Charles Sinclair information.  Charles was father of  Nancy Ann Agnes Sinclair.  (See deed in pdf section of site)  Nancy Ann Agnes Sinclair was married to William Colyar of 1754.

From "History of Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786, Washington County, 1777-1870" by Lewis Preston Summers (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1966):

 
(p 45) March 14, 1748 - Charles St. Clair, South Fork Holston River, 996 acres
 
(p 46) "The Alleghany mountains having been crossed and the waters flowing into the Mississippi reached, the pioneer rapidly sought to bring the wilderness under his dominion.  The first company of settlers at Draper's Meadows were at once increased by new arrivals, and numerous tracts of land west of New river and near what were afterwards known as the Lead Mine occupied.  Among the early settlers in that section of Southwest Virginia were the Crocketts, Sayers, Cloyds, McGavocks and McCalls."
 
"James Burke, with his family, settled in 1753 in what has since been known as Burk's Garden, and Charles Sinclair in Sinclair's Bottom.  Stephen Holston built his cabin within thirty feet of the head spring of the Middle Fork of Indian [River], since called Holston river, some time previous to 1748, and thus, Burke, Sinclair and Holston gave names to the localities of their settlements."
 
(p 53) "In the spring of 1754, numbers of families were obliged, by an Indian invasion, to remove from their settlements in Southwest Virginia, and these removals continued during the entire war [French-Indian War].  It will be well here to note the fact that the lands held by Stephen Holston, James McCall, Charles Sinclair and James Burke, the earlier settlers of this portion of Virginia, were held by them under what were known at that time as 'corn rights'--that is, under the law as it then stood, each settler acquired title to a hundred acres for every acre planted by him in corn..."
 
(p 134) "On March 2, 1773, the court directed John Maxwell, Robert Allison and Robert Campbell, or any three of them, to view the nighest and best way from Catherine's Mill to Charles Allison's and so on to Sinclair's Bottom, and report."
 
(p 268) "The settlers on the Holston and Clinch, during the years 1776-1777, had been greatly harrassed by the invasion of the Indians, and thereby prevented from making anything like a crop from their lands.  They had also been required to furnish supplies to Colonel Christian and his army of two thousand men, upon their invasion of the Cherokee country, and the country was thereby greatly impoverished before the crops in 1777 were harvested.  The good citizens, the relatives and friends of the settlers, living in Augusta County, contributed through Mr. Alexander St. Clair considerable sums of money, and provisions, for the relief of the settlers on the frontiers, and the County Court of this county, beside entering the following order, directed Captain William Campbell to have Mr. St. Clair to lay out the money in his hands for wheat."

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from:  PattiJ7@aol.com

To:  rcurtis@curtisco.com

sent:  Monday 06/17/2002 12:52 pm

subject:  Re: Charles Sinclair of Sinclair Bottom

Yes, Ann, last name unknown was wife of Charles Sinclair of Sinclair Bottom.  I did find some other interesting info on earlier Sinclairs which I'll type  in here. As for my source of Charles Sinclair, it came from a professor at  Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT. I have a great deal of info from her as  she has studied the line extensively.  "Sir John St. Clair (this was original spelling of the name) came to the  Province of Virginia as representative of the Crown in early 1700. Later,  Alexander St. Clair was a member of the Commision (British). These two must  have joined the patriots because Birg. General Arthur St. Clair administered  the Oath of Allegiance to George Washington at Valley Forge, in 1777."  Also, we are descended from Sir John. The English do not say "St. Clair" as  we do but run it together as "Sinkler" hence the source of another spelling  of Sinclair which you'll find in studying the name. Arthur St. Clair was a  brother of Sir John.  I'll keep digging as I know I have more information on the Sinclairs. They  did migrate to TN and many of them went on to Missouri and Illinois. My Naomi  Sinclair was born in Illinois. 

More later.

Patti

 

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In a publication Historical Sketches and REminiscences of an Octogenarian by Thomas L. Preston (Univ. of VA 1899) and published by B.F. Johnson Publishing Co Richmond VA 1900, on page 14 it states that

 

" Charles Campbell, the other surveyor of Colonel James Patton's pioneer expedition, in all probability, accompanied John Buchanan in 1749 and surveyed some of the lands which were patented to him and J. Buchanan in 1753. There is a tradition in the family that on the first surveying expedition there came to the camp of the party a hunter, who , after partaking of their hospitality, said that he knew their purpose, and if they would survey a tract of land he had chosen, he would show the best lands in all that section of the country, for he had hunted over it; and, further, that he was on friendly terms with the Indians, and would insure the party against any attack or molestation by them.

This was agreed to and the survey made, and the patent assured to (Charles) St. Clair (pronounced Sinkler) in 1753. Some confirmation of this tradition is found in the fact that the date of the patent to St. Clair is the same 1753 as those to Aspinvale and the "Salt Lick" ( now the Alkaline Works of Smythe county,) patented to Charles Campbell.

St. Clair's "choice", a fine body of land on the South Fork of the Holston, is now known as Sinkler's Bottom. It is well situated, but was the least fertile tract surveyed by those sagacious judges of soils, Charles Campbell and John Buchanan. "

 

 

LOCATION OF ST CLAIR BOTTOM VA.

 

In modern day travel it is found off Interstate I-81 by exiting at exit 35 at Chilhowie VA. Head east on Whitetop Road (state road 107 and 762) about five miles to the flashing caution light which is at the Holston river. (more like a creek at this point). What you see straight ahead is St. Clair's Bottom. It is roughly at Latitude N 36 46 4.4 and longitude -81 39 16.5