Saintclair,

Mary Elliot Sinclair, widow of John Sinclair, was a planter’s wife in Loudoun County. Like many Loudoun planters, John Sinclair had switched from tobacco to grain production and raised buckwheat, rye, wheat, oats, and flax using enslaved labor. There was a mill on his property, so it is likely that he milled grain for himself and his neighbors. His livestock included cattle, sheep, and horses. His estate inventory at the time of his death lists a loom, wheel, reed, wool cards, and a drawing knife, indicating that Mary Sinclair, or other girls and women in her household, may have been involved in cloth production. Many women of the era learned the skills necessary to raise a family, run a household, and provide clothing, blankets, coverlets, quilts, and curtains made with their spinning wheels for their immediate family and those they enslaved.  

When Sinclair’s husband John died without a will in 1791, she became the administrator of his estate along with their eldest son, Samuel. As a widow, Mary Sinclair was allotted a widow’s dower portion, which was typically one-third of the deceased husband’s property, including a third of his enslaved workforce. In November 1792, Mary Sinclair married Israel Sears, with whom she remained until her death in December 1805.  

“Mrs. Saintclair’s” brief August 1792 entry in the Mason family manuscript account book reflects her short-lived status as a widow who, unlike wives, could control property and therefore amass both debts and credits in their own names. Before John Sinclair’s death in 1791, he represented the family’s business and financial interests. After Mary Sinclair’s remarriage in November 1792, her new husband, Isaac Sears, would have assumed that responsibility. 

By Cassandra Farrell