Publisher's Synopsis
Exploring Oxfordshire Surnames: People, Places and Lives is a volume of chapters written by experts and enthusiasts in several areas, providing different perspectives on the people and surnames of Oxfordshire. The authors use case studies and a range of fascinating sources to highlight some of the stories that can be told about particular Oxfordshire surnames and the families who have borne those names.
What is an Oxfordshire surname? Could you have Oxfordshire DNA? When and why did your ancestors come to or leave Oxfordshire? Read this book and you can find out!
Fully illustrated throughout, the book is aimed at anyone who is interested in family history, local history, village life or surname studies. It includes chapters focusing on coopers, Oxfordshire village life, Roman Catholics, Methodists, Quakers, and migration in and around Oxfordshire.
A chapter on medieval names looks in detail at two areas of the county before surnames became hereditary and shows where the names came from and what they mean. A chapter on the population of Oxfordshire examines the profiles of selected Oxfordshire surnames over time, using the parish records of our ancestors' baptisms and burials to plot their geographical spread, peaks and troughs, growth or decline. A chapter on advertising will inspire readers with new places to search for their ancestors (could you find a photograph of family members carrying out their daily business activities, delivering their wares or standing proudly in front of their shop?). The discussion of surname variants and surnames that come from place names will be of wider interest, and suggestions for further research are relevant to family historians worldwide.
