Oxfordshire Family History Resources

This page of the Family History website is dedicated to Oxfordshire Family History Resources & Records. We’ll be adding Family History information on a regular basis and hope this section will be of assistance for anyone searching for news and records relating to ancestors and relatives who lived in the county of Oxfordshire, England, UK.

Oxfordshire Family History Society

This society was founded in 1976 and publishes a journal Oxfordshire Family Historian that is distributed three times a year.  They hold regular meetings and hold an annual Family History Fair.

Oxfordshire History Centre

This centre is based in the former parish church of St Luke at Cowley, Oxford.  It replaced the Oxfordshire Record Office and the Oxfordshire Studies Services.  It holds the original historic records for the county of Oxfordshire dating from the 12th century to the modern day.  It’s archives include Church of England records comprising Diocesan records, Archdeaconry records, Wills and inventories, Deanery records, and Parish records from over 300 parishes – these records can be viewed on computer at the Oxfordshire History Centre.

Wills & Probate records

Oxfordshire Wills Index – 1516-1857
– Digitised and available online are over 92,000 wills and probate records for the county of Oxfordshire, England. Most of them dating prior to the first detailed census of 1841 – so they may provide invaluable information for a Family History search.

Oxfordshire Newspaper Archives

Local Newspaper Archives and Historical Newspapers can provide invaluable information for Family History Researchers and are a great resource.  Information can often be found that is not found in Parish Records, or Censuses. At Family History, we are able to provide a direct link to Oxfordshire Newspaper Archives from a variety of historical newspapers, covering different time periods. Here is the link and information on the historic Oxfordshire Newspapers and the time periods they cover:

British Newspaper Archives – historic newspaper records in the Oxfordshire area
– News and records from the newspapers below