Sorry, Philip, I can't remember what I looked up three weeks ago, let alone three years ago. I used to keep the details of these sorts of searches on Eudora folders, which couldn't be recovered (although backed-up) after my hard drive crashed in February.

The MI you queried looks like a transcription error, of which there are many in the published volumes. Probably part of the 8 had become worn, and looked like a 9.

Tom Corteen's extremely accurate transcripts from the Maughold parish register volumes have: Ann CHRISTIAN 75 yrs (margin note: died at Cardle Veg), Ballatesson, Maughold, buried Sep 15 1881.

James Joughin's 2nd marriage looked to me as though he had a reason for rushing into it. I am more accustomed to seeing this on the many occasions when a mother died (presumably in childbirth) leaving several small children, but this wasn't the case here. I thought the reason could be because Margaret Christian was the known mother of his grandchild, and had been living in the household with her child. It was more usual for an illegitimate child to be living with the maternal grandparents, if not with the mother, so why was Emily with the Joughins? Where was her mother, if she wasn't Margaret Christian? And why would Margaret call her son Robert, if not after her daughter's father?

Of course Jean's suggestion would answer this as well, where she wrote "Is it possible that Margaret Christian's role during the 1850s prior to her marriage to James Joughin, was as servant/nursemaid/governess to Emily, supposing that the baby had been left with the Joughins by her birth mother. This might be an explanation for Emily's middle name of Christian, as Margaret would have been a sort of surrogate mother".
- Except for the missing mother.

Either way, when James's wife died, Margaret may not have been able to stay living with him without their marrying, and might have taken Emily with her (if she was her mother), and at least we can be sure that Emily was James's grandchild.

Sue