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THE DESCENDANTS OF ALEXANDER SINCLAIR (1666--bef.1751)




Generation No. 1


1. ALEXANDER [SINCKLER]1 SINCLAIR was born 1666 in Scotland, probably in Glasgow, Strathclyde, where he resided in 16981,2, and died Bef. 1751 in Prince William County, Virginia2. He married MARY [WAYMAN?]2 about 1707. She was born about 1686, and died Bef. October 1757 in Prince William County, Virginia.

Notes for ALEXANDER [SINCKLER] SINCLAIR:
[The compiler's sixth great-grandfather.]
In 1666, the Great Fire of London destroyed most of that city. It was also in that year that an event took place that was of somewhat lesser magnitude but of greater importance to us Sinclair descendants --- the birth of Alexander Sinclair. Alexander's birth year of 1666, the sixth year of the reign of King CHARLES II, is supported by his statement in a deposition taken on 7 September 1745 that he was then about seventy-nine years of age.[a]
Less certain is the question of where Alexander was born, and that would depend upon his actual identity.[l] Prevailing opinion holds that our Alexander was in fact the Alexander Sinkler who, at the age of thirty-two, left his home in Glasgow in 1698, boarded the ship "Loyalty" in Liverpool, England, and sailed to British North America. This event was recorded in the following account:

"The Names of ye: Servants that Goes to Virginea in ye Loyalty Capt Henry Browne Commander Octobr 19th 1698."
"Alexdr Sinkler of Glascow 4 Yeares."[e]

The entry indicates that this Alexander came to Virginia as an indentured servant, a position he undertook probably in order to obtain the funds necessary to finance his journey. The statement "4 Yeares" designated the length of indentured servitude he had agreed to perform.
There exists, on the other hand, the possibility that our Alexander may have been an unidentified son of one Abraham Sinclair whose estate was appraised in about 1742 in Stafford County, Virginia, the County in which our Alexander settled. Abraham left no Will, but had come to Virginia from Maryland.[l] Unrelated Maryland families who moved to Virginia are documented as having had connections with our Alexander's children, suggesting the possibility that our Sinclairs may have originated in Maryland and not Virginia. The connection of our Sinclairs with families from Maryland may, however, be simply coincidental.[l] In contradiction to Abraham Sinclair's possibly having been the father of our Alexander (b. 1666) is the fact that for Abraham to have been Alexander's father, Abraham would have to have been born in about 1648 or before, and that would make Abraham at least an unlikely ninety-four years of age or older at his death.
It is not possible from the present evidence to determine definitely whether Alexander came to Virginia by ship in 1698, or whether he was a member of a Maryland family that moved to Virginia sometime before 1724 when Alexander was first documented there.[l] However, the lack of any evidence linking our Alexander to Abraham of Maryland between 1724, when Alexander is first documented, and 1742, when Abraham died, and the advanced age Abraham would have to have attained in order to be considered Alexander's father, leads this writer to accept, pending the discovery of contrary evidence, that our Alexander was in fact he who sailed to Virginia from Liverpool in 1698 aboard the "Loyalty".
The family name was originally the French name "St Clair" with the accent on "Clair" in keeping with the Latin characteristic of placing the primary accent of words on the next to last syllable. After arriving in England with the Norman Conquest in 1066, the St Clair knights and their descendants gradually anglicized the pronunciation of the name to "SIN-klair" or "SIN-kler" in keeping with the characteristic of English, a Germanic language, that places the primary accent of words on the first syllable. Nowadays, the name is commonly spelt either Sinclair or St Clair. However, the spelling "Sinkler" is still to be found, as in Virginia where it was the phonetic spelling often used for our Alexander Sinclair.[b] Although Alexander's precise descent remains obscure, his surname would connect him with the Scottish Clan Sinclair. It is possible, therefore, that he descended from one of the three branches of the ancient Sinclair family: the St Clair Earls of Dysart, of Rosslyn, or of Caithness, who in turn descended from Rognvald "the Mighty", Jarl (Chief) of the Orkneys and Earl of Moere and Romsdahal in Norway, who was born in A.D. 835. Alternatively, however, Alexander may not have been a blood descendant of the Sinclair Earls, but instead one of those Sinclair tenants who, not having their own surnames, were known by the name of their lord's clan.
Other Scots named "Alexander Sinclair" have been identified, and might have been related to our Alexander: The first, an Alexander Sincklare, son of Alexander Sincklare and Margaret Rogge, was christened on 28 December 1680 in St Nicholas's Church, Aberdeen, Scotland.[c] The second was an Alexander Sinclair christened on 16 December 1672 at Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland. He was the son of James Sinclair, born c.1644 at Rosslyn Castle, Edinburgh, and Jean Spotswood (Spottiswoode), born c.1648 at Rosslyn Castle, Edinburgh.[d]
After his arrival in Virginia, our Alexander Sinclair settled in Overwharton Parish, which then covered all of the upper portion of present-day Stafford County as well as the entirety of present-day Prince William County. Overwharton Parish had been designated officially by at least 1702, before which, from 1680 to 1702, the area was within the bounds of Stafford Parish, which covered all of present-day Stafford and Prince William Counties. On 1 January 1730/31, Overwharton Parish was divided into two parishes, the lower parish, which remained Overwharton, covering the upper portion of Stafford County, and the new upper parish, named Hamilton, covering all of Prince William County, which had been created in 1727 from Stafford County.[m]
By 1724, Alexander, now aged 58, had become well established and the wealthy owner of one of the largest tobacco plantations in Overwharton Parish, Stafford County, Virginia. In that year a "List of Tenders of Tobacco in Overwharton Parish from the South Side of Potomac (Creek) to ye lower end of Overwharton Parish" shows Alexander with a count of 24,000 tobacco plants, which equalled or exceeded the holdings of most plantations in the County. The workers on Alexander's plantation as reported in this list were, in addition to Alexander, his sons Wayman and John "Sinkler", both between ten and sixteen years of age, a William Stone, and one negro.[f]
On 19 March 1734, "Alexander Sinkler, Planter," purchased from Valentine Barton 377 acres of land in Prince William County, Virginia, which had been formed from Stafford County in 1727. The property, later referred to as "the homeplace", was described as

"lying and being in the County of Prince William now but formerly Stafford County on the Middle Ground twixt Broad Run and Bull Run . . and all houses, edifices, buildings, gardens, ordhards, meadows . ."[g]

"Alexander Sinclair" was listed as a slave owner in a 1741 record entitled "Negro Slave Owners in Overwharton Parish," Stafford County, Virginia.[h] Alexander, on 25 July 1743, again bought land, this time joinly with Francis Tennell, from Howsen and Margaret Kenner, consisting of 300 acres in Prince William County in that portion that is now Fauquier County. This purchase was later recorded, on 28 April 1763, on the occasion of the selling of 157 acres of the land, presumably by Francis Tennell.[i] Francis Tennell's wife, Margaret Tennell, was a daughter of Alexander's.
The Prince William County Tithe List of 1751 lists the estate of "Alex Sinkler," and Alexander appears thus to have died before that year.[j] Alexander left a Will, for in a power of attorney document dated 26 October 1776, Alexander's grandson, Alexander, the son of Wayman Sinclair, referred to "one tract of land in Prince William County, Virginia, containing 233 acres and one in Fauquier County, Virginia, containing 130 acres bequeathed to me by the last Will and Testament of my grandfather, Alexander Sinclair, deceased."[k] Alexander's Will, unfortunately, has since disappeared.
-------------------------------------------------
a. John Mercer land Title Book, p. 17, Virginia State Archives Accession No. 20487, as related in Jean Grigsby, SINKLER-SINCLAIR-ST. CLAIR: A FAMILY HISTORY, Vol I (Beeville, Texas: Jean Grigsby Family Histories, 1988) p. 1.
b. Frances Cowles, "The Sinclair Family" in THE CLAN SINCLAIR; Website: http://www.mids.org/sinclair/.
c. Internet: International Genealogical Index, British Isles, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org).
d. Internet: Ancestral File, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org/.
e. Michael Tepper, ed., "Emigrants to America from Liverpool" in PASSENGERS TO AMERICA: A CONSOLIDATION OF SHIP PASSENGER LISTS FROM THE NEW ENGLAND HISTORICAL & GENEALOGICAL REGISTER (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1980) p. 181.
f. Ibid., p. 2.
g. Prince William County [Va.] Deed Book B, p. 412, as quoted in Grigsby, SINKLER-SINCLAIR-ST. CLAIR, p. 2.
h. George Harrison Sanford King, comp., THE REGISTER OF OVERWHARTON PARISH, STAFFORD COUNTY, VIRGINIA, 1723-1758, AND SUNDRY HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL NOTES (no publisher given, 1961) as related in Grigsby, SINKLER-SINCLAIR-ST. CLAIR, p. 3.
i. Fauquier County [Va.] Deed Book 1, pp. 451-454, as related in Grigsby, SINKLER-SINCLAIR-ST. CLAIR, p. 2.
j. Jean Grigsby, SINKLER-SINCLAIR-ST. CLAIR: A FAMILY HISTORY, Vol I (Beeville, Texas: Jean Grigsby Family Histories, 1988), p. 3.
k. Bedford County [Va.] Deed Book 5, p. 384, as quoted in Grigsby, SINKLER-SINCLAIR-ST. CLAIR, p. 3.
l. Jean Grigsby, SINKLER-SINCLAIR-ST. CLAIR: A FAMILY HISTORY, Vol I (Beeville, Texas: Jean Grigsby Family Histories, 1988), p. 2.
m. "Selected Virginia Parish Histories & Land Descriptions" in COMBS-COOMBS &c. Website: http://www.combs-families.org/combs/records/va/parish.htm#overwharton; © 1996-2002 Combs-Coombs &c. Research Group; sources cited were Charles Francis Cocke, PARISH LINES, DIOCESE OF VIRGINIA (Richmond, Va.: Virginia State Library, 1978 reprint); Hening's STATUTES; and WILLIAM AND MARY COLLEGE QUARTERLY (WMCQ).

Notes for MARY [WAYMAN?]:
Alexander's wife's Christian name reportedly was "Mary". The fact that her son and grandson were named "Wayman" strongly suggests that her maiden name was "Wayman", and that she and Alexander named their son after her family name in accordance with the prevailing custom of the time. In regard to Mary, one researcher has written that "she must have been a Wayman, since they had a son Wayman, and grandson, Wayman, Jr. Many descendants in Bedford Co VA and since scattered".[a]
The following gravestone inscriptions have been recorded in the Wayman Burial Grounds in Prairie Township, Henry County, Indiana:[b]

· Stewart, Moses, b. 1835, d. 1854, Son of Andrew and Nancy Wayman Stewart
· Wayman, Herman, b. 8-19-1750, d. 6-19-31, Revolutionary War Veteran
· Wayman, James L., b. 4-22-1840, d. 1852, 15 mo., Son of Milton and Bridgett Wayman
· Wayman, Mary Louisa, b. 4-3-1851, d. 11-28-1852, Dau of Milton and Bridgett Hoover Wayman
· Wayman, Moses, b. 3-23-1835, d. 1852, 17yrs, Son of Milton and Bridgett Wayman
· Wayman, Moses Sr., b. 5-11-1785, d. 9-8-34, 49y, 22d, Husband of Ruth Jones Wayman
· Wayman, Moses Jr., b. 8-2-1815, d. 9-17-1834, 19y, Son of Moses and Ruth Wayman
· Wayman, William B., b. 1844, d. 9y, Son of Milton and Bridgett Wayman
· Foot Stones: M.W & H. W. (Probably Herman's); -----N Jr. rest of stone missing.

These presumably were all members of a Wayman family from Germany that lived in Culpepper County, Virginia, which abuts Stafford County from which Prince William County was carved in 1727. It is most probable that this was the family of our Wayman Sinclair's wife Mary:[c]

1. Johannes WEIDMANN, b. 1610 in Freudenberg, Nassau-Siegen, Germany; d. after
1659 in Freudenberg. Child:
i. Johannes WEIDMANN, b. 1639 Freudenberg, Westfalen, Germany; d. before
December 1700 in Freudenberg; m. 13 October 1659 in Freudenberg,
Nassau-Siegen, Germany, Maria BACH, b. 7 September 1634 in
Freudenberg, d. December 1700 in Freudenberg. Child:
A. Heinrich WEIDMANN, b. 28 July 1667 in Freudenberg; d. November 1717 in
Freudenberg; m. 2 March 1700 in Freudenberg Elizabeth HERLING,
b. 19 June 1681 in Freudenberg, d. March 1704 in Freudenberg. Child:
a. George Caspar WAYMAN/WEIDMANN, b. 11 December 1703 in
Freudenberg, d. 1768/1769 in Culpeper County, Virginia;
m. c.1744 in Virginia Catherine Anna JUNG (Young?), b. 22
July 1712 in Seelauch, Germany. Children:
1. Joseph WAYMAN, 1741 in Orange County, Virginia, d. 18 June 1824
in Culpeper County, Virginia.
2. Henry WAYMAN, b. c.1744 in Orange County, Virginia, d.
1813 in Culpeper County, Virginia.
3. Herman WAYMAN, Revolutionary War Soldier, b. 19 August 1750
in Culpeper County, Virginia, d. 19 June 1837 in Boone Co.,
Indiana; buried in Wayman Cemetery, Henry Co., Indiana; m.
c.1771 in Culpeper Co. Elizabeth CLORE, b. c.1753 in Culpeper,
County, d. c.1790 in Culpeper County. Children:
i. John Wesley WAYMAN, b. 8 Sep 1781 in Culpepper, Culpeper
County, Virginia, d. 10 Jun 1859 in Spring Creek, Pulaski
Co., Missouri, buried in Wayman Cemetery, Spring Creek,
Missouri; m. in Virginia Eva GARR.
ii. Moses WAYMAN, Sr., b. 11 May 1785 in Culpeper County, Virginia;
d. 8 September 1834 in Henry County, Indiana; m. 28
September 1810 in Alexandria, Campbell County,
Kentucky, Ruth JONES, b. c.1789 probably in Alexandria,
Campbell County, Kentucky. Their child:
A. Moses WAYMAN, Jr., b. 2 August 1815, d. 17 September 1834.


Herman Wayman served in the Virginia Militia during the Revolutionary War.[d] He was buried in the Wayman Cemetery, Henry County, Indiana.[d]
The records of the Henry County Probate Book, Complete Records, "C", records the years 1836 up to 1844, and include deaths, administrators of estates, guardians and estate hearings relating to heirs' inheritances, and estate settlements. Listed in the Book's index is the following:[e]

· Wayman, Moses, Cause of death: ?; p. 188

The Henry County, Indiana, Probate Docket for 1822-1844 lists the following:[f]

· Estate of Wayman, Moses, 23 Sep 1834, Administratr/Executor: James N. Wayman

A cholera epidemic struck Henry County in the early 1830s, and was especially strong in the summer of 1833. The County's Probate Court book entries usually include the exact date of death for the adults, the names of the minor children who survived, the other heirs, and the names of the appointed guardians and the administrator of the estate. The index lists the following entries for Moses Wayman:[g]

· Wayman, Moses, Cause: Death, Book A, p. 184
· Wayman, Moses, Cause: Death, Book B, p. 252
· Wayman, Moses, Cause: Heirs, Book B, p. 268

If this Wayman family was, in fact, that of Wayman Sinclair's wife Mary, then she was probably a daughter of one of the above brothers, Joseph, Henry, or Herman Wayman, or perhaps another brother as yet unidentified.
---------------------------------------
a. "Wayman Family Genealogy Forum" in GENEALOGY.COM; query submitted on 1 September 2003 by Chuck Bradner; URL: http://genforum.genealogy.com/wayman/messages/390.html; 2 January 2006.
b. "Wayman Burial Grounds, Prairie Twp., Henry Co., Indiana" in HENRY COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SERVICES; URL: http://www.hcgs.net/way.html; 2 January 2006.
c. LDS Ancestral File, v. 4.19; FamilySearch Website; URL: <http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/search/frameset_search.asp?PAGE=ancestorsearchresults.asp>; © 1999-2005 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
d. "Revolutionary War Veterans of Henry County Indiana" in HENRY COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SERVICES; URL: <http://www.hcgs.net/rewet.html>.
e. "Henry County, Indiana, Probate Records, Book "C" 1836 - 1844 " in HENRY COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SERVICES; URL: <http://www.hcgs.net/probatebookc.html; 2 January 2006>; records located in Henry County Clerk's office in the new Justice Center.
f. "Henry County Indiana Probate Dockett - 1822-1844" in HENRY COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SERVICES; URL: <http://www.hcgs.net/probate1822-1844.html>; 2 January 2006.
g. "Probate Court Records of Henry County, Indiana., September 1822 - August 1839 : As Recorded in Book #2, Misc. Records, Henry County, Indiana, Courthouse " in HENRY COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SERVICES; URL: http://www.hcgs.net/probaterecords.html; 2 January 2006; this source cites Edward Pleas, HENRY COUNTY, PAST AND PRESENT : A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE COUNTY FROM 1821 TO 1871 (Knightstown, Ind.: Eastern Indiana Pub. Co., 1967).
     
Children of ALEXANDER SINCLAIR and MARY [WAYMAN?] are:
2. i.   WAYMAN [SINCKLER]2 SINCLAIR, SR, b. Bet. 1708 and 1714, Overwharton Parish, Stafford (now Prince William) County, Virginia; d. June 1762, Cameron Parish, Loudon County, Virginia.
3. ii.   JOHN SINCLAIR, b. 1710, Overwharton Parish, Stafford (now Prince William) County, Virginia; d. Unknown.
  iii.   MARY SINCLAIR, b. about 1712, Overwharton Parish, Stafford (now Prince William) County, Virginia3; d. Unknown; m. EDWARD WILBOURN/WILBURN4,5; b. about 1707; d. Unknown.
  Notes for MARY SINCLAIR:
"Mary" [Wilburn?] is recorded as having sold land that she inherited from her father, Alexander Sinclair.[a] On 27 August 1744, "Mary" [Cundiff?] was listed as the administratrix on the inventory for the estate of Isaac Cundiff, deceased, and Wayman Sinkler joined "Mary" [Cundiff?] in paying the bond.[b] The question then becomes, were the two Marys one person with two different marriages, or were they, in fact, two different persons? If the latter, which was Alexander's daughter? Grigsby states that Mary Sinkler, Mrs Edward Wilburn, has been documented as Alexander Sinclair's daughter.[a]
-----------------------------------------
a. FAUQUIER COUNTY, VIRGINIA, DEED BOOK 12, pp. 267-269; as cited in Jean Grigsby, SINKLER -- SINCLAIR -- ST. CLAIR: A FAMILY HISTORY, Vol. I (Beeville, Texas: Jean Grigsby, Family Histories, 1988) p. 1.]
b. PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, VIRGINIA, WILL BOOK C, pp. 522-523; as cited in Grigsby, SINKLER, op. cit., p. 3.

  iv.   MARGARET SINCLAIR, b. about 1714, Overwharton Parish, Stafford (now Prince William) County, Virginia6; d. Unknown; m. FRANCIS TENNELL6, 9 November 1740, Stafford County, Virginia6; b. about 1709; d. Unknown.
  Notes for MARGARET SINCLAIR:
That Margaret was a daughter of Alexander Sinclair's is based upon substantial evidence: Alexander Sinclair and Francis Tennell (husband of Margaret Sinclair) jointly purchased from Howsen and Margaret Kenner on 25 July 1743 300 acres of land in what is now Fauquier County, Virginia. On the same day, Francis Tennell brought from the Kenners 495 acres located on the upper side of Summer Duck Run near what is now Richardsville, Culpepper County, Virginia.[a]
--------------------------------------
a. PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, VIRGINIA, DEED BOOK B, p. 183; as cited in Jean Grigsby, SINKLER-SINCLAIR-ST. CLAIR: A FAMILY HISTORY, Vol I (Beeville, Texas: Jean Grigsby Family Histories, 1988), p. 2-3.

  v.   ROBERT SINCLAIR, b. about 1716, Overwharton Parish, Stafford (now Prince William) County, Virginia6; d. Unknown; m. MARGARET [----?----]; b. about 1721; d. Unknown.
  Notes for ROBERT SINCLAIR:
Robert, whose wife's name was Margaret [----?----], is recorded in the Prince William County Tax Records as paying half of the taxes on Alexander's plantation, the other half being paid by Wayman. This evidence supports Robert as one of Alexander's sons. [Jean Grigsby, SINKLER-SINCLAIR-ST. CLAIR: A FAMILY HISTORY, Vol. I (Beeville, Texas: Jean Grigsby Family Histories, 1988) p. 2.]

  vi.   SARAH SINCLAIR, b. about 1720, Overwharton Parish, Stafford (now Prince William) County, Virginia6; d. Unknown; m. ROBERT COCKLEY/COLCLOUGH6, 21 September 1740, Stafford County, Virginia6; b. about 1715; d. Unknown.
  Notes for SARAH SINCLAIR:
That Sarah was a daughter of Alexander's is based upon circumstantial evidence.

  vii.   PATIENCE SINCLAIR, b. about 1722, Overwharton Parish, Stafford (now Prince William) County, Virginia7; d. Unknown; m. WILLIAM YOUNG7, 22 July 1744, Stafford County, Virginia7; b. about 1719; d. Unknown.
  Notes for PATIENCE SINCLAIR:
That Patience was a daughter of Alexander's is based upon circumstantial evidence, for "the Youngs and Sinclairs have enough factors in common to safely assume that she, too, could have been a daughter of Alexander". [--Jean Grigsby, SINKLER-SINCLAIR-ST. CLAIR: A FAMILY HISTORY, Vol I (Beeville, Texas: Jean Grigsby Family Histories, 1988), p. 3.]

  viii.   ELIZABETH SINCLAIR, b. about 1724, Overwharton Parish, Stafford (now Prince William) County, Virginia7; d. Unknown; m. CHARLES JONES7, 21 April 1751, Stafford County, Virginia7; b. about 1721; d. Unknown.
  Notes for ELIZABETH SINCLAIR:
[CAUTION: That Elizabeth was a daughter of Alexander's has not been documented, but is suggested by her marriage having taken place in Stafford County, Virginia.]

  ix.   GEORGE SINCLAIR, b. about 1726, Overwharton Parish, Stafford (nor Prince William) County, Virginia8; d. Unknown; m. WINIFRED [----?----]8; b. about 1731; d. Unknown.

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