Lancashire, England Genealogy

England

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Lancashire (abbreviated Lancs), is a maritime county located in the North West of England. It is sometimes called the County of Lancaster.

As England's most unique and second most populated county, Lancashire 'comprises a only 71 ancient parishes, each with large boundaries, but with nearly 500 smaller chapels called, chapelries, chapels of ease, and/or district chapels or ecclesiastical churches. 'Just about all of Lancashire's ancient 71 parish boundaries were divided up by an average of about 8 smaller chapels of ease, many of which also were ancient in their origins (see "Comprehensive List of Chapels" listed under each ancient parish).

Ancient Parishes of Lancashire
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Because these chapels of ease makeup the vast portion of Lancashire's geographical tapestry, thorough Lancashire research requires careful and diligent study to determine all those chapels of ease, chapelries, district churches, and parochial chapels that comprise each ancient parish.

Lancshire contains also "parts of 4 other parishes, and 9 extra-parochial places... Prior to 1870, and for historical purposes, it may be helpful to know that the county was divided into the city of Manchester, and the boroughs of Ashton-under-Lyne, Blackburn, Bolton, Burnley, Clitheroe, Lancaster, Liverpool, Oldham, Preston, Rochdale, Salford, and Wigan, and included parts of the Cheshire boroughs of Stalybridge, Stockport, and Warrington...

Lancashire's assizes (higher courts) were held at Lancaster, Liverpool and Manchester. The quarter sessions (smaller courts) were held at Lancaster, Preston, Liverpool, and Manchester.

From Wilson's England gazetteer (1870), "LANCASHIRE, a maritime and northern county [was] bounded on the north, by Cumberland and Westmoreland, on the east by Yorkshire, on the south by Cheshire, and on the west by the Irish sea. A portion of it in the northwest, forming Furness, is detached from the main body by Morecambe bay and a tongue of Westmoreland...

"The places of worship, in the electoral county, in 1851, were 529 of the Church of England, 5 of the Church of Scotland, 12 of the Presbyterian church in England, 5 of the United Presbyterian church, 1 of Reformed Irish Presbyterians, 170 of Independents, 100 of Baptists, 27 of Quakers, 11 of Lady Huntingdon's Connexion, 8 of Welsh Calvinistic Methodists, 2 of Moravians, 35 of Unitarians, 300 of Wesleyan Methodists, 27 of New Connexion Methodists, 1 of Bible Christians, 1 of Independent Methodists, 81 of the Wesleyan Association, 4 of Wesleyan Reformers, 1 of Sandemanians, 21 of the New Church, 5 of Brethren, 36 of isolated congregations, 114 of Roman Catholics, 1 of the Greek Church, 1of the Catholic and Apostolic church, 15 of Latter Day Saints, and 7 of Jews...

"Population in 1801 was 673,486; in 1821 was 1,052,948; in 1841 was 1,667,054; and in 1861 was 2,429,440."

Jurisdictions
Lancashire is one of the most complex of all England's counties. The following interactive map is the first of its kind on the Internet for enabling researchers to make sense of this county's jurisdictional makeup: 1851 Jurisdictions Map. How many times have you desired to know those parishes immediately surrounding and contiguous to your target parish and, learn of all those chapels of ease attached to each parish in which an ancestor possibly lived, was born or married? Or, to know in which diocesan court in order to search for a probate (will) record, or a marriage licence, allegation or bond, etc.? 'Use this map to find each parish and all of its chapelries. (IF the above Maps do not list or mention your place, then see the "Parishes" section under "Lancashire" and click the name of the parish in which your ancestor resided in or with which he/she was most closely associated. Then click the "Comprehensive List of Chapels and Churches" which thoroughly lists all chapels for that parish. In Lancashire research, knowing and then searching in all chapel registers within an ancient parish--is a critical "must do" before searching in the next contiguous ancient parish!)

A great resource (free) to help you determine whether a place was a chapelry (with a chapel of ease) and the parish in which it resided, or whether a place was an ancient parish is Lewis' Topographical Dictionary of England (published 1848).

Also all the key jurisdiction levels in which each ancient (civil) parish and chapelry was attached are viewable in the above Jurisdiction Map tool.

Civil Registration District Jurisdictions
When civil registration of births, marriages and deaths began in 1837, Lancashire was divided into nearly 40 registration districts, each containing numerous parishes and their attached chapelries. To view and see a list of Lancashire districts and the parishes they contain, will greatly help you to quickly identify the correct registration district name when searching for ancestors in the civil registration (post-1837) era.

Ancient Parishes Jurisdictions
See a list of Lancashire 's 71 parishes (see double asterisks) with links to articles.

Probate Court Jurisdictions
Read more about Lancashire Probate Records.

Before 1858, every town and parish in Lancashire was under the probate jurisdiction of a primary court and one or more secondary courts. To see a list of Lancashire parishes and the pre-1858 courts that had probate jurisdiction over them, go to Lancashire Probate Records.

You will find for any given place name, all of the jurisdiction levels and more, in the above map.

Useful Resources
Raymond, Stuart A. Lancashire: a genealogical bibliography, vol. 1, Lancashire genealogical sources. Birmingham [England]: Federation of Family History Societies, c 1996-1997.

Raymond, Stuart A. Lancashire: a genealogical bibliography, vol. 2. Registers, inscriptions and wills. Birmingham [England]: Federation of Family History Societies, c 1996-1997.

Raymond, Stuart A. Lancashire: a genealogical bibliography, vol. 3. ''Lancashire family histories and pedigrees. ''Birmingham [England]: Federation of Family History Societies, c 1996-1997.

Useful Websites

 * Lancashire OnLine Parish Clerks Links to extracted data from many of the parishes in Lancashire.
 * GENUKI UK &amp; Ireland Genealogy
 * Lancashire Births, Marriages and Deaths
 * Liverpool burials online
 * Liverpool church register transcripts at Lanc OPC
 * Manchester burials online
 * Manchester church register transcripts online at Lanc-OPC
 * Manchester Roman Catholic Registers transcripts
 * Roman Catholic marriages, baptisms and burials
 * England, Lancashire, Oldham Cemetery Registers (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * FHLFavorites.info an extensive list of web sites and/or web pages for Lancashire and many of its parishes (search for links not only on the local level but at the county [Lancashire] and national [England] levels as well).