•  the Leonards of Grips and Quoys,  Sourin

•  the Leonards of Digro

•  the Leonards of Grain, Treblo, and Cruannie

The Leonards of Grips and Quoys, Sourin

The earliest traceable member of this family is Peter Leonard who married Janet Louttit.  Their son Alexander 1809-1890 married Margaret Grieve in 1832.  Two of their four sons, Alexander and Malcolm are known to have married.  Alexander emigrated to Otago in New Zealand.  Malcolm married Mary Craigie in 1862 and they had 8 children, two of whom, James and Alexander also went to New Zealand.  Alexander has numerous descendants there.  There are other descendants of Malcolm and Mary in Orkney and Edinburgh.

The earliest traceable member of this family is Thomas Leonard who married Isabella Inkster.  Their son Peter, 1798-1892, married Isobel McKinlay and they had ten children.  One of them, James 1835-1913, is noted for the courageous stand he took against an oppressive laird (landowner) who owned most of Rousay.  He spoke up on behalf of his fellow crofters in the knowledge that he and his family would be evicted from his home at Digro as a result.  These events are covered in a book, The Little General and the Rousay Crofters by William P.L. Thomson.  A roadside monument commemorating James Leonard's brave action was erected near Digro a few years ago.

There are many Leonard descendants in Orkney and elsewhere including Alan Grieve, Thelma Leslie, Alison Munro, and Gordon Taylor.

This family of Leonards can be traced back to John Leonard at the croft of Grain.  He would have been born probably in the early 1770s.  He married Isabella Inkster in 1802 and they had four children, John b. 1802,  Mary b. 1810,  James b. 1812 and George b. 1816.  John married Ann Kirkness from the parish of Sandwick and there are many descendants.  There are also many descendants of James and George, including Ruby Leslie, Bruce Dyson, Mary Nisbet, Beth Johnson, Vernon Corsie, and Phyllis Braby.  Mary Leonard married James Pearson and some of their descendants are to be found in Canada.

James b. 1855, a son of James b. 1812, was a stonemason who stayed at Cruannie.  He married Ann Marwick, daughter of David Marwick and Betsy Clouston of Tou Cottage.  Their first child, David b. c1875, does not appear in the photograph below taken between 1898 and 1900. 

James Leonard 1855-1904 and his wife Ann Marwick with their sons, L to R, James, Archibald, William, and John, and daughters, L to R, Mary and Annie.

(Photo by courtesy of Tom Gibson)

John William Brass and his wife Anna Leonard (1843-1909), a sister of James Leonard (above) (Photo by courtesy of Susan Brass Schultz,  Michigan USA, their g-granddaughter)

John Inkster Leonard (b 1841) and his wife Isabella Kent of Westray. John was a brother of James Leonard and  Anna Leonard (both above)  (Photo by courtesy of Susan Brass Schultz,  Michigan USA)		Annabella Leonard (b 1881), daughter of John Inkster Leonard and Isabella Kent   (Photo by courtesy of Susan Brass Schultz, Michigan USA)
Wedding photo of Bill Leonard & Mary Shearer in 1917.  Bill (b. 1882) was the son of John Inkster Leonard & Isabella Kent (above) Photo by courtesy of Rosemary McLaughlin, Orkney  their granddaughter		Mary Leonard (b. 1873), daughter of John Inkster Leonard & Isabella Kent (above) Photo by courtesy of Rosemary McLaughlin, Orkney
Bill Leonard & Mary Shearer with daughters Nora (on his knee), Rhoda and son Leslie		Bill Leonard with sons (L to R) Walter and Leslie
Photo by courtesy of Rosemary McLaughlin, Orkney		Photo by courtesy of Rosemary McLaughlin, Orkney
Bill Leonard (right) and his brother-in-law John Rendall married to Mary Leonard (above), c1953 Nice Wellies!   Photo by courtesy of Rosemary McLaughlin, Orkney
Archibald Leonard b 1881 and his wife Margaret Jean Gibson  b 1877 with their children, L to R, Verna, Marion, Ivy, David, Thomas, and Anna Mae behind them, taken 1914/1915. (Photo by courtesy of Doug Hoover)		50th Wedding Anniversary, Margaret and Archibald Leonard, 17 Feb 1955  (Photo by courtesy of Doug Hoover)