Ann Hodgson & Her Isle of Man Family
A source archive of parish registers, census returns, wills and deeds documenting one woman's life across four marriages on the Isle of Man, 1839–1888.
This site brings together transcriptions and photographs of 22 historical documents — baptism, marriage and burial entries from parish registers, national census returns, and the probate and deed papers of two decedents' estates — all connected to a woman recorded under at least four different spellings of her maiden name: Hodgson, Hudgin, Hudgeon, and Hutchinson. Every record consistently names her father as a labourer, and most spell his surname Hodgson — but no single spelling is treated here as more "correct" than another. Where the sources disagree, that disagreement is presented as-is rather than resolved by guesswork.
Across a fifty-year span, Ann married four times, was widowed four times, and buried at least three of her five known children's fathers. She raised children under three different surnames — Quayle, Callister and Kneale — and her own final will, made a month before her death in 1888, is one of the clearest single documents in the collection: it names four of her surviving children in her own words.
Ann's four marriages
1. William Quayle
Shoemaker. Married 31 Aug 1839, Jurby. Died intestate, buried 4 Sep 1849, Kirk Andreas, aged 40.
2. William Callister
Shoemaker, widower. Married 5 Nov 1850, Lezayre. Buried 16 Mar 1852, Ballaugh, aged 54.
3. Patrick Kneale
Agricultural labourer, widower. Married 30 Jun 1855, Lezayre. Buried 4 Sep 1866, Lezayre, aged 69.
4. Henry Preston
Gentleman farmer of Knockfroy, Santon, widower. Married 10 Jul 1867, Lezayre, aged 72. Died by 1894.
Explore the collection
Timeline
All 22 records, in chronological order, from Ann's first marriage in 1839 to her own will in 1888.
People
Ann, her four husbands, five known children, and the wider circle of witnesses, jurors and officials.
Places
The parishes, towns and farms of the Isle of Man where these events took place.
Sources
Full archival citations for every document, with links to the digitised originals.
How to read this site
Every document page shows the original photograph alongside a line-by-line transcription that preserves the original spelling, abbreviation and line breaks. Uncertain readings are marked [?]; illegible passages are marked […]. Nothing on this site infers or invents a fact beyond what a document states — where the identity of a person, place or relationship is uncertain, the page says so explicitly, usually in a "Notes on transcription" section carried over from the original research.