Books & Digital Picks

This month’s family history inspiration

This addition to the catalogue of Pen & Sword genealogy guides takes us through the history and records of Oxfordshire. Like many such publications it is perhaps more aimed at the beginner to family research, rather than the experienced genealogist, but it contains many useful ideas for anyone who may have Oxfordshire ancestry to explore.

The basic methods of family history research are similar in any county, so the test of this type of guide is whether it explores the record coverage for its chosen county beyond that found anywhere else. In this case the author has included useful general advice on tracing your family tree using the common record types but goes on to include some extra information on what is specifically available in Oxfordshire, such as details of records relating to the nonconformist religions being followed in the area. Sadly there is no full listing of Oxfordshire parishes (or a map), nor details of the coverage of their surviving registers, and it is surprising that there is no mention of Oxfordshire parish registers having been available online (to users of ancestry.co.uk) since late 2016.

However, these omissions are made up for by interesting chapters on many aspects of Oxfordshire life – healthcare, poverty, crime, agriculture, transport, industry and education is even a section on the county at play covering everything from theatre to morris dancing.

Overall, this is a practical and useful introduction for anyone researching this historic county.

‘This is a practical and useful introduction’

Queen’s College on Oxford High Street in the 18th century

(including records of the famous university) – which all give suggestions for further research. Local regiments and other military records are discussed, and there