Introduction / Families / Harcus / William Harcus (Hercus) and Janet Groat

John Harcus and Jane Scollay

John Harcus (b. 15th April 1808) was a son of William Harcus and Janet Groat and born on Pharay.

He married Jane Scollay from Westray, probably around 1830. Jane was the daughter of Jerome Scollay and Ann Smith.

John and Jane had seven children who were baptised in Westray:

• Ann Harcus, baptised 25th December 1830 who married William Harcus

• Mary Harcus, baptised 12th March 1833 who married widower Matthew Bain on 1st December 1865. Mathew, who was born on 26th July 1820, was the son of William Bain and Margaret Drever. They lived at Smithiequoy, Westray where Matthew farmed and had no family. He died there on 8th April 1906 and Mary on 25th May 1908.

• Jean Smith Harcus, baptised 28th April 1835 who married John Sinclair

• Margaret Harcus, baptised 7th November 1838 who married John Scott

• Janet Harcus, baptised 16th May 1841. She doesn’t appear after the 1851 census.

• John Harcus, born 7th April 1845 who married Barbara Muir

• Isabella Harcus, born 17th November 1848. She was a domestic servant and died at Links, Westray on 7th September 1911.

The family were at Wool, Westray in 1841, the home of Jane’s parents and had moved to nearby Damsay by 1851 when the census indicates that John was a farmer of 7.5 acres.

Jane died at Smithiequoy, the home of her daughter Mary, on 5th January 1884 and John at Damsay on 4th July 1889.