The Wreford Family of Devonshire
- Jun 7
- 3 min read
I've turned my attention lately to my dad's paternal line, and it has led me somewhere I didn't expect — into the pages of a book that was written for us, more than a century ago.
The discovery
My great-grandmother (my dad's grandmother), born around 1882, was the daughter of Frances Wreford (1855–1910) — known in the family as Fanny, wife of William Longstaff (born around 1860). Fanny, in turn, was the daughter of George Giles Wreford, who, my research (& the book!) tells me, made his way north and settled in County Durham.
What delighted me was discovering that both Fanny and her father George Giles Wreford appear by name in a remarkable old volume: George Wreford's Records and Pedigree of the Wreford Family of Devonshire. To find your own ancestors named in a printed family history — not a modern database, but a book compiled by one of the family's own — is a rare and lovely thing. I wasted no time in buying the PDF download from the Devon Family History Society, and I'd encourage anyone from this branch to do the same.
About the book
The Records and Pedigree of the Wreford Family of Devonshire was compiled by George Wreford of Gray's Inn, Barrister-at-Law (my 2nd cousin 5 times removed), and printed in 1909 — its second, "revised and extended" edition runs to around 90 pages with 44 accompanying pedigree charts. Importantly, it was never a commercial publication: it was printed for circulation amongst family subscribers, written by a Wreford, for Wrefords. Holding a copy, you're reading something originally meant to be passed hand to hand among relatives.
The pedigree it lays out is extraordinary in reach, tracing the Devon Wrefords back to John Wrayford of Hennock, born around 1440 — close to five centuries of family before George set it all down. The family's heartland was Morchard Bishop in mid-Devon, with branches spreading through neighbouring parishes such as Lapford, Landkey, Silverton and beyond. Over time, as our own line shows, Wrefords scattered far further afield — north to Durham, and indeed across the world.
Why I'm recommending it
If you descend from this branch, the book offers something most of us never get: our ancestors set in the context of the wider family, generation upon generation, with the charts that show exactly how it all fits together. Seeing Frances and her father George Giles Wreford named on the page turned a list of dates into something that felt alive.
A small word of care: the book is a product of its time, and researchers who've worked closely with it have noted the odd transcription slip and contradiction here and there. So treat it as a wonderful map rather than gospel, and check the key links against parish records and certificates where you can. That takes nothing away from the joy of it — it just makes the detective work part of the fun.
How to get it, and how to connect
You can buy a copy of the Records and Pedigree of the Wreford Family of Devonshire directly from the Devon Family History Society (devonfhs.org.uk).
If you're part of this branch of the family, do read it. It's not every day a book turns out to have been written by an ancestor with your own family in mind.
