Hey folks. This one's been stumping me for months now, and I only just found this site (was too busy sticking to Ancestry).
I have an ancestor, my 4th great grandmother, Elizabeth. I have bits and bobs of information about her (from her living in Scotland), but I cannot for the life of me find anything substantial about her/her parents from the Isle of Man. I'm scared this will be a bit of a wall of text, but here's everything I've got about her so far (in reverse chronological order).
- 1908 - Died in Kirkmichael, Ayrshire, Scotland. Her name on the certificate is listed as Elizabeth Radcliffe. She doesn't have any parents listed, and the witness was her son, John Campbell. Birthplace listed as Isle of Man.
- 1901 Census - She lived in Kirkmichael, Ayrshire. She lived in the house with John Campbell and William Campbell (son). Her name is Elizabeth Campbell here, and she's listed on the census as John's wife, however I've never been able to find a record of this marriage, and so I've never been able to confirm it. Maybe she just decided to take his name. Her birthplace is listed as Isle of Man.
- 1891 Census - lived in Kirkmichael, Ayrshire. Lives with John Campbell (Sr), John Campbell (Jr), and William Campbell. John Jr and William are both born to John Campbell and Elizabeth, and both are illegitimate. On the census she is listed as Elizth Lacey, and is the housekeeper. Her birthplace is listed as Isle of Man.
- 1881 Census - lived in Kirkmichael. Lives with John and John, and Elizabeth Lacey (her daughter from another marriage). She is again listed as Lacey, and is the housekeeper. Birthplace, again, is Isle of Man.
- 1871 Census - was an inmate at Mill Quarter Hospital in Kilmarnock. She was there with her daughters, Annie, Catherine, and Elisabeth. Birthplace, Isle of Man.
- 1863 - Marriage between Elizabeth Radcliffe and James Lacey, in Dalmellington, Ayrshire. Here, her usual residence is listed as Patna (about 10 mins from Dalmellington). Her parents are listed as William Radcliffe (profession was a sailor), and Anne Radcliffe (m.s. Neil).
Now here is where I'm struggling. I cannot find Elizabeth anywhere before 1863. I can't seem to find her in the 1861 census, or prior. At this point, I started looking into William and Anne. I was able to find a couple of documents, but again, nothing on any census records.
I was able to find information about their marriage through parish records. If correct, they were married on 9 Nov 1828 in Arbory, Isle of Man. The other record I found, was a baptism record for Elizabeth Radcliffe on 17 Mar 1839, in Lezayre, Isle of Man, with parents William Radcliffe and Anne Kneale. I've tried searching for all three in census records, newspapers, etc. Maybe I'm just not looking in the right places though.
For Elizabeth, I tried to follow her movements through the country, but couldn't find the related records.
- 1863 - lived in Patna, and married James Lacey in Dalmellington
- 1865 - daughter Annie was born in Straiton, Ayrshire to Elizabeth and James
- 1867 - daughter Catherine was born in Cumberland, England (haven't been able to narrow down) and find certificates
- 1868 - daughter Elisabeth born in Kirkmichael to Elizabeth and James.
- 1871 - inmate at the hospital, mentioned earlier. From here on, no mention of James Lacey
- 1873 - son John was born (illegitimate) in Kirkmichael
- 1880 - son William was born (illegitimate) in Kirkmichael
And from here it seems she spent the rest of her days in Kirkmichael.
I found a census entry from 1851 in Liverpool (I read that a lot of the Manx community moved to Liverpool), which had William Radcliffe (whose occupation was a Rigger (Ship)), and an Elizabeth Radcliffe (age 12, which would fit the baptism dates), however the mother listed in the census was Margaret Radcliffe, not Anne. I'm not discarding it entirely, but I'm not certain of it either.
If anyone does have any information, I think you'd be a literal godsend. Like I say, this has been stumping me for months.
Thanks all
(also, if anyone wants/needs links to anything I've mentioned above, let me know and I'll sort it out! Wasn't sure if you could post links here or not
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