Oxford Skyline

Finding Your Ancestors On The Internet

The Information Services of Oxfordshire Family History Society

Major Web Sites for Family History
Web Site Address Description
Google www.google.co.uk A Superb Search Engine.
Your single most useful resource
Family Search www.familysearch.org LDS site, contains IGI, England & Wales 1881 Census, etc.
Ancestry.co.uk ancestry.co.uk Census, B.M.D. and other records (subscription or pay-per-view)
Ancestry Shortcuts
to
Oxfordshire Parish Registers
Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812
Births and Baptisms, 1813-1915
Marriages and Banns, 1754-1930
Deaths and Burials, 1813-1965
These links to take you to the Oxfordshire, Church of England data sets on the Ancestry web site, providing access to the OFHS Parish Register Scans.

FindMyPast www.findmypast.co.uk Census, B.M.D. and other records (subscription or pay-per-view)
Find My Past Shortcuts


Links to take you to some of the most frequently used Record Sets on the FindMyPast web site.
1841 Census
1851 Census
1861 Census
1871 Census
1881 Census
1891 Census
1901 Census
1911 Census
England and Wales Births 1837-2006
Marriages and Divorces
England and Wales Deaths 1837-2006
You will enter the site with the correct "Record Collection" and "Record Set" filters preset but no name or dates entered, so the site will report that you have returned a huge number of results! Don't worry, just enter the name and any other data you know about the person you are looking for, in the boxes at the top of the screen. Then click the blue Search button.

This is not an ideal way of working but it is much quicker than navigating through a cascade of menus to get to a specific Record Collection and Record Set.

FreeBMD www.freebmd.org.uk Births, Marriages & Deaths (now approaching 100% coverage for most years 1837-1950)
FreeCEN
FreeREG
www.freecen.org.uk
www.freereg.org.uk
Census & Parish Registers (coverage still sparse, see web sites for details)
GRO Web Site
Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates
www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/ On-line ordering of certificates once you have the GRO reference, from FreeBMD etc.
Or you can order by phone on +44 (0)300 123 1837
Ordnance Survey www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk
www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/business-and-government/products/finder.html?Licensed%20for=OpenData%20%28Free%29&withdrawn=on
Ordnance Survey maps of the UK
Clicking this lengthy link takes you to the OpenData(free) page.
Old Maps www.old-maps.co.uk First Edition OS maps of the UK
NLS Map Images http://maps.nls.uk/ Large Scale maps of Scotland and the rest of the UK
MAPCO www.mapco.net/ Free access to scanned, antique maps
Bing Maps www.bing.com/maps Modern maps of the UK, plus aerial photographs
Google Maps maps.google.co.uk Modern maps of the UK, plus aerial photographs
RootsWeb www.rootsweb.com
 
https://lists.rootsweb.com/hyperkitty/list/oxfordshire.rootsweb.com/
Host for many genealogical resources including
 
Archives for the original OXFORDSHIRE-L mailing list (1997-2019).
Oxfordshire England Genealogy https://groups.io/g/Oxfordshire-England-genealogy The new Oxfordshire Mailing List (2020--> ).
OFHS www.ofhs.org.uk Oxfordshire Family History Society
OXSIL http://www.oxsil.org.uk/ Oxfordshire Surname Interest List
Family Tree DNA - Oxfordshire www.familytreedna.com/public/oxfordshire Oxfordshire DNA Project
Rootschat www.rootschat.com/
www.rootschat.com/forum/oxfordshire/
Free Family History Forum
Oxfordshire Forum
GENUKI www.genuki.org.uk Genealogy Resources for UK and Ireland including the following three items:
Family History and Genealogy Societies www.genuki.org.uk/Societies/ Links to societies whose interests relate to the UK & Ireland
Mailing List Index www.genuki.org.uk/indexes/MailingLists.html Mailing Lists
Surname List Index www.genuki.org.uk/indexes/SurnamesLists.html Surname Interest Lists
Society of Genealogists www.sog.org.uk/ National Family History Centre, based in London.
Federation of Family History Societies www.ffhs.org.uk Federation's Web Site with details of Member Societies, Forthcoming Events and Research Tips.
The Guild of One-Name Studies www.one-name.org Links to people researching specific surnames.
Cyndi's List www.cyndislist.com Vast list of genealogy links, worldwide.
Oxfordshire County Council www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/referenceonline Oxfordshire Libraries Online Reference
www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/oxfordshirehistory Oxfordshire History Centre (OHC)
Replaces Oxfordshire Record Office (ORO) & Oxfordshire Studies (OxS)
www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/heritagesearch Oxfordshire Heritage Search
http://www.pictureoxon.org.uk/ Picture Oxon - Oxfordshire History Centre Image Collection
www.oxfordshirehistory.org.uk/Public/DVs/index.htm Oxfordshire District Valuation Records
www.oxfordshirehistory.org.uk/Public/YHMH/index.htm Your House My House website – The history of selected Oxford suburbs,
www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/content/enquiry-service-oxfordshire-history-centre Oxfordshire History Centre Enquiry Service
Oxfordshire Health Archives www.oxfordshirehealtharchives.nhs.uk Historic Archives of Oxfordshire's NHS Hospitals
Victoria County History (VCH) www.victoriacountyhistory.ac.uk/counties List of Counties Covered
Oxfordshire VCH www.victoriacountyhistory.ac.uk/counties/oxfordshire Victoria County History of Oxfordshire
England's Past for Everyone www.victoriacountyhistory.ac.uk/publications-projects/epe/oxfordshire Oxfordshire material on EPE web site.
British History Online

(Oxfordshire content)

www.british-history.ac.uk

www.british-history.ac.uk/search?query=oxfordshire

A wealth of original material
Oxoniensia http://oxoniensia.org/ Journal of Oxfordshire Architectural and Historical Society, with the bulk of Oxoniensia content freely available online
National Archives www.nationalarchives.gov.uk With global search facility
Probate Records www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/research-guides/wills-and-probate-records.htm Guide to finding Probate Records
Gazettes Online www.thegazette.co.uk/ London, Edinburgh & Belfast Gazettes
(Deed Poll etc.)
The Old Bailey Online http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/ Proceeding of London's Central Criminal Court
1674-1913
Historical Directories www.historicaldirectories.org Large range of digitised UK directories.
English Heritage Archives
Viewfinder
Britain from Above
http://www.englishheritagearchives.org.uk
http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org.uk
http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/
English Heritage's on-line image resources including many photographs by Oxford's Henry Taunt.
National Records for Scotland www.nrscotland.gov.uk/ Entry to all the on-line resources of the GRO for Scotland
Scotlands People www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk On-line Scottish Genealogical Records (Pay-per-view)
Scots Origins www.scotsorigins.com Enhanced Scottish IGI data.
Commonwealth War Graves Commission www.cwgc.org Details of servicemen killed in action.
UK National Inventory of War Memorials www.ukniwm.org.uk Records of memorials throughout the UK.
Soldiers of Oxfordshire www.sofo.org.uk/ Records of Oxfordshire's Regiments and those who served in them.
Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry www.gutenberg.org/etext/20395 Downloadable text from Project Gutenberg, of
"The Story of the 2/4th Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry" by G. K. Rose
Oxford University Archives
includes
Past Members of The University
www.oua.ox.ac.uk
 
www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/oua/enquiries/members-guide
The latter includes links to all volumes of "Alumni Oxonienses" in downloadable format.
Thames Valley Recusants https://hadland.wordpress.com/category/english-recusant-history/ Includes the full text of Tony Hadland's book "Thames Valley Papists"
Researching Quakers www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~engqfhs/Research/records.htm Advice from the Quaker Family History Society
FIBIS www.fibis.org/ Families in British India Society
Etymology www.etymonline.com Origins of words, placenames, etc.
Palaeography www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/palaeography/ How to read old documents (part of National Archives web site)
Latin Epigraphy https://archive.org/details/cu31924029785759 How to read Latin inscriptions, by John Edwin Sandys, 1919. (Best to view on-line, or download the PDF version.)
Value of Money http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/currency/ The National Archives comparison of the purchasing power of British money over the years
The Wayback Machine http://www.archive.org/ The Internet Archive - Rediscover the contents of that Vanished Web Site
 
Oxfordshire Local Interest Sites
http://www.oxfordhistory.org.uk/ Oxford History
http://oxfordshirelocalhistory.modhist.ox.ac.uk/ Oxfordshire History
https://lra.le.ac.uk/bitstream/2381/8427/1/1985Grahammphd.pdf The Suburbs of Victorian Oxford
http://www.oxfordarchives.org.uk/ Oxford College Archives
http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/ Bodleian Library
http://solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/ SOLO (Search Oxford Libraries On Line)
  www.flickr.com/photos/oxfordshirechurches/collections/72157600269843044
  www.flickr.com/photos/oxfordshirechurches/collections/72157604100647008
Oxon. Churches (John Ward)
www.oxfordshirechurches.info/ Oxon. Churches (Brian Curtis)
http://in360degrees.co.uk/oxfordshirechurches/ Oxon. Churches in 360° (Nikhilesh Haval)
http://www.oxfordcitybranch.org.uk/ Oxford Church Bell Ringers
www.whipple.org/oxford/marriagebonds.html Oxon. Marriage Bonds
http://faces.oxfordshirefhs.org.uk Faces of Oxfordshire
www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/external/cumnor Cumnor Parish Record
http://eynshamrecord.info Eynsham Record
www.headington.org.uk/ Headington
www.shotover.org.uk Shotover
www.wheatleyarchive.wordpress.com Wheatley Archive
 
Some Other Miscellaneous Sites
www.domesdaybook.co.uk Domesday Book
www.biblegateway.com Bible Gateway
www.workhouses.org.uk/ Workhouses
www.turnpikes.org.uk Turnpike Roads
www.historicaldirectories.org/ Historical Trade Directories
history.chadwyck.co.uk/noframes19/search Historical Newspapers
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/home Historic Australian Newspapers
http://booty.org.uk/booty.weather/climate/wxevents.htm Historical UK weather events
www.bl.uk British Library
www.bl.uk/eblj/ British Library Journal
www.webarchive.org.uk/ukwa/ UK Web Archive provided by British Library
www.libertyellisfoundation.org/
www.yourlawyer.com/library/new-york-city-history-ellis-island/
Immigrants to USA Ellis Island Records
The History of Ellis Island
www.agra.org.uk/index.php Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives (AGRA)
www.shotover.org.uk/keeprecord.htm Keeping Records as you Browse
Archived copy of: www.familysearch.org/eng/home/welcome/pafdownload.asp Old PAF Download Page