Blair Collection > Celtic magazine > Volume 12

Caithness History. 523
contested in the House of Lords, a certified copy of a charter was
produced, which had been granted by Queen Mary, dated 2nd
October, 1545, to John Sinclair, son and apparent Earl of
Caithness. This document proved that George, the fourth Earl,
was married to Lady Elizabeth Graham, and that they had a son
John, in whom the Earldom became a male fee to him and his
heirs male, but reserving the liferent to the Earl then living.
King James the Sixth granted a charter to George, fifth Earl of
Caithness, on 17th December, 1591, and this charter shows that
George, the fifth Earl, was a son of John, the late Master, and
that he was married to Lady Jean Gordon.
This Earl was known by the appropriate title of " Wicked Earl
George." He was, by a long way, the worst Earl that ever wore
the Caithness coronet. He was a striking contrast to the Earl
who preceded him. That Earl expended all his energies to make
the Caithness family a power in the land, while this Earl shattered,
and almost ruined, the work which his great predecessor had
accomplished. He was animated more by caprice and passion
than by any distinct aim in life.
He signalised his advent to power by the murder of two ser-
vants of the late Earl, namely, David and Ingram Sinclair. He
did this openly and in the day time. The reason for the murder
was because the two men were the keepers of his father, John
Sinclair, in Girnigoe, and it may be assumed that he thought
that they had a hand in his father's death. He did not take
into account that they were obeying the instructions of the former
Earl, in the same way as he might expect his own servants to have
obeyed himself. Ingram resided at Wester, and David at Keiss.
The tradition is that Ingram had, a daughter who was to be
married, and that, on the morning of the marriage day, the Earl,
who was on horseback, met David, who was travelling from Keiss
to be present at the wedding, on the Links of Keiss. It is said
that the Earl there and then ran him through with his sword and
killed him. After he had done this, he proceeded to Wester,
where he found Ingram engaged in playing football. He called him
aside, and, with a pistol, shot him dead. Mr. Calder, in his History
of Caithness narrates that " he then coolly turned his horse's head
towards Girnigoe, and rode off with as little concern as if he had