My trip report will be entered in segments as I finish each one.

Bob


Report on trip to Orkney Scotland to research the Stoken Family history.

The results of the trip were mixed. Some good and some not-so-good. I did eliminate some of the possible family links that I had assumed correct prior to the trip. The most positive result is that, with minor exceptions, I believe that all of the Orkney Stoken, Stokan, Stockan, and Stocking surnames are related. There is good evidence that they all came from a common Orkney ancestor. The earliest mention of the Stockan name so far is from 1611 land records of farmers in Orkney cited by Gregor Lamb in his book Orkney Surnames. The farms were well established by then so the surname was there earlier. The farms mentioned in the entry below are the Unigarth farm, South Unigarth farm, North Unigarth farm and Stockan farm in North Dyke. All are definitely in Sandwick district today.

Stockan Farm in 1920, Northdyke, Sandwick and is situated between the farms of Lenahowe and Upper Garson, just north of the Bay of Skaill. The Unigarth and South Unigarth Farms are just East of the Bay of Skaill. North Unigarth farm is just East of the North Dyke farm.

It is possible and likely that the entire Stoken (various spellings) surname in Orkney came from a 9 sq mile area.

The distance from Unigarth Farm to North Unigarth Farm is about 3 miles.



This little map may help understand the relationship of the districts.

Bob