SINCLAIR, Succeeded as the 12th Earl of Caithness 8 April 1789. 1st of ASSERY James 12th Earl of Caithness 1st of Assery

1766 - 1823  (56 years)

• Name	SINCLAIR, James  [1]
  Title	Succeeded as the 12th Earl of Caithness 8 April 1789. 1st of ASSERY
  Suffix	12th Earl of Caithness 1st of Assery
  Born	31 Oct 1766	Caithness, Scotland
  	Barrogill Castle
  Gender	Male
  Died	16 Jul 1823	Barrogill Castle, Canisbay, Caithness, Scotland
  	Barrogill Castle
  Person ID	I67	My Genealogy
  Last Modified	16 Sep 2023

  
  

  Father	SINCLAIR, Sir John 6th Baronet of Mey,   b. 22 Feb 1744, Mey, Canisbay, Caithness-shire, Scotland ,   d. 26 Mar 1774, Canisbay, Caithness, Scotland  (Age 30 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	SUTHERLAND, Charlotte Catherine,   b. 22 Feb 1744, Mey, Caithness, Scotland
  Relationship	natural
  Married	1769
  Family ID	F1828	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	CAMPBELL, Jean (Jane) Lady,   b. 1769, Archattaw, Argyll, Scotland ,   d. 2 Apr 1853, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland  (Age 84 years)
  Married	2 Jan 1784	Thurso Castle, Thurso, Caithness, Scotland
  	Thurso Castle
  Children	1. SINCLAIR, Helen,   b. 23 Sep 1786, Barrogill Castle, Canisbay, Caithness, Scotland ,   d. 1 Oct 1803, Barrogill Castle, Canisbay, Caithness, Scotland  (Age 17 years)  [natural]   2. SINCLAIR, John Lord Berriedale,   b. 20 Jul 1788, Canisbay, Caithness, Scotland ,   d. 1 Jun 1802, Barrogill Castle, Caithness, Scotland  (Age 13 years)  [natural]   3. SINCLAIR, Esther,   b. 1789, Thurso, Caithness, Scotland ,   d. 29 Jan 1829, Earltown, Colchester, Nova Scotia, Canada  (Age 40 years)  [natural]   4. SINCLAIR, Alexander Campbell 13th Earl of Caithness,   b. 24 Jul 1790, Barrogill Castle, Caithness, Scotland ,   d. 24 Dec 1855  (Age 65 years)  [natural]   5. SINCLAIR, Lady (Right Hon.) Charlotte Ann,   b. 11 Mar 1792, Barrogill Castle, Canisbay, Caithness, Scotland ,   d. 7 Apr 1854, Portobello, Midlothian, Scotland  (Age 62 years)  [natural]   6. SINCLAIR, Lt Col Lt Col James,   b. 15 Oct 1797, Thurso, Caithness, Scotland ,   d. 18 Jan 1856, Midlothian, Scotland  (Age 58 years)  [natural]   7. SINCLAIR, Eric George,   b. 19 Aug 1801, Barrogill Castle, Canisbay, Caithness, Scotland ,   d. 26 Sep 1829  (Age 28 years)  [natural]   8. SINCLAIR, Patrick Campbell,   b. 19 Aug 1801, Barrogill Castle, Canisbay, Caithness, Scotland ,   d. 13 Mar 1834  (Age 32 years)  [natural]   9. SINCLAIR, John,   b. 4 Jul 1808, Barrogill Castle, Canisbay, Caithness, Scotland ,   d. 8 Jan 1861  (Age 52 years)  [natural]   10. SINCLAIR, Lady Janet,   b. 24 Feb 1867, Thurso, Caithness, Scotland ,   d. 21 Dec 1860, Scotland  [natural]   11. SINCLAIR, Elizabeth,   d. 1811  [natural]
  Last Modified	16 Sep 2023
  Family ID	F17	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Photos » Slide Show		sir james sinclair
  		1823 - Sir James Sinclair, 12th earl of Caithness
  		Sinclair red tartan
  		Castle of Mey
  		1823 - Sir James Sinclair, 12th earl of Caithness
  		Sinclair hunting modern
  		Sinclair clan
  		Clan Sinclair

  
  

• Notes

  James Sinclair, 12th Earl of Caithness was a Scottish noble and chief of the Clan Sinclair. James Sinclair was born at Barrogill Castle (Castle of Mey) on 31 May 1766. He was the son of Sir John Sinclair of Mey, Baronet who he succeeded in the baronetcy in 1774. He succeeded as 12th earl of Caithness in 1789, as nearest lawful male heir of William Sinclair, 2nd Earl of Caithness. His claim to the peerage was sustained by the House of Lords. He was lord-lieutenant of the county of Caithness and lieutenant-colonel of the Ross-shire militia. He married at Thurso Castle on 2 January 1784 Jane, second daughter of Alexander Campbell of Bareldine who was deputy governor of Fort George. They had the following children: John Sinclair, Lord Berriedale who died in 1802 aged 14. Alexander Sinclair, 13th Earl of Caithness. Four other sons and three daughters. The Earl of Caithness is a title that has been created several times in the Peerage of Scotland, and has a very complex history. Its first grant, in the modern sense as to have been counted in strict lists of peerages, is now generally held to have taken place in favor of Maol Íosa V, Earl of Strathearn, in 1334, although in the true circumstances of 14th century, this presumably was just a recognition of his hereditary right to the ancient earldom/ mormaership of Caithness. The next year, however, all of his titles were declared forfeit for treason. Earlier, Caithness had been intermittently held, presumably always as fief of Scotland, by the Norse Earls of Orkney, at least since the days of the childhood of Thorfinn Sigurdsson in c 1020, but possibly already several decades before. The modern reconstruction of holders of peerage earldoms do not usually include those of Mormaerdom of Caithness, although there is no essential difference between them and, for example, those of mormaers of Lennox, mormaers of Strathearn and mormaers of Angus. The next grant after Maol Íosa was to David Stewart, a younger son of Robert II of Scotland. His heiress, Euphemia, resigned the title in 1390 in favour of her uncle Walter, 1st Earl of Atholl. Walter himself resigned the title in 1428, in favour of his son Allan, but he retained the earldom of Atholl for himself. Upon Allan's death, Walter again came to hold both earldoms. However, both were lost when he was executed for high treason in 1437, his titles being forfeit. The third creation of the title was for Sir George Crichton in 1452, but he surrendered the title in the same year. The final creation of the earldom was made in 1455 for William Sinclair, 3rd Earl of Orkney. He surrendered the Orkney title and all associated lands to James III in 1470, in return for the Castle of Ravenscraig, in Fife. James III had in 1469 received the rights of the king of Norway to Orkney territories as pledge of dowry of his wife Margaret of Denmark. In this way, the Scottish crown tightened its grip to Orkney and Shetland, a hitherto Norwegian territory, by moving all other important holders away. Six years later, Earl William wished to disinherit his eldest son, who was known as "The Waster." Therefore, so that his earldom would not pass to him, he resigned the title in favour of his younger son, another William. General Arthur St. Clair was reportedly descended from the 4th Earl of Caithness. George, sixth Earl of the Sinclair line, was the last Earl to cause a disturbance in the normal succession of the title. In 1672, he agreed that, at his death, all of his lands and titles would pass to Sir John Campbell, who was his creditor. In 1677, the sixth Earl died, and King Charles II granted him a patent creating him Earl of Caithness. Later, however, the sixth Earl's heir, also named George, was confirmed in his titles by the law. Therefore, in order to compensate for the loss of the earldom, Charles II created Campbell Earl of Breadalbane and Holland. Thereafter, the earldom of Caithness has passed solely within the Sinclair family, without any further resignations or other irregularities. The Earl of Caithness also holds the title of Lord Berriedale, which was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1455. That title is used as a courtesy title for the Earl's eldest son and heir. William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness (d. 1484) (resigned 1476) William Sinclair, 2nd Earl of Caithness (d. 1513) John Sinclair, 3rd Earl of Caithness (d. 1529) George Sinclair, 4th Earl of Caithness (d. 1582) (resigned 1545) George Sinclair, 5th Earl of Caithness (1566–1643) George Sinclair, 6th Earl of Caithness (d. 1677) (resigned 1672) John Campbell, 1st Earl of Breadalbane and Holland (1633–1717) (resigned 1681) George Sinclair, 7th Earl of Caithness (d. 1698) John Sinclair, 8th Earl of Caithness (d. 1705) Alexander Sinclair, 9th Earl of Caithness (1685–1765) William Sinclair, 10th Earl of Caithness (1727–1779) John Sinclair, 11th Earl of Caithness (1757–1789) James Sinclair, 12th Earl of Caithness (1766–1823) Alexander Campbell Sinclair, 13th Earl of Caithness (1790–1855) James Sinclair, 14th Earl of Caithness (1821–1881) George Philips Alexander Sinclair, 15th Earl of Caithness (1858–1889) James Augustus Sinclair, 16th Earl of Caithness (1827–1891) John Sutherland Sinclair, 17th Earl of Caithness (1857–1914) Norman Macleod (Sinclair) Buchan, 18th Earl of Caithness (1862–1947) James Roderick Sinclair, 19th Earl of Caithness (1906–1965) Malcolm Ian Sinclair, 20th Earl of Caithness (b. 1948) (elected into House of Lords, 1999) The heir apparent is the present holder's son Alexander James Richard Sinclair, Lord Berriedale (b. 1981) http://www.castleofmey.org.uk/castleofmeyhistory.cfm Description This portrait of James Sinclair, 12th Earl of Caithness, hangs in the Town Hall in Wick. It was painted in 1790. Sir James Sinclair of Mey, 12th Earl of Caithness was born on 31 October 1766 at Barrogill Castle, Caithness. He was the son of Sir John Sinclair of Mey, 6th Bt. and Charlotte Sutherland. He married Jean Campbell, daughter of General Alexander Campbell of Barcaldine and Helen Sinclair, on 2 January 1784 at Thurso Castle, Thurso, Caithness. He succeeded to the title of 7th Baronet Sinclair, of Canisbay on 26 March 1774. He succeeded to the title of 12th Earl of Caithness on 8 April 1789. On 4 May 1793 he was found to be the rightful Earl. He also held the office of Lord-Lieutenant of Caithness between 1794 and 1823 and held the office of Representative Peer [Scotland] between 1807 and 1818. He was also Postmaster-General between 1811 and 1823.

  
  

• 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.