This series of family history articles by Ian C. Sinclair
was originally written for Girnigoe magazine.
Ian C. Sinclair
is a retired solicitor who specialized in water and
environmental law; he now runs Sinclair Consultancy Services.
He and his wife Janet live in Solihull, in the West Midlands,
England, but travel extensively — click here for details.
(Photo: William Penny)
Sinclairs of Kelso
"From rags to riches" (comparatively speaking!).
Not an uncommon chapter in a family’s history, especially
in the 20th century, but here is such another chapter in
a typical Sinclair family.
Grandfather Adam Sinclair died a pauper in the South
Leith workhouse in 1856; in the 1881 Census for Kelso,
his son, Robert Sinclair, is described as "candle-maker, unemployed", but when his son, Charles Purves Sinclair,
died in London in 1940, he had recently retired as General
Manager & Secretary & Company Director of the Colne
Valley Water Works. How had this change in fortunes come about?
Robert Sinclair was born on 1 August 1827 in South Leith
to his father, Adam Sinclair, a shoemaker, and his mother,
Elizabeth Cameron, who was a Highland lass, whose father
Robert had been previously "wright, Parish of Dull".
Robert Cameron had married Elizabeth Irvine in 1793.
I have been told that the lugubriously named Dull
is a real village, just north of the River Tay, and
to the north west of Aberfeldy. I now have to find out
how that family came down to Leith!
The next time I hear of Robert was at his marriage on
8 December 1854 in the Church of Kelso, in the County
of Roxborough, in the Scottish Lowlands, to Charlotte Bruce
Rickets (who was born on 30 August 1835). That should
make Robert aged 27 at the date of his marriage.
When did Robert leave South Leith, and why did he go
to Kelso? The answer may lie in the Sinclairs mentioned
below and, in particular, in a lady who was born Elizabeth
Sinclair in Polmaise, Stirling — her father was Duncan
Sinclair, who had in 1774 married Christian Tait in Penicuick, Midlothian, which is SW of Edinburgh and only a few miles from
Roslin, the place of the ancestral castle of the Sinclairs.
Apparently Duncan came from Breadalbane, in the Taymouth area.
Duncan and Christian’s first child was born in Penicuick,
but they subsequently moved to Polmaise, and he ended his days
in Gordon, where he was a gardener on the Mellerstain Estate.
The Kelso connection is that, in the 1841 Census for the
Woodmarket in Kelso, we find: Thomas McDougall, 67, Saddler
born in County; Elizabeth, 66, his wife, not born in County;
and Duncan, son [named after his mother’s father], 24, Saddler
(Journeyman) born in County.
Thomas and Elizabeth McDougall had various children who
included the name "Sinclair" as one of their given
/ Christian names. For example:
- John Sinclair MacDougal, born 1805 at Kelso;
- Thomas Sinclair, 1804;
- Mary Sinclair, 1807;
- Duncan Sinclair, 1817; and
- Duncan Sinclair, 1821 (presumably the one mentioned in the 1841 Census).
Other MacDougall siblings in this family were Elizabeth, 1809,
presumably named after her mother; Andrew, 1812; and Christian,
1815, presumably named after their mother’s mother.
The connection with Robert Sinclair may be that, in the
1851 Census for the Woodmarket, Kelso, we find living there
the Rickets family, namely:
- James Rickets, Head, Married, 54, Joiner, born
in Sprouston, Roxborough;
- Janet Rickets, his wife, 52, born in Melrose, Roxborough
And their three children. all born in Kelso:
- James, son, unmarried, 18, Apprentice (presumably
named after his father)
- Charlotte, daughter, unmarried, 16, dress-maker
- Elizabeth, daughter, unmarried, 9, scholar
In the 1861 Census for 4 Sheddon Park Road, Kelso, we find
the household consists of:
- Robert Sinclair, Head of household, married, age 28,
Candlemaker, born Leith, Midlothian, with
- his wife Charlotte, age 25, born Kelso, and their two
children,
- Janet Henderson, daughter, aged 3, born Kelso –
this was the name of Charlotte Bruce’s mother, and
- son Adam, aged 1, also born Kelso. Adam seems to have been
named after his paternal grandfather, who had previously died
in 1856.
This household was described as "occupying 2 rooms
with one or more windows".
By the 1871 Census, the Sinclair of Kelso family had grown,
and there were now two parents and 6 children to occupy the
two rooms. The daughter, Janet Henderson Sinclair, was no longer
there, as she had died on 16 March 1866. She had been named
after her maternal grandmother Janet Henderson, who had married
James Rickets (from the parish of Sprouston) in her home parish
of Melrose.
In the 1871 Census, the children were:
- Adam, 11, presumably named after his paternal grandfather
Adam Sinclair;
- Elizabeth, 9, presumably named after her paternal grandmother
Elizabeth Cameron;
- James, 7, presumably named after his maternal grandfather
James Rickets;
- Robert, 4, presumably named after his father;
- Andrew, 2, presumably named after his paternal uncle, and
- John, 5 mths, presumably named after his uncle, John Rickets
(born 10 April 1825).
By the 1881 Census, the family had moved to 7 Forest Field
— presumably a larger house, although the number of rooms
is not given. There seems to be a mis-reading of this figure
in the Census — it is written as "2", but
in fact the house was numbered as "7". There
is no "2" in the road, and "7" is still
standing and occupied (2002).
In the 1881 Census, Robert is described as Head of the
Household, Candle Maker (unemployed), aged 53, born in Edinburgh.
His wife, Charlotte Bruce is 46, and she is stated to have
been born in Kelso, Roxburgh. By this time, there were 8 children
living at home, all boys, except for the baby, Charlotte Matilda,
aged 4. All were described as having been born "Kelso,
Roxburgh, Scotland". The children were:
- Adam, 21, printer compositor, unemployed;
- James, 17, Cabinet maker;
- Robert, 15, Printer’s apprentice;
- Andrew, 12, scholar;
- John, 10, scholar;
- Charles Eliza Purves, 8;
- Alexander, 6; and
- Charlotte Matilda, 4.
There is an interesting "Family Birthday card"
dated 1886 which lists the family as follows:
- Robert Sinclair (son), born August 1, 1827, aged 59
- Charlotte Bruce Rickets, April 30, 1835, aged 51
CHILDREN
- Elizabeth Sinclair, born June 6, 1861, aged 25
- James Sinclair, August 28, 1864, 22
- Robert Sinclair, April 24, 1866, 20
- Andrew Sinclair, September 13, 1868, 18
- John Sinclair, October 23, 1870, 16
- Charles E.P. Sinclair, August 21, 1872, 14
- Alexander Sinclair, May 24, 1874, 12
- Charlotte Matilda Sinclair, March 1, 1879
Died
- JANET; Born 19 April, 1857; died 18 March, 1866, aged 9
- ADAM; Born 31 May 1869; died 18 December 1881; aged 22
In addition, there is a family photo taken by R. Bell
of Kelso, probably in his studio. This is believed to have been
taken in 1882-83, probably soon after the death of Adam on
18 December, 1881 showing the family with Robert Sinclair
holding a book and seated beside his wife, Charlotte, with
three children in the front row, believed to be: Charles
(seated on the left of the picture, next to his father,
and with his brother James’s hand on his shoulder), Alexander,
and Charlotte Matilda. Standing behind them are James, Robert (son), Elizabeth, Andrew and John.
At this 1881 Census, the eldest daughter, Elizabeth,
had moved away from home. She was living as a "Kitchenmaid
– domestic servant" at the house of James Brunton,
at Broomlands, Kelso. This house is still standing, although
turned into flats (2002), and is just up the road from Forest Field.
James Brunton was the "Chamberlain to the Duke of Roxburgh"
[sic]. In that household at Broomlands, there was James Brunton,
Head of the Household, aged 42; his wife Ellen M. Brunton, 35;
with their two children, a daughter, Susan H. Brunton, 7, and
a son, Nicol W. M. Brunton, 2. In addition to Elizabeth Sinclair,
20, born in Kelso, there were: a cook, Jane A. Wilson; a tablemaid,
Margaret L. Ross; a housemaid, Margaret Chalmers; and a Nurse
(ranked as a Domestic Servant), Janet Sheriff.
At the date of her marriage on 31 December 1884, we find
that Elizabeth Sinclair gave her address as 7 Forestfield, Kelso.
That address is where she was married, at the age of 23, according
to the rites of the Free Church of Scotland. She married her cousin,
Andrew Sinclair. He is described as: "Andrew, aged 25 years.
Bachelor. Printer – 51 St James Street, Glasgow. Son
of Andrew Sinclair, Sailmaker (Journeyman) and Matilda Sinclair
M/S Reid". This Andrew was the son of Andrew Sinclair,
the eldest son of Adam Sinclair. That Andrew Sinclair had married
Matilda Reid in South Leith on 12 February 1846. The witnesses
to the marriage were Isabella Robson (presumably the lady of the house)
and James Sinclair.
Thus, it seems likely that James Sinclair, who was aged 17
in 1881, a printer’s apprentice, moved to Edinburgh, so he could
have witnessed his sister’s marriage in 1884. There is also
a record in the 1891 Census that a Robert Sinclair, who was
then aged 25, unmarried, a printer and compositor, was a lodger
in a lodging or boarding house at 9 Gladstone Terrace, Newington,
Edinburgh.
The family of Andrew and Elizabeth Sinclair started life
in Glasgow and later moved to London, England. The information
about this branch of the family is given in the articles
Sinclairs of Glasgow and
Sinclairs of South London.
On a visit to Kelso some years ago, I knocked on the door of
7 Forest Field, a substantial Victorian villa house which
still stands, and was warmly welcomed to come in and look at the
front sitting room where, presumably, these two young Sinclairs
were married. Until I met my wife (from the Davidson family
of Ayrshire), I had found it strange that people in Scotland
were not married in a church or other "approved place",
as is the case in England. However, I found it was the custom
in many Scottish families to be married in their own homes
in the presence of their family, rather than, as in England
in a public place. I understand that the reason for this is
that, in Scotland, it is the person who is licenced to conduct
marriages, while, in England, the emphasis is on the "licenced place", although the person officiating also has to be authorised.
The different marriage laws of England and Scotland, especially
in the 18th century, account for the run-away marriages celebrated
over the anvil at Gretna Green.
The 1891 Census, for the Police Burgh of Kelso, "Quoad
Sacra Parish of Kelso North", School Board District of Kelso,
Burgh Ward of Horsemarket, enumerated only 4 people living at
7 Forest Field, namely:
- Robert Sinclair, Head, Married, age 63, School janitor,
employed, born S. Leith, Midlothian
- Charlotte B.R Sinclair, wife, married, aged 55, born Kelso, Roxburghshire
- John Sinclair, son, unmarried, aged 20, Baker, employed
- Alexander, son, unmarried, aged 16 “Flydresser (Fishing)”, employed.
By this time, in 1891, Elizabeth, James, Robert,
Andrew and Charles were no longer at home. Charlotte Matilda
was only 14 but significantly she was not at home on the date
of the Census. We know she was alive then, as she did not die
till March 1951, in London (at 7 Gateley Road, Brixton, London SW9,
aged 74, unmarried).
It seems that:
- Janet died when she was only 9 (19 April 1857 – 16 March 1866).
- Adam, born 31 May 1859, died on 18 December 1881,
aged 22, soon after the 1881 census.
- Elizabeth, born 6 June 1861, married her cousin, Andrew
Sinclair, and had a family which lived in Glasgow and then moved
to south London.
- James, born 28 August 1864, by family tradition went
to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and (according to family legend)
married an un-named lady, and their son eventually returned
to be a librarian in Clacton-on Sea — another person to
try to trace!
- Robert, born 24 February 1866, is listed in the 1901 Census
for 7 Gateley Road, Stockwell, Brixton, London, as living there
with his parents and brothers and sisters, aged 34, and a printer’s compositor . So far, I have no further information.
- Andrew, born 13 September 1868, was also listed in the 1901
Census for 7 Gateley Road, Stockwell, aged 32 and described as
a "Baker & Confectioner". He is believed to have moved
later to Belfast, Northern Ireland, but did not marry.
- John, born 23 October 1870, was also listed in the 1901
Census as living at 7 Gateley Road, aged 30, described as
"Bread man – Journeyman baker". He is also believed
to have followed his brother to Belfast, where he became a baker,
and to have married his landlady, but there was no issue.
- Alexander, born 24 May 1874, is also listed in the 1901 Census
as living at 7 Gateley Road where he was described as aged 26,
"Gas engineer". It is believed this is being "economical
with the truth" and that he was only a gas engineer’s clerk.
It is believed that, like his elder brother Charles EP Sinclair,
he later also "worked in water", for the Metropolitan
Water Board, but did not marry.
- The final child, Charlotte Matilda born 01 March 1877,
is also listed in the 1901 Census for 7 Gateley Road, living
with her father Robert, and mother Charlotte. She was to die at
7 Gateley Road in 1951.
Robert also died [in London in 1910?] and his wife Charlotte
Bruce Sinclair (nee Rickets) in 1908. The entry in Kelly’s Directory
– London Suburbs (Southern) for 1898, 1899 & 1900, on page
1335 shows:
- Sinclair, Andrew, 17 Braemar Road, Camberwell, SE
- Sinclair, James, 7 Gateley Road, Stockwell, SE
But for the years 1905, 1906, 1909 & 1910 (though NOT 1911,
1912, and 1913) the inhabitant of 7 Gateley Road is shown
in the Post Office London Directory – country suburbs –
Court Directory as Robert Sinclair, not James Sinclair. It is
quite possible that the James Sinclair was the son of Robert
Sinclair. The tradition is that his cousin Andrew Sinclair came
to London first and then the family of Robert Sinclair followed.
I looked in the Register of Wills for a Will of Robert Sinclair,
but I did not find an entry for the years 1910–1911–1912
or 1913. I still have not been able to trace the death of Robert Sinclair.
My grandfather was the strangely named Charles Eliza Purves
Sinclair, born 21 August 1872. So far, I have not been able
to confirm definitely who Eliza Purves was, and why my grandfather,
a boy, was given a girl’s name. The tradition is that he was named
after a lady in the hope that "money would come his way".
If so, he may have been named after Elizabeth Purves, or her
daughter Eliza J Purves, who is described in the 1881 British
Census for Kelso as living at Hermitage Lane, Pointfield. That
Elizabeth is described as a Widow, aged 76, born in Kelso, Head
of Household, and "Proprietrix of Houses". Her daughter,
Eliza J. Purves, was described as unmarried, aged 43, and
also as "proprietrix of houses". All that Purves family
— mother Elizabeth, and the two other daughters — Elenora
aged 48, unmarried, and Christian W., aged 46, also described as "Proprietrix of houses" — and Eliza, are born in
Kelso. There was another Elizabeth Purves living in Kelso and who
is mentioned in the 1881 Census. She was then living at
61 Horsemarket, Kelso, and is described as unmarried, aged 68,
nurse, born in Kelso. Naturally his middle name of Eliza was an
embarrassment to my grandfather all his life, and not surprisingly,
it was not mentioned except on strictly legal occasions.
Charles E.P. Sinclair, when aged 29, married Ethel Anne Francis,
aged 27, on 12 July, 1902 at the Congregational Park Chapel
in Crouch End, London. This was, obviously, in England, and then
his third name was given as "Eleazar" (the High Priest
of Israel mentioned in the Old Testament). Significantly, the
Sinclair witness was his younger brother, Alexander.
So far, I have not been able to trace when my grandfather,
Charles Purves Sinclair — CPS, as he was known in business,
later in life — left Scotland and exactly what he did between
his birth in 1872 and his marriage in 1902, but in the 1891 census
he is not listed with the family at the house in Kelso. However,
the story of his life in England forms another chapter in the
Sinclair family history. Naturally, if any one can give me any
more information to fill in the details of the story so far,
I would be most grateful to hear from you.
Ian C. Sinclair
ianc@clansinclaircanada.ca
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