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HOW CAN YOU HELP THIS SITE?
If you have any Preece references
in your own family, no matter how large or small, old or older,
I would be delighted to receive them, either in paper format or
via an e-mail.
Alternatively, if you have any suggestions
for new sources for One Name Study extraction of names please do
let me know, and I will add this to the links page.
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WHY
ARE YOU DOING THIS?
I
have been engaged in research of my own (and other family members)
family history for many years. I have also been a member of the
Guild of One Name Studies for over 10 years, which has lead to my
collecting all entries for my surname that I can, and developing
these into family groups if possible. This in turn (hopefully) assists
other genealogists who may have Preece entries in their own family
trees, and I may help in filling gaps or, as has happened on several
occasions, putting people in touch with previously unknown relatives.
I hold details of many people researching families with Preece connections,
both in this country and further afield, particularly in Australia
and New Zealand, and increasingly in North America.
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WHERE DOES THE NAME "PREECE" COME FROM?
Although it has been suggested that it developed
purely as a name in its own right, it is generally accepted that
Preece comes from the Welsh Ap Rees, meaning son of Rees, This particular
form of the name led to Price as well as the many variants of Preece.
This is supported by the fact that the earliest mention of the name
is in the Welsh border regions. The earliest Preece spelling I hold
is from 1564, but until probably around 1700 many different spellings
exist. Only once into the nineteenth century does Preece become
the 'normal' spelling, but small pockets of some of the other spellings
do still persist. An analysis of the 1881
and 1999 Preece populations is available
within the site.
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DO
I HAVE ALL OF THE PREECE ENTRIES I MIGHT NEED?
No!
As you will see from the Database page,
the scope of the records held is growing. However, there are so
many entries in various places, such as Census records, that the
task will continue for a considerable time, and will never be 'finished'.
But you can help......
[ see left!].
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WILL ANYONE ELSE BE INTERESTED IN THIS SITE?
Anyone with a direct interest via
a 'Preece' relative in their family tree will obviously be interested.
But anyone wishing to search Non-Preece section for possible family
members will find lots of names here, and in addition, any fellow
One-Namers are welcome to contact me for details on their own particular
names to be extracted from my database.
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WHAT IS THE GUILD OF ONE STUDIES?
The Guild of One Name Studies was formed in 1979.
It maintains a register of all people, such as myself, who are researching
the worldwide references to a particular name, together with variants.
They publish an annual edition, and the register is available on-line.
I have been a member since 1988.
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CAN
I ACCESS THE DATABASE DIRECTLY?
No,
but a large number of records are now available on-line. A message
will need to be sent asking for specific information not covered
by these records - this can either be actioned via a normal e-mail
message, or utilise the Database Request Form,
which appears at the bottom of the contact page. Records which have
been put onto the site include entries from the National Index to
Wills & Administrations are already available, Trade Directory
entries, and some of the many thousands of entries from the GRO
Birth, Marriage and Death Indexes. These index entries have been
matched up with parish register entries wherever possible.
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WHAT
ABOUT A COAT OF ARMS?
As yet no positive identification has been made
of arms granted to a Preece family member. Several possible arms
have been seen over the years, but this is an ongoing project and
I hope to be able to incorporate such an item once it has been located.
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