Hi Sue and KayN
The John Kelly age 17 in 1841 (parents William Kelly and Sarah Watterson) from Ballaqueeney, Rushen, was still at home with his parents in 1851. I recognised the family because John's brother, Henry Kelly b 1834, married Esther Kneen b 1839 (she was a sister of my g grandfather)
So, to recap, going back to the elimination process of finding the right John Kelly b 1823 who married first Ann Surname Unknown and then Jane Ritson, and looking just at the ones living in Malew/Castletown in 1841:
1)
KELLY John 19 Castletown 1464/5 23 8
this is the one who is with Christian Kelly, labourer 60. He's still with her in 1851, so that rules him out.
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2)
KELLY John 18 Castletown 1464/5 49 17
this John Kelly, son of the High Bailiff, cropped up in a thread a couple of weeks age (Elaine) --- he became an advocate in Peel.
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3)
KELLY John 15 Castletown 1464/5 24 9
this one is a mason's apprentice and is in a household with Robert Kelly 50 mason, and Isabella 45. "Mason's apprentice" rules him out.
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4)
KELLY John 15 Malew 1464/4 20 8
Malew 5/4
Smelt House (Derbyhaven ?)
Robert Kelly 60 ag lab Y
Cath 60 Y
Jn 15 Y
So is 15 yr old John the son of this 60 yr old couple, or a grandson, nephew etc ? This might be the right one. The IGI doesn't have a baptism of a John Kelly to a Robert/Cath combination, apart from an 1822 baptism in Michael, which is very unlikely to be this one.
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5)
KELLY John 12 Castletown 1464/5 30 21
this one's too young, unless the instruction to "round down" the ages was misunderstood. Interestingly, he's living on Malew St, and he's with a Catherine Kelly 25 (too young to be his mother unless her age was rounded down and this John actually was 12, in which case he'd be the wrong one anyway) in one of those dwellings with other seemingly unrelated people.
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All very unsatisfactory.
Any chance that John was illegitimate, (father a Mr Kelly), and that John was listed under his mother's name on baptism and in the 1841 census ? In which case, you'd never find him.
Jean C