Hello Doug

Very interesting. I've found some of your old messages and am trying to piece bits of the puzzle together. The reference to Red Gap rang a bell so I looked at some saved census pages from 1881. Thomas Sansbury b 1835, brother of the Joseph Sansbury who married Catherine Taggart b 1822, your William's sister ) was living there with his wife Jane nee Kneen b 1829 and their children. Jane had inherited some money from her maternal grandfather, Thomas Kermode 1762-1842 in the will which mentions your g g g grandfather, Paul Taggart of Arbory as holding some of Thomas Kermode's money on security.

A few years ago, a great granddaughter of Thomas Sansbury and Jane Kneen had sent a letter to a distant cousin in which she mentions her great grandparents' circumstances in the years before her grandfather and his sisters emigrated (mid to late 1880s ?). She alludes to a letter written by her grandfather,a son of Thomas and Jane Sansbury. This is an extract:

"I have a letter written by my grandfather in 1958, the year he died (he was 89), and in it he refers a little to the family history. He was a son of Thomas Sansbury b 1835 and Jane Sansbury nee Kneen b 1829, and according to his letter, Jane kept house for her grandfather Thomas Kermode, which I understand was close to Port St Mary's (it was at Surby ) where Thomas Sansbury was a carpenter. When grandfather Kermode died, Jane must have inhertited some money and they went farming which was disastrous according to my grandad's letter. Thomas Sansbury was not a good farmer. His older brother, John Sansbury, then set him up in buying and selling corn."

I wondered whether the farm which Thomas Sansbury bought at Red Gap in the late1870s may have been the one which your g g grandfather, William Taggart b 1819, sold when his sons emigrated to the US.

The other connection I have to your Paul Taggart b 1789 is this: his daughter Jane bap 27 Dec 1824 married William Clague 1816-1893, who was an older brother of my g g grandmother, Catherine Clague b 1820 (their parents were Thomas Clague 1790-1873 and Esther kneen 1792-1881.)

William Clague b 1816 and Jane Taggart b 1824 each had a grandmother whose maiden name was Kermode, I believe. William's paternal grandparents were John Clague b 1759 and Catherine Kermode b 1760. Can you confirm that Jane Taggart's maternal grandparents were William Quayle and Elizabeth Kermode ? If so, do you have details of Elizabeth Kermode's baptism and parents ? It would be neat if Cath Kermode b 1760 turned out to be the sister of Elizabeth Kermode.

I have photo from circa 1880 of your g g g aunt Jane Clague nee Taggart, which I acquired from Priscilla Lewthwaite after I'd seen an article in a 1988 copy of an IOMFHS journal about some old photos she'd bought from Jurby Junk. Some were labelled on the back, and this one says "Mrs Wm Clague. Daughter of Paul Taggart Poolvaish." I can send you a copy if you email me :

faircork-tree (at) yahoo.co.uk

Jean C