The Duke and the Miner’s Daughter

 Meetings  No Responses »
May 192013
 

Elizabeth Young 500pxTony Hadland’s talk tomorrow evening at Exeter Hall, Kidlington, OX5 1AB is titled – “The Duke and the Miner’s Daughter – the fascinating truth behind a Forest of Dean family myth”. Family tradition said that Tony Hadland’s great-grandfather, Thomas Young, was the illegitimate son of the Duke of Raglan. Thomas’s mother was the teenage daughter of a miner in the Forest of Dean. Using techniques anybody can employ, Tony discovered that the truth was even more interesting than the legend.
The picture is of Tony’s great-great-grandmother, Elizabeth Young, the subject of the talk.

All are welcome – the venue is open from 7:15pm.

DNA competition

 Uncategorized  No Responses »
May 142013
 

The requirement to be an OFHS member as of 30th April has been extended to end of May when the DNA competition closes, so for all people who want to enter the competition, now is your chance. Entries close end of May, so get writing.

If you have a long history of Oxfordshire ancestors, send 400-600 words on why a DNA test would help you with your family history to editor@ofhs.org.uk and win a Y-DNA (male line) or mtDNA (female) test worth hundreds of pounds.

Oxfordshire Past 2013

 Fairs  No Responses »
May 132013
 

Oxfordshire Past is a well established event in the calendar for all those
interested in history and archaeology and has an extensive programme
covering a range of talks from experts in their field.

It’s a day conference, & this year it’s being held at the Exeter Hall in
Kidlington, on Saturday, 1 June.

There are several talks of particular interest to family historians. In
particular, this year Trevor Jackson, Oxfordshire City Cemeteries Manager,
is talking about the Oxford City Cemetery registers. Over the last 18
months a team of OFHS volunteers have transcribed the grave registers, with
the project now in its final phase, and so Trevor’s talk will be of
particular interest.

Simon Townley and Simon Draper will also be talking about the work of the
Victoria County History in Ewelme Hundred, Wychwood, and Brightwell
Baldwin.

Oxfordshire FHS will have a stall in the hall with books & CDs available.

Tickets are just £7. To see the full programme, or to buy tickets, go to
http://oxfordshirepast.org/

It promises to be an interesting day!

Jack Howard-Drake

 In the press  No Responses »
May 122013
 

Jack Howard-Drake, one of our earliest members has sadly died aged 94. He was involved with local as well as family history and wrote several books on Oxford Church Court Depositions. His wife Joan, a long serving committee member, is now one of the society’s Vice Presidents.

Our chairman, Dr Wendy Archer, will be representing the society at the funeral.

http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/announcements/deaths/deaths/10413787.Jack_Howard_Drake/

Our thoughts are with his family and friends.

Win a free Oxfordshire DNA test

 DNA  No Responses »
Mar 222013
 

Are you a member of the OFHS and do you have at least 3 generations of Oxfordshire ancestors going back into the 19th century or earlier? We are launching a new Oxfordshire DNA project at the beginning of April and are offering TWO free DNA tests to OFHS members. Why not enter?

All you have to do is submit 400-600 words on why you feel a DNA test would be useful to help you discover more about your Oxfordshire family/families using DNA, including a short summary on your family and your family history ‘brick walls’. Send to editor@ofhs.org.uk before 30th May 2013. Terms and conditions are below.

If you are not yet an OFHS member, but have Oxfordshire ancestors and want to enter the competition, then why not join? It’s well worth the cost of the membership to have a chance of winning a DNA test. See http://www.ofhs.org.uk for membership details.

Are you just curious to find out more about our project? Go to http://www.familytreedna.com/public/Oxfordshire and see what is happening.

If you have already had a DNA test done at FamilyTreeDNA, and have a long line of Oxfordshire ancestors, then logon to http://www.familytreedna.com/public/Oxfordshire and request to transfer your results to our project. (All transfers are checked for validity before approval, so membership is not automatic.)

Terms & Conditions of DNA competition
1. All entrants must be members of the OFHS as of 1 May 2013.
2. Entrants must have at least 3 generations of Oxfordshire ancestors in the 19th century or earlier.
3. The OFHS Executive Committee will pick the two winning entrants. The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence can be entered into regarding judging. The judges reserve the right to award one or zero free tests if the quality of entries justifies that action.
4. The competiton closes on 31st May 2013 and winners will be notified by 1st July 2013.
5. Winners agree to having their stories publicised by the OFHS. Full test results and ID numbers on the DNA site will not however be released to the public.

History of Ewelme in the National Archives

 Meetings  No Responses »
Mar 032013
 

Next Friday, 8 March, Oliver Morley, the Chief Executive and Keeper of The National Archives, will give a talk in aid of Ewelme church. It’s titled “Ewelme’s History – A Look at the The National Archive”, and is described as “A fascinating and light hearted look at the National Archives and Ewelme’s place within them.”

The talk is to be held at Ewelme Village Hall at 7:30 pm, and tickets are £15 in advance only, to include a glass of wine. Tickets can be obtained using the contact details linked from http://www.friendsofewelmechurch.co.uk/about/ , or by making contact through the Friends Facebook page at www.facebook.com/friendsofewelmechurch

Cloud Computing – one Family Researcher’s Perspective

 Meetings  No Responses »
Feb 032013
 

Monday 4 February  — Exeter Hall, Kidlington, OX5 1AB

Speaker — Graham Walter

Cloud Computing – one Family Researcher’s Perspective

In a time where many of us have more than one computing device, as well as other family members who would like to see our genealogy research, the cloud offers us a way to share and transfer information with a far greater ease than previously available. Continue reading »

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