William (Sinclair) Sinclair Third Earl of Orkney First Earl of Caithness
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William (Sinclair) Sinclair Third Earl of Orkney First Earl of Caithness (abt. 1404 - bef. 1480)

Born about in Roslin, Edinburghshire, Scotlandmap
Ancestors ancestors
Husband of — married about 1435 [location unknown]
Husband of — married before 15 Nov 1456 [location unknown]
Husband of — married 1470 in Scotlandmap
Descendants descendants
Died before before about age 76 in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotlandmap
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Medieval Scotland
William (Sinclair) Sinclair Third Earl of Orkney First Earl of Caithness was an inhabitant of Medieval Scotland.
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Preceded by
Henry St. Clair
6th of Roslin
c.1420-1484
Succeeded by
Oliver St. Clair
Preceded by
Henry St. Clair]
Earl of Orkney
c.1420-1470
Succeeded by
Resigned Earldom to King
Preceded by
George Crichton
Third Creation (1452)
Earl of Caithness
Fourth Creation (1455)

1455-1484
Succeeded by
William St. Clair Afterwards designed Earl of Orkney and Caithness
Preceded by
New Creation
1st Lord Sinclair
1449 - 1480
Succeeded by
William St. Clair

Contents

Biography

William (Sinclair) Sinclair Third Earl of Orkney First Earl of Caithness is a member of Clan Sinclair.
Notables Project
William (Sinclair) Sinclair Third Earl of Orkney First Earl of Caithness is Notable.

Sir William Sinclair (1404?-1480), third Earl of Orkney and first Earl of Caithness, was the only son of Henry Sinclair, second earl of Orkney, and Egidia or Giles Douglas. His maternal grandparents were Sir William Douglas of Nithsdale, and Robert II's daughter, Princess Egidia.[1][2]

In 1436, Sinclair was high admiral of Scotland. For a while, he was protector of young James Stuart, later James I of Scotland, and an ambassador to France.

In 1420, his father's earldom of Orkney was given to a trustee after death. William traveled to ask Eric II of Norway, to grant it to him. He was finally invested as Earl of Orkney in 1435.

In 1448, William fought English invaders, and from 1454 to 1456, he was chancellor of Scotland. When James II died in 1461, he was appointed as a Regent.

In 1471, Norway ceded the Orkneys to Scotland, and William relinquished rights to the Crown. In exchange, he received Ravensleigh and Dysart in Fife, and a yearly pension of 400 merks.[3][4] He probably died around early 1480 since his pension was not paid after that time.

William had three wives, and at least 15 children. Two of his sons were named, William.

Early Life

Father: Henry Sinclair 2nd Earl of Orkney (b: abt 1375 Rosslyn Castle, Roslin, Midlothian)[2]
Mother: Egida Douglas (b: ABT 1387 Nithsdale, Dumfriesshire)[2]

Family

m.1 Elizabeth Douglas (abt 1405 Douglas Castle, Douglas, Lanarkshire - abt 1451). Issue:[2]
  1. William "the Waster" Sinclair (b. abt 1450 Caithnesshire)
  2. Catherine Sinclair, Duchess of Albany (b: abt 1458)
m.2 anti. 15 Nov 1456 Marjory Sutherland (b. abt 1441 Dunbeath Castle, Caithness). Issue: 13[2]
  1. Elizabeth Sinclair of Orkney ( b.1440)
  2. Eleanor Sinclair b: ABT 1457 Ravenscraig Castle, Kirkaldy, Fifeshire
  3. William Sinclair 2nd Earl of Caithness (b.1458 Girnigoe Castle, Wick, Caithness)
  4. Oliver Sinclair b: ABT 1460 Ravenscraig Castle
  5. David Sinclair
  6. John Sinclair, Bishop of Caithness[citation needed]
  7. Marjory Sinclair
  8. Robert Sinclair
  9. Alexander Sinclair
  10. George Sinclair
  11. Arthur Sinclair
  12. Katherine Sinclair
  13. Susan Sinclair
m.3 Janet Yeman. No issue.[2]

Rosslyn Chapel

William founded the Collegiate Church at Rosslyn and built Rosslyn Chapel, which is pictured at the right. This Chapel was prominently featured in The Da Vinci Code and other recent books. In later years the Chapel has featured in speculative theories regarding Freemasonry and the Knights Templar. The chapel supposedly has many symbols of the Knights Templar. To read the Wikipedia article about Rosslyn Chapel, click HERE.

Research Notes

For complete biography see Dictionary of National Biography at Google or Scots Peerage at Internet Archive.
William was also Lord Sinclair although some claim he was the first of that title[5] while others claim he was the second.[6]

Sources

  1. Lee, S. ed. (n.d.). The Dictionary of National Biography. (Vol LII, pp.309-310). NY: Macmillan. Google Books.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Paul, James Balfour. "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", Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1905, Vol. II, Archive.org, pp. 332-6
  3. Paul, James Balfour. "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", Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1909, Vol. VI, Archive.org p. 571
  4. Hay, Father Richard Augustin, "Genealogie of the Sainteclaires of Rosslyn", Edinburgh: Thomas G Stevenson,1835, Archive.org, p. 73
  5. Paul, James Balfour. "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", Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1910, Vol. VII, Archive.org, p. 569
  6. Saint-Clair, Roland WIlliam, "The Saint-Clairs of the Isles being a History of the Sea-Kings of Orkney and their Scottish Successors of the Sirname of Sinclair". Auckland, NZ: H. Brett, 1898, Archive.org, p. 297

See also:

  • Burke, J. (1831). A General And Heraldic Dictionary of The Peerages of England, Ireland, And Scotland, Exitinct, Dormant, and in Abeyance. London: Henry Colburn And Richard Bentley, New Burlington Street.
  • Chisolm, W. G., (1985). Chisolm genealogy: Being a record of the name from A.D. 1254, with short sketches of allied families. (pp.81-84). New York: Knickerbocker Press. Ancestry.com. Note: Includes index.
  • Cokayne, G.E. (n.d.). Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom (pp. II:477-478 ). Sutton Publishing Ltd.
  • Foster, J. (1885). "The Royal Lineage of Our Noble and Gentle Families together with Their Paternal Ancestry." n.p. archive.org
  • Genealogy of the Robertson, Small, and related families: Hamilton, McDougall, Livingston, Beveridge, McNaughton, Lourie, McDonald, Stewart. Author: Archibald Robertson Small Publication: Ancestry.com Online publication - Provo, UT: The Generations Network, Inc., 2005. Note: Preface signed: A.G. Small.|||Includes index. Repository: #R-1992163608
  • Lee, S. ed. (n.d.). The Dictionary of National Biography. (Vol II, pp.309-310). NY: Macmillan. Google Books.
  • Mosley, C. (1999). Burke's Peerage & Baronetage. (106th ed).
  • Weis, F.L. (n.d.) Magna Charta Sureties, 1215 (4th ed, pp. 45-46, 48, 101,166). Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing.
  • Weis, F.L. (1999) Magna Charta Sureties, 1215 (5th ed, 41c-10, 41f-10, pp 45-46). Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing.




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DNA Connections
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Comments: 3

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Scotland Medieval Team addition; please continue to manage as you have previously and add any additional reliable sources you have.

Jen

posted by Jen (Stevens) Hutton
Hi there, Is this William Sinclair the same person as this Wikipedia page? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Sinclair,_1st_Earl_of_Caithness

It would appear so. I'm trying to establish his son William's page and I was just wondering if you thought this was similar. *Not* that it's a source. thanks, Megan

posted by [Living Finley]
Sinclair-2695 and Sinclair-144 appear to represent the same person because: same name, same father, same time frame, same location, before it was a combination of father and son, please merge