Jean (Carmichael) Sinclair (abt. 1645 - abt. 1705)

Descendants

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Jean (Carmichael) Sinclair was a historically significant person of Scotland. Join: Scotland Project Discuss: Scotland

Biography

Jean Carmichael married in about 1684 (see below for discussion of dates) John Sinclair, of Murchil, the son of Sir James Sinclair, of Murchil, and his second wife, Jean Stewart, a niece of Alexander Stewart, 1st Earl of Galloway.^[1]

Her husband who succeeded a distant cousin, as 8th Earl of Caithness in 1698, died in 1705.^[2]

They had issue of 4 sons and 1 daughter;^[3]

1. Alexander Sinclair, born about 1685, as he died 9 December 1765 in his 81st year, succeeded his father as 9th Earl of Caithness;
2. John Sinclair, granted Murchil (or Murkle) estates, was a member of the Faculty of Advocates 7 February 1713, one of the Solicitor-Generals of Scotland 18 January 1721 and was elevated to the bench as Lord Murkle on 3 November 1733. He died without issue on 5 June 1755 at Edinburgh, having married Anne Mackenzie, daughter of George Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Cromarty;
3. Francis Sinclair, of Forss, married Janet Morrison, but died without issue 2 March 1762;
4. Archibald Sinclair, died without issue, perhaps before 1716, as he is not named in a Peerage of Scotland, published in that year;^[4]
5. Lady Janet Sinclair, married 1714, David Sinclair, of Southdun, and died in 1720 having had issue 1 son and 3 daughters.

Parents

Jean's parents are not named in any source. In Crawfurd's Peerage of Scotland, published in 1716, she is just named as Jean Carmichael.^[4] Cokayne's The Complete Peerage, also only uses this name.^[2]

In The Scots Peerage, she is named as Jean Carmichael of the Hyndford family^[5] and the same in Caithness Family History,^[6]both probably based on Douglas's Peerage of 1764. Caithness Family History, also has a note that "Mr C.H.E. Carmichael's almost exhaustive researches in Carmichael genealogy have failed to affiliate her". At this stage I have been unable to find if these 'exhaustive researches' were ever published.

This profile has previously been attached as the daughter of James Carmichael, 2nd Earl of Hyndford and his wife Lady Elizabeth Maitland but as they weren't married until 1698, it would be impossible for Jean to be their daughter. and they are more likely to be contemporaries. However, nor is she listed as one of the daughters of John Carmichael, 1st Earl of Hyndford, and his wife Beatrix Drummond. If she does belong to the Hyndford family it must have been to a junior branch of this family.

Dates

We know very few of the correct dates associated with the life of Jean Carmichael. As mentioned above, her eldest son, Alexander, must have been born in about 1685, and her marriage then perhaps took place in 1684 or slightly earlier. A birth date then for Jean of about 1665 seems reasonable.

There also appear to be no record of when she died, her husband died in 1705 but we don't appear to know whether she died before him, or outlived him.

Sources

1. ↑ Paul, James Balfour (ed.), The Scots Peerage: founded on Wood's edition of Sir Robert Douglas's peerage of Scotland; containing an historical and genealogical account of the nobility of that kingdom, vol. 2, Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1905. p. 340-341. Digitised by Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center, available at Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/scotspeeragefoun05paul : viewed 12 October 2016.)
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Cokayne, George Edward, The complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, extant, extinct or dormant, 2nd ed., vol. 2, revised & edited by Hon. Vicary Gibbs, London: The St. Catherine Press, 1916. p. 481. Published in electronic form by ABC Publications, London, 2003.
3. ↑ Paul, The Scots Peerage, vol. 2, pp. 345-346
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Crawfurd, George, The Peerage of Scotland: containing an historical and genealogical account of the nobility of that kingdom, Edinburgh, 1716, p. 59. Digitised by Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/peerageofscotlan00craw : viewed 12 October 2016.
5. ↑ Paul, The Scots Peerage, vol. 2, p. 345
6. ↑ Henderson, John, Caithness family history, Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1884. p. 9. Digitised by Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/caithnessfamily00hgoog : viewed 12 October 2016.

See also:

• ThePeerage.com: Jean Carmichael