Introduction / Families

Gray

There is a mention of the Gray surname in the 1810 rental with a James Gray at Hammar. However, there were no Grays by the 1841 census hence the identity of James Gray is very much speculation.

There is a possibility that this was the James Gray who married Jane Harcus and had three sons in the period from 1777 to 1783.

There were Harcuses on the island at the time with a William Harcus at Bull. It is also possible that William Gray, the son of James Gray and Jane Harcus, married Barbara Allan and their sons were the origins of the Grays in Eday and Papa Westray. Barbara Allan’s aunt, Marion Allan, married James Harcus and they are thought to have moved from Westray to Pharay with their family somewhere between 1806 and 1809/10. This is based on the parish of birth of their children.