William (Sinclair) Sinclair Third Earl of Orkney First Earl of Caithness was an inhabitant of Medieval Scotland. Join: Scotland Project Discuss: Scotland
William (Sinclair) Sinclair Third Earl of Orkney First Earl of Caithness is a member of Clan Sinclair.
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]
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
↑
Lee, S. ed. (n.d.). The Dictionary of National Biography. (Vol LII, pp.309-310). NY: Macmillan.
Google Books.
↑ 2.02.12.22.32.42.5Paul, 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
↑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
↑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
↑
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.
DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with William by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA.
Y-chromosome DNA test-takers in his direct paternal line on WikiTree:
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
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
Jen
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