Researching John Challen
Dig into the past of John Challen using the links below. We hope you find this information useful!
![]() | Did you know that in the 1881 UK census there were 535 people with the Challen surname? In that year Challen was ranked number 3044 for popularity in the UK. |

The name John means "God is gracious" and is of Hebrew origin.
Records of John Challen on Ancestry
Ancestry is a major source of information if you are filling out the detail of John Challen in your family tree. A vast range of data is available to search ranging from census records, births, deaths and marriages, military records and immigration records to name but a few. Free trials are normally available and are a good way to fill out a lot of your tree quickly.
| Country Collection | |
|---|---|
![]() |
Ancestry.com Global records search results for John Challen. |
![]() |
Ancestry.com US records search results for John Challen. |
![]() |
Ancestry.co.uk UK records search results for John Challen. |
![]() |
Ancestry.ca Canadian records search results for John Challen. |
![]() |
Ancestry.com.au Australian records search results for John Challen. |
DNA
Sometimes you can run into a brick wall in your tree and you just don't have enough evidence to make that next step back in time. If you are lucky then you may find some previously undiscovered Challen ancestors. Additionally, the modern DNA test can give you a breakdown of your ethnic mix - you may be surprised at the results!
Have you reached a brick wall in your Challen Tree?
Birth, Death and Marriage Records for John Challen and the Challen Family History
Birth, Death and Marriage records are often the best method of making the links to the Challen Genealogy that will form part of your family tree. Although records vary from country to country, they are normally the most formal record of a person's relations. From the sources below you will be able to find a birth record and, from that, a birth certificate can be ordered which lists the names of the mother and father, taking you back another generation in your tree. A marriage certificate may also list the names of the respective fathers of the bride and groom which may then help you to find them earlier in life on a census record enabling you to fill out more detail in the Challen family tree.
Check out Parish Records for John Challen at Find My Past.
Check out for the UK registered births, marriages and deaths of John Challen using the FreeBMD database.
Investigate Genealogy Bank for John Challen records.
Explore MyHeritage for John Challen information.
Study the LDS Database for records about John Challen.
Research the Challen surname using fold3 Military Archives and view images of original Challen Military records.
![]() | Did you know that there are currently 488 people with the Challen surname in the UK? Challen is now ranked number 3580 for popularity in the UK. |
Challen Family History Databases
Another way to build your tree quickly is to use the research other people have already done. This can help to confirm or refute your own deductions - however, be wary of taking this data at face value as other researchers may not have been as meticulous as you. Always try to back up deductions with some definitive sources rather than relying too heavily on others.
Investigate the WikiTree database for user contributed records for John Challen.
Study MyTrees for information on the Challen family and people looking to contact living Challen relations.
Investigate One Great Family for Challen records submitted by people who are already researching the Challen Family Tree.
Find John Challen from Ireland on findmypast.ie
Challen Forums
There are a number of forums which are dedicated to rearching particular surnames. These can be good places to share your findings and also to tap into the knowledge that others may already have. These can sometimes be a good way of finding living relations as these tend not to show up on the other sources of information for privacy reasons.
Research the Challen surname using Genealogy.com forums .
Miscellaneous Challen Databases
Explore the Ellis Island Database for information on John Challen. This database contains over 25 million immigration records detailing passengers arriving in the United States of America.
Some Famous People called John Challen
John Challen
John Bonamy Challen (23 March 1863 – 5 June 1937) was a Welsh amateur sportsman who played first-class cricket and association football during the late 19th century. He played football for Corinthian F.C., and was selected to play for Wales four times between 1887 and 1890. As a cricketer, he made over 50 first-class appearances, all for Somerset County Cricket Club. His availability in both sports was limited by his career in education; he was headmaster at a number of schools across southern England.
Challen was considered one of Somerset's principle amateur batsmen during the late 1880s and early 1890s, when he frequently finished near the top of their batting averages. His style was more defensive than many of his fellow amateurs, and he was often praised for playing vital innings to keep Somerset's batting together. He scored the only first-class century of his career in 1893 against Sussex, but began to appear less often after 1894, finally bowing out of county cricket after the 1899 season. In all, he scored 1,656 first-class runs at an average of 19.71.
Source: John Challen, Wikipedia, The Free EncyclopediaOther names that sound a bit like Challen
Family names can get corrupted over time, particularly where literacy was not as good. The following list contains some names that have similar sounds so you may want to also look at one or two of the more likely possibilites.
Cahalan Cahalane Cahalin Cahillane Caillon Calam Calan Calen Calhoon Calhoun Callaghan Callaham Callahan Callam Callan Callen Calliham Callihan Callum Calma Calmy Calone Calonne Caughlan Caughlin Celani Celano Cellone Celloni Challin Chelam Chellam Chelm Chlan Clamo Clan Cleanie Cleem Cleen Clem Clemmey Clemmow Clemo Clemow Cleney Clenney Clenny Cleyne Clime Climie Climo Cline Clone Cloney Clooney Clowney Cloyne Clum Cluney Clunie Cluny Clyma Clymo Clyne Coghlan Coghlin Cohalan Colahan Colam Colean Colhoun Colin Colina Colleen Collen Collin Collom Colloney Collono Collum Colomb Colombe Colombo Colon Colona Coloney Colonna Colony Colum Columb Columbia Coluni Coolahan Coolen Coughlan Coughlin Coulam Coulehan Coulombe Coulome Coulon Cowlam Cowlin Culham Culhane Cullen Cullin Cullom Cullon Cullum Culwen Cuolahan Czolno





Comments
Looking for information on a John Challen in your family tree? Why not post a question here -