BRAIN FAMILY HISTORY

This page is dedicated to the history of the branch of the Brain family from Siston, Gloucestershire.

The name Brain appears to derive from a nickname, but has a particularly strong concentration in the south-west. By 1881, the most notable concentration of the name was in Gloucestershire, although there was also a noticeable pocket in Oxfordshire. The name appears to have spread primarily northwards from Gloucestershire, with fairly high concentrations in Herefordshire, Shropshire and Warwickshire and somewhat lower concentrations in the other surrounding counties. The name also appears to have drifted northwards from Oxfordshire into Northamptonshire and Rutland.

There was an ancient family of Brains in the area around Little Dean and Ruardean in the Forest of Dean, and another early concentration of the family in the parishes around Hanham and Bitton east of Bristol. The Gloucestershire families appear to have been extensively researched over the years, and numerous patron submission entries appear in the IGI. A tree for the descendants of Joseph Brain of Siston appears in the LDS Pedigree Resource File (submitted by Derek Brooks), and it is this line which is the focus of this site. An outline of the top of the tree and the connections of the various researchers is attached. Apart from this line, a variety of other Brain lines originating in the parishes around Bitton have been pursued by various researchers, and it is hoped to gradually build up an overview of these other Bitton area lines. Given the large number of Brain families in this area and the complexity of movements between neighbouring parishes, it is also hoped to gradually build up an overview of previous Bitton area research to enable better coordination and sharing between researchers. Anyone able to contribute to this process is very much encouraged to do so.

Anyone interested in further details of this branch of the Brain family, or who is able to provide additional details relevant to this branch, is invited to contact the coordinator for this page Ian Hall.

This page was last updated 16 May 2007