Okehampton, Devon Genealogy

England Devon  Devon Parishes

Parish History
OAKHAMPTON, or Okehampton (All Saints), a market-town and parish, the head of a union, and formerly a representative borough, partly in the hundred of Black Torrington, N. division, but chiefly in the hundred of Lifton, Lifton and S. divisions, of Devon, 22 miles (W. by N.) from Exeter, and 198 (W. by S.) from London. It includes the hamlets of Kigbear, Cheesacott, Brightley, Lower Fartherford, Meldon, Southacott, and Maddaford. This place is interesting as having been the head of the earldom of Devon, and the seat of the hereditary county sheriffs, keepers of the castle of Exeter. The barony was given by the Conqueror to Baldwin de Brioniis, one of his most faithful followers, who distinguished himself at the battle of Hastings. The castle, erected by that nobleman, was remarkable for its grandeur, of which there is abundant evidence in the venerable remains. St. James' chapel, a small building, originally founded as a chantry, belongs to the corporation, and divine service is performed in it on Sunday and Wednesday evenings. There are places of worship for Independents and Wesleyans.

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day. The civil registration article tells more about these records. There are several Internet sites with name lists or indexes. A popular site is FreeBMD.

Church records
Contributor: Include here information for parish registers, Bishop’s Transcripts and other types of church records, such as parish chest records. Add the contact information for the office holding the original records. Add links to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Devon Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.


 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain

Web sites
Contributor: add any relevant sites that aren’t mentioned above.