Back to Fiona's Finding Service
Back to Index | Previous page | Next page

THE SINCLAIRS FROM TIREE, ARGYLLSHIRE

DONALD SINCLAIR (1) lived in Caithness, removed to the island of Tiree, where he was factor for MacLean of Kingerloch, who owned the island. He had a son

DONALD SINCLAIR (2), also of Tiree, whose son

PETER SINCLAIR (3), farmer, was born at Tiree in 1758, where he died about 1834. By Margaret Campbell, his wife, he had a son

REV JOHN CAMPBELL SINCLAIR (4), born in Tiree, August 15th 1797; studied in the universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, at which latter place he graduated. In 1838 he and his family emigrated to Pictou, Nova Scotia, and he became a minister of the Presbyterian Church.

His fluency as a Gaelic scholar and preacher made him very attractive to thousands of his Scottish countrymen and their descendants. In 1858 he moved to North Carolina, and after the Civil War laboured among the Freedmen until 1869, when his voice suddenly failed, the result of his open-air addresses. After 1870 he lived with his son, the Rev. Alexander Sinclair, and his son-in-law, the Rev. Dr. D.A. Cunningham, at whose residence in Wheeling, West Virginia, he died, 23rd April 1878.

Mr. Sinclair married at Scalastil House, on the island of Mull, Argyllshire, in 1822, Mary Julia, daughter of John McLean, by Margaret McLean, his wife. She was an orphan, and lived at Scalastil House with her cousins on her father's side. Sir Archibald McLean and Sir Hector McLean, major-generals in the British army, were her cousins. She died in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, 24th May 1854, and is buried in the Allegheny cemetery. Issue: -

REV JAMES SINCLAIR (5), born Tiree, Scotland, came to America with his parents, entered Western Theological Seminary at Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, in 1854, graduating in 1857, in which year he was called as pastor to the Presbyterian Church, Smyrna, North Carolina.

In 1851 he was made chaplain of the 5th North Carolina Infantry by Jefferson Davis. He commanded half of the Regiment at Bull Run, and in December 1861, was made Colonel of the 35th Regiment, North Carolina. After the battle of Newberne, North Carolina, he became disgusted with the manner in which the war was conducted, resigned his position, and retired to his home. He became an ardent Republican after the collapse of the rebellion: was elected to the Legislature of North Carolina, and was appointed U.S. assessor in the district of Cape Fear by President Grant. He married, first, in Prince Edward Island, in 1846, Mary, daughter of Samuel McPherson; she died in September, 1859. He married, secondly, in 1860, Mary E., daughter of Dr. Edward McQueen, of Lumberton, North Carolina, and had two children. He died at Monroe, North Carolina, 5th August 1877, and is buried at Lumberton, North Carolina. Issue: -

  1. JAMES JOHN
  2. JULIA, married Samuel T. Neill, attorney at Titusville, Pennsylvania.
  3. ALEXANDER.
  4. MARY ELLEN, twin, born 1857 in Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania
  5. SARAH ELIZABETH, twin, born 1857 in Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania
  6. EDWARD.
  7. CUNNINGHAM.
  8. ANNIE, married, 24th August 1858, Rev. D.A. Cunningham, D.D. of Wooster, Ohio.
  9. MARGARET, married John Q. McDougald, of Fayetteville, North Carolina
  10. REV ALEX SINCLAIR
THE REV ALEX SINCLAIR (15) was born in Mull, Scotland, 14th March 1834. He entered the Western Theological Seminary at Allegheny, Pennsylvania, in January 1854, graduated in 1856, and was ordained pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania. In 1857 he was called to the First Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, and was installed in the fall of that year. He died in Salisbury, Maryland, 22nd February 1885. He married, first, Nellie Plummer, of Newburyport, Massachusetts, who died without issue; and secondly, Mary Laura, daughter of Adam Brevard Davidson, of Charlotte, North Carolina. Issue: -
  1. BREVARD DAVIDSON.
  2. MARY DUART, born 28th July 1861
  3. JOHN CAMPBELL, born 1863; died 1864.
  4. ALEX McLEAN, born and died 1866.
  5. ALEX PETER, born 27th November 1867.
  6. LAURA VIRGINIA, born 20th August 1870.
  7. RICHARD SPRINGS, born and died 1873.
  8. ANNIE HARLEY; born 3rd February 1875
THE REV BREVARD DAVIDSON SINCLAIR (16), born at Charlotte, North Carolina, October 31st, 1859; became a lawyer, then studied for the ministry, and lived in Newburyport, Mass in 1892. The information of this branch of the Sinclair lineage is prepared from "An Historical Account of the Genealogy of the Children and Grandchildren of Rev. John Campbell Sinclair", written by the Rev. B.D. Sinclair. He married, October 26th, 1887, Tabulah Rice Bair. Issue: -
  1. BREVARD DAVIDSON, born 30th July 1888.
  2. ALEX MALCOLM born 5th October 1889, at Newburyport, Massachusetts.
  3. ROBERT AUGUSTUS, born 27th May 1891 at Newburyport, Massachusetts.

Back to Fiona's Finding Service
Back to Index | Previous page | Next page


e-mail to:fnsnclr@gmail.com