Where does "Ong" come from?

This is a question all of us Ongs have heard many, many times.  And as I've written before, the Ongs are English, with known traces of "Onge" found as early as the 13th century.  So we're as English as the Queen, if not more so!

But what does Ong (or Onge) mean? 

There are many theories for the origin of the name. Many are wild and speculative, but the only scholarly etymological source I have seen is by Henry Barber in his "British Family Names" (London 1903).  It has the following entry (my explanations of the abbreviations are indicated by "(=xx)"):

ONG. N (=Old Norse/Icelandic) Ungi (?) (the younger); F (=Frisian)
Onke, dimin. of Onno; G (=German) Unger; Fl (=Flemish) Ongers; p.n.
(=place name) or Ongar; a loc. n; Essex.
It's somewhat speculative, but I prefer the idea that Ong is a Nordic cognate of young or younger.  In fact the modern Danish word for young is "unge" and modern Norwegian for young is "ung".  And given early medieval English history, Nordic or "Viking" sources are pretty likely for an East Anglian family.

Michael Linwood in his history of Barningham, Suffolk, "Our Own People" highlights the early (and long-lasting) association of the Ong family with the village and offers the following observation:

"Inherited names were not customary amongst the ordinary people in Anglo-Saxon times, but the name Ong seems to have Old Norse origins.  It gives rise to the theory that Viking families had been clinging to their Danish origins since they invaded and remained conscious of their individual cultural background."

The Viking influence in eastern and northern England dates from 865 when the "Danes" landed a large army in East Anglia (which includes Suffolk).  By 867 the Danes had conquered the Kingdom or Northumbria with its capital in York and in 869 conquered the Kingdom of East Anglia, defeating King Edmund the Martyr, subsequently enshrined in St Edmundsbury Abbey (in today's Bury St Edmunds, the principal town of West Suffolk).

After conquering most of the central Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Mercia, the Danes were defeated by King Alfred (the "Great") of Wessex in 878, but the subsequent treaty with the Danish leader Guthrum in 880 granted the new Norse settlers self-rule over most of North and Eastern England, known as the "Danelaw".  Norse settlers continued to emigrate to England in this period, although they were quasi-assimilated into Anglo-Saxon society and substantially converted to Christianity.  Viking attempts to re-establish states in England continued until 1075, by which time England had been conquered by the Normans (1066) of Northern France (themselves originally of Norse origin as suggested by their name).

So to be English a thousand years ago could certainly mean living in what we would today call a multi-ethnic culture.  I recently did a DNA test which revealed that my ancestry was 14% "Scandinavian", even though according to family lore and my (wide, but not complete) knowledge of ancestral surnames I have no known Scandinavian ancestors.  Maybe that is where the Ong DNA resides!

Some of my cousins have changed their names from Ong to St.Onge (a corruption of the French province of Saintonge) or DeOng on the assumption that our name was originally French, and a restoration to something more Gallic-sounding would be more accurate (and perhaps less Asian-sounding).  Well there are quite a number of French-Canadian St.Onges out there, but they're no relation to us.  So sorry guys, you're wrong: Say it loud, I'm "Ong" and I'm proud!

Walter Jackson Ong, S.J. (1912-2003)

In my talk at the Ong Family "Mini-Reunion" last month, I referenced several Ong authors of fiction and non-fiction.  Those who attended will recall that my father, John Doyle Ong, in his concluding remarks mentioned that I had somewhat short-changed the importance of Walter J. Ong, the Jesuit scholar whose prominence as a thinker and writer unarguably outshines anyone else in the family past or present (pace my writer-cousins!).

So as penance I offer this post.  There is so much in the public domain about him and his work that I will not attempt a summary of my own, but instead I have assembled this portal into the life and work of Father Ong. 

Enjoy!

A 2018 video tribute by Saint Louis University to Ong's intellectual legacy is here.

A comprehensive bibliography by Prof. Thomas Walsh of Saint Louis University is here.

A 1987 biographical portrait by Prof. Randolph Lumpp is here.

His Wikipedia article is here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_J._Ong

The Walter J. Ong Archive at Saint Louis University is here:  http://libraries.slu.edu/collections/ong

His New York Times obituary is here: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/25/us/walter-j-ong-90-jesuit-teacher-and-scholar-of-language.html?scp=15&sq=Ong&st=cse

Father Ong was quoted many times in the NYT, one of the later examples is here: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/02/reading-up-on-gutenberg-as-the-ipad-drops/?_php=true&_type=blogs&scp=379&sq=Ong&st=cse&_r=0

An excellent academic paper on his life and work by Prof. Thomas J. Farrell is here:  http://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-110730320/in-memoriam-walter-j-ong-s-j-1912-2003

Another memorial article by Canadian journalist Jeet Heer is here: http://www.jeetheer.com/culture/ong.htm

John Walter, an archivist at Saint Louis University, has a blog about his work on the Walter Ong Collection here:  http://johnwalter.blogspot.com/

A bibliography is here: http://worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n50-2997/

Friends Yearly Meeting House Bicentennial

Thanks to the Editor's first cousin Aaron Ong for sharing these photos he and his son A.J. snapped during Ohio History Connection's Quaker Meeting House 200th Anniversary ceremony in Mount Pleasant, Ohio on August 2, 2014.  The photos were originally shared by Aaron on Facebook with the legend: "Jacob Ong built this 200 years ago and it still stands as a testimony to his legacy. Today I felt the Ong spirit for the first time...."  We'll share more photos from this event and the family "mini-reunion" when available.

Barningham, Suffolk, England

As mentioned in a previous post, the earliest Ong records from the 1280's place the family in Barningham, a village in northwestern Suffolk, about 11 miles NE of Bury St. Edmonds.

Michael Lingwood, a longtime Barningham resident (who passed away in 2008 at the age of 88) wrote a charming and interesting history of the village in 2005 called "Our Own People: A History of a Village Community".  The book gives due credit to the Ongs as among the village's earliest recorded residents and uniquely as a family which lived there continually for at least four centuries ending with the death of Robert Onge in 1678.  Barningham is recorded in the Domesday Book survey of 1066/1086 as having 35 households (very large for a village of its day, and only one of which were slaves/serfs).   The name Barningham is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word for warrior, beorn, and therefore the village is of Anglo-Saxon origin, while the Nordic-sounding Onge name is likely evidence of the area's subsequent invasion by the Danes (Vikings) in the late 9th century.  In Lingwood's words:

"Inherited names were not customary amongst the ordinary people in Anglo-Saxon times, but the name Ong seems to have Old Norse origins.  It gives rise to the theory that Viking families had been clinging to their Danish origins since they invaded and remained conscious of their individual cultural background."

The Barningham book is available at on-line sellers (e.g. http://www.amazon.com/Our-Own-People-History-Community/dp/1870738152), although there was a limited print-run so supplies may be limited.  Lingwood makes several references to various medieval Ongs throughout the earlier chapters.  He also says the local authority-owned land near the primary school now known as the "Cricket Meadow" was once known as "Ongs Close".

Mr. Lingwood is also responsible for a guidebook to the parish church, St. Andrew's, where the Barningham Ongs worshiped for several generations before, during, and after the Reformation.  I don't have a copy, but an on-line guide to the church is here: http://www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/barningham.htm

The earliest Ong (or rather "Onge"!) records: 1280 & 1283 AD.

"Where is your name from?"  That is a question we Ongs of European ancestry have to answer all of our lives.  Many different answers - from guesswork - have been given over the years if not centuries.  But the only correct answer is that the Ongs are from England.  In fact the Ongs are more English than the Queen, as our family name can be traced back over 730 years based on tax, legal and other records to the late 13th century in the English county of Suffolk, part of the region called East Anglia.  The earliest records place the family in one particular small village in northwestern Suffolk called Barningham which lies 11 miles northeast of Bury St. Edmunds.

                                    (Photo: St. Andrew's Church, Barningham (14th/15th c.))

The earliest record of the family name is in a land tenure record for St Edmundsbury Abbey which owned most of the land in western Suffolk.  Based on the evidence of the more prominent people for whom other data exists we can date this document to ca. 1280.   In the listings for Barningham we find the following entry:

"Willemus Onge cum parcenariis suis tenet iiij acras terre de Nicholao de Wykes per seruicium xxvijd, et idem Nicholaus de Eustachio de Bernyngham per seruicium vjd, et idem E. de Abbate Sancti Edmundi."

Translated from the Latin this says that William Onge with his partners holds four acres from Nicholas of Wykes for 27 pence rent of which Nicholas pays 6 pence rent to Eustace of Barningham, who in turn pays the same to the Abbot of St. Edmunds.  This is one of 28 entries for Barningham and the rent paid per acre is higher than the average.

The family can then be seen again in the 1283 Lay Subsidy Roll for the Blackbourne Hundred, a county-subdivision including 30 or so parishes in northwestern Suffolk including Barningham.  This record relates to a tax of 1/30th of all moveable property which was recorded in great detail for each owner.  This particular tax was charged by King Edward I ("Longshanks") to help finance the Welsh War of 1282-83 which had cost 90,000 pounds and had drained the royal exchequer.  (The tax was actually repaying loans made to the King by merchants from Lucca in Italy.  This war ended with the death of the last Celtic Prince of Wales.)  Remarkably, the Lay Subsidy (the tax's formal name) Roll for the Blackbourne Hundred in Suffolk is the only one in England to have survived.

Of the 55 entries for Barningham, three relate to Ongs (who are part of a minority with recognizable surnames).  The entries for their property and value are as follows (translated from Latin):

W. Honge (= William Onge):
1 quarter + 1 bushel (=9 bs.) rye = 4s 6d
3 quarters barley = 12s
3 quarters peas = 9s
1 chicken = 1s
2 cows = 6s 11d
1 young ox = 1s
1 bull calf = 5d
4 piglets = 1s 3d
3 sheep = 3s
2 lambs = 8d
Total value = £1 19s 9d; Tax 1s 4d

I. Honge (= John? James? Onge): 4 bushels rye = 2s
3 quarters barley = 12s
2 bushels oats = 6d
1 quarters + 4 bushels peas = 4s 6d
1 plough-horse = 4s
3 cows = 12s 6d
1 young ox = 1s
1 bull calf = 8d
2 piglets = 1s
3 sheep = 3s
2 lambs = 8d
Total value = £2 1s 10d; Tax 1s 5d

Ad. Honge (= Adam Onge): 1 quarter rye = 4s
4 quarters 4 bushels barley = 18s
2 quarters peas = 6s
4 bushels beans = 1s 8d
1 pack-horse = 3s
1 heifer = 2s
1 bull calf = 8d
6 sheep = 6s
2 lambs = 8d
Total value = £2 2s; Tax 1s 5d
The total tax paid by village was £3 11s 3½d.  (Note: £1=20shillings(s); 1s=12 pence(d); £1=240d)

I would guess the other two Onges are likely the partners ("parcenari") of William Onge mentioned in the land register and are likely brothers or cousins of William.  The Onge family lived in Barningham continually from this time until the death of Robert Onge who died without issue in 1678, although by this time the family name had spread throughout western Suffolk and adjoining counties.

Edgar Powell's 1910 scholarly edition of these two medieval documents can be found here: https://archive.org/details/cu31924030265528

Raymond Leonard Ong (27 July 1931 - 25 July 2014)

Raymond Ong was to have attended our mini-reunion last weekend but sadly passed away the previous week.  RIP.

http://www.vindy.com/news/tributes/2014/jul/23/raymond-leonard-on/

YOUNGSTOWN - Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. at the Green Haven Memorial Gardens on Friday, July 25, 2014, for Raymond Leonard Ong, who passed away early Monday morning in his Austintown home.

Raymond was the son of the late Zed and Vecil Martin-Ong.  

He was born July 27, 1931, on Whitney Avenue in Youngstown.

He attended Chaney High School and then joined the U.S. Army in 1949.

On Aug. 2, 1950, he married Jean Marie Hottinger, who preceded him in death in 2008. Also preceding him were two brothers, Harold and Errington; and a daughter, Susan.

He fought for his country in the Korean War, where he received several medals. Once he returned from the war, he served as a corporal, training other troops in Indian Gap, Pa.

After his military service, Ray returned to Youngstown and became a journeyman electrician. Throughout his career, he served his union in many capacities including local president for the IBEW Local 64.

Since retiring in 1981, he has been a member of the Youngstown Saxon Club, Chaney Class of ’49, Local 64 Retirees and numerous veterans’ groups, including the Chosin Few.

He leaves behind his two children, Marguerite Harkleroad of Austintown and Mark Ong of Cleveland; his close friend and companion, Ruth Sidhom; two grandchildren, Jason (Sara) and Matt (Christina); three great-grandchildren; and his faithful cat, Tommy. - See more at: http://www.vindy.com/news/tributes/2014/jul/23/raymond-leonard-on/#sthash.RSrHvkj6.dpuf

Jacob Ong (1760-1849) & the Quaker Yearly Meeting House in Mount Pleasant, Ohio

Last Saturday (2 August 2014) Ohio History Connection celebrated the 200th Anniversary of the Quaker Yearly Meeting House built by Jacob Ong (1760-1849).  Here is the profile of Jacob Ong from the Ohio Yearly Meeting's very interesting history website: www.quaker-chronicle.info:

Jacob Ong was an early Quaker settler in Ohio who was the contractor for the Mount Pleasant
Meeting House.

Ong was born in Burlington NJ. During the American Revolution, Ong served in a Pennsylvania regiment that monitored western Pennsylvania. After the war, Ong apologized for this military service, and he rejected his military pension.

Ong moved several times early in life: to Hopewell, Virginia, in 1786, to Westland in 1792,
and then to Jefferson County, Ohio, in 1803. Concord MM recorded him as a minister in 1803. Ong was a founding member of Short Creek MM in 1804 and then of Plymouth/Smithfield MM in 1808. A Friend later recalled that during his ministry, Ong would tremble. On occasion, he would weep during ministry, with the tears flowing down his beard.

When Ohio YM decided to construct a large new meeting house in Mount Pleasant to house yearly meeting sessions, Ong was chosen to oversee the work. At the time, his position was called “carpenter,” though we would call it a contractor today. Ong included an interesting vestigial architectural element found in early meeting houses he had seen in his youth: the narrow walkway over the gallery.

(Editor's note:  "MM"= Monthly Meeting; "YM"=Yearly Meeting)