Hi Jean,

OK, thanks, we'll go with the 'M' seeing that both you and Tom Corteen read it that way. It also works better for Margaret, because she was married.

With James Callow Corkill's parents, and father James being a shoemaker at their marriage, the 1841 census that I posted also has him as a shoemaker, as well as his son being the only James Callow Corkill I could find at that time. I did think it was quite a jump for father James to have become a farmer of 50 acres in the next census, but it was definitely the same family and perhaps he had inherited the land as the eldest son? If James's father was David Corkill, as speculated, there is this Maughold burial:
David CORKILL found dead in a field, buried Jul 28 1835.
Additionally, they were at Dreemskerry in 1841, a good indication that James Snr's wife was Thomas Corkill's daughter Cath b.1802 (Margaret's sister.)

Other than being next door to William Callow, tailor, is there anything which makes James Corkill and Mary Callow's son James "fit" better? It would be good to find mariner James in a census after 1851 (died between 1867 and 1877).

Sue