List of householders in Castletown c.1757

The following table (extracted from Family History Society Journal (vol 15 #4 & 16 #1) where dated c.1757 - provenance not given though presumably based on Manx Museum MS 1770C) - it corresponds approximately in date to the 1757 clergy census and the first visitation of Bishop Hildesley installed in 1755 on the death of Bishop Wilson. D.Higgins [CMS Monograph #1] dates it 1754-5 but I suspect this is a little too early.

Discussion

Dating

Professor Ross of Castletown Academy had died Oct 9 1754 (Oct 6 from Feltham's Memorial Inscriptions in Malew Churchyard) - according to Bird ('An Island that led vol 1') the Academy had reached its nadir with his long dotage. His daughter Grissel married Rev. Thos. Quayle, vicar of Onchan, and died 28th July 1768 aged 57 (making her 46 in 1757 when still described as spinster). Following Ross's death a Mr Wills and then Rev John Quayle acted as masters before the appointment of Rev Castely in Jan 1758. Mr Wills does not appear (though he could have been a lodger) thus a 1757 date is reasonable.
Feltham refers to death of William Sedden, gent, 4 June 1758 aged 81 and gives his memorial on the wall of Old St Mary's.

A Michael Reilly, died August 18th 1756 (Memorial Inscription Malew) - was this widow Catharine Reiley's husband leaving her with 1 daughter (+ 1 servant + 1 lodger)?

Order of names

The order of names is not alphabetical, nor is it in 'status' order as the Governor and Deemster come reasonably well down the list!. If the order is at all significant, and it likely is, it could well have geographic significance.

Comments

A total of 548 adults and 336 children are mentioned - total of 894 compared with the 915 returned in the census.
What appears to be possibly missing are the soldiers associated with the castle garrison - 5 soldiers, 1 drummer + 1 porter are enumerated. The garrison in 1765 consisted of Constable, gunner, Lieutenant, Ensign, Porter, and 17 soldiers.
Of the total of 210 houses - 31 had servants and 60 took in lodgers. Half (29/60) of those with servants had just a single female servant.
Just under 50% of those taking lodgers (27/60) had a single female lodger, 25% had a single male lodger.
Of the households 34 were widows (22 had children in the house), 2 were stated to be spinsters though another 3 had no children. 3 households had a single male - one (Sedden) was 80 at the time so it is likely that only two recent widowers were likely to be present; another 11 houses had a single male and no children.
45% of the households had children (presumably those under 16) at home - of these some 25% had a single son and another 25% a single daughter; the average over all households with children was 3.25.
77 of the Households had a non-manx name reflecting the strong English presence in Castletown
5 innkeepers are mentioned - 2 of them widows and 4/5 having nonManx names.

People mentioned

Cochrane

Basil Cochrane had been appointed Governor 1751 and succeeded in 1761 by John Woods

Makon

James Makon had been one of the Castletown School Masters (and also Goverment Chaplain) - was Rhoda (a very non Manx name) his widow?

Taubman

John and Esther Taubman were given by Feltham,'of the Bowling Green' as he quotes the memorial tablet to their daughter Margaret married to John Christian of Unerigg Cumberland who died 1 Feb 1778 aged 29, and who is thus likely to be one of the three daughters at home.
Land on the other bank of the Silverburn near the bridge was resold to the Taubmans by the widow of Captain William Fitzgerald in 1757. A Margaret Fitzgerald is shown as a widow (with 1 daughter and 1 female servant).