MARY ANN COWLEY als MYLREA & husband from trustees of James Chadwick

Purchase - 1896 (Douglas)

Know all men by these presents that Ethel Cross formerly Chadwick of St Aubyns West Bridghton in England, wife of William [blank] Cross of St Aubyns aforesaid, naturalist, and Edgar Hewitt of the city of Manchester in England, solicitor, Trustees under the will of the late James Chadwick, esquire, of Ravensdale in the parish of Ballaugh, Isle of Man, deceased, the said Ethel Cross and Edgar Hewitt in their capacity aforesaid being hereinafter called the vendors, for and in consideration of the sum of six hundred and fifty pounds to them, the vendors, in hand paid by John Corkill Watterson Cowley of Cronk Urleigh in the parish of Michael, farmer, the receipt whereof they the vendors do hereby acknowledge

Have given, granted, bargained and sold and by these presents do give, grant, bargain and forever absolutely sell unto the said John Corkill Watterson Cowley all and singular that dwelling house, land and premises situate in the parish of Michael aforesaid, and called and known by the name of Cronk Urleigh aforesaid, as described on the plan hereto attached, and containing by admeasurement twelve acres one rood and two perches or thereabouts

To have and to hold the same with all ways, waters, watercourses, easements, rights, members, privileges and appurtenances thereto in anywise belonging unto the said John Corkill Watterson Cowley, his heirs and assigns from the day of the date hereof absolutely and forever, he the said John Corkill Watterson Cowley, his heirs and assigns henceforth yielding and paying all rates and taxes, and doing and performing all boons, suits and services annually or otherwise incumbent on the hereby sold property

And the said property is hereby conveyed, subject thereto and subject also to all covenants, agreements, provisos, conditions and restrictions contained in any deed or deeds affecting the said premises prior in date to these presents

And the vendors do and each of them for his or her own acts or deeds only doth hereby for himelf or herself, his or her executors and administrators covenant with the said John Corkill Watterson Cowley that they have not at any time done or knowingly suffered or been party or privvy to any act, deed or thing whereby they are prevented from granting the said property in manner aforesaid

And also that the property hereby conveyed is free from encumbrances

In witness whereof they have hereunto subscribed their names this twenty eighth day of February one thousand eight hundred and ninety six

several pages of signatures and witnesses, and attestations follow + a plan of the land been conveyed in this deed

[REF: Mar 1896 #3 MIC]

NOTES

  1. Cronk Urleigh
  2. John Corkhill Watterson Cowley married Mary Ann Mylrea in 1891. He was a a theology student at the time of the marriage
  3. Mary Ann was the daughter of John Mylrea and Margaret Barrie als Brew
  4. The curiosity of this contract is that yet again, Cowley has purchased premises in his own right, then it has been Mary Ann who has stepped in to support a mortgage
  5. He purchased #1 Park Road in his own right, no mortgage required, but #23 Circular Road was bought, mortgaged and sold in a very brief time window
  6. This contract represents a more than doubling of the land holding left to Mary Ann by her father in his 1887 will
  7. John Mylrea had two tenancies, one with a 11½d rent (Shalghaige), and a 2/3d rent (Cammell). This new holding has a 3/9d rent and was adjacent to the 2/3d rent
  8. In the decade they were married, John Corkill Watterson Cowley undertook multiple land dealings. His purchases and mortgages in Douglas amounted to about £1,000 and the sales considerably less
  9. In his will in 1900, John Corkill Watterson Cowley left his first purchase (1894), the Park Road dwelling to his wife during her lifetime. He also mentions "the remainder of my property in Douglas" and presumably the property to which he refers was a series of dwellings jointly held with his wife Mary Ann as a result of her father's will
  10. A week after this purchase, Cowley took a mortgage for £250, some of which Mary Ann had to pay off after Cowley's death
  11. Without more qualitative information, it is impossible to say whether Cowley a thoughtful investor or a frivolous purchaser, a feckless husband and father, a selfish and unstable character who took advantage of his wife's wealth and circumstances of her helpmate in life. There were nevetheless a couple of oddities about Cowley
    • his address in one contract (1894) was given as Stephen Terrace in Douglas whereas only months previously, he said he was living in Bucks Road. He was at the time married to Mary Ann Mylrea and their home was Cronk Urleigh in Michael
    • he styled himself as a farmer in this contract but only months previously, he said he was a gentleman. In other contracts, he also said he was teacher and on first encounter, he was a theology student (all this in the space of a decade)
    • he maintained the fiction he was born in 1859 rather than 1857, his actual year of baptism
  12. Also of interest is where Cowley acquired his funds to purchase these properties in his own right

Associated Documents

Last updated: Nov 2024