Hi Karen, your husband is my second cousin. My grandfather is Thomas Henry ("Harry") Cain, younger brother of your husband's grandfather, who he called "Raffy". I'm just getting started researching the family history - both the Cains and the Kneales. Have you found any more information?

I don't know much about the family history but here's what I do know:
My great-great grandfather was a fisherman in Peel. I believe his name was Thomas and he lived on Castle Street, but I'm not sure. His son, the first William Radcliffe Cain was a joiner. He was known as "Ralph" - this is apparently the name on his gravestone, which I think is in Peel cemetery.

According to my mother, before world war one Ralph was a joiner at a timber yard in Douglas. During WW1, he worked at the shipyard in Barrow, where my grandfather was born. After the war they returned to the IOM - at some stage they lived on a small farm in Patrick (called "The Hope" I think).

Harry and Raffy were separated when Annie died and Ralph remarried - they each went to live with an aunt, although they both stayed in Peel.

My mother thinks one part of one of your posts is wrong - you refer to Mary Kneale, a midwife, marrying the first William Radcliffe Kneale (Ralph) - there was definitely a midwife in the Kneale family, but she was Harry and Raffy's grandmother on the Kneale side - Annie's mother.

Apparently either Thomas or Ralph (my mother thinks it's Thomas) also had a couple of brothers who emigrated to America. There was also an "uncle Teddy" (I think on the Kneale side) who went to America but came back.

We don't know a lot about the Kneale side. Annie had a sister, Jane, who ran a cafe on Peel promenade (apparently now the site of a car park). Jane had two daughters, Jessie and Beatrice.

I'm just getting started researching the Cain and Kneale family trees - any more information you have would be really helpful

cheers

Julian