About the Congram Family

Welcome to About the Congram Family.

Devon map showing bondaries of Chittlehampton parish and surrounding parishes

This map shows the villages and towns of Chittlehampton Parish and the surrounding parishes of Filleigh, Swimbridge, Warkleigh, Kings Nympton, High Bickington and Satterleigh being the principle areas where the Congram family lived.

About the Congram One-Name Study


The One-Name Study is focused on accumulating all details about the CONGRAM family from around the world. It is hoped that it will over time be completed by pulling together information acquired from living relations and historical documents.

Because of the lack of details collected in early times it has been necessary to make some logical assumptions. Where the logic can be questioned that family member has been kept seperate till linkage can be proven.


Name Variants

Origin of the surname


The earliest record found so far for the Congram family is in 1717 Devon Barnstaple Parish Records for a William Congam. The name Cungam is found with another William in Bishops Tawton from 1665-1695 and appears to evolve later into Congam around 1717.

The CONGRAMS have been confused by transcribers as the same as the CONGRAVE family, the later coming from the Midlands area of England. These are not connected. For Congrave family go to the Guild of One Name Studies web site (Hyper linked on Home page) and search for Congrave surname, you will find a contact their .

Finding the origin of CONGRAM or its variants has not been very fruitful, however an American Surname dictionary has it described:-

Anglo-Saxon (Norwegian) in origin and belongs to the category of surnames derived from names that described their occupation or work. This was one of the most common means of identification prior to the establishment of a hereditary surname system later established in the Middle Ages.
The Americanized spelling of the Norwegian �Konnegrumme� means a person who was �the King�s messenger�. The messenger was part of the royal court for the King and was selected carefully since the most confidential matters would be known to that person.

Areas of investigation still to be explored

  1. The origin of the village of Congham in Norfolk, England.
  2. Why the registrar of Barnstaple marriages wrote on the marriage of William Congerham to Susanna Taylor "suppose Cunnigham".Some early investigation has not found the Cunnigham family in that area.

Historical occurrences

So far as we have found the Congrams appear to have originated from Devon with the earliest records being between 1661 or 1771 with the name Cungam which then changed to Congam and then to Congerham with records being lodged at the North Devon Record Office, Barnstaple, Devon, England for 1850/51 (ref's :- 2309-3/46/32 and 33.) relating to Congerham's Row, Newport, Barnstaple being 9 dwelling houses.
The early members of the family were centered in the Parish of South Molton, in particular Chittlehampton and Atherington and were Agriculture Labourers and went on to become farmers in that area.

One part of the family split, most likely when work was hard to come by and moved to Plymouth area, East Stonehouse before children of the family moved away to Surrey (Croydon, Cheam, Epsom) late 1860's and then to London (Islington, Upper Holloway, Mile End) around 1890's.
Around 1860's 2 members of the South Molton Congram family appear to have emigrated to Victoria, Australia whilst at the same time other members of the family left for U.S.A. and Canada to Oaklahoma and Nebraska in particular. One of the families stayed in Ireland and had 4 children before moving to U.S.A./Canada. They were in the Leitrim area of Ireland
Details taken from the 1861-1891 census returns have several of the Congram males joining the navy at Plymouth as Royal Marines and serving on numerous of his majesty's vessels including H.M.S. Victory.

Year Date Event Person(s) Involved