SINCLAIR, Catherine

1800 - 1864  (64 years)

• Name	SINCLAIR, Catherine  [1]
  Born	17 Apr 1800	Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland
  Gender	Female
  Died	6 Aug 1864	Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland
  Person ID	I1916	My Genealogy
  Last Modified	16 Sep 2023

  
  

  Father	SINCLAIR, Sir Sir John 1st Baronet of Ulbster,   b. 10 May 1754, Thurso Castle, Ulbster, Caithnesshire, Scotland ,   d. 21 Dec 1835, George Street, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland  (Age 81 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	SINCLAIR, Dame Diana,   b. 28 Sep 1769,   d. 22 Apr 1845  (Age 75 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Married	6 Mar 1788	St. George's, Hanover Square, London, England
  Family ID	F2100	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  Catherine Sinclair (17 April 1800 – 6 August 1864) was a Scottish novelist and writer of children's literature. She was born at Thurso Castle, Caithness, Scotland, the fourth daughter of Sir John Sinclair, 1st Baronet and Diana Macdonald. Catherine died unmarried. Sir George Sinclair, 2nd Baronet, John Sinclair (1797–1875), and William Sinclair (1804–1878) were her brothers.She was her father's secretary from the age of fourteen till his death in 1835. She then began independent authorship, her first works being children's books, prompted by interest in her nephew, the Hon. George Boyle, 6th Earl of Glasgow. Her story of two anarchic children, in Holiday House, A Book for the Young, successfully engaged the imagination of her young readers. This work was a popular and a notable example of the genre, and a departure from the moralising approach of contemporary works. The book also encapsulates a fantasy tale of fairies and giants. On the subject of children's literature, she says in her preface, "But above all we never forget those who good humouredly complied with the constantly recurring petition of all young people in every generation, and in every house, — 'Will you tell us a story?'" A monument was erected to her memory in Edinburgh's New Town. The inscription is, "She was a friend of all children and through her book 'Holiday House' speaks to them still." Sinclair's activities in Edinburgh included charitable works such as the establishment of cooking depots in old and new Edinburgh, and in the maintenance of a mission station at the Water of Leith. She was instrumental in securing seats for crowded thoroughfares, and she set the example in Edinburgh of instituting drinking fountains, one of which bears her name. She died at the vicarage, Kensington, the residence of her brother, Archdeacon John Sinclair on 6 Aug. 1864, and was interred in the burying-ground of St. John's Episcopal Church, Edinburgh. Her portrait was drawn in crayons by James Archer, R.S.A. (cf. Cat. Third Loan Exhib. No. 620). Miss Sinclair wrote brightly and wittily, and displayed much skill in characterisation and description. Several of her books were popular in America. Undated and early works of Miss Sinclair's are: Charlie Seymour; Lives of the Cæsars, or the Juvenile Plutarch; Holiday House (once very popular with children); Modern Superstition; and Memoirs of the English Bible. Her other principal works are: Modern Accomplishments, or the March of Intellect, a study of female education. 1836 Shetland and the Shetlanders, or the Northern Circuit. 1840 Scotland and the Scotch, or the Western Circuit. 1840 (republished in America, and translated into various languages) Modern Flirtations, or a Month at Harrowgate. 1841 Scotch Courtiers and the Court. 1842 Jane Bouverie, or Prosperity and Adversity. 1846 The Journey of Life. 1847 The Business of Life. 1848 Sir Edward Graham, or Railway Speculators. 1849 Lord and Lady Harcourt, or County Hospitalities. 1850 The Kaleidoscope, or Anecdotes and Aphorisms. 1851 Beatrice, or the Unknown Relatives. 1852 Popish Legends, or Bible Truths. 1852 London Homes. 1853 Cross Purposes. 1853 The Cabman's Holiday. 1855 Torchester Abbey. 1857 Anecdotes of the Cæsars. 1858 Sketches and Short Stories of Scotland and the Scotch, and Shetland and the Shetlanders. 1859 Sketches and Short Stories of Wales and the Welsh. 1860

  
  

• Sources

  [S308] Ancestry Family Trees, (Name: Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.;;), Ancestry Family Tree.