A FAMILY NAMED DANCER FROM MID BUCKINGHAMSHIRE and some related branches, with observations on the origin of the name, by A Michael Dancer 2012
This is an account of the history of my own paternal family which I have been investigating for over 50 years. Prior to the nineteenth century the family never rose above yeomen in the social hierarchy. Since the 15th century, its members have resided in the parishes of Buckland, Aston Clinton, North Marston, Monks’ Risborough and Wendover in mid-Buckinghamshire, dispersing from the mid-nineteenth century to London, and then to the Midlands and Wales.
There is a verified succession back to the 1520s, and an attempt has been made to trace members of the family back to the 13th and 14th centuries.
In the earlier part of the work, the origin of the surname is investigated, with references to the occurrence of the surname and its variants in earlier centuries, and to the occurrence in England of placenames which include the name.
I have traced several Buckinghamshire side-branches, though in a less rigorous manner, and they are included in appendices.
This account was referred to in the magazine, Who Do You Think You Are? (February 2014 issue as well researched and fully sourced.
The files are in Portable Document Format (.pdf) and are quite large, so please be patient. The full work may be downloaded as PDF complete, and may take a few minutes. Alternatively, the work may be downloaded in six sections as follows:
PDF pp 0-26 Title & introductory (including list of contents), pp 0-8
Part 1: the Byname Dancer, pp 9-26
PDF pp 27-66 Part 2: the Family History (first section)
PDF pp 67-72 Part 2: the Family History (second section)
PDF pp 73-83 Part 2: the Family History (third section)
PDF pp 84-131 Appendices
PDF pp 132-146 Notes and references
