Hi Sue,

Thanks for this detailed information. Most of my own information was obtained talking a relation, Philip Corlett of Close Cairbre, Castletown in the late 1970s who appeared very knowledgeable.

Must say the use of the same first names is rather confusing too. I was told my grandfather was adamant I should be called Richard Thomas to maintain the family link, even though my father had already left for South Africa and my birth mother was called Lyon. Maybe I should use Richard I (grandfather), Richard II (father) and Richard III (me - though a rather unfortunate historical link).

I’ll try and answer as best I can - one the problems of adoption is the difficulty of tracing one’s history. I actually traced my father, Richard Thomas Corlett (II) to a small town in Zimbabwe only to discover he’d died three weeks previously! My daughter has his birth certificate which I’ve asked her to return to me so when I receive it I’ll post details. And yes, he was born in Liverpool. October-December 1926, West Derby District, Liverpool, Vol. 86, Page 1031.

However, my grandfather, (I) the Corlett born in the IOM died in Liverpool 7th. January 1966 aged 87, I have the details of his grave, yes, and on reflection he would have been born 1879, not 1887! So, I guess the 21st December birth you found is the more accurate. I need to check his death certificate for his DOB.

The Thomas Corlett buried in Malew would have been my great grandfather. Family legend has it that grandfather (I) , home from leave after being wounded in France, sold his father’s home and possessions and moved, first to Newcastle, then Liverpool to set himself up in the building business. The offshoot of this was a very public fight between Richard and his brother Philip in Castletown Market Square.

I believe he was also a friend of Richard Costain who took over one of his building projects when he went bankrupt in the 1930s.

The questions on marriage certificates are very problematic as I’ve not been able to discover anything on the marriage of Richard (I) and Ada Read.

The ‘he’ in question “I do know he [which "he"?] married twice, his first marriage issuing Richard and Philip, and his second marriage issuing John, Tom, Steve and Bessie …” was Richard buried in Malew.

The first marriage, according to Philip Corlett in Cairbre, produced Philip and Richard (I), and the second John, Tom, Steve and Eva - it was Eva’s daughter who gave birth to Hinstridge by Richard (I).

There are certainly some ‘interesting’ features of this branch of the Corletts and any other information would be appreciated.

Richard.