Hello Jan

You may already have seen this, but in case you haven't, there's a family tree on Ancestry website which has your Thomas Craine (it gives his dates as 1804-1872) and wife Esther Gelling (1804-after 1883). It must be the correct Thomas Craine as it includes a biography of Capt Elmer W Craine of Manitowoc which mentions his grandfather Thomas Craine of Douglas who was " a teacher of the science of navigation" who arrived in America in the fall of 1842.

If you have a subscription to Ancestry, using the "photos and maps" section, put in Esther Gelling b Isle of Man, and this brings up a list with 2 photos of Esther Craine nee Gelling at the top of the list. Clicking on one of these takes you to the Craine tree which includes a photo of Thomas b 1804.

It gives Esther Gelling's parents as William Gelling (no dates or details) and Margaret Kneen (no birth date, died 1838). Having seen lots of examples of unreliable info on these trees, I tend to take them with a pinch of salt until proved otherwise. It also gives some siblings for Esther, one being a Thomas Gelling b 1801 Braddan and d 1871. In 1861 he was a farmer of 60 acres in Patrick, married in 1824 to an Elizabeth Craine (1797- ?).

Eric may well be able to identify this Thomas Gelling b 1801 from his database, and help you to find the family of Esther (if she actually was the sister of this Thomas)

Over to you, Eric.

Jean C