There is no record of Duncan prior to marrying Margaret "Maggy" Kempt in Nova Scotia Canada in June 1856.

Census records indicate he was from "Scotland" (nothing more specific).

His date of birth is uncertain. Some family members say it was 1817. His grave indicates he died on February 24, 1894 in Cape Breton Nova Scotia at "74 years." However, census records offer conflicting information about his age.

I would like to know: which town he is from and the names of his parents.

He's my "white whale" I'm chasing and keep hitting dead ends. I found some compelling Duncan's in Scotland who would be the right age -- including one from Gairloch where his wife's family was from -- but I traced them to their marriages to others and their deaths in Scotland.

Records use "Mc Pherson" without the a, but descendants have been using "Mac Pherson."

He is the father of Isabella Mac Pherson, the mother of my maternal grandmother Mary Mac Donald.