Notes 1511-82

The earliest land records available date from 1511 in the southern parishes, and 1515 in the north. These were the "Manorial Rolls" translated by Talbot .I summarized the highlights in "The MacAlexanders of Michael":

In Michael Parish in 1515 there was an Adam "Mc Alexander sharing land in Orestall with Wm Mc Fayle (later shortened to Quayle) on the quarterland which we later learn was known as Ballamanagh (or Monk's Farm). This is the same quarterland, I learned in Salt Lake, where we later find our 1st known direct ancestor, Adam Calister, in the early 1600's.

Donald Mc Alexander shared the adjoining quarterland of Kionedroghed (or Bridge End), also in Orestal, with the widow of Patric Mc Quartag and Wm Mc Gilrea.. To the south lay the treen and quarterland of Rencullyn, and adjoining that to the East was the treen of Balyfadyn and the quarterland of the same name. Both Rencullyn and Balyfadyn were occupied by Gibbon Mc Alexander together with a man named Wm. Mc Tere.

And there were two cottages at unspecified locations in Michael Parish which housed members of the family as well: A Calycrist Ine Alexander, and a William Mc Alexander.

In the parish of Ballaugh the only Mc Alexander on record in 1515 was a William, who had two tenements and one quarterland at Balymony, and against whom an amercement (a levy or small fine) was imposed that same year, for what we are not told.

There were, of course, also four Mc Alexanders in the South, in Conchan and in Braddan, but since our family came from the north I have not pursued the southern branch of the family.

I have however gone through the records of Michael and Ballaugh for the period of 1515-1582, and even though the records were written by hand in latin I have been fairly successful in trying to decipher them. By comparing the original 1515 records with the Talbot Translations and some examples of early English writing styles I've made my way through the records and identified most of the Mc Alexander entries.

There are holes in the records to be sure. After 1515 the next records for Michael and Ballaugh are from 1526. There are records for 1527, 1539, 1542, 1559, 1569, and starting in 1575, for every year thereafter through 1581.

1526-27

MICHAEL

By 1526 Adam was gone from Balamanagh. In his place was a John Mc Alexander, who now shared the quarterlandhad with Wm. McFayle. John was probably Adam's son. The situation in 1527 was the same.

At Kionedroghad Donald still was listed, as well as "Donald his son". They still shared the land with Wm Mc Gilrea, the widow Mc Quartag is no longer mentioned. The arrangement in 1527 was also the same.

Rencullyn was now the property of Gibbon and his son Gibbon with no mention of Mc Tere. Mc Tere does still share Balyfadyhn with Gibbon, and only one Gibbon is mentioned. Things were the same in 1527 here as well.

There is no longer a William listed as having a cottage in Michael in 1526, but Calycrist Ine Alexander is still there. By 1527 she was also gone. There was another Mc Alexander in Michael parish however, whose name is mentioned, and the name looks to me like Johna, which was a woman's name. She was married or her name would have been Ine Alexander.

"Johna" is mentioned twice, probably in connection with the same incident. Apparently she was on the receiving end of some sort of physical attack, or involved in a fight. It would be interesting to know the more of the facts of the case. What we do know is that two men, a William Danell(?) and a ______ Mc Quartag, were each fined for "drawing blood on" Johna. This was a fairly common offense mentioned on a number of records.

BALLAUGH

William still had his tenements and lands at Balymony in 1526 and 1527, and there are no other Mc Alexanders on record there, (or anywhere else in the North that I could find.)

1539

MICHAEL

John was no longer on record as the land-holder for Ballamanagh. In his place was a man whose name looks to me like Murtheah Mc Alexander, who had the quarterland all to himself.

I haven't found this spelling anywhere else, but there is a Murdagh and also a Murghad on Kneen's list of names taken from the 1511-1515 translations.

When I compare these with the latin names on the original records, I find they look similar but not identical to our name, as well as to a very similar but slightly different version of the name which appears in the same place from about 1559.

A list of names from the 1511-1515 records at the back of Talbot's translations includes a "Murdach" which would appear to be the translation for both Murdaugh and Murghad since no other name given is even remotely close . I can only assume this would also be the translation of the name I am reading as Murtheah, but would be interested in your opinion.

Elsewhere in Orestal, Donald is no longer listed at Kionedroghad, and in his place is another William who also has that quarterland to himself, and will retain the land for many years thereafter. In 1539 William is also included in a list with other names under Farms of Waste.

There are no other entries in Michael for Mc Alexanders in 1539. Apparently Rencullyn and Balyfadyn had passed out of the family or were held by inlaws. It may be significant that a "Gybbon" now turns up in Ballaugh.

BALLAUGH

By that time there were a number of Mc Alexanders on record in Ballaugh, including some names we had previously seen in Michael. There was no longer a William Mc Alexander on the quarterland at Balymony as there had been from 1515-1527, however. In his place was a Patric Mc Alexander. But there was a "Wyllm" who had a cottage.

By this time the list of people who held "Intacks" in Ballaugh was longer than the list of quarterland holders, and as time went on it continued to grow. Apparently the Intacks, whatever the meaning of the word, became an important outlet for the land-hungry population as it outgrew the available quarterlands.

In 1539 Patric Mc Alexander had two intacks in addition to his quarterland, (unless there was more than one Patric) and there were other intacks "registered to" a Mold Mc Alexander, and a Gybbon, as well as another (or the same) Wyllm.

We should not be surprised that William was and continued to be throughout the 1500's a very popular name throughout the family. It was of course a very popular name throughout the British Iles in the centuries following the ascendency of William the Conquerer, and Kneen says it was second only to John in it's popularity on Man in the Manorial Rolls translated by Talbot.

But more to the point here was the fact that William was the name of the most illustrious member of the Mc Alexander family who ever lived on the island. As I pointed out in "The Mac Alexanders of Michael", William Mac Alexander represented the sheading of Michael as a member of the House of Keys from 1417-1430 during the reign of the first English Kings, the Stanleys, and participated in drafting the Island's first written laws . He may have even been the progenitor of the Michael and Ballaugh families.

1542

MICHAEL

By 1542 "Murtheagh" was no longer the Mc Alexander at Ballamanagh. In his place there was once again a John. And a John Mc Alexander also shared Kionedroghad with William Mc Alexander. These are the only entries for Michael that year.

BALLAUGH

At Balymony "The wife of Willm Mc Alexander" is now on record as the holder of the quarterland there, and my notes don't show any members of the family with Intacks, but I'm sure that's a mistake as the same names are back in force in 1559. They couldn't all be sons with the same name.

1559

MICHAEL

At Ballamanagh John is gone and we again have a name that looks like it's spelled Murthea. There is still a William at Kionedroghad. Neither of them are sharing their lands with anyone else.

BALLAUGH

The action is still in Ballaugh where the landholder at Balymony is again a Patric. There are also again two intacks which belong to Patric as well, and Mold now has three intacks and Gybbon two. There's also a Gybbon listed under cottages, and a Wyllm under Farms of Waste.

1569

MICHAEL

The quarterlands are exactly the same, with Murthea and William in Orestall and no one else on record. Murthea also holds the office of the Lord's Moar for that year. That part of the records is written by a different scribe, and the lettering is different, but I think it's the same person. But there seems to be a new letter after the th that resembles a modern p which I'm having trouble making out. Can you make any sense of it?

BALLAUGH

At Balimony there's once again a William who will now stay through 1981, but there are still three intacks registered to a Patric, two of which he shares with a John something. Mold has three intacks, Willm two, and Gybbon one, and there 's now a Donald who also has one. A Gybbon has a cottage, and a Willm also had a fine or amersement levied against him.

1575-81

MICHAEL

There are records for every year from here on out, so it's easier to see when the changes occur. In Michael there are not many during this period. We have more new scribes and the name at Ballamanagh looks to me like Murtgeah in 1575 and 76, Murtgah in 1577 and 1578, Murtgeaht in 1579, and Murtgeah in 1580 in 81, but I think we're basically talking about the same person (unless it's a father and son with the same name).

The man I'm going to call Murdach also has an intack from 1576 through 1581, and in 1578 Wyllm's name is included on a list that I haven't yet figured out which may again refer to farms of waste. At Kionedroghad "Wyllm" is there the whole time.

BALLAUGH

Meanwhile in Ballaugh there's still a "Wyllm" on the quarterland at Balymony the whole time, and the intacks are also fairly consistent. The scribes seem to have gotten worse, and I was moving a little too fast at this poing and may have missed a few entries or written them down wrong.

My records show that in 1575 Pat'c had one intack of his own and shared one with the John somebody, had two of his own and shared one in 1576, had one of his own and shared two in 1577, and had two of his own and shared one in 1578,79,80, and 81.

I have Mold with three intacks in 1575, 76, and 77, and two in 78,79,80, and 81. I show Gybbon with one in 75, and 76, nothing in 77, and one in 79, 80. I did not find him on the list in 1581.

Wyllm had an intack every year from 1575 to 81, and also part of another parcel from 75-79. After that that parcel still lists a Mc Alexander but it appears to be a new name I don't recognize and haven't had time to study.

Donald had an intack of his own and shared one with someone else from 1575 through 1581....

It's interesting that some parcels seem to go in and out of the hands of the family members. I wish we had a better understanding of the relationship between the people and the land prior to the 1700's. I know it was subject to the monarchy and even the church, but the authorities I've read suggest father-son inheritances were the rule anyway. And I wish we had a definition for "Intack" and understood that system.

I guess the most relevant thing to come out of this research so far is the list of land-holders for the quarterland of Ballamangh, since that's where we find in Adam about 1605. It's interesting that the Mc Alexander on record there in 1515 was also named Adam, even though it's a long time until we see the name again.

As we've seen it goes from Adam in 1515 to John in 1526 to Murdach (?) in 1539, to John in 1542, and then to Murdach(?) from 1559-82.