Topics

• About the Pakes One-Name Study

About the Pakes One-Name Study

It was July 1995 when good intentions and hazy ambitions began to form reality. For several years I had talked about tracing my ancestry back, primarily along the male line, with the intention of trying to trace the origins of the name 'Pakes'. Many had commented that the name was unusual, or uncommon. Admittedly I had only ever come across three cases in my own lifetime when the name cropped up outside my own immediate family. The first was some 50 years ago while at school, where there was a Mark Pakes in my class at Tennyson Road CP School in Luton. Secondly, while in the Diplomatic Service, I occasionally received letters for D Pakes, husband of S (Sybil?) Pakes, a Security Officer in the Service. Finally I have read about a Reverend Pakes who resides near Teddington in London.

I had to start from a very low knowledge base. Unfortunately I did not cash in on the wealth of family knowledge known only to my Grandmother, Marjorie, and my Great Aunt Nellie, both who died during the last 20 years taking some very valuable genealogical information with them.

So I decided to undertake a One Name Study and research all the occurences of the name Pakes. Research conducted over the last 14 or so years has thrown up some very interesting and thought provoking facts. Initially I thought that the 'Pakes' were exclusively a Luton based family and it would be fairly straightforward finding my extended family. I could not have been further from the truth!

This page has been viewed 961 times.

Profiles of other one-name studies registered with the Guild may be found here.