Family historians wanted for new family history surname project

Oxfordshire Family History Society has launched a surname research project, along with a competition offering researchers the chance to win a free DNA test.

Members of Oxfordshire Family History Society have begun the two-year surnames research project, examining surnames recorded in Oxfordshire parish registers and other early records from 1538 onwards. 

The society aims to build a comprehensive database of surnames in the county, including the whereabouts of surnames in different parishes over time, their origins, hotspots, DNA connections and more.

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To boost the project, its team is appealing for fellow researchers with a good recorded family history in Oxfordshire or who are undertaking a one-name study to get in touch with brief details so, when their surname is analysed, they may be able to submit content. All significant contributors will be acknowledged.

Family historians with Oxfordshire ancestry who have taken DNA tests but are not yet part of the Oxfordshire DNA project on Family Tree DNA are also invited to join the project at this website.

To encourage further participation, the society has launched a competition (closing on 15 June 2017) for six researchers to win Y-37 DNA tests. Entrants should have good Oxfordshire surname history on the pure male line going back before 1870 and with good personal reasons to think a DNA test will be valuable.

The project is also seeking volunteer transcribers. Find full details, including how to enter the DNA competition, at the project website.

• Find out more about how to research your surname here.

• For more on using DNA in family history, read our special article: How to use DNA in family history