Orkney Image Library

I have some info on this couple. Margaret Walls 23, servant, was in Cletts in 1861 as was James Taylor 21 a ploughman. In 1841 aged 4 she was with her parents John & Helen Walls at South Aikers. In 1891 James & Margaret were farming on Copinsay. I can't find them in Orkney in 1901

Thank you Ian for the information, it's good to hear about them. I have a photo of Margaret and James' family grave stone which says Margaret died at Stove Deerness in 1922.

Thinking I ought to study Orkney's geography, (perhaps the lingo, too !)

Cheers, I am off to Google Earth to peer down at South Aikers, Cletts and Copinsay...

James Cromarty Taylor born 11 September 1864 in South Ronaldsay, Orkney son of James Taylor and Margaret Walls. From the Orkney Genealogy site.

I have just checked "Scotlands People" web site (GRO(S) and the birth certificate can be down loaded, I would have done it but I've run out of credits at the moment.
If you are trying to research you family tree, this would be a good beginning.

For what it may be worth here is another that may be relevant.
James Taylor born 26 February 1825 in South Ronaldsay father Alexander Taylor b. 1784 mother Cecilia Cromarty b. 2 January 1786. Frequently mother's name crops up as middle name in children.

There is no end to this. Orkney Genealogy site.
James Harrold Taylor born 28 July 1839 in South Ronaldsay
Father Peter Taylor
Mother Betsy Annal

At the risk of becoming boring, I used the last of my credits on GRO(S) to find the marriage in 1862 of James H Taylor and Margaret Walls at South Ronaldsay.
A certificate can be downloaded from www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk. You will have to register and the cost of 30 credits is £6 which gives you search of births, marriages, deaths and census records at one credit per search and five credits per download.

Thank you Tom. 'James Taylor' was apparently a very popular name! I tried to explore the Orkney branch of the family tree, maybe a few decades ago, and seem to recall being overwhelmed by the number of James Taylors that peopled the Orkneys. I have a late uncle, a (maternal) grandfather, great grandfather (pic 13345) and great great grandfather, all named ‘James Taylor’ -- as do many others, I am sure!

I will register at "Scotland's People". Hope they take American plastic. American that I am, I understand British currency even less than I do the metric system. Thank you for the last of your credits, perhaps I can return them somehow?

My older brother and sister visited Orkney on separate occasions in the nineties. Both said they were pleased to have met family members. My Dad was off Scapa Flow (in 1941?), aboard the USS Wichita with the US Navy, mission “White Patrol”. My turn to visit, one of these days.

I like hearing about the family more so than filling in the family tree. But then, filling in a family tree may lead to more ‘stories’ ... My risk of becoming "boring" is much larger than yours.

Love to look at your pictures and Ian’s. Love the whole Orkney Communities image library !

Must add: My sister has given me a partial genealogy of our Orkney kin. She hired a woman from Edinburgh to research the info some years ago. This gives James Cromarty Taylor a wife named Ruth Rupert, but records in the States have him married to Ruth Irish, an American. (Perhaps as a widower or divorcee, he married a second time? Or... !?)

There is a fair amount of information on the above people in the census books in the Orkney Family History Office in the library in Junction Road and it's free.

Fair point Ian, I have taken extensive advantage of this facility on my rare visits to Orkney but not so easy for Sallie who lives in USA. I've looked at FAQ's in "Scotlands People" and credits can be bought in any major currency. A search can be very rewarding and inexpensive.

I have the wrong date for my Dad's being at Scapa Flow with the US Navy. He was there from early April 1942 until sometime during that summer. I'll post a photo of his ship I found online .... Cheers!

Margaret Walls and James Harrold Taylor are buried at St. Peters Church cemetery on South Ronaldsay, Orkney. You can see a picture of their tombstone on the Find A Grave website.

I would edit my above comment as follows:
Margaret Walls is memorial # 145094556 on the FindAGrave website. James Harrold Taylor is memorial # 145094619. James and Margaret's son James Cromarty Taylor was my great grandfather. James Cromarty had six children...all born in Somerville, MA...all lived in Massachusetts, New York, or Indiana.