[taken from Chapter 3 Manx Worthies, A.W.Moore, 1901]

EWAN CHRISTIAN (b. 1644, d. 1712),

son of Robert Christian, of Lewaigue, is found, for the first time, as a member of the House of Keys, in 1673. In 1703, he, with Ewan Christian, of Milntown, and John Stevenson, of Balladoole, was appointed by the Keys to arrange with the Earl of Derby for the settlement of the dispute about the tenure of land, the agreement between them being embodied in the " Act of Settlement," which is called the Manx Magna Charta. In 1707 he was one of the delegates appointed to confer with the English Commissioners of Customs, and to ask them for the importation, duty free, of cattle, and of other products of the manufacture of the isle. Our knowledge of his character is mainly derived from his funeral sermon preached by Bishop Wilson, of whom he was a devoted friend. In it the bishop speaks of him as follows " He is going to the grave with such a character among men and such a testimony of good works attending him that, when God thinks fit to call for any of us, the very best of us may wish his ease to be ours. He lived to a good old age.... He did all the good he could for his country, for his family, for his friends, and for his neighbours; in short, he has been a common benefactor to this poor place and his loss will be sooner felt than made up.... His understanding was stocked with abundance of useful knowledge, such as would surprise and edify those who knew him intimately."

see also under Kione Prash