Hello Dennis - > Some time ago I hit a brick wall about 1776 with my research of my > CAKEBREAD ancestors due to the paucity of baptism records of the > name in Bloxham where the family lived for several generations. > > By studying lists of Burials and Marriages there are at least 20 male > CAKEBREADs whose baptisms do not appear in Bloxham Parish > records, nor those of the non-conformist churches nearby. The "empty" > period is prior to 1790 when baptisms began appearing at Bloxham and > Milton Presbyterian Chapel. > > Does anyone have any suggestions regarding this ? The marriages > and burials were still taking place in the Parish Church but where were > the baptisms or did they just not bother ? Intriguing! I'm the OFHS Oxfordshire baptism index coordinator - if you let me have details of the "missing" ones I'll see if they're on the database. It's not yet complete, however. > I have not yet checked Poor law returns. Are any available for > Bloxham? The Oxfordshire Record Office is the place to ask! www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/oro Wendy