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Banburyshire Family History

A site designed for you to share your family history with others from the Banbury area

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go back to the last page you were on Banburyshire Website : Contributions & Submission Guidelines

Sharing your interests

This site is designed to let you share your family history interests with others.

I am always happy to post Banburyshire information for anyone. Just contact me with whatever you have - small or large - and we'll sort out how best to add it to this website.

  • Your contribution is acknowledged on the relevant pages - unless you wish to remain anonymous
  • There is no cost involved other than your time
  • None of the material is sold to anyone in any form
  • Your personal details are not shared with anyone without your prior consent
  • If you have any other thoughts, please contact me with them

Look below at the various ways you can share and email me - Rosemary

Sharing Your Interests

Here are some of the ways you can share your interests in this area by contributing to this site:


Your Family History

Would you like to include more information about your research and your own family history than is possible with a standard surname list and brief list of queries?

We would like to encourage those of you who would like to put your own family history out on the web to contact us.
The only constraint is that it is related to Banburyshire.

  • Maybe you have a story about one single family, or a single family group or individual
  • Maybe a family photograph
  • Maybe a story about one particular source you have used
  • Or a descent or line chart or a family tree
  • Sorry, but no Gedcoms, Excel files or PDF files - and don't include details of anyone living

Have a look here to see some different family histories and individual portraits already contributed

So . . .
If you would like to put some of your family history online, please Rosemary to discuss what we may be able to do.

See also Changing Your Information below

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Surnames List and More

If you wish to have the surnames of the ancestors you are researching in Banburyshire added to this list, please send your interests in the following format to Rosemary

  • SURNAME : please write just the surname in CAPITALS
  • A date or dates, century, before, after, about . . .
  • Village/s and/or Parish/es and County
    • Please use these abbreviations for the counties:
      Northamptonshire=NTH; Oxfordshire=OXF; Warwickshire=WAR
  • Your contact name
    • Your full name, a name you like to be known by, or just a first name will do
  • Your email address
    • A general locality would also be appreciated, e.g. Auckland, New Zealand
    • If you have a website that includes genealogical, historical or other information about Banburyshire, please also send your personal webpage URL and see below for further details.

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Notes & Queries

If you wish to add further details about your ancestral family, where you can expand your research problems, there is a separate page for this, which will be linked to your surname interests.

Please send them in plain text with your surname details to Rosemary.

Have a look at Notes & Queries to see some of the types of format already used. But if you have another idea - let me know!

If you have other interesting notes about the area, please also send them: we can always create a new page.

Submissions may be edited if they are too vague - or at our discretion!

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Family Bibles

I am quite happy to add details from any family bible - it does not have to be related to Banburyshire.

Please send a transcript of the entries and any other information you would like to include such as details of the family mentioned in the bible.

Screen readers and search engines such as Google cannot "read" text on images and photos so a text copy is also needed.

You can also send photographs or scans of the pages within the bible or even a photograph of the bible itself. Please send large images - then I can edit them down to fit the page.

And include your contact name and email address. I do add brackets around the email addresses on the site - it seems to stop spam bots from picking up these addresses. Or I can keep your email address offline.

Have a look at the bibles we have already.

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Memories & Reminiscences

"Somehow it is good to fill in the gaps of what it was like in the 'olden days' as my grandchildren ask from time to time, and hear other people's experiences, for believe it or not none of us will be here forever, so make a note of that."

We have collected a large and varied selection of memories and reminiscence. This is currently the largest section on this website and is an amazing collection of writings from members and friends of the Banbury Area Mailing List. You can loose yourself in it for hours, unlocking your own memories of the past.

These memories do not have to be specifically related to the Banbury area. You don't have to write much, nor do you need to worry about your English --- your memories of your childhood and youth are already history, and if you don't write them down, who will?

Christmas

During December we have a seasonal selection of memories, including poems, recipes and reminiscences -- if you have something you'd like to share, email me, Rosemary --- at anytime of the year.

"God gave us memories that we might have roses in December."
~ J.M. Barrie, "Courage", 1922

So . . . have a go . . . . .

As you will see from the collection, there are many ways of writing - there are no rules - just be yourself and have a go at putting down what you remember, your impressions and your recollections. You can't take them with you! Think of the pleasure they could give your grandchildren and their descendants!

If you have an idea, or have written something you would like to post on this site, just send me an email, and I'll encourage you!

Rosemary if you have any questions.

The treasure trove of stories is here - read a few and come back again and again - share and enjoy!

Village Interests

  • Do you have a particular interest in any village in the area?
  • Have you ever lived there?
  • Do you live there?
  • Do you have any photographs?
  • Or memories?
  • Or family history?

Most of us have never been to Banburyshire, so anything you can offer about specific places you know or have been to, would be really welcome.
Send them to me, Rosemary and I will add them to the site for all to share.

The index to our collection of Village Interests is here.

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Memorials

Church yards, cemeteries, grave stones, plaques, war memorials . . .
Obituaries, death notices, funeral cards and so on . . .

These are all extremely useful for family historians, and photographs in particular are worth a thousand words. So if you have any information or photos of any type of memorial, even one headstone, we would be glad to put it on this site. Someone round the other side of the world may treasure what you have!

The index to our collection of Memorials is here.

War Memorials

There is a section for war memorials

If you have any photographs or transcriptions from war memorials we would be really pleased to put them online for others to see.

Remembrance Day

In November, many of us take time to remember those who fought and died in war: Remembrance Day, Veterans' Day, Poppy Day, Armistice Day or Remembrance Sunday.

If you would like to add a name and details of a family member to our Remembrance Pages, please send me, Rosemary, the details. It is not restricted to families from the Banbury area.

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Books and Book Reviews

Here is a collection of books that could be useful in one way or another for family historians.

Some are quite personal: "Before I Forget", edited by our own Ian Huckin: which contain stories written by members of the Banburyshire Mailing List of their own experiences. Many others of these short recollections are published here in the section called Memories and Reminiscences. --- You could add yours at anytime.

Or they may be books that help us understand the way of life of our forbearers, such as "Lifting the Latch" or "Cider with Roses".

Any contributions you may like to make will be gratefully received. Have a look at some of the other reviews we have already put online, and then have a go yourself. If you are in any doubt about anything, just drop me a line: Rosemary, with your ideas.

The index to Books and Reviews is here.

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Photographs

Photographs and images of anything to do with Banburyshire: churches, villages, buildings, history, people - your ancestors, group photographs from weddings, clubs, bands, parties, school, outings, work etc. etc.

But please -- these must be your photographs -- not pictures you've found on the internet!

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Traditional Recipes and Food to Remember

"...how about a section on the site for traditional recipes?
I have a few, including mincemeat, Christmas puddings, Jams, Marmalades, bread etc.
I think it would be nice to get some of the old recipes, that we all grew up on, and try them out again.
Spotted Dick for example. Bacon Jack as well (but I was never that keen on that!). Jugged Hare, Game Pie, even Baked apple - done proper-like! Marrow Rum and various homemade wines, ales etc.
I had best go now, before my drooling shorts out the keyboard!" I.H.

See what traditional recipes we have already. Do you have any special memories about food from your childhood or wartime recipes your mother used?

(This is not just for your favourite recipes!)

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Personal Web Sites

Add a link to your own family history website that includes genealogical, historical, photographical or other information about Banburyshire. Please also send a few words about it, particularly in relation to Banburyshire families, villages and life.

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The Potpourri Pot

A selection of articles that don't quite fit anywhere else!

  • Poems
  • Family history trivia
  • Abbreviations & Smilies
  • Chapman Codes
  • Photography

Contents of the Potpourri Pot are here.

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Changing Your Information

Please keep any information you have submitted to this site up-to-date.

There's nothing more frustrating than finding a possible contact, only to have your email bounce back.

All you need to do is write to me - Rosemary - and I will change your details

If you try and contact another researcher and their email bounces, please let me know - Rosemary.

This site is designed for sharing - so share what you have - you never know who might find it - it might be just the person who can break down your brickwall!

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