10th Lord Sinclair</span> Scottish nobleman (d. 1676)

John Sinclair was a Scottish nobleman and the 10th Lord Sinclair. In The Scots Peerage by James Balfour Paul he is designated as the 9th Lord Sinclair in descent starting from William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness and 3rd Earl of Orkney, but historian Roland Saint-Clair designates him as the 10th Lord Sinclair in descent from the father of the 1st Earl of Caithness and 3rd Earl of Orkney, Henry II Sinclair, Earl of Orkney, who is the first person recorded as Lord Sinclair in public records. Roland Saint-Clair references this to an Act of the Scottish Parliament in which the 4th Lord Sinclair was made Lord Sinclair based on his descent from his great-grandfather, Henry II Sinclair, Earl of Orkney, the first Lord Sinclair. Bernard Burke, in his a Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire, agrees with the numbering by Roland Saint-Clair and says that Henry Sinclair and William Sinclair were "in reality" the fourth and fifth Lords Sinclair respectively.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Henderson, John W.S (1884). Caithness Family History. Edinburgh: David Douglas. pp.  5-7.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Paul, James Balfour (1905). The Scots Peerage : Founded on Wood's ed. of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland; containing an historical and genealogical account of the nobility of that kingdom. Vol. II. Edinburgh: David Douglas. p.  340-342. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  3. ↑ Anderson, Joseph (1879). The Oliphants in Scotland. With a selection of original documents from the charter chest at Gask. Edinburgh: Printed privately for circulation. pp.  lvi-lvii. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  4. ↑ Maclauchlan, Thomas, 1816-1886; Wilson, John, 1785-1854; Keltie, John Scott, Sir, 1840-1927 (1875). A History of the Highlands and of the Highland Clans. Vol. 1. Edinburgh: T.C. Jack. pp.  92-93.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ↑ Way, George of Plean; Squire, Romilly of Rubislaw (1994). Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia. HarperCollins Publishers. pp. 322–323. ISBN   0004705475.
  6. 1 2 3 Saint-Clair, Roland William (1898). The Saint-Clairs of the Isles; being a history of the sea-kings of Orkney and their Scottish successors of the sirname of Sinclair. Shortland Street, Auckland, New Zealand: H. Brett. pp.  194-195. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  7. ↑ Henderson, W.S (1884). pp. 5-6 and 103.
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