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 Carrick is the title applied to the ruler of Carrick, subsequently part of the Peerage of Scotland. The position came to be strongly associated with the Scottish crown when Robert the Bruce, who had inherited it from his maternal kin, became King of the Scots in the early 14th century. Since the 15th century, the title of Earl of Carrick has automatically been held by the heir apparent to the throne, thus the current holder of the title is Prince William, Duke of Rothesay.
Domhnall I Earl of Mar - Domhnall mac Uilleim - was the seventh known Mormaer of Mar, or Earl of Mar ruling from the death of his father, Uilleam of Mar, in 1276 until his own death somewhere between 1297 and 1302. Excluding Gille Christ he is counted as sixth Mormaer or Earl of Mar.
James Nicolson (1557–1607) was Bishop of Dunkeld in 1607.
Laurence Bruce of Cultmalindie was a Scottish landowner and factor to the Earl of Orkney. He features in a number of traditional stories of Shetland.
Patrick Stewart, Earl of Orkney, Lord of Zetland was a Scottish nobleman, the son of Robert, Earl of Orkney, a bastard son of King James V. Infamous for his godless nature and tyrannical rule over the Scottish archipelagos of Orkney and Shetland, he was executed for treason in 1615.
Euphemia Elphinstone was a mistress of James V of Scotland and the mother of his son Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney, born in 1532, as well as another child who died in childhood. One of her sons with her husband John Bruce was Laurence Bruce of Cultmalindie (1547–1617), the builder of Muness Castle.
Clan Spens or Spence is a Lowland Scottish clan and is also a sept of Clan MacDuff.
Symbister is the largest village and port on Whalsay, an island in the Shetland archipelago of Scotland. The population in 1991 was 797. The focus of the village is the harbour, which is home to small fishing boats as well as large deep sea trawlers. The village is overlooked by the granite mansion Symbister House, built by the Sixth Robert Bruce of Symbister in 1823. The harbour is also known by the names Bay Of Symbister, Symbister Harbour and Symbister Old Harbour.
Jean Hepburn, Lady Darnley, Mistress of Caithness, Lady Morham was a Scottish noblewoman and a member of the Border clan of Hepburn. Her brother was James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, the third husband of Mary, Queen of Scots. Jean's first husband was John Stewart, 1st Lord Darnley, an illegitimate half-brother of Queen Mary, which made Jean a double sister-in-law of the queen. Jean married three times. She was also Lady of Morham, having received in 1573 the barony of Morham and lands which had belonged to her mother, Lady Agnes Sinclair and was forfeited to the Crown subsequent to her brother, the Earl of Bothwell's attainder for treason.
Sir James Spens was a Scottish adventurer, soldier and diplomat, much concerned with Scandinavian and Baltic affairs, and an important figure in recruiting Scottish and English soldiers for the Thirty Years' War. Raised to Swedish peerage as friherre Jacob Spens.
Symbister House is a former country house in Symbister, Whalsay island, in the Shetland islands of Scotland. It was built in 1823 by the Bruce family who were lairds (landlords) of the island for about 300 years from the 16th century. Since 1964 it has been the Whalsay Secondary School, after it fell into disuse following the death of the last of the landlord occupants of the house in 1944. Built in an elegant Georgian architectural style, it is categorized officially as a category B Listed Building and heritage structure.
Laurence Oliphant, 4th Lord Oliphant (1529–1593) was a Scottish nobleman.
Fethaland or Fedeland is an abandoned settlement at the extreme north end of Mainland, Shetland. It was the site of the largest Haaf fishing station in Shetland.
John Stewart, Commendator of Coldingham (1531–1563) was a Scottish landowner.
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.
Hugh or Huw Kennedy of Girvanmains was a Scottish courtier, soldier, and landowner.
Janet Stewart was a Scottish aristocrat.
Clement Cor of Redwalls (1533-1608) was a Scottish merchant based in Edinburgh and St Andrews.
Olave Sinclair of Havera and Brow was an official on Shetland, known as the "foud". He collected taxes due to the Scottish crown. His first name is sometimes written as Oliver, Ola, or Olaf.
