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

Generation No. 2


2. WAYMAN [SINCKLER]2 SINCLAIR, SR (ALEXANDER [SINCKLER]1) was born Bet. 1708 and 1714 in Overwharton Parish, Stafford (now Prince William) County, Virginia9, and died June 1762 in Cameron Parish, Loudon County, Virginia10. He married (1) [----?----] SHIRLEY about 1739 in Prince William County, Virginia11, daughter of RICHARD SHIRLEY and MARY GRAHAM. She was born about 1713 in Dittengen Parish, Stafford (now Prince William) County, Virginia11, and died Bef. November 1760 in Cameron Parish, Loudon County, Virginia11. He married (2) HESTER SMALLWOOD December 1760 in (Loudoun County?), Virginia, daughter of PRYOR SMALLWOOD and ELIZABETH STONE. She was born about 1718, and died Unknown.

Notes for WAYMAN [SINCKLER] SINCLAIR, SR:
[The compiler's fifth great-grandfather.]
[The following biographical information about Wayman was taken from Jean Grigsby, SINKLER-SINCLAIR-ST. CLAIR: A FAMILY HISTORY, Vol. I (Beeville, Texas: Jean Grigsby, Family Histories, 1988).]
A Stafford County, Virginia, record made in 1724 and entitled "Tenders of Tobacco in Overwharton Parish" documented Wayman and John Sinkler as sons of Alexander Sinkler. They were born, Wayman during the reign of Queen ANNE, in Overwharton Parish, Stafford (Prince William after 1727) County, Virginia. Little is known of Wayman's life before he married. His wife, [----?----] Shirley, was the daughter of Richard Shirley and Mary Graham, Mary being the daughter of Edward and Patience Graham of Fairfax County, Virginia.[a] After his marriage, Wayman and Miss Shirley, whose Christian name has not been discovered, made their home on the Sinclair plantation in Overwharton Parish. Wayman's father, Alexander, probably had died by 1740, for the tax records of that year, which list Wayman and his brother Robert as tithers in Prince William County, show Wayman and Robert each paying half the taxes for the plantation.
Wayman's children were all born and raised on the plantation in Overwharton Parish, but the family's life there was otherwise uneventful, the only records relating to them being tax records. Wayman's wife died sometime before 19 November 1760, for on that date a detailed marriage contract was drawn between Wayman and one Hester Linton. The contract was recorded in Loudoun County, Virginia, on 11 March 1761.b] Hester, the daughter of Pryor Smallwood and Elizabeth Stone, and the aunt of Governor Smallwood of Maryland, had previously been twice married -- first to Jacob Smith, and, following his death, to Edmond Linton. Hester and Edmond resided just across the Prince William County line in Loudoun County, Virginia, where they owned an inn. The subjects of many legal documents, Hester and Edmond were charged on 26 March 1751 with "being persons of vile character and harbourers and entertainers of rogues and horse stealers," for which they were ordered to give security for good behaviour in the amount of five pounds sterling.[c] Wayman, it would seem, had good reason for the pre-marital contract with Hester, surely a rarity for the time, which provided that her estate was to remain forever hers, and his was to be held solely for his children.
Wayman married Hester in December 1760, her second husband of six years, Edmond Linton, having died in about 1759. The 1761 Rent Roll of Fairfax County, Virginia, which had been the residence of Wayman's grandparents, Edward and Patience Graham, lists an Alex Sinkler, suggesting that he may have been Wayman's eldest son.
Wayman and Hester were living in Cameron Parish, Loudoun County, Virginia (on her property?), on 12 April 1762 when Wayman wrote his Will.[d] (See below for the full text of the Will and Estate Inventory.) Naming each of his children, he provided that all of his land and property in Prince William County was to be divided equally amongst all his children when his youngest child (apparently Elizabeth), who was then eight years old, should reach the age of sixteen (i.e., in 1770). Wayman appointed as executors "my Loving Wife hester Sinckler [sic] and my friend Bridgar Haynie and my brother John Sinckler. Sometime in the ensuing three months, Wayman was dead, less than two years after his marriage, and the thrice-married Hester was again a widow. Wayman's Will was proved on 13 July 1762 by witnesses who have not been found otherwise in connection with the Sinclair family --- Russell Wilson, George Jordan, and Ann Jordan. The Court ordered that Nathaniel Grigsby, Enoch Grigsby, Burr Harrison, and John Fryer "do appraise in Current Money the Slaves and personal Estate of Wayman Sinckler." The estate, which included four Negro slaves -- two men (Will and Jack), valued at £70 each, a boy (Ned) valued at £60, and a woman (Jenny) valued at £25 -- amounted to £267.6s.9d.[d] (£25,947.14 or $47,929.56 in today's currency).
Interestingly, and perhaps ominously, on the same day the Will was proved, 13 July 1762, it was decided that Wayman's children were not to remain with their stepmother Hester, and the Court "ordered that the Executors of Wayman Sinkler, dec'd, deliver the testators children to Mary Shirley their grandmother who engages to maintain and bring them up without any burthen [i.e., burden] to their estate."[e] Thereafter, a series of interesting events occurred.
On 10 April 1763, Wayman's sister and the children's aunt and uncle, Francis and Margaret (Sinclair) Tennell, sold in Fauquier County, Virginia, 157 acres of land, "being part of 300 acres of land sold by Howsen Kenner and Margaret his wife to Alexander Sinkler and Francis Tennell by deed bearing date the 25th of July 1743 and recorded in Prince William County Court."f]
On 13 April 1763, three days later, the Loudoun County Court "ordered that the sheriff summon Alexander Sinkler heir at law of Wayman Sinkler dec'd. to appear here at the next court to contest the validity of the will of the said Wayman Sinkler."[g] On 6 August 1763, Alexander, Wayman's eldest son, appeared in the Court as ordered. A detailed document records his testimony to the effect that his father, Wayman, had been coerced into writing a Will not of his intent, that his father had tried to secure the Will and destroy it but that Hester had withheld it, and that the estate should not be tied up until 1770. The case was submitted to Chancery.[h] Alexander later appears to have received land in an out-of-court settlement, for on 19 March 1767 he sold to his brother Isaac Sinclair of Prince William County 238 acres extending "to [the] dividing line of [his brothers] Wayman and Robert's property."[i] Even later, on 16 and 17 September 1767, the lawsuit, "ALEXANDER SINCLAIR, plaintiff vs. WAYMON SINCLAIR's EXECUTORS, defendants", came before the Court at which time the defendants were dismissed by mutual consent.
On 22 and 23 February 1763, the Church of England (the Established Church of Virginia) bound George and Wayman, Jr, to one Ruben Elliott to be taught reading, writing, and the trade and art of a cooper. On 14 June 1763, Wayman's son Robert petitioned the Court to allow him to serve William Morland of Cameron Parish, Loudoun County, Virginia, for two years to be taught the trade of a house carpenter and joiner.[j] (By 1765, Robert was listed as a tither in William Morland's household, but his brother Isaac, although also shown as a Morland household tither, is listed separately from the household.)
Also in 1763, the widow of Wayman's brother Robert, Margaret, of Shelburn Parish, Prince William County, Virginia, sold to James Douglas for £60 some household goods and slaves, but she continued to live and pay taxes on the plantation in Overwharton Parish. (This Margaret is not to be confused with the Margaret Sinclair whose Will, probated on 11 September 1764, revealed her to be the widow of one Amos Sinclair, of Loudoun County.)
The orphaned children's grandmother, Mary Shirley, apparently died in 1763, the last year she appears in the tax records of Loudoun County, Virginia. The tax records of that year show Wayman's widow, Hester Sinclair, to be living in a separate household. Hester appears to have married a fourth time, before 12 July 1763, to one Thomas William Wells.[k]
On 7 August 1766, Bridgar Haynie (an executor of Wayman's Will) petitioned the Court, apparently unsuccessfully, to have Ruben Elliott summoned to "show cause why Wayman Sinclair's orphans should not be discharged from him."[l]
Despite her marriage to Mr Wells, Hester's surname is given as "Sinclair" in a Loudoun County court case, WATSON vs. SAMUEL LUCKETT AND HESTER SINCLAIR, which was dismissed on 11 August 1767 due to the defendant being deceased (which one was not stated).[m] Thus, Hester may have died prior to 11 August 1767.
Wayman's Last Will and Testament, dated 12 April 1762, reads:[n]

"IN THE NAME OF GOD AMEN. I Wayman Sinckler Senr of the Parish of Cameron and County of Loudoun being weak of Body but of Perfect sense and Memory do make this my last Will and Testament in manner and form following (that is to say) First and Principally I commend my Soul to Almighty God hopeing for his mercy in the permision of all my Sins through the Merits of Jesus Christ my only Mediator and Redeemer & advocate and my Body to be Buried at the discretion of my Exors. hereafter named and as for such Estate as it hath pleased God to favour me with I dispose thereof as followeth VIZ.
"My Will is that all my Land in Prince William County with so much of the Rest of my Personal Estate be sold by my Exors in Order to discharge all my Debts as shall be sufficient to discharge the same - -
"Item I leave all the rest of my said Estate to be equally divided amongst all my children Viz. - Alexander, Isaac, Robert, Mary, George, Wayman & Elizabeth Sinckler that is to say to be equally divided among them when the youngest of them surviving shall arive to the Age of Sixteen years which Child is now eight years of age and further my Will is that the said Remainder of my said Estate remain in the hands of my said Exors in Order to raise and School &a. my said children until the said time of their coming of Age be expired - -
"I do hereby constitute and appoint my Loving wife Hester Sinckler and my friend Bridgar Haynie and my Brother John Sinckler Exors. of this my last Will and Testament. In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and Seal this 12th day of April Anno Dopmini 1762.

"Sealed and Acknowledged Wayman Sinckler (L S)
in Presence of
Russell Wilson
George Jordan
her
Ann X Jordan
mark

"At a Court held for Loudoun County July the 13th 1762, This Will was proved by the Oaths of Russell Wilson George Jordan and Ann Jordan, Witnesses thereto and is Ordered to be Recorded And on the Motion of Hesther Sinckler and Bridger Haynie two of the Executors therein named who made oath According to Law, Certificate is Granted them for obtaining a Probat thereof in due form Giving Security whereupon they together with James Lane(?) Gent their Security entered into and Acknowledged their Bond in the Penalty of Five hundred Pounds with Condition as the Law directs And Liberty is Reserved to John Sinckler the other Executor therein named to Join in the Probat thereof when he shall think fit.
"Teste
Cha. Binns Cl Cur"
------------------------------------------
(Loudoun County Will Book B, p. 3):
"The last Will and Testament of Wayman Sinckler Decd. was proved according to Law by the Oaths of Russel Wilson George Jordan and Ann Jordan the Witnesses thereto and is Ordered to be Recorded And on the Motion of Hester Sinkler and Bridger Haynie two of the Executors therein named who made Oath according to Law Certificate is granted them for Obtaining a Probat thereof in due form giving Security Whereupon they together with James [----?----] Gent. their Security entered into and acknowledged their Bond in the Penalty of five hundred Pounds with Condition as the Law directs -- And Liberty is Reserved to John Sinckler the other Executor therein named to Join in the Probat thereof when he shall think fit."
----------------------------------------
"Ordered that the Executors of Wayman Sinckler Decd. deliver the Testator's Children to Mary Shirley their Grand Mother who engates to Maintain and bring them up without burthern to their Estates."
----------------------------------------
"Ordered that Nathaniel Grigsby Burr Harrison Enoch Grigsby and John [----?----] or any three thereof being first sworn before a Justice of this County do Appraise in Current Money the Slaves and personal Estate of Wayman Sinckler and return the Appraisment to the Court."

The inventory of Wayman's estate was recorded on 16 September 1762:[o]

"In obedience to an Order of Loudoun County, July 1762, we the subscribers being first sworn before Capt. James [----?----] one of his Majesties Justices for the said County do value and appraise the Estate of Wayman Sinckler dec'd as followeth.

To 9 Sheep @ 5/6 [i.e., 5 shillings and 6 pence] 2. 9.6
To 1 black Cow and Calf 1.12.0
To 1 Red Cow and Calf 2. 0. 0
To 1 Red Yearling 0.12.0
To 1 Bay Mare 2.10.0
To 6 Geese @ 1/6 0. 9.0
To 1 old Table and ½ Dozen old Chairs 0. 8.6
To 1 Jug and a parcel of old Lumber 0. 3.0
To a parcel of old Pewter 1. 5.0
To 1 pr Steelyards 0.12.0
To 2 Iron Potts and hooks and one Fryingpan 0.10.0
To a parcel of old Wooden ware 0. 4.6
To 1 handsaw and a parcel of old Lumber 0. 4.0
To 1 Box Iron Heaters and old Iron 0.15.6
To 1 old Saddle and two old Bells 0.12.0
To 1 old Linen Wheel 0. 5.0
To 1 Broad hoe 0. 2.6
To 1 Bed and furniture 6. 0.0
To 1 Ditto 4.13.0
To 1 Ditto 3.10.0
To 1 old Flock Bed 0.10.0
To 10 lb Wool @ 1/ 0.10.0
To 1 Looking Glass and Towell 0. 2.0
To Cloth and Triming for a Sail Close [?] 4. 5.0
To 1 hone and Razer 0. 2.6
To 1 old Trunk and a parcel of Books 0. 3.0
To 2 Iron Widgets 0. 5.0
To 3 Beehives @ 5/ 0.15.0
To 1 Negro Man named Will 70. 0.0
To 1 Negro Ditto named Jack 70. 0.0
To 1 Negro Boy named Ned 60. 0.0
To 1 Negro Woman named Jenny 25. 0.0
one Cow 2. 0.0
To 2 Yearlings 0.18.0
To 2 Sows 1. 0.0
To 2 old Tubs 0. 1.3
To 1 old Wheel 0. 2.6
To a parcel of old Lumber 0. 4.0
[Total: £267.6s.9p.]

"Enoch Grigsby
Nathaniel Grigsby
John Fryer
"At a Court continued and held for Loudoun County September the 16th 1762 this Inventory and Appraisment was returned into Court & is Ordered to be Recorded.
"Teste
"Cha.Binns Cl Cur"
-------------------------------------------------------
a. Will of Edward Graham, Fairfax County, Virginia, 12 September 1749; proved 27 March 1750; cited in Grigsby, SINKLER-SINCLAIR-ST. CLAIR, vol. I, p. 5.
b. Loudon Co. [Va.] Book B, p. 92; cited in Grigsby, SINKLER-SINCLAIR-ST. CLAIR, vol I, p. 5.
c. Loudoun Co. [Va.] Court Order Book, 1749, p. 127; cited in Grigsby, SINKLER-SINCLAIR-ST. CLAIR, vol I, p. 5.
d. Loudoun Co. [Va.] Will Book A (1757-1771), pp. 59, 64-65; cited in Grigsby, SINKLER-SINCLAIR-ST. CLAIR, vol I, p. 5.
e. Loudoun Co. [Va.] Court Order Book B, p. 3; cited in Grigsby, SINKLER-SINCLAIR-ST. CLAIR, vol I, p. 6.
f. Fauquier Co. [Va.] Deed Book 1, pp. 451-454; cited in Grigsby, SINKLER-SINCLAIR-ST. CLAIR, vol I, p. 6.
g. Loudoun Co. [Va.] Court Order Book B, p. 105; cited in Grigsby, SINKLER-SINCLAIR-ST. CLAIR, vol I, p. 6.
h. Loudoun Co. [Va.] Court Order Book; cited in Grigsby, SINKLER-SINCLAIR-ST. CLAIR, vol I, p. 6.
i. Prince William County Deed Book T, pp. 406-412; cited in Grigsby, SINKLER-SINCLAIR-ST. CLAIR, vol I, p. 7.
j. Loudoun Co. [Va.] Court Order Book B, p. 159; cited in Grigsby, SINKLER-SINCLAIR-ST. CLAIR, vol I, p. 6.
k. Loudoun Co. [Va.] Chancery Suits 1757-1774, miscellaneous papers in bundle #M-6822; cited in Grigsby, SINKLER-SINCLAIR-ST. CLAIR, vol I, p. 7.
l. Prince William Co. [Va.] Court Order Book 1766-1769; cited in Grigsby, SINKLER-SINCLAIR-ST. CLAIR, vol I, p. 6.
m. Loudoun Co. [Va.] Court Book __, p. 294; cited in Grigsby, SINKLER-SINCLAIR-ST. CLAIR, vol I, p. 7.
n. THE WILL OF WAYMAN SINCKLER; Loudoun County Will Book A (1757-1771), Page 59, as quoted in Jean Grigsby, SINKLER-SINCLAIR-ST. CLAIR: A FAMILY HISTORY, Vol I (Beeville, Texas: Jean Grigsby Family Histories, 1988), p. 9.
o. THE ESTATE INVENTORY OF WAYMAN SINCKLER; Loudoun Co. [Va.] Will Book A (1757-1771), pp. 64-65; as cited in Jean Grigsby, SINKLER-SINCLAIR-ST. CLAIR: A FAMILY HISTORY, Vol I (Beeville, Texas: Jean Grigsby Family Histories, 1988), p. 10.

     
Children of WAYMAN SINCLAIR and [----?----] SHIRLEY are:
  i.   ALEXANDER3 SINCLAIR, b. about 1740, Overwharton Parish, Prince William County, Virginia12; d. Unknown.
  Notes for ALEXANDER SINCLAIR:
      Alexander and his brother, Wayman Sinclair, had both moved from Prince William County to Bedford County, Virginia, by 26 October 1776 when Alexander appointed his Wayman Sinclair as his lawful attorney to file suit for receipt of all rents owing, and to sell two tracts of Alexander's land -- 233 acres in Prince William County and 130 acres in Fauquier County, Virginia, which had been "bequeathed to me by the last will and testament of my grandfather, Alexander Sinclair, deceased."[a]
      No further Bedford County records pertain to Alexander until 16 April 1825 when an attorney hired by Wayman Sinclair filed a lawsuit "for recovery of land and any belongings in County of Prince William, Virginia, and a parcel of negroes and their increase formerly claimed by Margaret St. Clair. Also to take possession of all lands in the state of Kentucky in which I have rights as the kin or attorney of my brother Alexander Sinclair."[b]
      There are three accounts, apparently relating to Alexander, of an encounter with Indians that took place in 1779, perhaps in Lincoln County, Kentucky, to which place Alexander may have moved with Nathaniel Grigsby, one of the appraisers of the estate of Wayman Sinclair, Sr, Alexander's father.[c] The first account states that at the time of the Indian attack, "all the hunters turned back except Skaggs, his son and a man remembered only by the name of Sinclair."[d] The second account states that "Henry Skaggs . . . lost first his only adult companion, Sinclair, and then his young son sickened and died."[e] The last account of the attack states that "In 1779 H. Skaggs accompanied by 20 men started for Ky -- they were attacked by Indians in Powell Valley -- lost part of their horses -- when all the party returned home except H. Skaggs -- Alex Synclear & John Skaggs . . . the hunting and trapping went well until sometime in the winter John Skaggs was taken sick, Synclear went to look to the traps and never returned."[f]
---------------------------------------------------------
a. Bedford County Deed Book 5, p. 384, as quoted in Jean Grigsby, SINKLER-SINCLAIR-ST. CLAIR: A FAMILY HISTORY, Vol. I (Beeville, Texas: Jean Grigsby, Family Histories, 1988) p. 7.
b. Bedford County Deed Book 19, p. 67, as quoted in Grigsby, p. 7.
c. Grigsby, p. 8.
d. Thwaites-Kellogg, DUNMORE'S WAR (publishing data not given) p. 239, as quoted in Grigsby, p. 7.
e. Harriette Simpson Arnoue, SEEDTIME ON THE CUMBERLAND (publishing data not given) pp. 218, 235, as quoted in Grigsby, pp. 7-8.
f. "Incidents in the Life of Henry Skaggs and Brother, Early Hunters in the Wild of Kentucky" in DRAPER MANUSCRIPTS (Vol. 5, Series C) p. 76, as quoted in Grigsby, p. 8.
----------------------------------------------------------

4. ii.   ISAAC SINCLAIR, b. about 1742, Overwharton Parish, Prince William County, Virginia; d. October 1829, Breckinridge County, Kentucky.
5. iii.   ROBERT [SINKLER/ST CLAIR] SINCLAIR, b. about 1744, Overwharton Parish, Prince William County, Virginia; d. Bef. 23 July 1827, Bedford County, Virginia.
  iv.   MARY SINCLAIR, b. about 1746, Overwharton Parish, Prince William County, Virginia12; d. Unknown.
6. v.   GEORGE [SINKLER] SINCLAIR, LOYALIST, b. about 1748, Overwharton Parish, Prince William County, Virginia; d. Bet. 1820 and 1830, Clinton(?) County, Ohio.
  vi.   WAYMAN SINCLAIR, JR, LOYALIST, b. about 1751, Dettingen Parish, Prince William County, Virginia13,14; d. Unknown, Bedford County, Virginia15; m. MARY WATTS16, Bedford County, Virginia17; b. about 1756, Virginia17; d. Bef. 1820, Bedford County, Virginia17.
  Notes for WAYMAN SINCLAIR, JR, LOYALIST:
[The writer's fourth great-granduncle.]
On 23 February 1765 in Prince William County, the Church of England (the Established Church of Virginia) bound Wayman, as a minor son of Wayman Sinclair, to Ruben Elliott until age 21, to be taught reading, writing, and the trade and art of a cooper. The previous day, 22 February 1763, Wayman's brother George had also been so bound to Ruben Elliott. The witnesses in both instances were William Bryce and John Riddle.[a]
By 26 October 1776, Wayman and his brother Alexander had moved to Bedford County, Virginia. On that date, Alexander appointed Wayman as his lawful attorney to file suit for receipt of all rents owing, and to sell two tracts of Alexander's land, 233 acres in Prince William County and 130 acres in Fauquier County, Virginia, which had been "bequeathed to me by the last will and testament of my grandfather, Alexander Sinclair, deceased."[b]
At the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, Wayman became a Tory and remained loyal to his King and to the lawful government in London. On 17 October 1777, in Bedford County, Virginia, "Weymond" Sinclair made manifest his position by giving his Oath of Allegiance to the Crown.[c] Hennings, in his LAWS OF VIRGINIA, Chapter II, entitled "An act for granting pardon to certain offenders," presents the entire record of a 1780 trial under the Act in which Wayman Sinclair and others were tried on the issue of whether they should be pardoned for activities (taking the oath to the Crown?) arising out of their having remained loyal to the King during the fight for independence. Wayman and all of the other Tory defendants were "fully and all absolutely pardoned, exempted, cleared, and exonerated from all and every punishment, pains, and penalties whatsoever for the said offenses."[d]
By 1782, Wayman's brothers Isaac, Robert, and George also had moved to Bedford County, Virginia. The Bedford County Personal Property Rolls of that year showed Isaac and Wayman's personal property to include slaves, while George's and Robert's did not.[e] Wayman and his brother George sold all of their land in Bedford County on 28 February 1803, but Wayman does not appear to have left that County, since the 1810 and 1820 Censuses listed him still there and a Bedford County power of attorney document was signed by him in 1825.[f]
--------------------------------------------------------
a. Jean Grigsby, SINKLER-SINCLAIR-ST. CLAIR: A FAMILY HISTORY, Vol. I (Beeville, Texas: Jean Grigsby, Family Histories, 1988) p. 6.
b. Ibid., p. 7.
c. D.A.R., Vol. 91, p. 1,343, as quoted in Grigsby, p. 8.
d. Grigsby, p. 8.
e. Ibid.
f. Ibid.

  vii.   ELIZABETH SINCLAIR, b. 1754, Overwharton Parish, Prince William County, Virginia18,19; d. Unknown; m. HENRY [PRIEST?]20; b. about 1749; d. Unknown.
  Notes for ELIZABETH SINCLAIR:
Elizabeth was aged eight in 1762 when Wayman wrote his Will. [Will of Wayman Sinckler, Loudoun Co. [Va.] Will Book A, p. 59.]


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