The longest-serving governing family in Manx history, producing Deemsters from 1408 and members of the Keys across every generation. John McCristen served as Deemster in 1408 and at Tynwald in 1422 — 'the first to put the Manx Laws in writing.' Ewan Christian served as Deemster for fifty-one years, the longest tenure on record. Edward Christian proposed elected Keys and accountable Deemsters under the Great Stanley and was imprisoned for eighteen years. William Christian — Illiam Dhone — negotiated the Parliamentary surrender of 1651 and was shot at Hango Hill in 1663. Ewan Christian of Lewaigue negotiated the Act of Settlement at Lathom in 1703. Captain Matthias Christian commanded at Ramsey and was held at gunpoint by revenue cutters. Fletcher Christian, of the Milntown branch, mutinied on the Bounty. Three Christians signed the Keys' Resolution of March 1765. A tradition recorded by A.W. Moore connects the family to Virginia, where Christians settled from the 1650s. Thomas Christian patented land in Charles City County in 1657 and founded a dynasty that produced judges, legislators, and a connection by marriage to the White House. In 1888, four Christians served simultaneously as judges in Virginia. Whether the Virginia Christians descended from the Manx Deemster line, as Moore believed, is a question the primary sources have not yet answered. The family's farms at Ronaldsway became the Island's airport. Edward Christian of Bemahague was forced to sell in 1789; the property became Government House — maintained at Manx expense for a Lord who has never slept in it.