John Sinclair (1770 - 1863)

Born Nov 1770 in Doire Nan Saor, Glen Kinglas, Argyllshire, Scotland

Descendants

Died 11 Jan 1863 at age 92 in Lochaline House, Lochaline, Sound of Mull, Morvern, Argyll, Scotland

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Andrew Sinclair-Thomson [send private message]

Biography

John Sinclair of Fiunary, Lochaline and Tobermory was born November 1770. He passed away in January 1863.

Records on the Scotlands people web site show that John Sinclair Died age 93 in Morvern and his mother’s maiden name as Macillnach (See sources).

The book Morvern Transformed (see below in sources) records that John Sinclair was a Highlander, having been born in Ardchattan at the top of Glen Kinglass, Loch Etive, in 1770; his forbears were Tacksmen of Doire nan Soar, one of many families of Sinclairs that claimed descent from the St Clairs of Rosslyn. John left home early to make his way in the world and settled at Tobermory in 1788/9 - the village founded in Mull by the Duke of Argyll and the British Society for Extending Fisheries in 1788/9 - where he became established as a merchant: he imported seed corn and other necessaries to the island, and exported its produce; he built up a fleet of trading vessels which ranged as far south as Glasgow and even Liverpool; and he owned the important Tobermory Whisky Distillery which he established in 1797.

The memoirs of his granddaughter (c.1902) Agnes R King included in the book Morvern Transformed says that: .. . My mother, Margaret Campbell Sinclair was the daughter of John Sinclair of Lochaline. Left fatherless at an early age John Sinclair had taken upon himself the care of his mother, sisters and younger brothers, and step by step had risen by his own integrity and high business qualities to a position of affluence and importance in the County of Argyle and purchased the property of Lochaline in the parish of Morvern. From an entry in an old notebook written by him I copy the following extract: "John Sinclair of Lochaline, son of Duncan Sinclair was born at Dirinasaor, Glenkinlas, Argyllshire in November 1770. [Nb. Doire nan Saor (the site of Glen Kinglass Lodge), Glen Kinglass, Loch Etive]. His father, Duncan Sinclair died before his grandfather, John Sinclair, who lived to the advanced age of near 100 years, after he and his predecessors had possessed the lands of Glenkinlas previous to, and after it became the property of the Campbells of Lochnell. The Sinclairs of Glenkinlas were descended from the family of St. Clair of Roslyn.

In time he became rich, married Catherine Maclachlan (1786 – 1825) on 7th July 1814 – eldest daughter of Robert Maclachlan Argyll’s Tacksman at Rahoy and Margaret (Nee Campbell) - and looked around the for land of his own. He found what he wanted over the Sound in Morvern, a fertile rectangle bordering the coast from the Savary river to Loch Aline. He bought it in 1813; but for the time being Sinclair kept his base in Mull, just taking his family over to Morvern for summers where they stayed in a farmhouse on the estate. In 1821 he bought more land and called his new estate Lochaline. All it needed was a mansion house and this he proceeded to build called originally Lochaline house and later Fiunary House (Click here to see Map)

Sinclair and his family were able to camp in their nearly finished house in the summer of 1825 but during the following winter Catherine died (giving birth to their son Robert who only live one day), and it was a sad move for the five surviving children and their father to their permanent home that they had all looked forward to sharing.”

Editors note: As far as I can see, John Sinclair and Catherine Sinclair (nee MacLachlan) had four daughters and two sons and these were:

• Margaret Campbell Sinclair (born c.1817),
• Catherine Sinclair (Born 5 Jan 1818 died10 Feb 1909),
• Flora Anne Sinclair (c1820-1852),
• John Sinclair (born c1822-1864),
• Mary Elizabeth Sinclair (born c.1823/4 died about 1843 to 1863),and
• Robert Sinclair (born 23/Nov/1825 died 24/Nov/1825).

John Sinclair lived to vigorous old age, blind in his final years but with a full head of white hair, a jolly old man of ninety-three who could still crack nuts with his teeth when others waited for the crackers. When he died in in 1863 his heirs put the estate up for sale. As for the people, the departure of the family from the house, which had long been a blessing to the whole district, was a source of distress and lamentation to all.”

John Sinclair’s daughter Margaret Campbell Sinclair (born c.1817) married James King 10 June 1840 and had a daughter Agnes R King (Born 1844) and it is her memoirs that are included in the book Morvern Transformed in which she says that John Sinclair’s son John died unmarried and, I think, did not have any children. This would mean that only the children of the daughters of John Sinclair of Lochaline House carried on the surname Sinclair which on their marriage and name change could have the effect of losing clarity of family descent and clan connection. One of his daughters, Catherine Sinclair married John Gibson Thomson and their children decided to combine the surname Sinclair with Thomson to form the surname Sinclair-Thomson. See: William Sinclair-Thomson his siblings and children.

The memoirs of John Sinclair’s granddaughter (c.1902) Agnes R King included in the book Morvern Transformed also says that: ..grandfather's sister, Mrs Campbell, kept house for him till my mother (Margaret Campbell Sinclair (born about 1817) was seventeen in 1834, when she took the head of it on her return from school in Edinburgh. And well she filled the difficult post, for it was no ordinary household she was called upon to manage.

John Sinclair's sister Margaret “Peggy” (Sinclair) Campbell (1782-1857) was married to Murdoch Campbell (1763-1818) on 14 Jun 1814 widowed in 1818 when Murdoch Campbell died at sea and she then joined John Sinclair’s household.

John Sinclair's legacy

In 2021 new owners moved into the current Lochaline House which stands near the ruins of the old house. They said that John Sinclair had thousands of trees planted between the house and Lochaline village, including two monkey puzzle trees planted in his garden, framing the incredible view to Mull. The one monkey puzzle tree that remains is quite literally the talk of the town, we absolutely love it! The place we live is filled with these trees which must all now be nee +200 years old and have self-seeded off thousands more offspring. Quite the legacy!

Sources

• Information from family memory and the book Morvern Transformed - a Highland Parish in the nineteenth century By Philip Gaskell. This lists John Sinclair's Great Great Grandson Peter Sinclair-Thomson in the preface as having given information.

• Photos and plans of Lochaline House can be seen on the Canmore website (Part of Historic Environment Scotland).

• Highland Regional Council Archaeological Sites and Monuments Record for Lochaline House

• See also excellent article by Iain Thornber in the Oban Times or if not available try this link: Pressreader

• John Sinclair founded the Ledaig distillery in 1797 a Scotch whisky distillery situated on the Hebridean island of Mull, Scotland in the town of Tobermory. Now (2023) called Tobermory Distillers Ltd.

• The Book Scotch and Water by Neil Wilson. Chapter 5 details how John Sinclair overcame objections when he founded the Ledaig whiskey distillery in 1797. See Pages 19,107,108,112.

• The book Wild Scots (Four Hundred Years of Highland History by Michael Fry. See Page 216 which includes the following: The sixth duke of Argyll ended a rake’s progress discarding Mull and Morvern. Morvern went to John Sinclair of Lochaline. Again, the tenants preferred his regime to the former one. He bantered with them in the language of Eden and came out into the Free Church in 1843. He lived to a sturdy old age, and at ninety-three could still ‘crack nuts with his teeth’. Improvement did not interest him. If he acted the old-fashioned autocrat, he was also popular, the sole proprietor to be a Highlander himself in a period when every other estate of the district changed hands. Page 334 lists John Sinclair of Lochaline as proprietor of Ardnamurchan. Ardnamurchan (Gaelic: Àird nam Murchan: headland of the great seas) – home to the most westerly point of the British mainland.

• Records on the Scotlands people web site show that John Sinclair Died age 93 in Morvern and his mother’s maiden name as Macillnach.

• Lochaline Cemetry - http://www.ralstongenealogy.com/lochalinecemetery.htm

• Podcast: What We Do In The Winter · 61 John MacFarlane In this special Christmas episode I talk with Brigadier John MacFarlane who grew up in Tobermory during WW2, where his family ran MacFarlane’s the shop. From about 14 minutes into this podcast John Macfarlane talks about his 4th Great Grandfather’s marriage to Ann Sinclair daughter of Duncan Sinclair and the sister of John Sinclair of Lochaline: https://whatwedointhewinter.com/2021/12/22/61-john-macfarlane/ The podcast is produced by Alasdair Satchel, a film and theatre maker and Georgia Satchel, an artist and archivist, both based on the Isle of Mull.

• The book Morvern a highland parish by Norman Macleod. Page 200 has an image of Lochaline House and Page 247 has a record of the 1841 Census.

• The 1851 census record of the John Sinclair household (See copy in images) has John Sinclair as age 80 and his place of birth as Muckairn (Note: Ardchattan and Muckairn is a civil parish within Argyll and Bute in Scotland).

Research

Family memory passed down is that this family is related to Sir John "Sinclair of Ulbster and First Baronet" . Sir St Clair Thomson (John Sinclair's grandson) wrote on a postcard, which had the Henry Raeburn picture of Sir John Sinclair, that this was his great uncle. However, I have not been able to identify a verifiable connection. Grateful for any advice on this.