Hi Iris,

The Seed of Isaac is a fascinating book, but it has errors – speculations written as facts. We are very lucky these days to have such easy (and often free) access to scans of original records, and especially to wills and admins which were far more common in the IOM than in England, for example.

It is important to do your own research in these original records, and not to copy what anyone else has written (including me) without having checked the original. There are now many scanned church records and wills on FamilySearch.

It is vital to always check for wills, especially when there were several people with the same names. – And to read the original ones to check against the transcripts mentioned. Transcripts are a fantastic aid to finding people and relationships, but always double-check the original as well which may refer to other relatives – e.g. in disputes recorded at the end of the will.

William’s will transcription mentioned in my 2014 message is now located at: www.mathjim.ca/Temp/Will3_files/1772.15.htm
and at www.mannincloud.info/wills/177/1772_040.html
Mentions wife Mary, sons Peter, John, James, Thomas, and daughter Margaret.

And the will transcription of first wife Margaret (als Corkill) is at:
www.mathjim.ca/Everweb/ewExternalFiles/1745.06.htm
She mentions sons John, Nicholas (away from the Island), three youngest sons, and daughter Margaret, and refers to two other (assumed) daughters, who were left cloth. Disputes noted between John and Peter. Stepmother was recorded there as Mary Kennish als Teare.

So eight possible children, not six as I wrote before (mothers’ names were not usually given in the earliest Maughold bapt records).

Sue