I am looking for anyone who may have a John Brew on their tree or appearing in their research, who may have left the Isle of Man for Wales. He seems to have had a brother, Thomas (and possibly a mother named Elizabeth).

Unfortunately, the name John in the Brew family is all too common, hence my difficulty in finding the right one.

My John married a Mary Taylor in Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Wales, on 24 December 1788, following banns on three consecutive Sundays in Chepstow in November 1788. I have personally seen the original Parish registers in Wales and they note both were "of this Parish", but there is no trace of ANY Brew being present anywhere in Wales before this time. John is listed as a bachelor and Mary a spinster. They were married by the minister, with Thomas and Hannah Ashburner as witnesses. They were presumably illiterate as both undersigned their names with an their mark, 'X'

How and why, indeed from where, John came to Wales are unknown. Current theories include overland movement from Liverpool, or voyage by ship from either Ireland or the Isle of Man.

There appears to be no record of where John was born. Family lore says he was from the Isle of Man, but it is difficult to know if this is a fact or whether it is simply because the name is from the IOM, it was assumed John was, too.

Hence my request for anyone who may have a John with a loose end, or a note "over the seas", etc., in a will, which might tie in with a Wales connection to my John Brew.

The data I have on him is not great. We assume he was born around 1765 +/- a few years, and know he married Mary Taylor in Chepstow on 24 December 1788. He had two sons, John, christened Chepstow 21 February 1790, and Thomas, christened Chepstow 4 December 1791.

It is also unknown when John died, although son Thomas' apprenticeship indenture as a Ropemaker, dated 1809, alludes to the fact that John was dead by 1805. However, neither date nor place of death are mentioned. It shows that Thomas was already in an apprenticeship agreement since 1805, for which he obtained the consent of his mother, Mary. "...wh'as by Ind're bearing Date the 2d Day of July 1805...it is witnessed that the sd. Ths. Brew with the Consent of his mother Mary Brew of Chepstow afsd. widow did put himself apprentice to Saml. Brookman of Chepstow afsd. Ropemaker....". There are no records of his death in the parish registers, this is the only clue.

Could it perhaps have been that he died at sea, and it is for this reason no details of John's death exist? This might also lend weight to the theory that he may have been a seafarer and therefore came to Wales by sea from the IOM or Ireland.

We believe that John also had a brother called Thomas, as a Thomas Brew, also married to a Mary, is recorded as have christened a son, James, in Chepstow, on 8 June 1794, but thereafter leaves no trace whatsoever. Did this Thomas then return to the IOM, for example?

Does anyone have any clues, or any suggestion of a John Brew, born on the Isle of Man around 1765 who then 'disappears' or is shown to have moved away, possibly to Wales, sometime between, say, 1780 and 1785?

Any help, hints, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.