Argyll is a Sinclair homeland unique in its beauty and profound in its
mysteries.
I was going to add a bit of electronic applause to Karen,
Juli and Rebecca, who are three of the finest researchers I have has
occasion to every know and work with. The material on Argyll is accurate
from the perspective of first language, secondly geography, and then from
known genealogy and in the context of an appreciation of social history.
Members should be cautious not to draw conclusions which are simply
conjecture from the evidence. There are unanswered questions
and mysteries. Also the original material we have from
Argyll is also limited in the sense that it is not always complete, there
are gaps and there is a period beyond which it is hard to conclude there
will be any original evidence, mostly because it never existed in the first
place and many questions and mysteries will continue.
The Argyll Sinclair history and genealogy is unique and
singular back to the mid 1600's. Many of the early Sinclairs were descended
from the McKokairds in the mid Argyll region around the head of Loch Fyne.
There is no evidence at all to suggest that they were or were not connected
to the clan in Caithness at the time and if so, exactly how they were. The
is solid evidence to being connected by name in any event. Members need to
be cautious as to just how the clan system worked and much of the current
appreciation and conceptions does come, (as Karen astutely points out), from
the romantic revival of the clans in the 1800's which reinvented the clans
from a system that had been made unlawful.
Many Sinclairs originally from Argyll do have their roots
directly from the McKokairds, but some others which have been located in
Argyll in the early 1700's may, or may not, have been directly related to
the earliest McKokairds. Like Sinclairs of today, the Sinclairs of 1600-1700
moved around and were not staying neatly within the borders of Caithness.
Those with applied mechanical skills or crafts were more mobile. By mid 1700
to 1900 there was a further influx into Argyll of many clan members,
(Sinclairs among many others) including both Scots and English names in
response to migrations departing from Argyll opening up new economic
opportunities within the county. Argyll is in the Highlands NW of Glasgow,
and the Sinclairs can take pride in the contribution they made through their
talents and their hard work to Argyll to this very day.
Forever Argyll, yours aye;
Neil Sinclair, Toronto, P.E.I.,
Argyll