Are you aware that North Ronaldsay people are also included in the older parish records for Sanday?
This is what I have written about my own TULLOCH search:
That possible 1781 baptismal record for Christiana TULLOCH, in North Ronaldsay, despite naming her parents as Thomas and Christiana TULLOCH, does not, unfortunately, mention the house in North Ronaldsay where they lived. TULLOCH was possibly the most common surname on North Ronaldsay then (and still now), and the range of given names in use was limited too.
Interestingly, in the year of her birth there was a major shipwreck, that of the East India trader, “Grevinde Schlemningen” on 20th December 1781 on North Ronaldsay . Of the total North Ronaldsay population of somewhere around 400 people, at least eight different men called Thomas TULLOCH were among the local residents who rallied and helped to salvage and guard the cargo in the ensuing months. They were from the houses of Westness, Longar, Midhouse (2 x Thomas) and Sennes at the north end of North Ronaldsay; and from Gerback (now Gerbo) and Gravity on the east coast. Additionally, about the middle of 1782, mention is made of an eighth Thomas TULLOCH, this one living at Dishar, who helped with his boat and 5 men from Dishar. With such a profusion of possible fathers for Christiana the search becomes an impossible maze!
Alex and I visited North Ronaldsay in 2018. One of the smaller islands of Orkney, and the most northern of those inhabited, it is only 690 hectares in size . It is a low, wind and wave-swept isle, surrounded by strong tides and rocky reefs. The population at its height in 1881 was 547; but has now dwindled to a mere 50 to 60 people that call North Ronaldsay home in 2018. Alex and I visited most of the houses listed above as we explored the island end to end – the current condition of the buildings varied widely, from a mound of rock in the corner of a field to well-maintained dwellings still in use today.
