The Sinclair and McKid families

26th November 2024

History Notes

In a few weeks’ time we are expecting a visit from a Sinclair descendant who is tracing the family's connection with Barraba and the McKid family.

Both the Mckid and Sinclair families came from northern Scotland in the 1840's and apparently kept in touch between the Hunter Valley and Goulburn in the earliest years.

John McKid was born in Watten, Scotland, in 1808, and arrived in Sydney in 1837. It seems that he worked his way north to the Hunter Valley where he met and then married Louisa McCartney in 1841. Three years later, John and Louisa were living at Barraba, running a store on the corner of Alice and Queen Streets, somewhere near where Fuller Gallery is today.

The Sinclair family came to Australia also in the 1840's, although they arrived in several groups through the decade. James Sinclair and his wife were re­united in Australia adding four more children before tragedy struck the family.

Christina Sinclair died giving birth to their sixth child, and only daughter, in 1848. It was soon after this tragedy that James widowed sister, Jean, and her daughter and sister came to Australia.

Unfortunately, this was not the end of the tragedies - Louisa McKid died leaving John to rear their four children and run the store. John made his way to Goulburn, to see Catherine Sinclair. In the meantime, James Sinclair had disappeared while selling supplies on the goldfields and to this day no one is sure what happened to him.

There were now two families - McKid and Sinclair-with no mother and only one father! The problem was solved when John McKid married Catherine Sinclair and both families settled down in Barraba. Catherine's older sister, Jean and her daughter also moved to Barraba about the same time. Later Jeans’ daughter married Henry Williams.

On arrival in Barraba the older Sinclair children were given jobs and later ran the post office and went droving cattle. They both married and in later years their sister became Mrs. Quelch. More on the next generation next week.

News for November 2024