William's grandparents ( parents of the first William Okell) were Thomas Okell, Yeoman of Highleigh in the parish of Rostherne and Hannah Okell of the chapelry of Aston by Sutton, daughter of Peter Okell, who were married in 1791.

Note that both Thomas OKell and Betty Okell come from the Rostherne area and can reasonably be assumed to be closely related, perhaps even siblings or first cousins. Hannah Okell is a little further away to the west.

A plaque on the far end of the Castle Hill Brewery building pictured above is dated 1837 and the 1843 Pigot and Slaters Directory lists 6 brewers in Douglas including Alexander Henry ( ale and Porter) Castle Hill Brewery. So when William Okell moved to the Isle of Man to start his business he was taking over an existing brewery - the building in fact incorporates several residences including Castle Hill House and The Brewer's House.

William Okell created his own range of ales and made a success of his business which he named the Falcon Brewery, this name continuing when he had a new brewery built around the corner in (Glen) Falcon Road in 1874. This building is now the Sheridan Apartments but the Okells name lives on in a range of products produced by Herron and Brearley who took over the business. Okell also convinced the Isle of Man parliament , the Tynwald to pass a law stipulating that only water, malt, sugar and hops were to be used in making beer ( competitors were inclined to add colouring agents and other nasties.)

Brewing and selling beer on the Isle of Man rather than in England had the advantage that it avoided taxes imposed by London.

At the 1851 census William Okell was living with his wife at "Castle Hill Cottage" while Edmund Johnson and Mary Ann together with William, Walter, Elizabeth, Emily and Edmund, were in the "Cottage back of Falcon Terrace", Castle Hill. 
 

By 1861 the Johnsons are living at Falcon Cliff Terrace with three of them now involved in the brewery business - Edmund 67, "Brewer's Traveller"; William 30, Brewer, Charles F 25, Brewer's Clerk. The younger Edmund 17 was a Draper's Apprentice. The two girls Elizabeth C and Emily were at home, their mother Mary Ann having died in 1856 aged 53.

William Okell in 1861 was living at the "Mount Falcon Brewery" with wife Margaret and 4 children - William, Douglas, Frances and Constance and listed as a Brewer employing 10 men ( of which 3 were Johnsons).

In 1871 William was a Brewer employing 14 men - one of them his 18 year old son William as a Brewers Clerk, and now living at the more upmarket Broadway.