In 1861 he was given as b. Ballaugh, but in 1871 , 81 & 91 he had Onchan as his birthplace. He appears to have married Elizabeth Cottier at Ballaugh in 1884 (IGI). She died in March 1891 (www.lawsons.ca). In 1891 James was a retired mason living with Sabrina Callin stepdaughter, 32; she was c. 1859 in Ballaugh as Sabrina Jane Cottier, mother Elizabeth Cottier, no father given.
Frances' suggestion of James' birth seems highly probable. Lonan and Onchan share a large boundary, and there was only the one census entry where he claimed birth in Ballaugh.
JohnL