The Sinclairs of Sweden

[Niven Sinclair <niven@niven.co.uk>]

The Sinclairs have always played a significant role in the affairs of
Sweden.  In particular,
the story of Malcolm Sinclair has been covered in my article "A
Murder Most Foul" which
(hopefully) will appear in the next issue of the Sinclair Clan magazine
"Yours Aye".
The Swedish Government erected a monument in his honour because of the
signal service
which he had performed for that nation.
There were other equally notable Sinclairs in the Swedish service,
namely:

        

        

Charles
Gideon Sinclair, Baron of Finnekumla who was born in Stralsund

        

        

on
12th November, 1730.  He became Colonel-in-Chief of the 
Swedish

        

        

Artillery
and  General-Master of Ordnance.  He was appointed 
General

        

        

in
1799.  His military honours would take up the rest of this
page.

        

        

Frederick
Charles Sinclair, Baron of Lambahof, was born at Ostergotland

        

        

on
17th October, 1723.  he, too, joined the Swedish Army and
served

        

        

with
distinction in many campaigns ending with the perstigious award

        

        

of
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword.

The Swedish connection has been given prominence by the frequent
communications which the 
Sinclair Discussion List receives from Lena Loftstrom who is, herself, a
Sinclair descendant.

However, for the following information, I am indebted to Professor Biorn
Ivemark to whom
I had sent a copy of the coat-of-arms of Bishop Sundkler because it
included the engrailed
cross of the Sinclairs.  The following pedigree for the bishop now
emerges:

1.  Frederick Adam Wilhelm Sinclair (1791-1835) married Brita
Elonora Lagerfelt in 1818.
     They had a son:

2.  Israel Malcolm Sinclair (1817-1884) who married Alfhild Spens in
1842 and they had
     a son:

3.  Carl Gustaf WIlhelm Sinclair (1849-1919) and he had a son out of
wedlock by Amalia
     Johnsson who was:

4.  Gustaf Frederick who changed the family name to
Sundkler.  His son was:

5. Bengt Gustaf Malcolm Sundkler (1909-1995) who had no children. 
He was Bishop
    of Bukoba in Tanzania in 1961 whilst I was still in
that country but our paths didn't
    cross.

6.  Folke Ivan Gunnnar Sundkler (1910-1987) a second son of No 4
above, has two sons
     Hansgoran born in 1950 and Lars born in
1955.

7.  A third son of No 4 above was Lennart Wilhelm Sundkler
(1920-1992) had one son
     who is:

8.  Anders Sundkler who was born in 1958.  He is a doctor of
medicine at the source of
    the above information which was subsequently
transmitted to me by Professor Ivemark.

It is interesting to note that, whilst Gustaf saw fit to change the
surname from Sinclair
to Sundkler in order, perhaps, to cover his
illegitimacy, the Christian names seem to
have continued down through the generations.  The Bishop, too, might
have felt that he
had to atone for the sins of his grandfather but, I hope, that we are
more forgiving and do
not burden succeeding generations with the sins (if they be sins) of
one's predecessors.

If that was so, who amongst us could stand up?

At the present time, there are 6 x Sundklers and over 100 x
Sinclairs alive in Sweden
and countless others who, like Lena, have now Swedish names but who are
still
proud of their Scottish heritage just as we are proud of our Norse
origins.   The
wheel has a habit of turning full circle.

Niven Sinclair