Thanks for the info on the parishes - nothing like keeping things simple. I assume similar complexities apply to the other towns on the island?

Looking at the original document again it does actually say Elizabeth Shimmin I assumed he was just using her married name.

As to the parish registers where can I borrow the film from and I assume you are talking microfiche?

As to the Ballaugh part I was probably just getting confused by the Philip Shimmin side of the family.

You might gather I'm not exactly an expert at this :-)