DAVIES, William James b abt 1824 Isle of Man

[teinesamoa]

Can someone please help me find the parents and/or siblings of William James Davies, my great great grandfather?
•   b abt 1824 Isle of Man
•   in 1849 he was chief officer of the Berhampore, a ship which brought fencible soldiers to Onehunga, Auckland, NZ
•   m Mary Jane SHALE, daughter of one of the soldiers, in 1853 in Auckland
•   occupations included mariner, ship’s chandler, ship owner, first mayor of Thames, harbour master of Thames
•   children (all born either Onehunga or Thames):
o   William John b abt 1852
o   Joseph Henry b abt 1856
o   Charlotte Mary b 20 Jul 1858
o   Eliza b abt 1860
o   Walter James b abt 1864
o   Annie Jane b 1870
•   d 29 Dec 1882 Thames
Any suggestions about how to find out more about him would be appreciated

Thanks

[KGarrad]

I'm not seeing him on any of the usual IoM sites?

Do you know where, in the Isle of Man, he was born?

[teinesamoa]

I'm not seeing him on any of the usual IoM sites?

Do you know where, in the Isle of Man, he was born?

I'm not seeing him on any of the usual IoM sites?

Do you know where, in the Isle of Man, he was born?

Sorry, no. In fact I only think he was a Manxman because it was mentioned in his obituary in the local newspaper (that he was a "native of the Isle of Man". It may be that he was not actually born there at all. Sorry

[KGarrad]

Civil Registration on the Isle of Man only started in 1878, so we have to rely on Parish Registers.
True, there are only 16 parishes, but it would help to know where to start!

I did a search on the new iMuseum site, but no hits.

[teinesamoa]

Civil Registration on the Isle of Man only started in 1878, so we have to rely on Parish Registers.
True, there are only 16 parishes, but it would help to know where to start!

I did a search on the new iMuseum site, but no hits.

Thanks for trying.

[Frances_mnb]

True, there are only 16 parishes, but it would help to know where to start!

there are actually 17  and have been for a few hundred years - tho by early 19th C the town parishes are becoming important.

I'd look at 1841 census - Davis or Davies families are generally Irish or English - there is one that could have an Irish born son - if a child grows up on the Island might well be considered as Manx esp by those without detailed family knowledge

[teinesamoa]

Thanks I'll try the census but it's a bit of a needle in a haystack when I really know nothing about him. Also I suspect he might already have been at sea by 1841 - to have reached the position of chief officer on a reasonably large sailing ship by 1849, I assumed he probably went to sea quite young.
Thanks for your help