Introduction / Barbara Allan / Westray Allans / Marion Allan and James Harcus / John Harcus and Jane Drummond / William Hercus and Elizabeth Allan

David Hercus and Margaret Groat
David Hercus and Jessie Tait

David Hercus was born 16th February 1856 on Pharay to William Hercus and Elizabeth Allan. Margaret Groat was born 29th November 1857, daughter of Robert Groat and Margaret Hercus. Margaret Groat, whose mother had died when she was just over a year old in January 1859, was raised by her maternal grandparents at Doggerboat. David and Margaret were married 1st March 1877 at the Pharay school. They were cousins as David's father was a brother of Margaret's mother. David and Margaret had three daughters born in Kirkwall:

• Margaret Harcus, b. 1877 who married James Hunter in 1902, and lived in Shetland. She died in 1954.

• Elizabeth (Lizzie) Harcus, b. 12th Feb 1883 and lived in Oakwood, Ontario, Canada

• Mary Harcus, b. 1884 and d. 1895 in Kirkwall when she was 10 years old

After Margaret's untimely death David married Jessie Tait in Orphir in 1886. They had four children:

• Catherine (Kate) Harcus b. 1887 who moved to Manitoba, Canada and married Frank Coad. They lived in The Pas and had two children.

• Jessie A. Harcus, b. 26th Oct 1889 who moved to Ontario and married Jacob Lownsborough. They had a son. After Jessie was widowed she lived with her sister Lizzie.

• James David Harcus, b. 27th Apr 1892 and lived in Oakwood, Ontario with his sisters Lizzie and Jessie.

• Thelma Harcus, who married Ross Found and lived in Cannington, Ontario. They had a family of six.

David was a merchant seaman so often away from home. Margaret was living on Shore Street in Kirkwall. In 1881 she was living with her daughter Margaret, David's sisters Elizabeth Hercus and Sibella Hercus and David's aunt, Jane Allan. Margaret died in Kirkwall on 28th August 1885 at age 27. David later married Jessie Tait and the family continued living in Kirkwall, at 16 Shore Street. In 1891, Jessie's census entry indicated she was a sailmaker's wife. David was not enumerated with the household. In 1901, David, Jessie and children Lizzie, Jessie and James were living in Shetland, in the parish of Yell and at the time David was a fish-curer. They later went to Glasgow, and then moved to a farm in Oakwood, Ontario. David died in 1925.