I really didn't want to hear this, Bruce. ;)

First, I hope the age is wrong for Thomas, because he should be around 18 at the time of the census, not 8.

If the info on James and Sarah is correct, it sounds like they left IOM to go to England and Thomas left from there a bit later.

This all begs the question - When did James and Sarah come to IOM, and from where? If they were long-term residents, all of you might find some record of them. If not, they will be hard to track in any country until they can be pinned down somewhere.

Instead of just looking for more on James & Sarah and their connection to Thomas, maybe now I should be looking for James' father, too.