John Sinclair (died 1676) was a Scottish nobleman and the 10th

Lord Sinclair 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 Cai ...

. In '' The Scots Peerage'' by

James Balfour Paul Sir James Balfour Paul (16 November 1846 – 15 September 1931) was the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the officer responsible for heraldry in Scotland, from 1890 until the end of 1926. Life Paul was born in Edinburgh, the second son of the Rev J ...

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 Henry II Sinclair, Earl of Orkney (c. 1375 – 1420) was the Jarl (Earl) of Orkney, Baron of Roslin and Pantler of Scotland. According to Roland Saint-Clair writing in the late 19th century, Henry Sinclair was also the first of his family to ...

, 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 (died 1513) and William Sinclair (died 1570) were "in reality" the fourth and fifth Lords Sinclair respectively.

Early life

He was the son of

Patrick Sinclair, 9th Lord Sinclair Patrick Sinclair (died 1617) 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, William Sinc ...

and Margaret, daughter of John Cockburn of Ormiston.

Lord Sinclair

John Sinclair, 10th Lord Sinclair was an active

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...

during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. On 19 June 1633 he was a member of the Parliament held by

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. On 22 March 1639 he is recorded, with other Lords, as commanding 1,000

musketeer A musketeer (french: mousquetaire) was a type of soldier equipped with a musket. Musketeers were an important part of early modern warfare particularly in Europe as they normally comprised the majority of their infantry. The musketeer was a pre ...

s from

Dalkeith Dalkeith ( ; gd, Dail Cheith, IPA: �t̪alˈçe is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, on the River Esk. It was granted a burgh of barony in 1401 and a burgh of regality in 1540. The settlement of Dalkeith grew southwestwards from its 12th-cent ...

to Edinburgh. On 5 June 1644 a committee was appointed to march an army towards England by the

Earl of Argyll Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

, Earl of Lothian,

Lord Kirkcudbright Lord Kirkcudbright was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created for Sir Robert Maclellan of Bombie on a 1633 royal visit to Scotland by King Charles I of England. Maclellan had already been created a baronet of Nova Scotia in 1631. S ...

and Lord Sinclair. On 11 June 1644 he is on the committee for considering what may concern the army in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. William Thomsone was ordered to pay Lord Sinclair 20,000

merks The merk is a long-obsolete Scottish silver coin. Originally the same word as a money mark of silver, the merk was in circulation at the end of the 16th century and in the 17th century. It was originally valued at 13 shillings 4 pence (exactly ...

on 21 June 1644. A letter written by Lord Sinclair on behalf of the Royalist

James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose (1612 – 21 May 1650) was a Scottish nobleman, poet and soldier, Lord Lieutenant, lord lieutenant and later viceroy and captain general of Scotland. Montrose initially joined the Covenanters in the Wa ...

from

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

was read out in Parliament on 30 May 1650. He was one of the signatories to "The Northern Band and Othe

Engagement An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...

" sent by

John Middleton, 1st Earl of Middleton John Middleton, 1st Earl of Middleton ( – 3 July 1674) was a professional soldier and mercenary from Kincardineshire in Scotland. Beginning his career in the Thirty Years War, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms he fought for the Covenanters ...

General Leslie David Leslie, 1st Lord Newark (c. 1600–1682) was a Scottish cavalry officer. He fought for the Swedish army of Gustavus Adolphus during the Thirty Years' War. He had entered Swedish service in 1630, serving as a captain in the regiment of Alex ...

in 1648. He was taken prisoner at the

Battle of Worcester The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 in and around the city of Worcester, England and was the last major battle of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Parliamentarian army of around 28,000 under Oliver Cromwell def ...

in September 1651 and was imprisoned in

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original cast ...

, where he remained until March 1660, when he was liberated by General Monk.

Family

He married Mary, eldest daughter of

John Wemyss, 1st Earl of Wemyss John Wemyss, 1st Earl of Wemyss (1586–1649) was a Scottish politician. He was a son of Sir John Wemyss and Margaret Douglas, a daughter of Sir William Douglas of Lochleven. His home was Wemyss Castle in Fife. Around 1610 he acquired the esta ...

. She received from him a

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

for the lands and barony of

Ravenscraig Ravenscraig is a village and new town, located in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, around 1½ miles east of Motherwell. Ravenscraig was formerly the site of Ravenscraig steelworks; once the largest hot strip steel mill in western Europe, the st ...

and she was buried at the

High Kirk of Glasgow Glasgow Cathedral ( gd, Cathair-eaglais Ghlaschu) is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in Glasgow, Scotland. It is the oldest cathedral in mainland Scotland and the oldest building in Glasgow. The cathedral was the seat of the Archbishop ...

. They had one daughter, Catherine, who married John Sinclair, eldest son of John Sinclair,

Lord Herdmanston Lord Herdmanston was a title in the Peerage of Scotland that was held by the Sinclair or St Clair family. History Herdmanston in East Lothian had been held from the 12th century, when Henry St Clair received a grant of the lands of Herdma ...

. It is not known if the Sinclair Lords Herdmanston share a common origin with the Lords Sinclair who are descended from the Sinclair Barons of Roslin. According to James Balfour Paul, John Sinclair, Lord Sinclair died on 10 November 1674, aged sixty-four, but according to Bernard Burke he died in 1676 aged sixty-six. He was succeeded by his daughter's son, Henry Sinclair, 11th Lord Sinclair, and 24th Lord Herdmanston.Saint-Clair, Roland (1898). p. 315.

References

{{S-end John John 1676 deaths

Early life

Lord Sinclair

Family

See also

References