Dear Francis,

thank you for such a prompt reply. A few more snippets of information to add to my extended family tree! I stumbled upon the Isle of Man connection after following a female line to a conclusion. Rosetta Mason (who lived eight doors away from John and Elizabeth Cockayne) was my direct ancestor and was born a Cockayne, sister to my Gt Grandfather x 2. She had a very hard life as a youngster from what I can gather. Her mother died in 1833 when Rosetta was only six. I don't know where she was from then until 1841 when she was in the Nottingham Union poor house looking after her grandfather William Cockayne (aged 64) and her other grandparents John and Elizabeth Topps(aged 75 each). She was only 14 herself. After her grand father William died in 1847 she met and married Jabez Mason from Oldham and things seem to have gone well for her from then on. In 1871 her husband, Jabez, was on the Isle of Man setting up his business as a Tallow Chandler while she remained on England mainland (Oldham). By 1881 she was widowed, but had managed to set up a boarding house near to her cousin or uncle John Cockayne (I'm not yet quite sure which). By coincidence her brother James Cockayne had had a baby girl in 1871 and had called her Rosetta in her honour no doubt. Sadly, she died aged only five. So, if you find any living relatives I would be pleased indeed to hear from them.