SINCLAIR, FRANCIS [SSNE 3504]
Text source
Francis Sinclair was the son of James Sinclair, first of Murkle (Olrig parish in Caithness). In 1627, Francis was appointed by his brother, Colonel Sir James Sinclair of Murkle [SSNE 538] to manage his estate while he was on military duty on the continent. They both settled the accounts in 1628. Francis then sailed to Sweden reportedly in 1629 and served as a major in James Seaton's [SSNE 3476] recruited regiment in 1630 which was then passed to George Cunningham [SSNE 2118] in 1631. Sinclair became lieutenant colonel in that regiment in 1632. Sinclair then became a lieutenant colonel for Robert Cunningham's [SSNE 2132] recruited infantry regiment in 1632. He was apparently lieutenant colonel in Colonel William Gunn's [SSNE 159] troop in the 1630s (with whom he may have served at the Battle of Wittstock in 1636), and became colonel of an infantry regiment in 1637 and returned home that year. When this was merged with Robert Lumsden's [SSNE 514] regiment in 1639 he served in the capacity of lieutenant colonel. He was lieutenant colonel in 1646 when he received an annual pension of 1000 riksdaler until he could obtain a regiment. He also received homes in Kronoberg as a partial donation in 1647, and there he established himself and his family. In 1648, Francis returned to Scotland and while in Edinburgh he signed a bond with his son James/Jacob Sinclair [SSNE 3441]. In 1649 he was ennobled and introduced under the Swedish ennoblement no. 444. He died in 1666 after being bedridden for three years. Sinclair married two fellow Scots, Johanna Sutherland [SSNE 2835] and Regina Henderson [SSNE 6422]. Their eldest daughter, Regina Sinclair [SSNE 6266] married the Scottish soldier Johan Bordon/Gordon [SSNE 4345]. Another daughter, Christina married Daniel Strutz till Strussflycht in 1668 and lived on until 1681. Francis Sinclair's son Jacob Sinclair [SSNE 3441] was also in Swedish service and married another Scottish exile, Elisabeth Clerk [SSNE 2836], who was the sister of Admiral Richard Clerk [SSNE 4138].
R. Monro, His Expedition with the worthy Scots regiment called Mackeyes (2 vols., London, 1632), II, List of the Scottish Officers in Chief; Swedish Riksarkiv, P. Sondén, Militärachefer i svenska arméen och deras skrivelser; Stockholm Krigsarkiv, Muster Roll, 1630/23-26,28-32; 1631/12-21; 1632/10-21; 1633/11-22; 1634/12-23; 1635/20-26,29-31; 1636/15; 1637/13-17; 1638/21,22; Svenska Adelns Ättartavlor, vol. 7, p. 273; Scottish Catholic Archives, Blairs Charters, BC14/14; T. Riis, Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot (Odense, 1988), II, p. 132; R. Gordon, A Genealogical History of the Earldom of Sutherland (Edinburgh, 1813), pp. 402, 450; J. Henderson, Caithness Family History (Edinburgh, 1884), p. 25; O. Donner, A Brief Sketch of the Scottish Families in Finland and Sweden (Helsingfors, 1884), p. 38.
Record updated by Dr Thomas Brochard
Service record
- SWEDEN, JAMES SEATON
- Departed 1630-12-31, as MAJOR
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY
- SWEDEN, GEORGE/ROBERT CUNNINGHAM
- Departed 1636-12-31, as LT. COLONEL
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY
- SWEDEN, WILLIAM GUNN / ALEXANDER GORDON
- Departed 1638-12-31, as COLONEL
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY
- SWEDEN, FRANCIS SINCLAIR
- Departed 1638-12-31, as COLONEL
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY
- SWEDEN, FRANCIS SINCLAIR / ROBERT LUMSDEN
- Departed 1649-01-01
- Capacity COLONEL, LIEUTENANT COLONEL, purpose MILITARY