Rochdale St Chad, Lancashire Genealogy

Guide to Rochdale St Chad, Lancashire ancestry, family history, and genealogy: parish register transcripts, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records. See a Comprehensive List of Rochdale Chapelries

'''Part of this parish is in Yorkshire. See also Rochdale St Chad, Yorkshire.'''

Parish History
ROCHDALE St Chad, a borough, market-town, and parish, and the head of a union, chiefly in the hundred of Salford, S. division of the county of Lancaster, but partly in the Upper division of the wapentake of Agbrigg, W. riding of York, 10½ miles north by northeast of Manchester.

Rochdale St Chad Parish, serving a population of nearly one hundred thousand (by 1851), was not the only church built within its boundary. St Chad's parish boundary was divided up into about twenty chapelry districts, each with is own chapel of ease (or church), with baptism and burial registers (rarely marriages--which instead were usually performed at the ancient parish of St Chad's, Rochdale), standing within its parish boundary. The Comprehensive List of Rochdale Chapelries can help identify its chapels and the availability of registers. St. Mary's church, Hundersfield, was consecrated in 1740. St. James's, Hundersfield, was erected in 1820. At Healey, Littleborough, Milnrow, Saddleworth, Smallbridge, Spotland-Bridge, Todmorden, Walsden, and Whitworth, are other incumbencies. In the town are places of worship for Baptists, Independents, Presbyterians, Unitarians, Wesleyans, Primitive Methodists, Methodists of the New Connexion, the Wesleyan Methodists Association, the Society of Friends, and Roman Catholics. The ancient Trinity chapel was erected in the time of Henry VII. The mother church, that of St. John the Baptist, stands at the east end of the town. Trinity church, in Harrison lane, was built in 1795. St. James' church was built in 1828. St. Mary's church was built in 1869. A new cemetery was formed, in 1841; and another, at StoneyRoyd, was formed in 1861. An Independent chapel, near the railway station, was built in 1857. Another Independent chapel was built in 1869. There are also three other chapels for Independents, three for Baptists, one for Quakers, one for Unitarians, two for Wesleyans, one for Primitive Methodists, two for New Connexion Methodists, one for United Free Methodists, and one for Roman Catholics.

Carpets, cashmeres, orleanses, coburgs, merinoes, lastings, alpacas, damasks, baizes, narrow cloths, broad cloths, kerseymeres, moussline de laines, shalloons, fancy waistcoatings, and other fabrics are made. Dyeing, card making, and the manufacture of chemicals also are carried on. The town was made a parliamentary burgh, by the Reform act, in 1832... Its limits were extended in 1865, and include all the township of Halifax, and parts of the townships of Ovenden, Skircoat, Northowram and Southowram. 1851, 25,161; in 1861, 28,990. Houses, 6,120. The parish contains also the townships of Northowram, Southowram, Skircoat, Shelf, Ovenden, Midgley, Warley, Norland, Sowerby, Soyland, Rishworth, Barkisland, Stainland, Elland-with-Greetland, Hipperholme-with-Brighouse, Rastrick, Fixby, Wadsworth, Erringden, Heptonstall, Stansfield, and Langfield [most of which possess a chapelry]; the last five of which are in the district of Todmorden.

For a list of all places with chapels (Church of England) within the boundary of this parish, view the Comprehensive List of Rochdale Chapelries.

Cemeteries
The Family History Library's British collection has.

Civil Registration of Births, Marriages &amp; Deaths - 1837 to the Present
Read about England Civil Registration (vital records) of birth, marriages and deaths on the England main page.

Online Indexes

There are two separate (free) indexes available for Lancashire civil registration of births, marriages and deaths. One index covers all registrations nation-wide, and one index covers the copies of the local registration districts' certificate copies for all registration districts throughout Lancashire, as follows:


 * FreeBMD - an online (free) nation-wide index to the certificates held at the General Registrar's Office, formerly in London, now in Solihull, Merseyside, UK. The years currently covered in this index include July, 1837 to at least 1940.
 * LancashireBMD - an online index (free) to county-wide births, marriages and deaths for all registration districts throughout Lancashire, for the following range of years and their events: births 1837-1974; marriages 1837-2010; deaths 1837-1975.
 * Lancashire-OPC.org.uk (below) provides numerous parish and chapel transcriptions online (free) running concurrent with the post-1837 to 1910 period. While the parish registers are not certified copies of the civil certificates of birth and death, they do however, often provide primary source birth (baptisms/christenings) and death (burials) information; of especial note are the post-1837 parish marriage registers which provide an exact replica of the civil registration certificates of marriages.

Indexes

FamilySearch's Family History Library from July, 1837 to 1983 in microform media.

Church Records
Online Records
 * 1538 - 1910 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1603 - 1910 at FamilySearch — index and images

St Chad Rochdale parish has been a very populated township possessing about 20 or more chapelries, and district churches each with church registers. There are online transcriptions for St Chad Rochdale Parish, and for the baptism, marriage and burial registers of many of its attached chapelries lying within its boundary. Displayed below are those chapelries attached to St Chad ancient parish) along with the ranges of years for which there is available online data at the websites indicated below:

Original Records Most of St Chad's original parish registers and its attched chapelries and their registers are found at the Manchester Central Library Local Studies Unit, Lancashire, England, or, a few may still be in local custody (held at the local chapel).

While a few of the above chapelries and St Chad's parish burial registers do not currently have online indexed content, FamilySearch does have microfilm copies of the original Bishop's transcripts and/or parish registers for most of Rochdale's chapels of ease and churches. Some of these have been scanned and imaged and made available online. See FamilySearch's online catalog and type "Rochdale", then click "Church records", and click the little camera icon to view originals.

Non Conformist Records

 * 1647-1996 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index (dates may vary by parish)

Census
The Family History Library has an 1851 census surname index of Lancashire - Rochdale, Butterworth &amp; Castleton subdistricts: Public Redords Office ref HO 107/2244. FHL British Book 942.72 X22c v 21 and on FHL British Microfiche 6414326

Genealogy
French, Jenny. Woodhead of Newbiggin (Northumberland) and Shawforth Valley. A Pedigree of the Woodheads dating from 1779-1975, withother surnames Jackson, Eastwood, Abramm, Halliwell, Downie, Hedley, French, Hardman, and Woodward, to be found in The Lancashire Family and Heraldry Soc. Magazine, vol. 11, no. 2, page 26-27, May 1990, Family History Library Ref. 942.72 B2r vol. 11.

Hornby, Michael J. K. Direct Descendants of James Hornby. Family Tree of James Hornby and Alice Mills - she was born in Rochdale, Lancashire, and their descendants which scatter throughout Lancashire, then to Ontario, Canada from about 1910, with the following surnames. Barlow, Harrison, Hargrave, Showell, Drovin, Burkett, Johnston, Family Tree dates from 1799-1995, and is in Lancashire Family and Heraldry Soc. Magazine, vol. 18, no.2. May 1997, FHL 942.72 B2r.

Dania, Vivien Mrs. The Danias of Rochdale. History and family tree of James Danias and Hannah surname unknown. with the following surnames listed on the tree: Holt, Sagar, Tweedale, Thomlinson, Smith, Wilson, Fitter, Thornton, Bamford, Meadowcroft, Bennet, Howorth, Lees dating from 1837-1982. Article in The Lancashire Family History and Heraldry Soc. Magazine vol. 6,no.1. pages 18-20, FHL Ref. 942.72 B2r

Whatmough of Rochdale, Bacup, and Manchester. Family tree of Edmund Wattmoe of Packer died 1689, wife unknown, with the following surnames, Wattmough, Hollows, Bamfour, Cleggswood, Whatmough, Robinson, Whitworth, Beard, Shackleton, Worsley Smethurst, Worsley and Morley, dated 1689-1938 in The Lancashire Family History and Heraldry Soc. Magazine vol. 5, no. 2. pages 18-19, FHL Ref 942.72 B2r

Poor Law Unions
Rochdale Parish was the head of a poor law union.

Probate Records
Go to the Lancashire Probate Records and follow the step by step instructions to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction and search the records.

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.


 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain