Sue

Thank you for your help with this. I have looked at the many Keig/Keggs and am struggling somewhat. I agree that the household you highlighted in 1841 at Wellington Buildings is the most plausible to be the same one as the 1851 Kegg household in Liverpool - the ages are ot too bad especailly for John. If Ellen Kegg was shortly to give birth in 1841 to my ancester William Edward, perhaps she was living elsewhere. The only possible candidate in the 1841 Census is an Ellenor Kegg in the household of Matthew and Sarah Dawson at 'Bell Abby' (though she is a few years too old perhaps - should be 24-25 instead of 30). I have looked at the image for this but as I am rather new to this I cannot decipher any of the writing in the Profession/trade/etc column except possibly for John Bell - Paper maker? I wonder if you would mind looking at the attached extracted from the Census document as I am sure you are much more experienced at deci[phering these than I am. It may not help but perhaps it does, even if only to dismiss this person from the running.

Within the marriage records from the Isle of Man Parish Registers 1598-2009, there is a marriage of John Keig to Elinor Christian in 1817, which is not inconsistent with the ages of John and Ellen Kegg. In the 1841 Census return which you drew my attention to, the other people in the Kegg household were mostly of surname Christian.

Looking at Kegg/Keig children born around 1817, there are (1) Joseph b 1821 (consistent with 1841 Census), father John Kegg mother Ellenor Christian (2) John b1819, father John Keig mother Elinr Christian; and (3) Elleanor Keig b1817, father John Keig but frustratingly mother described as Cath Christian. The entry also describes the child as a son, but that's probably just an error by the original registrar. Presumably as many people not read they could not challenge or correct what the registrar wrote down. I can't locate any marriage of a John Keig/Kegg to a Cath Christian, so this may just be the use of a second name or name by which she was also known. Or maybe that is wishful thinking. However this is the only person of the right age to be having children in 1841 named anything resembinh Ellen. Most other Keig/Kegg children in the records seem to belong to another family created around 1830-36 and christened in St Marys which is too late for my purposes. Do you think any of thiese assumptions are reasonable? In my work so far I have assumed quite a high standard of proof and am happy with Bentley Milne and Ellen Milne producing William, but the next steps back seem very tentative. Any help/advice would be welcome.

An Ellen Kegg registered the birth of another illegitimate child Martanne in 1843, with the father this time named as John Jenning. There is no trace of this person in the 1841 Census in the Isle of Man, nor in the 1851 Census. Possible he came after 1841 and departed before 1851. Or perhaps people used false names in such circumstances sometimes?

Philip

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