posted on behalf of Marg - who for some as yet unexplained reason is blocked from posting
Hi Eric and the other Gelling Searchers:

I did obtain the will for John Gelling DOB 1740 -1829 h/o Margaret Quilliam 1740 - 1822 and this was emailed by me to BL who subsequently posted it onto his website in April this year ref: LDS: 0106423.

The parents of this John I feel sure are John 1722 – 1812 h/o Catherine Killey 1712 – 1806 – M: 1739 Braddan, this will was posted the same time as the one mentioned above and is also now on BL’s website LDS: 0106415

When you read the JG – 1829 will, you will see that he mentions John, William, Jane, Ann, Thomas – but no wife - and there may have been other children who could well not have survived infancy / childhood. Thomas (son) – as petitioner - submitted this will to the Parish of Marown (makes interesting reading!)

The children of JG and Isabella Cavendish: p/o John Gelling DOB 1790 have already been listed in previous messages on this board but for clarification I have listed them here again:

John 1790: Robert 1791: William 1794 (my William who m: Margaret Quine 1816) Thomas 1799: Margaret 1801: Sarah 1803: Isabella 1805 – 1878 (this could be the Isabella mentioned at the end of the 1829 will as having made a claim for £200 Brit – May 30 1823 and married Philip Shimmin: source Ancestry): Richard 1807: James 1810 – 1814.

In the May 2008 edition of the IOMFH, I requested information on the Gelling’s and Joyce Oates very kindly sent me a lot of printed data on the Gellings plus a CD which goes back many generations from Esther Kissack DOB 1760(?) m: Robert Quine. There is far too much to post here but from reading through it (still a lot to get through and understand) it seems to me that there are two possible scenarios (1) that the Oates married into our Gelling family (2) the two are incorrectly – but innocently – intermingled. As we know, the Gelling family tree is a nightmare in attempting to sort them all out, particularly as virtually the same children’s names are appearing in most Gelling family trees and is the devil of a job to distinguish them as to which Gelling child belongs to which parents!

In your message of May 5 2008 at 5.34 am you said that you hadn’t established who the parents of John Gelling who married Elizabeth Cavendish, well, I think they were
John Gelling and Margaret Quilliam. And the p/o of this John are John Gelling and Catherine Killey. To go a step further back, it is possible that the p/o of this last JG, re will of 1732, were John Gelling and Margaret Kneale** (see next para).

**In your message of July 15 2008 at 1.38 am you say in Para: 3 “The 1733 will for John Gelling of Ballamillaghyn is the next generation back again. He had two Johns, which wasn’t unusual in those days when they wanted to be sure of succession.” In this 1732 will it mentions his “eldest son John” then further down is says “his son John, the son of Ann Kneal” Alternatively, this could suggest that son John (Kneal) was from a 2nd marriage to Mgt Kneale, but why would his mother not be referred to as Ann Gelling als Kneale? In BL’s death / wills index there is listed a death “Margaret Gelling (Kneale) who died 1735 and will GELLIN, Margaret 1735-1 Bra KNEAL E w 0106374 (one of the wills on my ‘to obtain’ list.)

In a One World Tree on Ancestry (which I know can be suspect) there is a John Gelling DOB 1638 – 1704 Braddan, and who married a Mgt Kneale DOB 1645, children, Paul Gelling 1676, John 1682, William 1687 and Charles 1695. In the 1732 will there is a Paul Gelling as witness, also a John who “enters a claim etc….” In this OWT the father of this John is given as William but no further details.

It is all very circumspect of course, but may help – but on the other hand could confuse us more!

I am still (not done much research lately) in the process of making a list of possibly obtaining further wills but I will have to use a researcher as the Manx Museum will not now do this for you, so it will be better for a researcher to get more than one will at any one time – more economical that way I think you would agree.

If you have any questions regarding the Gelling’s – or Kissacks if you are interested - please ask away and I will attempt to verify from the information I have received from Joyce Oates.

Eric, I hope you can find your way through this maze and perhaps enlighten me some more, all help greatly appreciated – good luck!