Captain Govenor William Dhone Christian

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William Christian was born on 14 April 1608 at Milntown, Lezayre, Isle of Man.2,3 He was the son of Deemster Ewan Christian and Katherine Harrison.1 He married Elizabeth Cockshutt, daughter of George Cockshutt, circa 1632.2 He died on 2 January 1662/63 at age 54 at Hango Hill, Isle of Man, executed.4 He was buried in January 1662/63 at the Chancel, Kirk Malew, Isle of Man.2

William Christian also went by the nick-name of Illiam Dhône (or in English, Brown-haired William).4 He was Steward of the Abbey lands in 1640.2 He gained the rank of Commande in the service of the Insular Militia.2 He held the office of Member of the House of Keys (M.H.K.) in 1643.2 In 1643 his father made over to him the estate of Ronaldsway.4 He held the office of Receiver-General of the Isle of Man in 1648.4 In 1651 he made terms with Colonel Duckenfield, who came to take possession of the Island after the defeat and execution of James, Earl of Derby.2 He held the office of Governor of the Isle of Man between 1656 and 1659.2 In 1660 at London, England, he was arrested on an action for 20,000l, which he had embezzled while Receiver-General.4 On 12 December 1662 at Isle of Man he was again arrested for the same charges.4 He has an extensive biographical entry in the Dictionary of National Biography.4

He was the greatest of Manx Patriots! After the Restoration, Charles, the 8th Earl of Derby, had Illiam Dhone arrested and tried as a traitor to the Derby family. He was condemned to death by a packed Court of Justice on 29 December 1662. The real reason for the execution was to wreak vengeance on Illiam Dhone for the leading part that he and his family had played in frustrating the Earl's persistent attempts to change the old feudal land tenure into a leasehold tenancy, a deep-laid scheme, which would have rendered all land in the Island the personal property of the Earl, and which the landed proprietors such as Illiam Dhone, Deemster Ewan Christian, Governor Edward Christian and some 800 others stubbornly resisted. This struggle had lasted long, and would certainly have been successful, but for the Christian's strong opposition. After the execution, Earl Charles confiscated Ronaldsway, but, on petition to King Charles II, he was ordered to restore it to the heir. However, the Earl then so persecuted the Christians that he succeeded in his endeavour to drive Illiam Dhone's branch of the powerful Milntown and Ronaldsway clan out of the Island. His sons then settled in Ireland.2

Children of William Christian and Elizabeth Cockshutt 1.Ewan Christian1 b. c 1633, d. 1633 2.George Christian+1 b. c Feb 1633/34, d. Mar 1692/93 3.William Christian2 b. c 1635 4.Ewan Christian+2 b. bt 1637 - 1640, d. 25 Apr 1671 5.James Christian2 b. 11 Apr 1637 6.John Christian2 b. 1640, d. 1671 7.Mary Christian2 b. 1641, d. 1725 8.Thomas Christian+4 b. bt 1641 - 1647, d. c Jun 1700 9.Patricius Christian+2 b. 1644, d. c 1687 10.Major Charles Christian2 b. 1648, d. 1699

Citations 1.[S35] Volume 2, page 96. See link for full details for this source. Hereinafter cited as. [S35] 2.[S125] Richard Glanville-Brown, online <e-mail address>, Richard Glanville-Brown (RR 2, Milton, Ontario, Canada), downloaded 17 August 2005. 3.[S64] Glynn Christian, Fragile Paradise: The discovery of Fletcher Christian, Bounty mutineer, 2nd ed. (U.S.A.: Bounty Books, 2005), page xiv-xv. Hereinafter cited as Fragile Paradise. 4.[S18] Matthew H.C.G., editor, Dictionary of National Biography on CD-ROM (Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 1995), reference "Christian, William, 1608-1663". Hereinafter cited as Dictionary of National Biography.

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