Tonge, Lancashire Genealogy

England Lancashire  Lancashire Parishes

Chapelry History
TONGE, a township, in the parish of Prestwichcum-Oldham, union of Oldham, hundred of Salford, S. division of Lancashire, 5½ miles (N. N. E.) from Manchester; containing 2423 inhabitants. It is probable that the family of Tonge gave name to this place, which in the 43rd of Elizabeth was possessed by a member of it named Christopher Tonge. The township adjoins Middleton, and forms a populous part of the environs of that town. The soil here is various, chiefly sand, gravel, and clay: a coal-mine is in operation. The population is mostly employed in silk hand-loom weaving, and in cotton-mills and print-works. Tonge, with Alkrington, forms an ecclesiastical district: the church, dedicated to St. Michael, was built in 1839, by Her Majesty's Commissioners, at a cost of £1773, and is a plain brick edifice. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Rector of Prestwich; net income, £150, of which £137 are granted by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. The tithes of Tonge have been commuted for £20. There are national schools.

From: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis (1848), pp. 372-377. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51349 Date accessed: 31 July 2010.

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day. The civil registration article tells more about these records. There are several Internet sites with name lists or indexes. A popular site is FreeBMD.

Church records
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Census records
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Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Lancashire Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

Maps and Gazetteers
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 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain

Web sites
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