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