Life

William, the fifth son of Sir John Sinclair, 1st Baronet

Sir John Sinclair, 1st Baronet

Sir John Sinclair, 1st Baronet was a Scottish politician, writer on finance and agriculture and the first person to use the word statistics in the English language, in his vast, pioneering work, Statistical Account of Scotland, in 21 volumes.Sinclair was the eldest son of George Sinclair of...

, of Ulbster

Ulbster

Ulbster is a scattered crofting township, located on the east coast of the former county of Caithness Scottish Highlands and is in the Scottish council area of Highland...

, Caithness, by his second wife, Diana Macdonald, only daughter of Alexander, lord Macdonald of the Isles, was born on 4 Sept. 1804.

He was a brother of Catherine Sinclair

Catherine Sinclair

Catherine Sinclair was a Scottish novelist and writer of children's literature.-Life:Catherine Sinclair was born in Edinburgh on 17 April 1800, the fourth daughter of Sir John Sinclair, 1st Baronet and Lady Diana Macdonald. Catherine died unmarried...

, author, of George Sinclair

Sir George Sinclair, 2nd Baronet

-Life:George, eldest son of Sir John Sinclair, 1st Baronet of Ulbster, and Diana, only daughter of Alexander Macdonald, first lord Macdonald, was born in Edinburgh on 28 August 1790. His brothers John and William Sinclair and sister Catherine....

, and of Archdeacon John Sinclair (1797–1875). On leaving Winchester school he obtained, at the age of sixteen, a commission in the Madras cavalry, and distinguished himself by leading a forlorn hope at the siege of Kittoor.

Returning to England, he matriculated from St Mary's Hall, Oxford, on 29 Feb. 1832, and graduated B.A. in 1835 and M.A. in 1837. At Oxford he became president of the union when it numbered among its members Archibald Tait, Roundell Palmer

Roundell Palmer, 1st Earl of Selborne

Roundell Palmer, 1st Earl of Selborne PC , was a British lawyer and politician. He served twice as Lord Chancellor of Great Britain.-Background and education:...

, Edward Cardwell

Edward Cardwell

Edward Cardwell was an English theologian also noted for his contributions to the study of English church history. In addition to his scholarly work, he filled various administrative positions in the University of Oxford....

, and Robert Low

Robert Low

Robert Low is a Scottish journalist and writer of historical fiction. His Oathsworn series of novels are set in the Viking Age.-Biography:...

. Thomas Jackson

Thomas Jackson

Thomas Jackson, Tom Jackson, or Tommy Jackson may refer to:* Thomas Jackson , English theologian, and President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford...

, in his preface to the Oxford squib, Uniomachia, a Greek-Latin Macaronic Poem (5th edition 1877), states that while engaged on it he had a visit from Sinclair, his college friend, who, he says, "entered heartily into the scheme, and composed many of the best lines and notes".

In 1837 Sinclair took holy orders, and accepted the parish of St. George's, Leeds, where, as a liberal evangelical, he laboured for twenty years with such ardour as seriously to undermine his constitution. From considerations of health he was then induced to accept the rectory of Pulborough, Sussex, where he rebuilt the church and rectory, and started schools and chapels in different parts of the parish. In 1874 he was appointed to a prebendal stall in Chichester Cathedral.

He died on 8 July 1878. By his wife Helen, daughter of William Ellice, and niece of the Right Hon. Edward Ellice

Edward Ellice

Edward Ellice may refer to:*Edward Ellice , merchant and politician, and a prime mover behind the Reform Bill of 1832*Edward Ellice , son of the above, Whig politician...

 of Invergarry, Inverness-shire, he was father of (among other sons) Dr. William Macdonald Sinclair

William Macdonald Sinclair

William Macdonald Sinclair, DD, FRGS , was an eminent Anglican priest and author in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.He was born into an ecclesiastical family on 3 June 1850, educated at Repton and Balliol and ordained in 1876. His first post was as assistant minister at the Quebec Chapel,...

, archdeacon of London

Archdeacon of London

The Archdeacon of London is an archdiaconal post in the Church of England. It covers one of two archdeaconries within the London and Westminster episcopal area of the Diocese of London - that episcopal area's bishop is the Bishop of London.-List:*William de Beaumais, 12th century *William of...

.

Works

Sinclair was author of:

• The Dying Soldier: a Tale founded on Facts, 1838.
• Manual of Family and Occasional Prayers, 1854.
• The Sepoy Mutinies: their Origin and Cure, 1857. He also edited the ‘Charges’ of his brother the archdeacon, 1876.