I am trying to establish whether or not James Clegg, shipwright and dealer in building materials in Liverpool, b IOM circa 1825, is a younger brother of my great great grandmother, Catherine Clegg nee Clague (bap Rushen, 1820 - 1913)

Catherine's parents were Thomas Clague, farmer (Arbory, 1790 - 1873 ) and Esther Kneen (Croit e Caley, Rushen, 1792 - 1881). They moved around the island, mainly in the south, but the 1841 census shows them living at Ballaradcliff, Andreas :

1841 Andreas, IOM
Andreas
Balla Radcliffe
Thomas CLAGUE 50 Farmer
Esther 45
Richard 20
Catharine 20
Thomas 15
James 15
Robert 14
Esther 10
Margaret 5
Ann Cain 20 F.S.

The 2 eldest children, John b 1814 and William b 1816 had already flown the nest. Two other children had died very young.

Subsequent censuses show that John 1814, William 1816, Richard 1818, Catherine 1820 and Thomas 1822 were all baptised in Rushen, whereas Esther 1829, Esther 1831, Jane 1834, Margaret 1836 and Edward 1838 were all baptised in Santon.

This leaves James and Robert unaccounted for.

I have been told that the Santon parish register for the relevant period unfortunately contains some illegible entries. My informant says:

"Santon Parish Register, original document seen at MNHL 15.07.05:...
"A Register of the Christenings Marriages and Burials of the Parish of KK
St Anne commencing in the year of our Lord 1690"...
"1827 March 18th has blank spaces - [ ] son of Thos Clague & [

] where I was hoping to see 'Robert Clague' and 'Esther Kneen'. (the
film of the Official Copy had wiggly lines instead of the spaces which I
took to mean unreadable writing). Several other entries around then have
spaces too, as if someone was going to fill in the details later"

The other Thomas Clague fathering children in Santon during the same time period was married to Eleanor Gelling, and he was a stonemason.

So, coming back to James Clegg, shipwright / dealer in building materials, 1825 - 1880---he married Mary Elizabeth Whitehead in Liverpool on Sept 30th 1849. Their marriage certificate gives father of the groom as "Thomas Clegg, Farmer".

The James / Mary Elizabeth family can be tracked through the Liverpool censuses as follows.

1851 Court Gilbert Street
1861 Lime Street
1871 Beaufort Street
1881 Lonsdale Street
1891 Lonsdale Street
1901 Lonsdale Street

James gives his place of birth as IOM in 1851 and 1871. In 1861 he gives it as Liverpool. There are several questionable details on the 1861 entry, but it's definitely the same family bacause there's a niece, Elizabeth Jordan, age 7 in 1851 and age 18 in 1861, who ties it together nicely.

I've looked at entries for James Clague / Clegg in the IOM 1841 census in case there was another James born circa 1825 with a father Thomas Clague, farmer. The only one who fits is our Andreas James, son of Thomas mentioned above. There is one James who isn't attached to his family, so I don't know his father's name, and he's a 17 year old labourer at Ballahane, Rushen. Am I wrong to assume that he's not likely to become a master shipwright in Liverpool ?

The problem seems to be unresolvable. However, I'm posting this message in the hope of contacting descendants of James and Mary Elizabeth, one of whom may possess old family photos which are the same as the ones passed down through my family, of Thomas and Esther Clague and their children and grandchildren from the second half of the 19th century. It's a long shot, but worth a try.

James Clegg's and Mary Elizabeth Whitehead's children were:

Jane Clegg b 1850 m Thomas Henry Harrison
Agnes Clegg b 1852 d 1853
Richard Clegg b 1854
Esther Clegg b 1858 d 1861
James Whitehead Clegg b 1860 d 1930 m Mary Jane Thompson
Elizabeth Clegg b 1863
Thomas Clegg b 1866 m Mary Emma Reynolds
Robert b 1871 m Penelope Russell

Does anyone recognise these names ?