Hi Donna
Thanks for the post.
I wanted to thank you for all the help you gave me last time. Unfortunately, I'd already got the wrong William Cain, because I thought everyone had to have a birth record, and James Henry's son was born in the right place at the right time. If I'd sent for my William's marriage record before embarking on my Manx Odyssey, I wouldn't have had all that fun!

Speaking of deaths in the family etc, I'm still really intrigued by the intertwined Cains and Mylchreests. I'm doing this from memory, but it's like the plot of a soap.
What relation (if any) was the Catherine Mylchreest that became Silvester's 3rd wife in abt 1716 and went on to bear 2 of his children? She was clearly(?) Henry Cain's widow, from Wills of others(?) Possibly William's McYlXt's (d.1698-ish) grand-daughter?
Was John Cain who married Ann Mylchreest in 1716 son of John Cain and Joney Kaighin and Henry's brother? Was Ann related to Silvester?
At what stage did Ballagyr come into Cain hands (John died there in 1766, as did Silvester Mylchreest in abt 1724)?
Very interesting!
Regarding my real lot, as you've probably seen, the marriage record in 1875, age 22 is the first definitive appearance of William on any official record. He was a labourer in a brass foundry, so I'm confident about discarding a 1871 census record for a carriagemaker of the same name (whose mother I believe was Ellen). There's another William Cain from Manchester in 1871, age 16, 'Boy 2nd class' on HMS Warspite, a naval training base in Plymouth, Devon, which could be him but sounds a bit young. At the time, there was a government scheme to train orphans and the poorest children for the armed forces. Is that why I can't find his father, Edward Cain?

I believe that William's mother was Mary Ann Marsh, who married an Edward Cain in Manchester Cathedral in 1849, and in 1850 they had a daughter Mary Ann who died age 1 month in June. They're both in a house in Hulme on the 1851 census, and that's it for a while - nothing of any of them on 1861 census (nor for IOM). Mary Ann (housewife) was admitted to Withington workhouse on 28 Sept 1870, then sent to Prestwich Lunatic Asylum on 18 Nov. She died there in 1894. In the meantime, still no sign of Edward since 1851 census. I've sent for death certs of Edward Cains (waste of £20), birth certs of some William Cains, but none has father Edward (waste of £30!). Current move is death cert of poss father John Cain (sadly no Will available) just to see if Edward mentioned.

If I've made the right connections this time, Edward was born 1821 in Braddan IOM, 1st child of John Cain and Mary Anne Boyne (married 18 Nov 1820). His brother Thomas was born Marown 1823. Both with parents and other siblings, Hulme, Manchester on 1841 census.
Mary Anne Boyne was born Liverpool 11 Dec 1800, dau of Edward Boyne and Ellen Cowley (Kewley?)
John Cain chr Marown 21 July 1799, parents Thomas Cain, Margaret Kermode.

Thomas Cain and Margaret Kermode had 4 sons (William, Thomas, John, Matthias) and 5 dau (Margaret, Elizabeth, Jane, Ann and Elinor). Thomas' Will 1808; Margaret Will 1836 excluded John (in England)
Edward Boyne & Ellen Kewley m. 10 Nov 1794 St. Peter's Liverpool.

The Cain line seems to lead back to William Cain Snr, d. 1778, although there are variants of the location so may not all be the same: Wills: Thomas Cain 1808 Ballagraw; William Cain 1899 Banagraue; William Cain Snr 1878 Balleygraue. That's just from A Manx Notebook and the Wills Index. I haven't haven't invested any further funds or huge quantities of time into it as I still can't be certain that I've got the right Edward.

Hopefully there's a Manx 3-legged beastie in my tree somewhere. I've just got to keep tending and pruning gently, and perhaps it will emerge!
Good to hear from you
Best wishes
Dave Cain