Thomas Kneen (1852 – 23 November 1916) was His Majesty's Clerk of the Rolls for the Isle of Man, a

Member of the House of Keys The House of Keys () is the directly elected lower house of Tynwald, the parliament of the Isle of Man, the other branch being the Legislative Council. History The oldest known reference to the name is in a document of 1417, written in ...

for

Glenfaba Glenfaba ( ; gv, Glion Faba) is one of the six sheadings of the Isle of Man. It is located on the west of the island (part of the traditional ''North Side'' division) and consists of the two historic parishes of German and Patrick. Historical ...

, and

Captain of the Parish The Captain of the Parish is an official in each parish in the Isle of Man—formerly the title was ''Captain of the Parish Militia'', but it is now only a titular honour. Historically the Captain of the Parish was authorised to raise his own mi ...

Onchan Onchan (; glv, Kione Droghad) is a village in the parish of Onchan on the Isle of Man. It is at the north end of Douglas Bay. Administratively a district, it has the second largest population of settlements on the island, after Douglas, with wh ...

. Kneen was brought up in a rural and agricultural environment in

Andreas Andreas ( el, Ἀνδρέας) is a name usually given to males in Austria, Greece, Cyprus, Denmark, Armenia, Estonia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Finland, Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of B ...

. He was educated at

Ramsey Grammar School Ramsey Grammar School is a coeducational comprehensive secondary school located in Ramsey, on the Isle of Man. History A grammar school has existed in Ramsey since 1681. It moved to Lezayre Road in 1933 and was housed in a building that now fo ...

, and subsequently at

King William's College King William's College (nicknamed KWC or King Bill's; gv, Colleish Ree Illiam) is an independent school for pupils aged 3 to 18, located near Castletown on the Isle of Man. It is a member of the International Baccalaureate and Headmasters' and ...

. Upon completing his school education he was

articled Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

to Alfred Adams, a Douglas advocate. He was admitted to the Manx Bar in 1877 at the age of 24 and commenced practice in

Ramsey Ramsey may refer to: Geography British Isles * Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, a small market town in England * Ramsey, Essex, a village near Harwich, England ** Ramsey and Parkeston, a civil parish formerly called just "Ramsey" * Ramsey, Isle of Man, t ...

He soon obtained a reputation as a sound lawyer. In 1880, upon the appointment of Alfred Adams as

Clerk of the Rolls The Clerk of the Rolls ( gv, Cleragh ny Lioaryn) is a judge and Head of the Judiciary in the Isle of Man. This position was formerly distinct from that of the Deemsters but now the Clerk of the Rolls is held jointly with the office of First Deem ...

, Dickinson invited him to become his partner in one of the largest legal practices in the Isle of Man. His rival at the Bar was the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

. Kneen also took a considerable interest in politics. In this respect he first came to prominence by persuading the rural electors of the insufficient representation of the town of

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...

in the

House of Keys The House of Keys () is the directly elected lower house of Tynwald, the parliament of the Isle of Man, the other branch being the Legislative Council. History The oldest known reference to the name is in a document of 1417, written in ...

. In 1892 he was returned unopposed to the House of Keys to fill the vacancy in the constituency of

. His time in the House was short as his legal duties took up his time and he resigned in 1895. In 1895 he was appointed Captain of the Parish of Onchan, an office he held until his death. In 1899

Deemster A Deemster ( gv, briw) is a judge in the Isle of Man. The High Court of Justice of the Isle of Man is presided over by a deemster or, in the case of the appeal division of that court, a deemster and the Judge of Appeal. The deemsters also promu ...

John Gill John Gill may refer to: Sports *John Gill (cricketer) (1854–1888), New Zealand cricketer *John Gill (coach) (1898–1997), American football coach *John Gill (footballer, born 1903), English professional footballer *John Gill (American football) ...

died and Kneen succeeded him as

Second Deemster A Deemster ( gv, briw) is a judge in the Isle of Man. The High Court of Justice of the Isle of Man is presided over by a deemster or, in the case of the appeal division of that court, a deemster and the Judge of Appeal. The deemsters also prom ...

. He then became

First Deemster A Deemster ( gv, briw) is a judge in the Isle of Man. The High Court of Justice of the Isle of Man is presided over by a deemster or, in the case of the appeal division of that court, a deemster and the Judge of Appeal. The deemsters also promul ...

in 1900 when Deemster

Sir James Gell Sir James Gell (13 January 1823 – 12 March 1905)''Ramsey Courier.'' Tuesday, 14.03.1905 Page: 3 was a Manx lawyer, who was the First Deemster and Clerk of the Rolls in the Isle of Man. He was also the first Manxman to become Attorney General ...

was appointed to succeed Sir Alured Dumbell as Clerk of the Rolls. Then in 1905, on Sir James Gell's death, he became Clerk of the Rolls and senior judge of the Manx High Court. In this judicial capacity he presided in the Chancery Division. Kneen was also during his time as Deemster and Clerk of the Rolls a Member of the Legislative Council ''ex officio''; he had

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

political views. He was Deputy Governor in 1905 and 1915. He was also the Chairman of the Trustees of the Estate of

Henry Bloom Noble Henry Bloom Noble JP (18 June 1816 – 2 May 1903) was a Cumbrian-born philanthropist and businessman who at the time of his death was the richest resident of the Isle of Man. Noble bequeathed a large amount of his vast fortune to the people of ...

, and was instrumental in the building of the Isle of Man Hospital, a trustee of King William's College and a Justice of the Peace (in fact Chairman of the Justices). Thomas Kneen died at home in 1916 and was the last Clerk of the Rolls not to be simultaneously First Deemster, as the offices were merged following his death.

Offices

, 1905-1926 *

, 1900-1905 *

, 1899-1900 *

for

, 1892-1895

External links

Captains of the Parish
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kneen, Thomas 1852 births 1916 deaths Manx judges Captains of the Parish People educated at King William's College