William Christian (1608 - 1663)

Born 14 Apr 1608 in Milntown, Lezayre, Isle of Man

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth (Cockshutt) Christian — married about 1632 (to 1663) in Kirkham, Lancashire, England [uncertain]

Descendants

Died 2 Jan 1663 at age 54 in Hango Hill, Isle of Man

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Biography

Illiam Dhône Christian was born in the Isle of Man

Early Life

William was born in the Isle of Man on April 14 1608, ^[1] the third and youngest surviving legitimate son of Ewan Christian and Katharine (Harrison) Christian. Ewan Christian was a Deemster of the Isle of Man and the head of the Christian family. The Isle of Man was, and still is, a semi autonomous part of England (now the United Kingdom) in the Irish Sea.

William was married to Elizabeth Cockshutt in about 1632, and with the £600 Dowry they bought the house Nether Sparth near Great Harwood in Lancashire, England. ^{[2] [3]}

At least two of his children were born there:

• George Christian was christened on February 8 1634/5 ^[4]
• James Christian was christened on April 11 1637 ^[5]

According to Richard Glanville-Brown, two other children were born in the period when William and Elizabeth were living in Lancashire,

• Ewan (born about 1633) who appears to have died young since another child was named Ewan in about 1638, and
• William who was born about 1635. However there is an unconfirmed source in Ancestry which gives a date of birth of 1639, which would explain why this record cannot be found in Lancashire.

In 1637, the family returned to the Isle of Man. His father Ewan found him a home on a small estate at Ronaldsway in the South of the Island, and they settled down there and had a daughter and six more sons ^[2]. Their children were ^[1]:

• William born 1635 or 1639
• Ewan born 1638
• John born 1640
• Mary (Christian) Parker born 1641
• Lineal born 1643
• Patricius born 1644
• Charles born 1648

The Situation in the Isle of Man

In 1406, King Henry IV of England had granted the Isle of Man to Sir John Stanley, who held all land as the overlord in a left over from the medieval feudal system. Gradually it had become accepted that occupiers of land could pass their interest on to their heirs or purchasers and a piece of straw was given in the presence of the Lord of the Island to signify the transfer of the land (“straw tenure”). However, in the 1630s, Lord Strange, later the 7th Earl of Derby, the head of the Stanley family attempted to regain control, over the sale of leases, and in doing so, he upset the local landowners, among the most prominent of whom were the Christian Family. The result of this was that the Stanleys and the Christians spent most of the seventeenth century in various forms of conflict. ^[6]

The Situation in England

After some years of an increasingly difficult relationship between King Charles I and Parliament, the English Civil War broke out in 1642. The next ten years saw the defeat of King Charles, his execution, the Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell, the failure of Charles Stuart, later Charles II's attempt to recover the throne and his defeat at the Battle of Worcester in 1651. The Restoration of King Charles II in 1660 followed a period of intense factional disagreement in England, from which the Isle of Man was not insulated.

Career

Soon after arriving back in the Isle of Man in 1637, William became a member of the House of Keys, and started holding increasingly important offices in the administration of the Island for the Earl of Derby, finally becoming the “Receiver”. The Earl had declared the Island for the Royalists in the Civil War, but there was a movement, including William's cousin Edward which felt that Parliament would be more likely to free Manxmen from the control of the Stanleys. ^[6]

Meanwhile William had been gaining the confidence of the Earl of Derby to the extent that when the Earl left the Island in 1651 to join the Royalist Army, he left William in charge of the Island Militia.

After the Royalist army were defeated at the Battle of Worcester in 1651, the Earl of Derby was captured, and a Parliamentary force was sent to the Island to capture it. The Earl's wife, Charlotte de la Trémoille, made secret proposals to Parliament to surrender the Island in return for his life. The Islanders discovered this and concluded they were being betrayed by the Countess. Despite having served the Earl of Derby for most of the previous ten years William and the Island Militia he controlled, rose up against the Governor and the Countess, and then the Island was delivered to Parliament. In the meanwhile, the Earl of Derby had been executed by his captors. ^[6]

Endgame

William continued, serving Parliament, as Receiver and was the Governor of the Island from 1656 to 1658. However in 1658, his problems began as charges were raised against him for misappropriating funds. He fled to England, and was accused on another trumped up charge and was imprisoned in London for ten months until bail was raised. ^[6] In 1660 Charles II was restored to the throne of England and The Act of Indemnity was passed, the effect of which was to pardon all those involved in the Civil war and the Commonwealth except those who had actually signed the death warrant for Charles I, the “regicides”.

Relying on the Act of Indemnity, William returned to the Isle of Man to resume his life, only to find that the Earl of Derby's son Charles Stanley 8th Earl of Derby was set on revenge., and William was arrested for treason. After a trial during which it was alleged the six jurors came under pressure to convict, he was found guilty. Appeals were made to the King, but the sentence was duly carried out on 2 January 1662/3. The parish record reads as follows: “Mr William Christian of Ronaldsway, late Govr, was Shot to Death at Hangoe Hill the 2th of January. He died most penitently and most Courageously, made a good End, prayed earnestly, made an excellent Speech and the next day was buried in the Chancel of Kirk Malew”. ^[7]

Aftermath

Charles II had pardoned him, and those responsible for his execution were summoned to London where a high profile legal case involving whether or not the Act of Indemnity applied in the Isle of Man was decided against them. “Intire Restitution” of William's estates was made. The Earl of Derby had been humiliated, and the Stanley family continued to make life difficult for William's family for the rest of the century. ^[6]

Elizabeth continued to live at Ronaldsway and died on November 19 1665 ^[8]

The power of the Stanley family over “straw tenure” in the Isle of Man was finally broken in 1704 when the Manx Settlement Act was passed by the House of Keys. The deputation to the Earl Derby which proposed this was led by William's great Nephew Ewan Christian. ^[2]

"Illiam Dhône"

His nickname means Brown haired William in the Manx language, which was the everyday language of most of the Island's inhabitants. After his death, the ballad "Baase Illiam Dhône" (The Death of Brown Haired William) became popular. His place in history is summarised by Dr Jennifer Kewley Draskau as follows: “As a human being, William Christian of Ronaldsway was certainly flawed: devious, ambitious, capable of ruthlessness and error on an alarming scale; yet as an enduring symbol of the struggle of the Manx people for independence, transcending the scandals, the intrigues, the hurried criminal's death on a bleak windswept promontory, Illiam Dhône lives on.”^[3]

He is listed in the Christian Family Memorial in Lezayre Parish Church.

Research Note

Primary and Secondary Sources

Apart from parish records, primary archive sources for the Christian family are:

• The Christian Annals in the Manx Museum, a detailed compilation by the widow of the last owner of Milntown,
• A genealogy of the Christians deposited in the College of Arms, by John Christian Curwen in 1798 and
• A legalized pedigree of the Christian family, in the Genealogical Office of Dublin Castle.

Unless they can visit these locations, today's researcher needs to rely on the published works of those who have done so, principally, “The Yesterdays behind the Door”, Richard Glanville-Brown, “Illiam Dhone. Patriot or Traitor”,and “Milntown”. A personal commentary on these secondary sources is below.

A Personal Review of the Secondary Sources

Kennedy-14080 11:23, 22 September 2020 (UTC)

The Yesterdays behind the Door (TYBTD) by Susan Hicks Beach (Christian-3293) 1956 Liverpool University Press

This is a slightly rambling (she was 90 when it was published) account of two of her antecedent families, the Christians and the Gregories. It is more of a diary than a serious historical work, and for example has no references to historical primary sources. I own a copy of it, and could if felt necessary scan 2 or 3 pages onto a free-space profile, for example to deal with his wedding.

Richard Glanville-Brown (RGB).

This is, I am told, an amazingly detailed summary of the researches of RGB into the antecedents of the Christian family all over the world produced by him in 2005 on CD. It has been used as a source by all the subsequent historians and by for example The Peerage. I have attempted unsuccessfully to contact him to acquire a copy.

I have used it as source where there is a detail which is supported by RGB (for example in earlier versions of the profile) where I cannot verify the detail in any other way, as on William's date of birth.

‘Illiam Dhone. Patriot or Traitor’ (JKD) by Dr Jennifer Kewley-Draskau” Profile Books, 2012.

This is a comprehensive up to date account of his life and place in history. It is advertised by all the websites but no one has it in stock, except on Kindle. It is not otherwise available digitally. The Amazon web site has a partial version of it as a preview which I have used for the one quote I have taken from it in the profile (with an acknowledgement).

“Milntown“ Second Edition (DW) by Derek Winterbottom Alondra Books 2017

This is a history of the Isle of Man home of the Christian and Edwards families by a respected local historian. It is not available digitally.

Elizabeth Collier - disputed second wife

A previous version of this Profile has two wives mentioned, Elizabeth Cockshutt and Elizabeth Collier. The Secondary Sources describe William's marriage to Elizabeth Cockshutt and their life in Lancashire England for a few years after. This is supported by two parish records christening their two boys. There is no suggestion that he had two wives. The unconfirmed supposition is that Elizabeth Collier (or Cottier according to some accounts) may have married another William Christian.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Richard Glanville-Brown, online <e-mail address>, Richard Glanville-Brown (RR 2, Milton, Ontario, Canada), downloaded 17 August 2005.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} The Yesterdays behind the Door by Susan Hicks Beach (nee Christian) 1956 Liverpool University Press
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Illiam Dhone. Patriot or Traitor by Dr Jennifer Kewley-Draskau Profile Books, 2012
4. ↑ George Christian at Altham in England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:ND5F-YLJ : 22 March 2020), George Christian, 1634. (Accessed August 14 2020)
5. ↑ James Christian at Altham in England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J96L-1JH : 22 March 2020), James Christian, 1637. (Accessed August 14 2020)
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4} Milntown Second Edition by Derek Winterbottom Alondra Books 2017
7. ↑ William Christian in Isle of Man Parish Registers, 1598-2009 Malew, St Marks Baptisms, marriages, buri...s 1649-1706 (MS09767-1-2) Page 96 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-65KS-PPJ?i=48&cc=1784428
8. ↑ Elizabeth Christian in Isle of Man Parish Registers, 1598-2009 Malew, St Marks Baptisms, marriages, buri...s 1649-1706 (MS09767-1-2) Page 99 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-65KS-P5F?i=49&cc=1784428

• Christian Family Memorial. http://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/mquart/mq29135.htm