Manx 'father' of North American

Manx 'father' of North American

Tue, 01 Apr 2025

John Edward Corlett (courtesy of New York Times)

New DNA testing shows one single Manxman as ‘father’ of a quarter of all North Americans.

The news will excite anyone of Manx ancestry, and apparently a lot of the USA & Canada too, thanks to recent advances in the ancestry tracing.

Many will have heard of the new DNA testing which opens up new levels of pinpointing of the locations of historical relations, but this has recently been applied at a national level across the USA and Canada, with surprising results.

The anonymised information of the 25 million users of Ancestry.com was fed through the computers at Lehi, Utah, revealing a surprising connection to Lezayre.

The results show that an enormous number of people are descendants of one particular Manxman – John Edward Corlett, of Ballableb, Lezayre.

Ancestry.com speaks about the findings as:

"Our new Adenine-focussed test offers never-before dreamed of results. You can now discover how your story developed not just through time but also place. And, it seems, a great many people will be looking now at the Isle of Man."

John Edward Corlett’s date of birth is unrecorded, but his arrival in New York is known to be 23 August 1778. He is recorded in Cleveland at its founding in 1796, but little is known about him otherwise.

It is difficult to say with certainty, especially with a name as common as ‘John Corlett,’ but it would be easy to imagine that he might be the figure referred to as ‘Juan gyn Troosyn’ in the traditional Manx song, ‘Ersooyl Lhiat, Roosteen Sleetçhal.’*

The song’s story of a young man being driven out of the village for inappropriate behaviour is not performed often today due to its detailed content. However, its traditional Manx tune is still enjoyed, though without words.

James Franklin, of Culture Vannin, says:

"Even though little of the story of Corlett is known at the moment, it shows the enormous power and reach of the Isle of Man. Manx culture and identity is something we can be very proud of, and it will undoubtedly go through an even more exciting new phase now in the light of the influence of our own 'Juan gyn Troosyn.'"

Since the announcement at the end of last week, flights to the Island from Dublin (the main connection for North American) have sold out for the next month. There has also been an unprecedented rush on Manx tartan, with the Laxey Woollen Mills currently investigating how to meet demand.

Although there are no Manx sources for the story, some American outlets suggest that there are plans to develop Ballableb, the ancestral home of John Corlett. Apparently AI images show the tholtan enclosed within a glass dome, within a large visitor’s centre overlooking the Sulby Valley, with a new access road from the Mountain Road.

We are delighted to be in discussion with authorities in Utah, about facilitating a North America School of Manx Studies – a network of small colleges where the Manx language, song, dance and more will be taught.

It is a legacy of which John Corlett would be proud.

Further notes:

• Hear a version of the tune of 'Ersooyl Lhiat, Roosteen Sleetçhal' here: Music
• We are not able to publish the full lyrics of 'Ersooyl Lhiat, Roosteen Sleetçhal' online in English due to their content, but a snippet of the English translation by A. W. Moore is as follows:

"Oh No Trouser Juan, just leave the ladies be,
If you don't pull your trousers up we'll send you off to sea.
Go away sleazy man, make a new land your home,
For we've had enough on our fair isle, of how your oats are sown"

• The full Manx lyrics of the song, 'Ersooyl Lhiat, Roosteen Sleetçhal' can be found here: Lyrics
• Photographs of Ballableb as it is today, and the apparent proposed developments: Photos
• The image used here is known to be of John Edward Corlett, but we cannot be certain that it is the same person we are concerned with. The addition of the USA flag comes from the version of the image being used by the New York Times. We apologise to all Canadians.
• More on the original ancestry research: Information

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UPDATE:
Sadly, this is an April Fool's story...
However, should anyone fancy writing a song about 'No Trousers Juan' with this chorus in, we would verr much like to hear it!
Previous April Fool's stories include Vin Deisel starring in film of the Buggane of St Trinain's (2024), Taylor Swift's 'Folklore Jees' album (2023), a cable car over Port Erin bay (2022), the Manx edition of Milky Way (2021), the Joe Wicks Manx workout special (2020), and the Manannan Roll (2019).