Oxenham History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms 

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  England 


Early Origins of the Oxenham family

The surname Oxenham was first found in Devon in the parish of South Tawton at Oxenham, famous for 'the Oxenham omen.'

"Oxenham gave name to a family of repute, one of whose members was John Oxenham, of Plymouth, the first Englishman who sailed on the Pacific, a comrade of Drake at Nombre de Dios, who eventually fell into the hands of the Spaniards and was by them executed as a pirate one of the bravest and most unfortunate of the great seamen of Elizabethan Devon. The ' omen ' consists in the appearance of a ' bird with a white breast,' or of a white bird, before the deaths of members of the family. The earliest record of this apparition refers to the year 1618 ; but in 1641 what is now a rare pamphlet was published, detailing four appearances before the deaths of four members of a branch of the Oxenhams, settled at Zeal Monachorum, in 1635. "

"The tradition continues in the family, where the reality of the appearances is not doubted, though 'no decided conviction obtains as to their cause.' Recent instances of the ' omen ' are quoted in connection, the most remarkable of which was the appearance of a white bird outside the windows of a house in Kensington a week before the death of Mr. G. N. Oxenham, then head of the family, in 1873. The bird refused for some minutes to be driven away, and a sound like the fluttering of wings is stated to have been heard in the bedroom. Probably this belief in the white bird of the Oxenhams is associated in some way with the wide-spread superstition that the flying of birds around a house and tapping against the window, or resting on the sill, portends death." 1

Early History of the Oxenham family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Oxenham research. Another 186 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1242, 1642 and 1814 are included under the topic Early Oxenham History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Oxenham Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Oxenham, Ockenham, Oakhampton, Okhampton, Ockhampton, Ocksenham, Oksenham, Oxnam, Oxnum, Oxenum, Oxenam and many more.

Early Notables of the Oxenham family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was


Oxenham migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Oxenham Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
Oxenham Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Oxenham migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Oxenham Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Oxenham migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Oxenham Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Oxenham migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Oxenham Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Contemporary Notables of the name Oxenham (post 1700) +
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