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