genealogical research

Sir Henry Sinclair II, 7th Lord of Rosslyn (1255 – 1336) Commander of Knights Templar at the Battle of Bannockburn

William St Clair of Roslin, 20th Baron of Roslin (1700-1778)

The bond between Clan St Clair-Sinclair and the Knights Templar was formally consummated with the marriage of Catherine St Clair to Hugues de Payens in 1129. Her father, Henry “The Holy” de Saint Clair (1060 – 1110), who was the first St Clair born in Scotland, participated as a knight-commander in the First Crusade (1096 – 1099). It’s likely that he first met Hugues de Payens, co-founder of the Knights Templar, in the Holy Land, and may have even fought in battles with him there. Hugues and his retinue later visited Scotland and received a land grant from Henry’s Rosslyn estate that established the Templars’ first priory outside Jerusalem.

On Friday, 13 October 1307 (the infamous Friday the 13th), King Philip IV of France (1268–1314) ordered the wholesale execution of the French Knights Templar. Pope Clement followed suit by later ordering all Templars arrested and their property confiscated. Given the widespread persecution of the Order throughout Christendom, it’s safe to assume many of the survivors sought a haven in Scotland. Both Henry de St Clair – Sinclair, 7th Earl of Rosslyn (1255 – 1336) and King Robert the Bruce (1274 – 1339), his close friend and cousin, welcomed them with open arms. Indeed, history records that Robert the Bruce gave them sanctuary in Scotland after Earl Sinclair granted them land on his Rosslyn estate. A bond of kindred friendship between Clan Sinclair and the Knights Templar began earlier when Henry “The Holy” de Saint Clair’s (1074 – 1110) fought in the First Crusade (1096 – 1099) with Hugues de Payens (1064 – 1136) 1st Grand Master of Knights Templar. Henry’s daughter later married Hugues in Scotland. Scottish Freemasonry evolved from this nascent relationship.

The contingent of Knights Templar at the Battle of Bannockburn (1314) led by Henry de Saint-Clair and his brother Willia undoubtedly turned the outcome of the battle in the Scot’s favor. While the Scottish army was a force to be reckoned with, they were no match for King Edward II‘s battle-hardened knights and foot soldiers. During the final battle on the second day (24 June 1314), mounted Templar knights led the attack that smashed through the ranks of King Edward’s infantry and cavalry. The 500 Scottish knights led by Sir Robert Keith (1262 – 1332) following them and then forced the opposition to retreat from the battlefield.

To commemorate their victory on that auspicious day in Scottish history, Robert the Bruce created the Order of Heridom and the Brothers of the Rosy Cross (later Rosicrucian Order). Later known as the Order of Kilwinning, this was the first masonic order created in Scotland. Robert was the first Grand Master of the Order.

The first Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Scotland was William Saint Clair of Roslyn (died 1778). He was a member of Clan Sinclair.

The second Grand Master of the First Grand Lodge of England was George Payne (c. 1685 – 23 January 1757). He served as Secretary of the Exchequer during most of his Whitehall career.

Besides the demoralization of English troops must have felt after King Robert the Bruce famously slew Sir Henry Bohun the day before, the battlefield death of Gloucester must have put them on their heels, as well. He was by all standards the preeminent knight among the English nobility present. Unfortunately for him, he entered the fray without his battlefield standard, so the Scottish troops slew him instead of capturing him for ransom, as they surely would have done had they known his identity.

Lord Roslin’s 2nd great-grandson, Prince Henry Sinclair (1345 – 1444), 1st Sinclair Earl of Orkney, explored Nova Scotia, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island almost 100 years before Christopher Columbus reached the New World in 1492.

Orkney Earl William “The Seemly” Saint Clair (1042 – 1078), William the Conqueror‘s cousin, was made the first Baron of Roslin by Scottish King Malcolm III (1031 – 1093). With the marriage of his 2nd great-grandaughter, Isabella de Roslin (1165 – 1252), to Robert de Quitry (Chaumont), the hereditary barony changed hands to her husband’s heirs as her father died without a male successor, or so it would seem in lieu of evidence to the contrary. Their son Robert (1190 – 1248) adopted the Sinclair surname as the fifth Baron of Roslin.

Baron Sinclair was an agnatic descendant of Tonantius Ferreolus (418 – 476) Roman Praetorian Prefect of Gaul.

Notable casualties and captives of the Battle of Bannockburn (1314)

By Steven Wood Collins

I spent most of my life unaware of my ancestral heritage. Sure, I knew of the personal history of my more immediate relatives; but beyond that, I never had any inkling as to my ancestral heritage. Then one day many years ago my sister said to me, “I sometimes wonder about our family background.” And so my quest to discover our genealogical roots commenced.

I started building my family tree with the very basic relationships, going back in time from my grandparents, one ancestor at a time. That initial effort proved to be the hardest part of the pursuit, mainly due to my lack of expertise as a novice genealogical researcher. As I gained familiarity with the databases and how to efficiently mine them, my progress gained ever-increasing momentum. Today, The Patricians! tree (Ancestry.com) contains nearly 120,000 individuals, stretching over 135 generations, 5,800 of which are my direct ancestors in a genealogical sense.

During this trek back in time, I encountered fascinating figures in both history and obscurity. This blog contains many stories about their genealogical relationship to me (and many of you). By far and away, as a student of history, the historically obscure individuals are of particular interest to me. I cite Baron “Blue Beard” Montmorency-Laval de Rais (1405 – 1440) as an example of a historically maligned personage whose real contribution to history, as both a playwright and hero of France, has yet to be properly recognized. Another example is Earl Edward de Vere (1550 – 1604), who’s yet to gain widespread recognition as the actual author of the body of literary work wrongly ascribed to William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616).

My life-long interest in international economics and finance continues unabated. I primarily demonstrate this professional involvement as a contributor to the Long Room, the members-only international finance professionals' forum hosted by the Financial Times of London.

I'm an avid recreational scuba diver who enjoys traveling to exotic dive sites. My love of the sea and marine life gives me an unbounded appreciation and support of “green” issues, especially those devoted to the conservation of endangered species and coral reefs.

He continually posts results of his personal genealogical research to his Goodreads Authors Blog. Entitled The Patricians - The Ancestral Heritage of Steven Wood Collins, the work represents thousand of hours of his research efforts and related commentary.

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