Hannah Walker Topliss born 1821

[Voirrey M]

Lonan   parish   burials   [  film ]

Thomas   son   of   Thomas   Topliss   aged   9  years    Jan.  26th   1835

Thomas  Toplisss  buried   10th   October  1840.  [  no   further   comments  in  film  as  there  might  have  been  with

a  tragic , sudden  death---   a   humane   Vicar ??

[Voirrey M]

Livia   There  is   a chapter in  "The  Ind.  Archaeology   of  the IOM  "  by Bawden  about  papermaking  here. He  reports  that  Thomas  Topliss  had   been  manager  at  Woodside  Mill  Braddan,was   Walker's   agent  at   Laxey  &  became  a  partner.  The   Manks  Advertiser  reported
after  a  disastrous  fire in  1824  that " they  manufactured   all  descriptions  of  paper  in  a  style
much  superior  to  anything  ever  attempted in  IOM"
The  MA  of  27.06.1837   reported Laxey  Mill   in  control  of  son  William  while Thomas stayed  at
Woodside but  business  was   poor   &   Manx   Liberal  reported  on  10.10.1840  death  at  Woodside
near  Strang.  William  soon left  trade  but  Walker &  Tilsley  exported  large  quantities  of  paper  to
Liverpool.   Arthur  Bawden   says  local  foundries   were very   good  at  producing  equipment.
Although   flax  &  water were readily  available &  the  quality  of  paper  good  it   was   never  a 
very   profitable   trade  &  presumably  couldn't  compete  with  imports  from  UK.

[Frances_mnb]

there is a will/decree for thomas keegan d. 1815 in Episcopal wills 1815, might name widow + children - I also wonder if the Ann Keegan who married John Postlewaite (his 3rd wife) was thomas's widow (age at death in 1842 etc would fit (there is a will/decree).  The Ind Arch article adds a little to what is in Cubbon but it would be worthwhile looking at the actual newspaper reports + any coroner's inquest (should be on file at Manx Museum).. I think I have a photo of the mill in its MER days - there might well be a photo in Quine's book 'Handbook en route' which describes the MER at about 1900 (copy in Museum library - my copy unfortuneately  is back in Peel so I can't check)

[livia]

Delighted that you have found so much information. I will take a day off next week and come to grips with it all. Perused ManxNoteBook this evening to get some context for this developing story - a very ueful and interesting site.

[Voirrey M]

Yesterday  I  needed  to  be   at   the   Strang   &  took   a  short  detour  along  the  country  road  leading  to  East  Baldwin.    The   Woodside   Mills  name  is  still  showing  on  a small  Gov.  "factory " site   down  by   the   River  Glass
----no  old   buildings  survive---  now   the    yard for  disposal  of  dead  animals  & products.  It  is   a  beautiful   wooded  valley   with " carpets"  of   blue , wild  hyacinths , at  present , in  Spring.  The   river   joins  the river Dhoo     a   mile  or   two  away  to  give  the town  its  name  " Douglas  "where  the  river reaches  the  sea.  If   you   ever   reach  IOM  you
will  be  able  to  add  it   to  your  list  of   sites  to  visit.

[livia]

Thanks again - it sounds wonderful. From my browsing on the Internet I can see that IOM is well worth a visit in its own right, apart from the great satisfaction I get in visiting places ealier generations of my family lived or would have known. Now that I can I can fly in and don't have to risk being seasick, it's definitely on the list.

[missmophead]

Hi Livia,  I have followed your conversations with Voirrey M and Frances_mnb tonight.  I have been searching for Thomas Topliss on Isle of Man.  My great great grandfather is Edward Topliss, I have a copy of hs death certificate, born  about 1832 in Lonan, Isle of Man, and his parents are listed as Thomas Topliss and Ann (nee Mylrea if my reading of it is correct) - he died in 1899 in Ballarat, Victoria. 

The Manx notes have him listed at going to the South Australian GoldFields.  He was definately in Victoria, Bendigo by 1853 and Ballarat for the rest of his life. They had a son also called Edward 1866-1937, Alfred 1869-1948,   His son William Henry Topliss is my great grandfather.1872-1949 and Arthur James 1875-1922 . I would love to see how they fit together, I haven't seen any mention of an Edward in your conversations with the IOM people, so I'm just on the path to research for this one.  Interestingly, my William was a printer, compositor and though we never knew him, my brother is also in the printing business.  There are also connection to WA, which I'm just starting to look further into.  Would love to here from anyone who can link me to Edward and Thomas with records.

regards

[missmophead]

Hi Livia,

As Thomas Topliss was married twice it looks like your Hannah was to his first marriage to Sarah (nee either Kennish or Treavis/Travis).  Looks  like they had 3 children William, Mary and Hannah.  Sarah died in1824 and Thomas married Ann (nee Mylrea) in 1825 and they had 7 children (2 died early) and whilst I havent come across a birth entry for Edward it looks like he was one of their children.  So my connection is through having the same male line.

Jan

[livia]

Hi Jan
Yes, that makes our great-greats half siblings, I think. There is a chance I can add to the wealth of information RootsChatters posted here. A couple of weeks ago, by a huge coincidence, a friend of mine found himself at a wedding reception seated next to a couple with the same last name as mine. It turned out that someone in their family had done a Masters thesis on the Thomas Gilbertson who married Hannah Topliss and came to South Australia. My friend copied the thesis for me, and it turned out to be a gem. I only read it quickly before passing it to my father and his sister to read. There was quite a bit of information on the family and the general situation on the IOM before they migrated, as well as what happened to the family once they settled at Waterloo Corner. It is a well researched and very interesting thesis - I will get it back from my father and let you know if there is anything in it about Edward or the other siblings.
Cheers
Livia