Overbury.org - Village History

Today, many families are trying to trace their roots. The Roots and Fruits Festival in September 2004 was the first event to reunite families with their links from the past. There have been many years of correspondence with people seeking to find their ancestors in Overbury and Conderton. Often families can be put in touch with others of the same descent, and they frequently reciprocate by sharing the information they have researched. Thus there is an increasingly rich source of information. The cencus information and other lists are being linked to form a more comprehensive resourse to help families.

Old photographs are historically invaluable and there is a comprehensive collection. Many are of people who have lived here; others are of the houses which they occupied. Again, this is a resource which could only have been amassed with the generous assistance of people who have lent their photographs or postcards to copy, or now, simply to scan.

There is one family of interest beyond their immediate descendants. John Baxter, who died in 1724, was a country blacksmith and clockmaker in our adjoining village, Conderton, but he was also a man of education and substance. One of his sons and grandsons, both named Thomas, followed him as clockmakers and I am constantly searching for more records of their work. I am aware of more than a dozen clocks inscribed by John or Thomas Baxter of Conderton' which are still faithfully marking the passage of time after some 250 years. Perhaps you may know of another? The advance of computers has removed much of the effort of keeping records of this nature, and made retrieval far easier. I am glad to share what I can. Reach me by email: history at overbury.org (Due to spam put @ instead of at)