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Name
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The Virginia Christian Emigration (1655)
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Description
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In 1655, William and Jonathan Christian left the Isle of Man for Virginia. They belonged to the Lewaigue branch of the Christians, descended from Deemster Robert Christian of Maughold. They were accompanied by the Cottier family, probably from Lezayre — two Cottier daughters married the two brothers. The timing was not accidental. 1655 was the year Deemster Ewan Christian died after serving fifty-one years on the bench, the longest-serving Deemster in the island's history. The Commonwealth had seized control of Mann. Illiam Dhone would be shot on Hango Hill in 1663. It was not a good time to be a Christian on the Isle of Man. The brothers carried with them a lineage stretching back to John McCristen, who had served as Deemster in 1408.
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Date
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1655
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Type
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Emigration Event
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Source
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Christians of Virginia, Manx Note Book (1885); genealogical records
