Search the three collections

(1) An Index to Avon Valley Headstones & Shire Burial Registers. Compiled by Brian Chambers & Jan James. This is an index to a larger file. In this index file you can search for a particular surname to see which records exist in the larger collection. Once you've found a record that interests you and you want to find out what further information is available, contact me - Jan James - using the Contact Us page.

The fields in this index file are Surname, First Name, Birth Date, Parents and Death Date. So when you search for a particular surname, eg JAMES you will probably find several records with that name. You can use the other fields to narrow down your search to find the person you want.

Click here to search the Avon Valley Headstones & Shire Burial Registers Index

(2) An Index to the Jan James Avon Valley Collection. Compiled by Jan James. Included in this collection are records of those who worked as undertakers (U/T), midwives (M/W), Doctors etc or an article may have appeared in local papers (N/P) for example. Other abbreviations used are (D) Death, (B) Birth, (M) where the information is a transcript of the B, D or M Certificates. Further abbreviations - (B/R) Shire Burial Register, (H/S) Headstone , (Ang/Bap) Anglican Baptisms, (Mth/Bap) Methodist Bap, RC/Bap (Roman Catholic Baptisms).

Click here to search the Jan James Avon Valley Collection Index - Updated 6th May 2009.

(3) The Gypsy Surname Index of Great Britain. The Gypsy Surname Index of Great Britain came about when I was researching the Avon information for the first volumes of “The Dictionaries of Western Australians”. Some of my forebears happened to be Gypsy free settlers who had arrived on the “Simon Taylor” in 1842. Gradually I began to find other Rom families who had made the journey to WA and so the theory was born that many of the convicts could have been Gypsies as well, just by the nature of the people and how they were treated across the world.

This index represents all of the surnames which form a large database on Gypsy families in the United Kingdom. I must point out that these surnames go through a point system before they are accepted (ie occupation, description, address) and it is by no means complete, nor does it mean that, for example all people with the surname “JAMES” are Gypsies. Further research will be needed to prove this. Not all Hawkers were Gypsies” even though the majority of Hawkers were Gypsy. The same applies to the list of occupations, although Gypsies did work at the trades listed. See Gypsy Occupations file.

Both lists are by no means complete. If you can add to them please email me. If you think your forebear could have been a Traveller, I would appreciate the information. Alternatively, contact me if you have an interest in any of the surnames. So far my theory is proving correct and indeed many of the Convicts to Australia were Gypsies both in WA and the Eastern States.

Click here to search the Gypsy Surname Index of Great Britain - Updated 21st March 2009.

How to search These index files are .pdf files. You will need 'Adobe Acrobat Reader' to be able to open, view and search these files. If you don't have this programme on your computer, you can download and install it for free from the Adobe site - http://www.adobe.com/

Depending on your internet connection, the .pdf index files may take a few moments to appear.

When the entire .pdf file appears, use the 'search' rectangle. Type in a name; eg james, then press <enter> on your keyboard. The first instance of the name james will appear. Press <enter> again to find the next instance etc. Note: Names like james will appear in both the Surname and First Name fields.

What to do next Once you've found a record you're interested in, send an email to me - Jan James requesting further information on this record. Some files in both collections will relate to the same person but contain different or additional information. When requesting a file it is wise to request all files about that person. See the Contact Us page for further instructions.