Check out our FREE advisor and help sessions running throughout the County – click here
Here you can see a list of the most recently added comments on this site. You can add your own comments at the bottom of any page on the site.
I apologize for one error in my story. Vernon and William Wright’s youngest brother was Martin Wright, Ray Wright was his son. Martin Wright fought in WWI and was taken prisoner.
Thank you Pauline for note. You may be interested to know that SOUCH is a name on OXSIL – the Oxfordshire Surname Interest List. You could register your interest https://www.oxsil.org.uk. I see that there are several other people researching.
Hello I discovered a few weeks ago that my great grandmother had the surname Souch. I just found this site because a hint on ancestry brought up information regards to a soldier, Souch, who lived at Chilson, Charlbury, Oxon. As this is an unusual name I think the family could be from my great great grandfather’s family, he came from Chertsey in Surrey. Thank you so much for collating this valuable information. I now have some more clues to research.
‘At the speakers request this talk was recorded.’ Presumably ‘At the speaker’s request this talk was not recorded’.
Yes you are absolutely correct Peter – it was NOT recorded.
Hello Jan thanks for this I believe that Kevin has now clarified that it is indeed at 8pm.Angie
The Zoom registration and confirmation says it is at 1 pm, but this page says it’s at 8 pm. Please confirm which is correct
I have emailed you separately with a response but for others seeing this just to say that we are sorry that this talk proved more popular than many others and we exceeded our limit on Zoom. We are looking at ways to address this in the future.
We were very disappointed that when we tried to register for this talk earlier on you had already reached capacity. If there any chance of a vacancy please let me know. Many thanks Jim and Susan Rose susan.rose57@gmail.com
Caroline,
It looks like you may have some interesting Oxfordshire history. If you haven’t yet done so, you might want to make use of our Search Services available from this website to get all the Coles from Kirtlington (and surrounding areas) to go back beyond Fanny. I am sure you know that there are many spellings of that surname too from COALS to COLLES and maybe even COLLIS.
Have you checked out the workhouses website by Peter Higginbotham which mighty have more general information for you on the Woodstock Hensington workhouse?
There is quite a bit on boat people in Oxfordshire. They are a challenge as many were on the move constantly. Have a look at HeritageSearch on the Oxfordshire History Centre website for images, records, oral histories and books they might hold. Also the Eureka Partnership has published a couple of booklets entitled “The Boat People of Oxford Canal”. There is a classic book by Mary Prior called “Fisher Row: fishermen, bargemen and canal boatmen in Oxford 1500-1900”. Mark Davies who is also an OFHS member has a strong knowledge of the waterways around Oxford and might be willing to answer specific questions. The Canal and River Trust might have information.
So far we haven’t written up a specific name report on COLES for our members but may well do in the next year or so.
I hope this helps.
Sue Honore
Hi I live in Australia after emigrating here in 1977, have recently returned and have been researching our family history, Coles family that lived in Kirtlington in 1700’s & 1800’s. My cousin and I have found a number of graves and have confirmed our direct line links to Fanny Coles of Thrupp who died young at 23 and had a son John who was 3yo and was sent to workhouse in Hensington. We also understand that the Vokes were a well know boat family who worked the canal boats, lock keepers and inn keepers. Any help would be most appreciated.
Hi Sue, Thanks for the response regarding the Holloway/Hollway, if you’d like I can send more information about the Holloway’s (of Charlbury) by Email. As for the Benfield section, the Benfield family did also go by Binfield aswell. The Binfield and Benfield family Crests’ are the same. The Banfield/Benfield family have branched off into different surnames throughout History. I’ll do some digging to see if I can find a connection.
Robert, You are right that are a variety of spellings of both those surnames. We have over 30 spelling variants of HOLLOWAY (although that is the most common by far). Benfield is not so common a name although BENFIELD is the normal spelling in Oxfordshire, along with fairly common BINFIELD. There are also a few BEANFIELDs. Early people in Oxfordshire (16th/early C17th) seemed to be in the south of the county – places like Rotherfield Peppard, Sonning, Caversham or in Oxford city, so they may have come from elsewhere initially as there are more trade/movement routes into south Oxfordshire from London and the southern counties/port areas that way and we often find people migrate into the south of our county from those areas. Sue Honore
Hi, For the surname Hollway, there is a different spelling of the Surname that goes by Holloway, the Holloways come from Charlbury and Woodstock. I am a descendent of The Holloways/Hollways. Also what can you tell me about the Benfield Surname in Oxfordshire? I am a descendent of the Benfields (modernized to Banfield where I live), Is there any connection between the Benfields in Oxfordshire and Dorset perhaps?
Thank you for telling us all about the spelling variations with Lanchbury – as with many names, there can be a wide variety of ways of spelling it, especially when most of the names were passed on orally for literate scribes to write down based on strong accents!
I assume you must be relatively local, but we don’t have our own research centre any more. We are based at the Oxfordshire History Centre in Cowley (St Lukes Church, Temple Rd, Oxford OX4 2HT) and you are welcome to turn up there on a Tuesday when we have advisors who can help you. You may also find some extra Lanchbury records in the History Centre itself. We also have advisors in other libraries on certain days. See our website for details: https://www.ofhs.uk/news/helpdesks/advisors-helpdesks .
I can’t immediately find Hercules b 1850s marriage to Mary but someone could help you dig for it.
I have LAUNCHBURY’S that come from Oxfordshire they seem to be mainly around Chadlington! The old spellings are LANCHBURY/LAINCHBURY/LAMPREY as you have in your list with a yes for priority research! From as far back as 1470 my 11 x Great Grandfather Robert the spelling was Lanchbury then in the records! My 10 X G/Grandfather was called Richard Lanchburie Born 1500 so another variation on the name! Then with my 8 x G/Grandfather was called Hercules Lanchbury! My 3 x G/Grandfather was called Thomas Lanchberry, so another variation on the name! Then my 2 x Great G/Father was called Henry Lansbury so again another variation on the name! My G/Grandfather Frederick Launsbury in the 1861 census, 1871 census it’s now Lamchbery, 1881 census it’s how we’ve always spelt it Launchbury, 1891 census it’s now Landberg so completely different spelling, 1901 and 1911 Census records it’s back to the way we spell it Launchbury! The last one in line for Launchbury’s was my Grandmother Minnie Maud! They’ve moved when my 3 x G/Grandfather Thomas is born in 1780 to Long Combe, then when my 2 x G/Grandfather Henry is born in 1820 and my Grandfather Frederick is born in 1856 they’re in North Hinksey So far I’ve been unable to find out what my 6 x G/Grandmothers surname is all we’ve got is Mary born in Chadlington in 1683 she married Hercules Archelons Launchbury (Lanchbury in records)? Don’t know if you can help but we’re not sure if Hercules Lanchbury born in 1850 married a Mary Crosse or a Mary Fletcher, would I be able to find this sort of information out if I came to do some research like this at your centre?
Hello Jim We will be uploading the recording of the meeting shortly along with his handout of all the resources he mentioned. Angie
Hi, is it possible to attach the zoom meeting as I am trying to explain all the details to my wife, who could not attend, and Phil’s explanations will be more accurate and precise than mine. His presentation was very informative and there was a great deal to digest in a short period. Many Thanks Jim Coyle
could i add my ancesters name to your list, Templer 1700,s Abingdon Oxon.
OFHS – please visit https://www.oxsil.org.uk/add-a-surname/ to add surnames and details – thanks very much.
Spelling of Mayhem in the title
Thanks Ben I will change!
Thank you for your helpful reply. I’ve found the wills [also on FindMyPast] and I’ve found more people with the spelling Huick, in particular, who seem to belong to the same family. Will keep looking in Northamptonshire, for a start.
Helen, that is one of the more unusual names in Oxfordshire. I know of several brothers/cousins who were baptising children in Banbury in the early 17th century. Names starting with a Y’ are a challenge. Have you tried looking for variants that might be less obvious such as those starting with ‘Ew’, ‘Eu’ ‘U’, ‘H’ and ‘J’? I have seen Jowick, Hewick, Ewick. Also at a push it might also be connected to York/Yorke. If you contact OFHS Search Services you could get a list of baptisms/marriages/burials concerning these names – see the section of our website under resources. There is a will transcription on our site for 1592 for a Robert Yowicke and 1602 for a Joice in North Oxfordshire so you might want to chase those wills. See the wills section of our resources on this website. As they don’t seem to be in Oxfordshire before the late 1500s/early 1600s the family may have migrated to the county from elsewhere in that period. This is not always a given, but often people who settled in North Oxfordshire around the Banbury area would have migrated from further north in England, so you might want to go searching outside the county in late medieval times. I can’t find an entry for this name in Reaney & Wilson (Oxford Dictionary of English Surnames).
Has anyone ever come across the surname Youicke / Yerwick / Yowick from the Banbury area? The first reference I have found to it is a girl christened in 1633. I would love to find more of these people prior to this date and if possible, where on earth does it come from?
I enjoyed reading about the Timms, in “Stone by Stone”, and following the excitement of the discoveries of the links found with that family. Thank you for sharing this, Kathleen Timms. My interest too, was heightened, as I am a descendant of a William Timms. However, we know Timms is a well known name in Oxfordshire, and if there was a connection to be found, with those in Kathleen’s tree, I didn’t find it! My Great grandfather William was born in Oxfordshire in 1823. He and his young wife, a Radbone, migrated to Australia soon after their marriage in Wheatfield in 1849. My Grandfather, was their youngest son David.
Thank you Margaret – I will pass this on to Sue Honore our Surnames Project co-ordinator. (I have Phipps in my line – it was may maiden name, I was born in Oxford. Haven’t found any of my lot in Hook Norton though!)
You can also see a list of the latest pages added to the site.
View latest pages