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Duncan Family

Below is a genealogical record, compiled from a variety of sources (North Isles Family History among others), of part of the Duncan family of Sandwick, Shetland, and of Sandwick, Vancouver Island. It shows Comox Valley poet and historian Eric Duncan's relationship to his near relatives, including his cousin Sinclair T. Duncan, who wrote about a visit to his west-coast family in the early 1900s.

Immigrants to what is now Canada are underlined.

William Duncan (b. Grind, Sandwick, Shetland, 4 July 1763; d. Cullister, Sandwick, 1798), fisherman, Cullister; m. (Sandwick, 10 Dec. 1780) Osla (Ursula) Smith (b. Havera, Shetland, ca. 1762; d. Houlland, Sandwick), to Noness, Sandwick, after husband’s death; 5 children

  • I. George Duncan (b. Cullister, ca. Nov. 1788; d. Hoswick, Sandwick, 28 Aug. 1867), boatbuilder, Hoswick; m. 1st (Sandwick, 20 Dec. 1809) Martha Halcrow (d. Hoswick, ca. 1837); 10 children; m. 2nd (12 Dec. 1839) Catherine Halcrow (b. Sandwick, 1786)
    • A. William Duncan (b. Hoswick, 20 Sept. 1810)
    • B. Halcrow Duncan (b. Hoswick, 19 July 1812)
    • C. Robert Halcrow Duncan (b. Hoswick, 11 Nov. 1814; d. Hoswick, 6 Mar. 1889; bur. Sandwick Churchyard), fisherman, merchant, Hoswick; m. (Sandwick, 2 Jan. 1840) Agnes Scott (b. Burra, Shetland, ca. 1816; d. Hoswick, 10 Oct. 1883); 9 children, including Robert Leith Duncan (b. 1840; d. 1926), Edinburgh, author of Songs of Homeland (1906) and Captain John Duncan, Master Mariner, Anno 1620 (1914)
    • D. Martha Duncan (b. Hoswick, 1 Mar. 1817; d. Hoswick, 4 July 1892), m. (Lerwick, Shetland, 27 Nov. 1836) Magnus Tait, Leith; at least 2 children
    • E. Ursula Duncan (b. Hoswick, 22 Mar. 1819)
    • F. Janet Duncan (b. Hoswick, 28 Nov. 1822; d. Manchester), m. 1st (Leith, 27 Dec. 1842) Erasmus Smith (b. Burra, 4 Jan. 1814; d. Greenwich, 15 Feb. 1852), sailor, Leith; 4 children; m. 2nd (Leith, 11 May 1854) James Johnson (b. Manchester, 20 Apr. 1823), doctor, surgeon, druggist, Hoswick; 5 children
    • G. Molly Duncan (b. Sandwick, 16 Nov. 1824; d. Sandwick, 19 May 1834)
    • H. Sinclair Thomson Duncan (b. Hoswick, 21 Apr. 1827; d. Seaview House, Hoswick, 6 Feb. 1927), teacher, Levenwick, Shetland; wholesale merchant, Leith (Duncan Bros. & Co. to 1865); commercial traveller; merchant, Hoswick, from 1870s (Duncans & Co.); Sandwick correspondent, Shetland Times; Councillor for Sandwick, Zetland County Council, 1890-1904; member, Sandwick Parish Council, 1895-1904; Trustee, Brownie’s (Broonies) Taing Pier, 1902-ca. 1907, 1911-12; author, Journal of a Voyage to Australia by the Cape of Good Hope, Six Months in Melbourne, and Return to England by Cape Horn, Including Scenes and Sayings on Sea and Land (1869; new & enlarged ed., 1884), From Shetland to British Columbia, Alaska and the United States: Being a Journal of Travels, with Narrative of Return Journey After Three Years’ Exploration (1911); m. 1st (Sandwick, 30 Mar. 1852) (Ursula) Catherine Duncan (below); 8 children; m. 2nd (Lerwick, 19 Dec. 1911) Catherine Jane Sinclair (b. Hoswick, 7 Apr. 1862; d. Lerwick, 3 Aug. 1938), teacher, Sabbath school, Hoswick
      • 1. Mary Ann Duncan (b. Leith, Dec. 1852; d. Vancouver, 21 Oct. 1923), m. (Hoswick, 17 Jan. 1878) James Leask (b. Park, Sandwick, 3 Dec. 1852; d. Vancouver, 3 June 1928), farmer, Alberta; Vancouver; 5 children—among their grandchildren, Barry Mather (b. 1909; d. 1982), M.P. (N.D.P.) for New Westminster, 1962-68, Surrey, 1968-72, and Surrey—White Rock, 1972-74; author, New Westminster: The Royal City (with Margaret McDonald, 1958); husband (m. 1939) of Camille Mildred Swanson (b. 1912; d. 2008), M.L.A. (C.C.F.) for Delta, 1960-63
      • 2. Catherine Inches Bryden Duncan (b. Leith, 9 July 1856; d. Nanaimo, B.C., 12 Aug. 1949; bur. Nanaimo), m. (Victoria, 27 Nov. 1880) Laurence Manson (b. Sandwick, 12 Nov. 1854; d. Nanaimo, 28 Jan. 1944; bur. Nanaimo), weigh master, Vancouver Coal Mining and Land Co., Nanaimo, B.C.,  1877-88; general merchant, Nanaimo, from ca. 1881; 6 children
      • 3. a son (b. & d. Leith, 15 Nov. 1858)
      • 4. Sinclair Thomson Duncan (b. Leith, 1860; d. Leith, 15 June 1861)
      • 5. John St Clair (or Sinclair) Duncan (b. Leith, 27 Apr. 1862; d. Murrayville, Langley, B.C., 16 Aug. 1954; bur. Hatzic Cem., Mission, B.C.), store manager (Leiser & Hamburger), East Wellington, B.C., then mining bookkeeper (B.C., Alaska)
      • 6. a daughter (b. Leith, 15 Feb. 1864; d. young)
      • 7. Christina Agnes Duncan (b. Leith, 23 Mar. 1868; d. Vancouver, 5 Feb. 1955; bur. Hatzic), m. (Nanaimo, 20 May 1896) William John Manson (b. Pickrigarth, Sandwick, 19 Aug. 1871; d. Vancouver, 19 Jan. 1948; bur. Hatzic), merchant, Nanaimo; deputy postmaster; M.P.P. (Conservative) for Dewdney, 1907-16; magistrate and assessor, Hatzic, Mission; 4 children
      • 8. Emily Hicks Duncan (b. Leith, 1871; d. Sandwick, 4 May 1947), m. (Edinburgh, 4 Nov. 1900) George Walter Goudie (b. Linds, Sandwick, 19 Oct. 1867; d. Setter, Sandwick, 24 Feb. 1941; m. 1st [1893] Ann Elizabeth Smith [d. 1895]; 1 child), Sandwick; 4 children
    • I. George Duncan (b. Noness, 3 May 1830; d. Leith, 9 June 1878), provision merchant, Leith (Duncan Bros. & Co. to 1865); m. (Aberdeen, 18 June 1857) Jane Thomson Morrison (b. Footdee, Aberdeen, 1829; d. Portobello, Edinburgh, 29 Aug. 1912); 5 children
    • J. James Haldane Duncan (b. Hoswick, 1 Nov. 1833; d. Hoswick, 21 Nov. 1836)
  • II. William Duncan (b. Cullister, 31 Oct. 1790; d. Aberdeen, 13 Sept. 1846 [?]), blacksmith, Aberdeen; m. (Noness, 13 Jan. 1818) Mary Ann Tait (b. Burland, Sandwick, ca. Oct. 1788; d. Lerwick, 16 Apr. 1874); 6 children
    • A. Christina Duncan (b. Noness, 2 Dec. 1818; d. Leith, 14 Nov. 1871), boot binder; m. (Aberdeen, 21 Mar. 1845) John Johnston, master mariner; at least 1 child
    • B. The Rev. John Tait Duncan (b. Noness, ca. Oct. 1822; d. Buckhurst Hill, Essex, 20 Oct. 1896; bur. St. John’s Churchyard, Buckhurst Hill), Wesleyan minister (Airdrie, ca. 1848-51; Arbroath, ca. 1851-52; Kilsyth, ca. 1852-53; Montrose, ca. 1853-54; Shetland Home Mission, ca. 1854-1862 [North Rove, Lerwick]; Berwick, 1862-65; Andover, Hants., 1865-ca. 1867; Marazion, Cornwall, 1867-68; Helston, Cornwall, 1868-71; Leyburn, Yorks., ca. 1871-1874; Richmond, Yorks., 1874-77; Retford, Notts. [Grove St. Chapel], 1877-80; Gainsborough, 1880-83; Sevenoaks, Kent, 1883-86; Salisbury, 1886-89; Sheerness, Kent, 1889-92; Maldon, Essex, 1892-95; superannuated, Buckhurst Hill, 1895); m. 1st (Sandsting, Shetland, 10 July 1856) Catherine Inches Bryden (b. Shetland, 15 Apr. 1827; d. Lerwick, 25 Jan. 1861); 2 children; m. 2nd (Lerwick, 15 Dec. 1862) Emily Mary Ann Hicks (b. Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, 5 Mar. 1837); 4 children
    • C. William Duncan (b. Noness, ca. Aug. 1820; d. Bournemouth, 19 May 1897), Aberdeen, Banff, Leith; grocer and provision merchant, Lerwick (William Duncan & Sons); member, Lerwick Town Council, 1874-76, 1880-84, 1884-86, and Lerwick Harbour Trust, 1881-84; m. 1st (Lerwick, 10 Sept. 1846) Barbara Catherine Johnson (b. Lerwick, 1 June 1819; d. Lerwick, 20 Apr. 1889; bur. New Cem., Lerwick); 8 children, including Charles Jamieson Duncan (b. 1859; d. 1915), stationer, bookseller, publisher, merchant (William Duncan & Son), Lerwick; m. 2nd Emily J. — (b. 1856; d. 1941)
    • D. (Ursula) Catherine Duncan (b. Noness, ca. June 1825; d. Hoswick, 28 Feb. 1907), teacher, Sabbath school, Hoswick; m. (Sandwick, 30 Mar. 1852) Sinclair Thomson Duncan (above); 6 children
    • E. David Duncan (b. Noness, 28 Oct. 1827)
    • F. George Duncan (b. Noness, 12 Feb. 1830; d. Buckhurst Hill, 20 Oct. 1896), house painter, Leith; m. (Leith, 17 July 1861) Mary Ann Jupp (b. Leith, 1840; d. Leith, 28 Feb. 1879); 5 children
  • III. Oliver Duncan (‘Auld Olie’, b. Cullister, 22 Oct. 1793; d. Leebitton, Sandwick, 22 Apr. 1879), crofter-fisherman, Golga, Sandwick, then (ca. 1843) Houlland; basket maker; precentor, Congregational Church; m. (Sandwick, 1 Feb. 1821) Ann Manson (b. Setter, ca. Sept. 1789; d. Houlland, 24 June 1875); 5 children
    • A. William Duncan (b. Golga, 2 Jan. 1822; d. at sea between Comox and Nanaimo, B.C., 25 May 1883; bur. Nanaimo), sailor; gold miner, Australia; farmer, Sandwick, Comox, from ca. 1862
    • B. Eric Duncan (b. Golga, 28 June 1825; d. Bristol, ca. 1846), sailor
    • C. John Robertson Duncan (b. 28 June 1825; d. 1825)
    • D. Oliver Duncan (‘Young Olie’, b. Golga, 27 Feb. 1828; d. Sandwick, B.C., 25 Aug. 1898; bur. St. Andrew’s Anglican Cem., Sandwick, B.C.), crofter-fisherman, Sandwick, Shetland; farmer, Sandwick, B.C., from 1864 (in Shetland, 1868-70); m. 1st (Sandwick, Shetland, 4 Dec. 1856) Barbara Tulloch (b. Leebitton, 24 Mar. 1832; d. Sandfield, Shetland, 28 Jan. 1859; bur. Old Churchyard, Sandwick); 1 child; m. 2nd (Sandwick, 1 Jan. 1863) Robina Bruce Manson (b. Sandwick, Shetland. 25 May 1831; d. Sandwick, B.C., 30 July 1915; bur. St. Andrew’s Anglican Cem.)
      • 1. Barbara Duncan (b. Sandfield, 1 Sept. 1857; d. Victoria, B.C., 23 Mar. 1938; bur. St. Andrew’s Anglican Cem.), m. (Victoria, 1 Oct. 1879) William Munro Dingwall (b. Ardullie nr. Dingwall, Ross-shire, 2 Mar. 1851; d. Comox, 3 Apr. 1889; bur. St. Andrew’s Anglican Cem.), bookkeeper, London, Ont.; timekeeper, Baynes Sound Colliery Co. Ltd., Tsable River B.C., ca. 1876-78, and Inverness Cannery, Skeena River, B.C., ca. 1879-81; Postmaster, Quadra (Baynes Sound), 1876-78, and Comox, 1881-87; merchant, farmer, Comox; Government Agent, Comox, from 1881; M.P.P. for Comox, 1882-86; farmer, Sandwick, B.C, from ca. 1888; 4 children
    • E. Robert Duncan (b. Golga, 28 Feb. 1830; d. Nanaimo, 13 Apr. 1893; bur. Nanaimo), crofter-fisherman, Houlland, to 1877; peat cutter, and in copper mine, Sandlodge, Sandwick; in Sandsayre, Sandwick, 1877 (or 1878)-83; farmer, Sandwick, B.C., from 1883; m. (Stovebanks, Sandwick, 11 Dec. 1856) Barbara Manson (b. Leebitton or Setter, 23 Oct. or 6 Sept. 1828; d. Sandwick, B.C., 15 Sept. 1912); 4 children
      • 1. Eric Duncan (b. Houlland, 9 July 1858; d. Comox, 29 Mar. 1944; bur. St. Andrew’s Anglican Cem.), to Sandwick, B.C., 1877; sawmill worker, Nanaimo, 1878; Provincial Government Agent, Comox, 1882-88; farmer; storekeeper, Sandwick, B.C. (Duncan Bros.), ca. 1888-1912; postmaster, Sandwick, 1889-1912; school trustee, census taker; author, Rural Rhymes and the Sheep Thief (1896), The Rich Fisherman and Other Tales (1910), The Rich Fisherman and Other Sketches (1932), Fifty-Seven Years in the Comox Valley (1934), From Shetland to Vancouver Island: Recollections of Seventy-Five Years (1937; 3rd ed. enlarged, Recollections of Seventy-Eight Years, 1939); m. (Nanaimo, 9 Feb. 1889) Anna Ask (b. Stockholm, 18 Dec. 1866; d. Victoria, 3 Dec. 1921; bur. St. Andrew’s Anglican Cem.); 1 child (adopted)
        • a. Charles Andrew Duncan (‘Charlie’, né Pritchard, b. Comox, 30 Mar. 1895; k.-i.-a. Canal du Nord nr. Cambrai, 28 Sept. 1918; bur. Quarry Wood Cem., Pas-de-Calais), B.A., Univ. of B.C., 1916; Private, 196th (Western Universities) Btn., C.E.F., 1916; Lieut., 46th, Btn., Can. Infantry (Sask. Regt.)
      • 2. Barbara Duncan (b. Houlland, 12 Feb. 1860; d. Scarpness, Sandwick, 24 Dec. 1955), m. (Leebitton, 21 Dec. 1882) Alexander Smith (b. Pickrigarth, 14 July 1855; d. Scarpness, 18 Sept. 1933), Nanaimo until 1898; fisherman, Scarpness; 9 children
      • 3. William Duncan (‘Willie’, b. Ireland, Bigton, Sandwick, 4 Nov. 1862; d. Sandwick, B.C., 21 Feb. 1943; bur. Courtenay Civic Cem.), farmer (dairy), Sandwick, B.C.; founding director, Union & Comox District Hospital Bd., 1894; officer, Comox Creamery; Mayor, Courtenay, B.C., 1918-21, 1925-26; Presbyterian and United Sunday school superintendent; m. (Hopeman, Moray, 2 July 1890) Mary Main (b. Hopeman, 12 Nov. 1868; d. Sandwick, B.C., 1 Jan. 1943; bur. Courtenay Civic Cem.); 7 children
        • a. Isabella Main Duncan (‘Bella’, b. Comox, 20 Aug. 1892; d. Nanaimo, 1 Mar. 1907)
        • b. Robert George Duncan, M.M. (‘Robbie’, b. Sandwick, B.C., 22 Aug. 1894; k.-i.-a. nr. Bourlon Wood, Pas-de-Calais, 28 Sept. 1918; bur. Bucquoy Road Cem., Pas-de-Calais), teacher, Sandwick, B.C.; Cpl., 102nd Btn. (Comox-Atlin, then Central Ont. Regt.), Canadian Infantry, C.E.F.
        • c. John Oliver Duncan (‘Johnny’, b. Sandwick, B.C., 3 Aug. 1896; d. Ladysmith, B.C., 29 Mar. 1976), Gnr., C.G.A., 1917; logging engineer, Ladysmith; m. (Courtenay, 14 Apr. 1944) Marion Ralston McPherson (b. Binscarth, Man., 22 Aug. 1906; d. Victoria, 7 Mar. 1983)
        • d. William Alexander Duncan (‘Willie’, b. Sandwick, B.C., 18 Dec. 1898; d. Courtenay, 22 Mar. 1993)
        • e. Barbara Marianna Jessie Duncan (b. Sandwick, B.C., 19 Mar. 1905; d. Comox, 18 Sept. 2002), m. (Courtenay, 11 July 1928) (Sydney) Herbert Marriott (‘Bert’, b. Rushden, Northants., 21 Mar. 1900; d. Comox, 6 Nov. 1980), sand and gravel supplier, Courtenay; 2 children
        • f. Margaret Frances Duncan (b. Comox, 25 June 1907; d. Courtenay, 4 Feb. 2010), teacher, Sandwick, B.C.; m. (Sandwick, B.C., 3 Oct. 1934) John Stevenson (‘Johnny’, b. Bannockburn, 22 July 1888; d. Essondale, B.C., 15 Oct. 1970), professional golfer, Comox; 1 child
        • g. Eric Frederick Duncan (‘Fred’, b. Comox, 2 Sept. 1909; d. Nanaimo, 23 July 1982), served in Second World War; manager, Royal Bank, Port Alberni, B.C.; publisher, Twin Cities Times (from 1967 Alberni Valley Times); retired to Qualicum Beach, B.C.; m. (Jan. 1943) Betty Egerton (b. Marseille, 16 Aug. 1923; d. Qualicum Beach, 11 Oct. 2020), served in Nursing Auxiliary, C.R.C.C., ca. 1940-46; 2 children
      • 4. Robert Duncan (b. Houlland, 28 Apr. 1868; d. Sandwick, B.C., 14 Feb. 1906), farmer
  • IV. Eric Duncan (b. Sandwick, ca. Mar. 1796; d. Hoswick, 11 Jan. 1882), ship’s carpenter, Sunderland; retired to Shetland; m. (12 Nov. 1821) Marion Duncan (b. Sandwick, ca. 1780; d. Sandwick, 9 Jan. 1862; m. 1st [ca. 1804] David Duncan [d. ca. 1819]; 5 children); 1 child
  • V. Marion Duncan (b. Cullister, ca. July 1798), m. John White (b. Burland, ca. Aug. 1795), stonecutter; to Warwick, Lambton Co., Ont., 1850s; 4 children