Hi Russell
You wrote:
"I am looking for information regarding my Great Grandfather who was supposedly born at Douglas in 1850.
He left the island and went to Australia were he married in 1873 and died in 1906.
However we are having trouble locating a birth certificate to verify this claim.
Can anybody help me with this or suggest any other options."
I've copied this paragraph by looking back at your previous thread on this topic of looking for John Preston b circa 1850, and I've tried to separate out what basic facts you have, hidden amongst all the different Preston names in your subsequent messages.
Using Brian Lawson's census indexes to identify John Prestons b circa 1850, I've pasted blocks of John Prestons from 1851, 1861 and 1871 to demonstrate that there were only 2 on the island in the right time frame.
1851
PRESTON John 17 Mal 2526 63 20
PRESTON John 2 Mal 2526 81 7
PRESTON John 15 mos Mal 2526 96 24
1861
PRESTON John 26 Mal 4424 89 25
PRESTON John 11 Mal 4424 89 17
PRESTON John Edwin 3 mos Pee 4428 52 106
1871
PRESTON John 36 Cas 5777 184 193
PRESTON John 21 Mal 5777 90 37
PRESTON John G 10 Pee 5771 235 328
So we have these 2 Johns:
1) JOHN PRESTON bap 12 Nov 1848 Malew, to John Preston and Elizabeth Bridson. He died as a very young child soon after the 1851 census and this is his burial:
PRESTON, John 2 Mal 11 Jul 1851
These are the census entries for his family:
1851
Malew, district 5, pages 2+3 :
John Preston age 51 farmer
Elizabeth wife age 44
Ann dau age 16
Mgt dau age 13
Eliz dau age 11
Charles son age 7
William son age 5
John son age 2
1861
Malew district 5, page 15
John Preston head age 62 farmer of 20 acres
Elizabeth wife age 55
Eliz dau age 20
Charles son age 17
Wm son age 14
Robert son age 7
1871
Malew district 5, page 4
Knock Breck
John Preston head age 72 farmer of 20 acres
Eliz wife age 65
Eliz dau age 28
Charles son age 26
Wm son age 24
Robt son age 17
2) JOHN PRESTON bap 13 Jan 1850 to Robert Preston and Catherine Callister
1851
Malew, district 6, page 5
Jane Quilliam head Wid age 76 born Arbory
Robert Preston "inmate" ! Mar age 46 ag lab born Arbory
Catherine age 37 born Arbory
John age 15 months b Malew
Jane age 3 months b Malew
1861
Malew, district 6, pages 2+ 3
Robert Preston head age 56 labourer b Malew
Catherine wife age 47
George son age 12
John son age 11
Jane E dau age 10
Emily dau age 7
Catherine dau age 5
Mgt dau age 3
1871
Malew district 1a, page 8
Ballasalla Street
Robert Preston head age 67 annuitant
Catherine wife age 57
John son age 21 joiner
Jane E dau age 20
Emily dau age 17 dressmaker
Mgt dau age 13 scholar
1881
Onchan G district 2b, page 11
19 Hope Street
George Preston head age 32 joiner and builder b Malew
Annie wife age 35 b Santon
Clara M dau age 9 b Douglas
Annie dau age 7 b Douglas
Robert C son age 5 b Douglas
George W age 3 b Douglas
Emily dau age 3 months b Douglas
John boarder widower age 31 joiner b Malew
Mgt visitor unmarried age 22 b Malew
1891
Onchan district 11, page 12
40 year old joiner John Preston widower is at 17 Tynwald Street, Douglas, with his sister Margaret and his brother George's family.
So, the conclusion seems to be that of the only 2 John Prestons born on the IOM circa 1849, one died as a toddler and the other was still on the island working as a joiner when your John was in Australia.
Going back a generation and looking for a John Preston b circa 1850 on the mainland who had a Manx parent, there may be several, but here's one that was easy to track because John's father was a hairdresser:
John Preston's parents, George Preston and Mary Ann Taylor married 20th March 1834 L'Pool St Nicholas. There are several extracted Liverpool baptismal entries in the IGI for John's siblings, but I can't find one for John. From his 1851 and 1861 census entries, he was born in 1847/1848.
1841 Lancashire, Liverpool, St Thomas, district 17, page 18
Greenland Street
George Preston age 29 hairdresser, N (not b Lancs )
Mary age 25 Y (born Lancs)
Alice age 6 Y
Elizabeth age 4 Y
Mgt age 2 Y
Wm age 2 months Y
*************************************
1851 England Lancashire, Toxteth Park, district !c, page 11
9 Bedford Street
George Preston head age 39 hairdresser born IOM
Mary A wife age 35 b LPool
Elizabeth dau age 14 b LP
Maria dau age 9 b LP
Mary A dau age 6 b LP
John son age 3 b LP
Henry son age 3 months b LP
******************************
1861 England, Lancashire, Liverpool, Dale Street,district 16, page 33
Lithebarn Street 5 Court
George Preston head age 49 hair dresser
Mary A wife age 45
John son age 13 scholar
Alice dau age 26 bookbinder
Maria dau age 19 bookbinder
Mary A dau age 14
Henry son age 10
George son age 6
James son age 6
All "born IOM"
******************************
1871 England Lancashire Toxteth Park, district 35, page 14
Llanrwst Street
George Preston head widr age 59 hairdresser b IOM
George son age 17 labourer b LP
James son age 17 labourer b LP
******************************
I can't find this John in 1871, so it's possible that this is your man.
If I were going to splash out on a birth certificate, this is the one I'd go for:
Name: John Preston
Year of Registration: 1848
Quarter of Registration: Jan-Feb-Mar
District: Liverpool (1837-1934)
County: Lancashire
Volume: 20
Page: 334
Jean C