Introduction / Families / Sinclair / William Sinclair / Robert Sinclair and Jane Drever / Robert Sinclair and Mary Reid

James Sinclair and Florence Mabel Wood

James Sinclair (b. 9th June 1869) was a son of Robert Sinclair and Mary Reid.

He emigrated with the family from Eday to Yorkton, North West Territories in 1884.

On hearing of the news of the Riel Rebellion and the Battle of Duck Lake (26th March 1885), he enlisted in the Home Guard with his brother, Robert Sinclair. James was not yet sixteen and Major Watson initially said that he was too young but eventually changed his mind. This was merely six months after leaving Eday. He received a land grant for the service.

James enlisted in the First Canadian Mounted Rifles on 27th December 1899 and served with the British Forces in South Africa until 14th January 1901. He received the Queen’s medal with five clasps for Johannesburg, Diamond Hill, Belfast, Cape Colony and Orange Free State. He received a land grant for the service, which was sold.

He married Florence Mabel Wood (b. June 1879, England) in Yorkton on 13th October 1903. They had a son and a daughter who both married.

They moved to The Pas, Manitoba where James’s brother William Sinclair stayed and the two brothers started the Gateway Wholesale Company in which James was the manager. This was sold to Western Grocers and he then bought a photographic studio. He subsequently went to Western Grocers where he worked until retiring.

James died in 1945 and Florence in 1946.