Manx Genealogy - Wills

Wills can provide valuable information for the genealogical researcher and those working on Manx families are well catered for in the archives of Manx National Heritage at Douglas. Wills from the early 1600s to 1916 are available there on microfilm for the general public to peruse free of charge. Later documents are filed at the General Registry Office at Douglas but a fee is charged to inspect them.

Even if the deceased died intestate, without making a Will, it is very likely that an application would be made for an administrator to be appointed to deal with his affairs.

Wills and Administrations in the Isle of Man were dealt with by the Church courts until 1884 during which year the Civil courts took over these matters. There were two Church courts. The Episcopal Court, at which the Vicar General presided, dealt with probate matters for a part of the year. The Archidiaconal Court, which was that of the Arch Deacon, sat during the remaining period of the year. Not surprisingly, the names of these two courts are often abbreviated to Episc. and Arch. There was no difference in their standing or powers.

For those able to visit Manx National Heritage at Douglas the library assistants there will explain the system of indexing. It is virtually essential to know the date, or at least the year, of the deceased's death and it narrows the field if the parish(es) or districts associated with the deceased are known. For example, if searching for a Philip Stephan who died in March 1778 and who was associated with the parish of Ballaugh, on checking the registers for that name, date of death and parish, we find that his intestacy was dealt with by the Episcopal Court and is recorded in Book 1 of 1778. Referring to the index of microfilms for that year and Court we find that the microfilm required is GL 719. If the date of death is not known the searcher may find this information in the transcriptions of the parish burial records made by the Isle of Man Family History Society which may be consulted at the library or purchased from IOM FHS. Without the date of death, finding a Will is likely to be a prolonged, hit or miss, business.

The Wills contained on a microfilm are grouped together by parishes. The order in which the parishes appear usually goes in a clockwise direction around the Island. It is useful to know the geographical location of the parishes and a parish outline map is available on this site. Some films are very difficult to make sense of at first but when you identify a parish name at the top of a page you can work out where you are. If, for example, you deciphered the word "Patrick" and you were looking for "Lezayre" you would need to continue further through the film as "Patrick" comes before "Lezayre". Put another way, if the Island were viewed as a clock face Patrick would be at about 9 o'clock and Lezayre at 12 o'clock so you would need to continue clockwise. Films may contain more than one year's Wills and a year may have more than one Book. The parish sections mentioned will therefore be repeated. If the death is late on in the year then the Will itself will appear later in the year. Sometimes the Wills are numbered at the top, e.g. Michael 57, and appear on the film in that order. This simplifies your search. If they are not numbered the name of the deceased must be read on each Will before moving on.

It is probable that most visitors to this page will be resident outside of the Isle of Man. However, the Church of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons) have centres which specialise in family history. These have, or can obtain, microfilms of Manx Wills and these can also be borrowed, for a fee, through the post.

The more recent Wills are usually in better condition and so provide a better copy on the film. The handwriting is also usually more legible. Older Wills may be tattered around the edges with parts of words missing and the handwriting is often more difficult to read. You will often find that an unreadable word may become legible if you come back to it the following day. Manx National Heritage can make prints from microfilm, at reasonable prices, and presumably other family history centres will have this facility

Having found the Will you seek, you will in many cases, in fact in most cases, find the style of its wording rather odd in that it uses the third person, he or she, rather than the first person, I. For example - "This is affirmed to be the last Will and Testament of Richd. Mac y Boyde who departed this life.....", etc. We might have expected the words "This is the Last Will and Testament of me Richd. Mac y Boyde". We note items such as "He left to his two daughters Ann and Alice ten shillings each....", etc. whereas a more modern Will would say, "I leave to my two daughters..." etc.

These Wills are known as Noncupative Wills and were written after the death. The deceased would state his wishes, verbally, before witnesses and they would later swear under oath that what they said was a true account of the express wishes of the deceased as regards the disposition of his assets. This document, probably written by a court or church official, would then be proven as the Will. Apart from the members of the court, whoever wrote this document was probably the only person involved who could read or write. The witnesses, described at the foot of the Will, as "Jurati" meaning "Sworn", almost invariably signed with an X, e.g. Thos. Caine his mark X. With the best will in the world, (no pun intended), it must have been difficult to remember the details of the deceased's wishes especially if the witnesses were illiterate and could not make notes. Noncupative Wills could, on occasion, be a source of litigation and dispute but their use was legal until 1869.

Wills drawn up in writing and signed by the testator in the presence of witnesses were, of course, also in use but generally confined to the wealthier classes whose assets, or the complexities of their affairs, would justify engaging a lawyer.

At the foot of a Will you will find the Latin words "Probatum est" meaning "It is proved", or "Discretum est" signifying "It is decreed" together with the signatures of the court officials. The words "Solvit" followed by a sum of money, say twelve pence, shown as "12d", indicates that a court fee has been paid.

Until 1840 the Isle of Man had its own coinage which stood at a discount to British currency. To avoid uncertainty, Wills usually stated which currency was involved. For example, an amount would be specified as an English shilling, Ten pounds British and so on. A English shilling was made up of twelve pence English but a Manx shilling had fourteen Manx pence. A witness to a Will might be left fourteen Manx pence which was equivalent to an English shilling. Often small sums were left to named persons or even to "all claimers". This was to prevent them from being appointed executors by the court. An example from the Will of Thomas Caine of 1778 stated that "He left seven pence to any person or persons that would strive or desine to break this his Last will and Testament. He left an Inglish shilling to each of the Witnesses". Here, the legacy of seven pence was in Manx currency and was equal to six pence English, or one half of an English shilling.

Overseas visitors to this site, and in fact many younger people in the British Isles, may not know that prior to the decimalisation of the currency in 1971, One pound consisted of twenty shillings, and a shilling was made up of twelve pence. There were thus 240 pence to a Pound.

The documentation accompanying a Will should be carefully examined. Often there may be an inventory of the deceased's goods and these lists can make fascinating reading. In some cases they may include items whose names we cannot nowadays even recognise. Good clues can be obtained from acknowledgements of payment of legacies and such like documentation which may provide additional evidence of relationships or introduce previously unknown members of a family.

The Will of Catharine Caine alias Stephen of 1814 stated that "She left and Bequeathed to her Son John Caine the sum of Twenty shillings as legacy with whatever of her goods remains in his hands". The existence of this son had not previously been suspected and no baptism has been traced.

Wills are seldom dull and, although in the case of the unknown beneficiary mentioned above they may pose further questions, they generally provide answers to many of the riddles which challenge the genealogist.

A few examples of Wills will be found on these pages.

McBoy (Boyde) Richard - Died 5th March 1752 Kk Michael

Caine Catharine (nee Stephen) Kk Michael 19th February 1814

Caine John Ballaugh 1724

Caine Thomas Kk Michael 1778

Stephen Philip of Mallamooar, Ballaugh - Died 1778