The ancestors of the St. Clairs probably arrived with or after the Viking Rollo had settled in what was to become the Duchy of Normandy after the treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte in 911.
A century and a half later, at least one St Clair accompanied Duke William when he invaded England in 1066. Three brothers obtained lands lands in southern England but, according to tradition, one of them was supposed to have joined the Scottish court of king Malcolm and his queen, Margaret Aetheling. Father Hay, the eighteenth-century historian of the Roslin St. Clairs, repeated this account by van Bassan, an earlier genealogist, but dismissed it. Gaining vast estates and honours, the St. Clairs became earls of Orkney through marriage, until the Scottish crown wrested control of the islands from Norway in 1471.
The Roslin branch of the family survived until 1778. Earlier, however, William Sinclair, the great great grandfather of the 'Last of the Roslins', joined King James I’s Ely O’Carroll plantation and settled in Ireland in 1620 with his second wife and family. This branch, and other Irish Sinclairs, is the subject of ongoing study.
Current research (2011) is focussing on the descendants of the three brothers who followed duke William to England: Richard, Bretel and Hugh de St. Clair. This has resulted in uncovering new information about the Lanvalei family and William (III) de Lanvalei's involvement in Magna Carta.
Newry Sinclair family members subscribed to the cost of creating this website and have secure access to the Family Tree:
Eveline Ritchie, Scotland
Harry James, Ireland
Sheila Sutton, England
Adrian Rouse, England
Sally de Blonay, Switzerland
Chris White, Canada
Graham Sinclair, England
Polly Atkinson, England
Teenie and Tony Geach, Canada
Will Irwin, Canada
Peter Sinclair, England