Sorry Sherryl, I'm no expert on IOM newspapers, however, I found this on Frances's "Manx Notebook" site: (check under Newspapers in Subject search)

"The early papers carried almost nothing in the way of local obituaries - a notice of death was sometimes given but with few details. From around the 1830's, marriages and births were noted - these can be useful as off-island marriages may be listed. Such listings were certainly not complete, they reflected both social standing and also a concentration on Douglas."