NICHOLAS MYLREA jnr to CHANCERY COURT

Petition #72 - 1817 (Ballaugh)

To the honourable C. Smelt, his majesty’s Lieutenant Governor of this Isle

The humble petition of Nicklas Mylrea of the parish of Ballaugh

Sheweth

That your petitioner is now lodged in Castle Rushen by an order of the Spirtual Court bearing date on or about the month of April last past for the sum of eight pounds or thereabouts with costs in favour of? Ann Kegg.

That your petitioner has no way to pay the said sum of eight pounds but your petitioner is ready and willing to give up his property to discharge said debt of eight pounds and costs as far as it will pay.

Your petitioner begs leave to inform your honour that your petitioner has a daughter and six grand children to maintain and the youngest of the grandchildren is only 1 quarter old and has only your petitioner to look to for maintenance now.

Your petitioner begs that your honour will be pleased to liberate or grant a subsistence to your petitioner.

Wherefore your petitioner humbly prayeth that your honour will take it into consideration and give an order to liberate your petitioner or give your petitioner a maintenance according to law and your petitioner will pray for your honour’s welfare etc etc etc

Nicholas Mylrea

Ordered that this petition do come on to be heard at a Court to be held on Thursday next whereof all proper parties referre to have due notice. Given this 30 May 1817. C Smelt

At a Chancery Court holden at Castle Rushen the 6th June 1817

Upon hearing this petition and consideration had thereof the petitioner’s defence? that he had not in his power, custody or possession any goods, cash, or effects whatever to satisfy the order or judgement under which he stands imprisoned, it is therefore hereby ordered and decreed that Ann Kegg in this petition named do pay or cause to be paid into the hands of the jailer of Castle Rushen the sum of three shillings and six pence as subsistence for the petitioner for one week and that he do advance the like sum at the commencement of each week to be applied by the said jailer in paying the petitioner his subsistence daily at the …. aforesaid and in case the said Ann Kegg shall neglect to pay or cause to be paid a sum sufficient for the purpose aforesaid so that the petitioner shall be one whole day without subsistence, it is hereby further ordered that the said jailer do release the petitioner from imprisonment under the order of this petition mentioned without further order or application for that … judgement and execution are nevertheless hereby awarded against the property and effects of the petitioner for the amount of the said order whenever or whatsoever the same may or can be discovered.

C. Smelt

[Ref: Chancery Court Petitions 1817 #72]

NOTES

  1. Ballacorraige
  2. Nicholas Mylrea jnr received the Ballacorraige estate in Ballaugh from his parents in his 1774 Marriage Contract. From the mid-1780s, he mortgaged and sold off pieces of the estate and by the time he passed the lands on to his oldest son and heir-at-law William in 1810, the debt burden was very large
  3. Willliam was drowned in 1816, leaving his widow Eleanor and heir-at-law William jnr, together with other young children to deal with the debt problem
  4. From this petition comes evidence that Nicholas was still having money problems and had been jailed in Castle Rushen because of his inability to settle his debts (beyond the mortgages on Ballacorraige)
  5. His supposed willingness to "give up his property" might be hollow since his lands (half of Ballalcorraige) were already mortgaged
  6. When Nicholas died in 1823 intestate, it fell to Eleanor to settle his debts, adding an intolerable burden to the family's woes

Associated Documents

Last updated: Jan 2016