John Sinclair, 8th Earl of Caithness

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John Sinclair
Earl of Caithness
Arms of the Earl of Caithness.svg
Earl of Caithness Coat of Arms
Predecessor George Sinclair, 7th Earl of Caithness
Successor Alexander Sinclair, 9th Earl of Caithness
Died1705
Noble family Clan Sinclair
FatherJames Sinclair, 2nd of Murkle

John Sinclair (died 1705) was a Scottish nobleman, 8th Earl of Caithness and chief of the Clan Sinclair, a Scottish clan of the Scottish Highlands.

Contents

Early life

John Sinclair, 8th Earl of Caithness was the son of James Sinclair 2nd of Murkle, who in turn was a grandson of John Sinclair, Master of Caithness (d. 1576), who in turn was a son of George Sinclair, 4th Earl of Caithness (d. 1582). [1] He had succeeded to the Earldom of Caithness upon the death of his relation George Sinclair, 7th Earl of Caithness, in 1698, who had died without issue and this brought an end to the male heirs of George Sinclair, 5th Earl of Caithness. His father had resigned the lands of Murkle in favor of himself and of John in March 1644. [2] [3]

Family

John Sinclair, 8th Earl of Caithness married Jean Carmichael, said to have been of the Hyndford family. [4] He died in 1705, [3] leaving the following children:

  1. Alexander Sinclair, 9th Earl of Caithness, heir and successor. [2] [4]
  2. John Sinclair, Lord Murkle, who was a Senator of the College of Justice, and who left no issue. [2] [4]
  3. Francis Sinclair of Milton of Lieurary, who left no issue. [2] [4]
  4. Archibald Sinclair. [4]
  5. Lady Janet Sinclair, who married David Sinclair of Southdun in 1714 and had several children. [2] [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

William Sinclair (1410–1480), 1st Earl of Caithness (1455–1476), last Earl (Jarl) of Orkney, 2nd Lord Sinclair and 11th Baron of Roslin was a Norwegian and Scottish nobleman and the builder of Rosslyn Chapel, in Midlothian.

Earl of Caithness

Earl of Caithness is a title that has been created several times in the Peerage of Scotland, and it has a very complex history. Its first grant, in the modern sense as to have been counted in strict lists of peerages, is now generally held to have taken place in favor of Maol Íosa V, Earl of Strathearn, in 1334, although in the true circumstances of 14th century, this presumably was just a recognition of his hereditary right to the ancient earldom/mormaership of Caithness. The next year, however, all of his titles were declared forfeit for treason.

Lord Sinclair British noble title

Lord Sinclair is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. According to James Balfour Paul's The Scots Peerage, volume VII published in 1910, the first person to be styled Lord Sinclair was William Sinclair, 3rd Earl of Orkney and 1st Earl of Caithness. However, according to Roland Saint-Clair writing in the late 19th century, William Sinclair's father, Henry II Sinclair, Earl of Orkney, who died in 1420, is the first person recorded as Lord Sinclair by public records.

Clan Sinclair Highland Scottish clan

Clan Sinclair is a Highland Scottish clan who held lands in Caithness, the Orkney Islands, and the Lothians. The chiefs of the clan were the Barons of Roslin and later the Earls of Orkney and Earls of Caithness. The Sinclairs are believed to have come from Normandy to England during the Norman conquest of England, before arriving in Scotland in the 11th century. The Sinclairs supported the Scottish Crown during the Scottish–Norwegian War and the Wars of Scottish Independence. The chiefs were originally Barons of Roslin, Midlothian and William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness and Baron of Roslin founded the famous Rosslyn Chapel in the 15th century. He split the family lands, disinheriting his eldest son from his first marriage, William, who inherited the title of Lord Sinclair, instead giving the lands of Caithness to the second son from his second marriage, William Sinclair, 2nd Earl of Caithness, in 1476, and the lands at Roslin to his eldest son from his second marriage, Sir Oliver Sinclair. In the 16th century the Sinclairs fought against England during the Anglo-Scottish Wars and also feuded with their neighbors the Clan Sutherland. During the Jacobite rising of 1715 the Sinclairs supported the Jacobite cause, but during the Jacobite rising of 1745, while the clan largely had Jacobite sympathies, their chief, the Earl of Caithness, supported the British-Hanoverian Government. The current chief is Malcolm Sinclair, 20th Earl of Caithness.

Barony of Roslin

Baron of Roslin or Rosslyn was a Scottish feudal barony held by the St Clair or Sinclair family.

William Sinclair, 2nd Earl of Caithness

William Sinclair was a nobleman, the 2nd Earl of Caithness and chief of the Clan Sinclair, a Scottish clan of the Scottish Highlands.

Murkle Human settlement in Scotland

Murkle (Murchill) is a small scattered hamlet, made up of East Murkle and West Murkle located one mile (1.6 km) east of Thurso, in Caithness, Scottish Highlands and is in the Scottish council area of Highland.

John Sinclair, 3rd Earl of Caithness

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.

James Sinclair, 12th Earl of Caithness was a Scottish noble, Earl of Caithness and chief of the Clan Sinclair, a Highland Scottish clan.

George Sinclair, 4th Earl of Caithness

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

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

George Sinclair, 5th Earl of Caithness

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

George Sinclair, 6th Earl of Caithness

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

George Sinclair, 7th Earl of Caithness

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.

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.

William Sinclair, 3rd Lord Sinclair

William Sinclair 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.

Patrick Sinclair, 9th Lord Sinclair

Patrick Sinclair was a Scottish nobleman and the 9th Lord Sinclair. In The Scots Peerage by James Balfour Paul he is designated as the 8th 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 9th 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.

Alexander Sutherland, 8th of Duffus

Alexander Sutherland, 8th of Duffus was a member of the Scottish nobility and a cadet of the Clan Sutherland.

References

  1. Henderson, John W.S (1884). pp. 5-7.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Henderson, John W.S (1884). Caithness Family History. Edinburgh: David Douglas. pp.  9-11.
  3. 1 2 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.  345-346. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 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. p.  214 . Retrieved February 6, 2021.
Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by Earl of Caithness
1698–1705
Succeeded by