4. John³ Harrold (James², Unknown¹) was born on the island of Gairsay, parish of Evie and Rendall, Orkney Islands, Scotland about 1773. He was aged 77 in the 1851 census of Gairsay, and was 81 when he died in 1855. John died 17 January 1855, on the island of Gairsay, parish of Evie and Rendall, Orkney Islands, Scotland, at 81 years of age.⁽¹⁾ He was buried in the church yard of Rendall, and Janet Sinclair, wife of a descendant, says that the date on the gravestone is 20 January 1854.

He married Margaret Corston, about 1803, probably on the island of Gairsay, parish of Evie and Rendall, Orkney Islands, Scotland. Margaret was born about 1777, in the Parish of Rendall, possibly on the Island of Gairsay in that parish, Orkney Islands, Scotland. She was aged 73 in the 1851 census of Gairsay and 83 in the 1861 census. She was 92 when she died in December 1869. Margaret was the daughter of George Corston and Ann Harrold.

Margaret died 20 December 1869, at home, on the island of Gairsay, parish of Evie and Rendall, Orkney Islands, Scotland, at 92 years of age.⁽²⁾ The family of John and Margaret Harrold was one of the 15 families (71 individuals) living on the Island of Gairsay on June 7, 1841 when the census was taken (Evie & Rendall, 8:3). John's occupation was given as agricultural laborer. Ten years later, when the census was taken again in 1851, he was living at the house called "Lower Boray" in Gairsay and was a farmer of 8 acres. (Rendall, 4:1). The population of Gairsay at that time was only 41, with 6 families in all. When John died in 1855 his occupation was given as "farmer", and it stated that he had lived on Gairsay for 50 years. Where he lived for the other 31 years of his life is unknown. It said that he died at "Burray" in Gairsay, which is obviously another spelling for "Boray". By the time of the 1861 census (Evie & Rendall, 8:2) Gairsay held only 5 families and 43 people. The widow Margaret, with her children and grandchildren, were then farming 20 acres. The name of the house was now listed as "Boray". The births of five of their ten children were recorded on pages 57 and 59 of volume two of the parish registers of Evie & Rendall. They were in a section of the registers written about 1855 that contained births of children that had not previously been recorded. Parents were invited to record the births of their children before the law took effect that began the civil registration of all vital records in Scotland in 1855. Why these five children are recorded on two different pages, and why their other five children aren't recorded at all, remains a mystery, although it is possible that they had previously been recorded in the parish registers of Rendall, before that parish united with its neighbor Evie. These earlier Rendall records were all lost in a fire. We know the names and at least approximate birth dates of all ten children because their father died in 1855, the first year of nationwide civil registration of vital records, and the only year that a complete listing of the deceased's children, their ages, and their age and year of death if deceased, was recorded on the death certificate. The five children who were recorded in the Evie & Rendall registers in 1855 are joined by a couple of other entries that seem to be incorrect. One states that John Harrold and Margaret Corston had a son John Bichan born on Gairsay on May 5, 1800 (p.59). This child was not included on John Harrold's 1855 death record, so is probably an error. This is very likely the birth record of their son-in-law John Bichan, husband of their daughter Ann. Later census records show that he was born in 1800 or 1801. His birth record is recorded in with three of John and Margaret's other children, Ann, Robert and William. On p.58 there is another entry that reads, "John Bichan & Margt Corston in the Island of Gairsay had a lawful daughter born 14 January 1804 named Ann." Who this Margaret Corston is remains unknown at present.

John Harrold and Margaret Corston had the following children:

8 i. Ann⁴ Harrold was born on the island of Gairsay, parish of Evie and Rendall, Orkney Islands, Scotland 15 May 1804.⁽³⁾ An Ann Harrold married a man named John Bichan in the parish of Evie and Rendall on July 22, 1840. (Evie & Rendall, Orkney, Scotland, Parish Registers, LDS Film No., 919499, 2:78) This is probably "our" Ann, but hasn't been proven conclusively. They were listed in the 1841 (Evie & Rendall, 8:1), 1851 (Rendall, 4:2), and 1861 (Evie & Rendall, 8:2) censuses of Gairsay, with no children included at any time. John was aged 40, 50, and 60 in each of these censuses, born in Rendall. They were not in the 1881 census of Gairsay so may have either moved or died. John may have been born May 5, 1800, as stated in a paragraph above. In 1861 his sister Barbara, aged 55, unmarried, born in Rendall, was living with them. He was a farmer of 4 acres in 1851, 3 acres in 1861, and 4 acres, all arable, in 1871.

+ 9 ii. Alexander Harrold was born about 1806.

+ 10 iii. James Harrold was born about 1810.

+ 11 iv. Robert Harrold was born 6 June 1811.

+ 12 v. John Harrold was born 22 May 1813.

13 vi. William Harrold was born on the island of Gairsay, parish of Evie and Rendall, Orkney Islands, Scotland 6 July 1815.⁽⁴⁾ William died 19 January 1864, on the island of Gairsay, parish of Evie and Rendall, Orkney Islands, Scotland, at 48 years of age.⁽⁵⁾ He drowned a few yards from the shore of Gairsay by the sinking of a small open boat. His body was immediately found. Another man, James Bichan, 20, son of James Bichan and Jane Scott, also drowned. In the 1851 and 1861 censuses of Gairsay he was unmarried and living on his parents' farm. His death record gave his occupation as farm servant.

14 vii. Janet Harrold was born in the Parish of Rendall, possibly on the Island of Gairsay in that parish, Orkney Islands, Scotland about 1817. She married her first cousin George Harrold, son of her uncle Alexander. See his record for more information.

15 viii. David Harrold was born probably on the island of Gairsay, parish of Evie and Rendall, Orkney Islands, Scotland about 1820. David died in 1821, probably on the island of Gairsay, parish of Evie and Rendall, Orkney Islands, Scotland, at 1 year of age. His father's death certificate states that he died in 1821 at the age of one. No records of his birth or death can be found.

+ 16 ix. Mary Harrold was born about 1823.

+ 17 x. David Harrold was born 2 May 1826.

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