Thank you so much to both Frances and Jean for your replies to my query. The people I was most interested in were Bentley Milne and Christian Taubman and I was interested to try to work out what kind of household they formed part of. The answer seems that they were just neighbours within an HMO. I came to the Isle of Man (electronically) following William Edward Milne b1841. It looks as if he was the illegitimate child of Ellen Kegg and Bentley Milne. Milne is an interesting character. He married at age 18 in England in 1833 calling himself a surgeon (training was perhaps more rudimentary in those days), and after involvement in a court case with his business partner, came to Douglas by 1841. He married Christian Taubman in 1841.

About the same time as he married Christian, he registered the birth of an illegitimate son William Edward Kegg/Milne (both names are used in the records) who is my Great Grandfather. William then crops up in Liverpool in 1851 living with his grandparents John and Ellen Kegg and his mother Ellen (plus a sister, also illegitimate). Then he went to sea for a while before becoming a fisherman in Birkenhead. Eventually his mother lived with him and his family.

I plan to try to work further back on the Ellen Kegg side of the family but, my word, there are a lot of options for John Kegg/Keig.

Bentley Milne reported himself as M.D in the Douglas entry, While still in the Isle of Man he had a legitimate son called William with his wife, plus some other children. Later in life he lived in North Wales and called himself a 'railway chief' and 'landed proprietor' but he is probably my GG grandfather so I must not be too harsh. I hope he did not harm too many patients in the Isle of Man.

Many thanks again for the help.

Philip Leather