2. James² Harrold (Unknown¹) was born probably in the Orkney Islands of Scotland say 1750.

He married Janet Williamson, probably before 1773, probably in the Orkney Islands of Scotland. Janet was born say 1750, probably in the Orkney Islands of Scotland. Gregor Lamb, in his book "Orkney Surnames" (Edinburgh: Paul Harris Pub., 1981), has this to say about the Harrold surname, on page 31: "Harrold. John Haraldson, 1438: a native patronymic surname: it was formerly assumed that all Harrold surnames originated from the first name Harald but this is not the case: the present Orkney Harrolds were originally Thorwald and originated in the North Isles, particularly Sanday and Gairsay: not a common surname today: lightly scattered throughout Orkney."

Lamb has since changed his opinion about the origin of the name. In a letter dated 7 November 1995 he states that he believed the name descended from Thorwald because in many early records Harrold was written as "Durrald", which suggested to him that this represented a particular Norse sound implying a name more akin to Thorwald than to Harrold. He no longer believes this to be true. He claims that the surname derives from "Haraldsson", a patronymic meaning 'son of Harald", and that the Orkney branch of the family must have adopted and fixed the patronymic name sometime in the 14th century. A John Haraldsson was surety for the earl of Orkney in 1434, and bailie (chief magistrate) for Kirkwall in 1438. This may be the same John Haraldsson who as a merchant sailed to England on board the ship 'The Magnus' in 1445, and at one point was even in Estonia.

The surname "Harraldsson" is of Scandinavian origin, rather than Scottish. Harald I, or Harold Fairhair, first King of Norway (c.850-c.933), invaded and conquered the Orkney and Shetland Islands in the year 875, beginning centuries of Norse rule of the islands that didn't end until 1468. Many of the inhabitants of the Orkneys had Norse blood as a result, and our Harrold family is likely one of them.

Gregor Lamb claims that the family is one of many that descends from the early Norse chieftains Kolbein Hruga from Wyre and Svein Asleifarson from Gairsay.

Our earliest known Harrold ancestor, James Harrold, lived on both Gairsay and Wyre at some point, as we know his son John was born on Gairsay and Alexander on Wyre. Gairsay belongs to the parish of Evie and Rendall in the Orkney Islands, off Scotland's northern coast, and, like Wyre, is one of the original home islands of the Harrold family, according to Lamb. Gairsay lies about a mile and a quarter off the coast of the main island in the Orkneys, northeast of Rendall, and 1 1/2 miles northwest of the island of Shapinsay. It is about two miles long and a little more than a mile wide at its broadest point. The island consists primarily of a conical hill of considerable altitude that rises steeply on the west side but is plain and fertile on its eastern flank. In the mid to late 1800s when our Harrold family was in residence it was home to only a few families. A small harbor, called the Millburn, lies on the south shore, perfectly secured by the island itself and a small islet in the mouth of the harbor. In Norse times Gairsay was the home of the Norse chieftain Svein Asleifarson. More recently, in the 1600s, a family of Craigies that represented the Orkneys in Parliament built a manor house here. By the 1800s it lay in ruins. Wyre is somewhat larger than Gairsay, lying north of that island, and is part of the parish of Rousay and Egilsay.

Our James Harrold would have been born about 1750, give or take a decade. His wife Janet Williamson may have come from the nearby island of Shapinsay, which was home to a large number of Williamsons in the 16 and 1700s.

On his son John's death certificate, James' occupation was given as "labourer". On his son Alexander's death certificate James' occupation was given as "farmer". He and his wife both probably died before the 1841 census was taken.

James and Janet may have had more than the two children listed below:

James Harrold and Janet Williamson had the following children:

+ 4 i. John³ Harrold was born about 1773.

+ 5 ii. Alexander Harrold was born about 1782.

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