GENERATION 4 - BENJAMIN S. QUINE OF BALLAGAREY

Ballagarey adjoins Ballachrink on the northern side, and before surviving records the two farms formed a single Quarterland. In the 1600’s and 1700’s the farm was held by the Clague family, but two areas were sold - Thie Phillip [as it later became] being disposed of to the wealthy merchant John Murrey of Douglas in 1715, and around half of the remainder being sold to John Quiggin of Kirk Michael in 1764. Like the Callows of Ballachrink, the Clagues and Quiggins held shares of Carraghyn. When the Clague family died out, the core of the farm passed by inheritance to the Cowins of Ballacannell, Lonan, and was settled on Daniel Cowin, a second son. Daniel neither added nor subtracted from the Clague holdings, but there was a mortgage outstanding on the farm. During the minority of his son John Wade Cowin the mortgage lapsed, and the farm was bought back in by J.W. Cowin’s guardian. John Wade Cowin was an ‘Improver’ who probably extended the house and built the fine range of outbuildings surviving at Ballagarey. He extended his holdings by purchasing The Place from William Quine in 1840. He also bought back Quiggins’ Ballagarey from William Cowley in 1856. These and other improvements were partly financed by mortgage. As a result Cowin became bankrupt, and it seems Ballagarey was leased off - in his own words “the Quines got it...”.

'The Quines' in this case referred to John senior of Ballachrink and his third son Benjamin Samuel. They defended law-suit for posession of half of Cowin’s Ballagarey, brought by J.W.Cowin’s eldest son and heir, John Cowin of Onchan. He claimed (as heir of his deceased mother) one half of the land purchased before her death.. John Cowin junior succeeded, and was able to sell his share of the property to John Quine senior of Ballachrink for £822 in 1873. Of the consideration money, £300 was appropriated to the repayment of a mortgage, £300 was left secured on the property by the vendor, and the balance of £222 was paid in cash. This was the first portion of Ballagarey to be acquired by the Quines. It was later sold by John and Jane Quine to Benjamin Samuel. Meanwhile John Wade Cowin’s finances had improved sufficiently for him to be discharged from bankruptcy in 1873. Things deteriorated again however, and George Maley, Coroner was called upon to sell Cowin’s remaining property (comprising the undivided half of Cowin’s Ballagarey, together with Quiggin’s Ballagarey and The Place) and an auction took place at the dwelling house, Ballagarey, at 1 PM on Tuesday 16th March 1875. James Spittall, the owner of Injebreck, was the highest bidder, at £2975. He may have been buying as agent for the Quines, as he sold on to B.S.. Quine later the same year for a round £3000. B.S. Quine married Jane Leonora Kelly, of Renscault, Baldwin, a sister of his brother in law Robert Q. Kelly.

Benjamin, by his last will and testament, left Ballagarey to his wife for her lifetime, then to his heir at law. As they had no children of their own, there had been an expectation that Ben Quine Kelly, nephew to both Ben Quine and Jane Leonora, would inherit some of the property at Ballagarey. His will was obscurely worded, and it was by no means clear whether Ben would inherit any of the farm. T.E. Quine as the heir at law therefore had a reversionary interest in Ballagarey. He protected this by acquiring the outstanding mortgage on the farm for £2000 in 1900. According to his pocket book he assigned £1000 of it the same day to his brother in law T.C. Cannell, meaning that he had halved the debt on the property.

RETURN TO OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS INDEX