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Oxford, Massachusetts, is situated in south central Massachusetts, just below Worcester. Oxford and the surrounding vicinity was originally home to the Nipmuck Indians. They and the Puritan efforts to convert them to Christianity are the subjects at the outset of Mary Freeland's historical and genealogical account of Oxford. From this point the narrative goes on to discuss the events leading to the incorporation of Oxford in 1683. Shortly thereafter, in 1689, the original group of English colonists were jointed by French Protestants (Huguenots) who had immigrated first to Holland and England and then to Massachusetts following Louis XIV's revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The French and English inhabitants managed to survive the depredations of King Philip's War and lay the foundation for Oxford's survival, which Mrs. Freeland delineates in chapters devoted to famous old houses, gardens, taverns, post offices, churches, schools, libraries, factories, and other institutions. She also describes the fate of Oxford and that of its citizens in every conflict on American soil from Queen Anne's War to the U.S. Civil War. Genealogists will be pleased to learn that for the final 150 pages of the work the author has compiled genealogical and biographical sketches of the following Oxford families: Allen, Alverson, Amidown, Baron, Barton, Bernon, Bondet, Bowdoin, Brimmer, Butler, Campbell, Crane, Davie, Davis, DeWitt, Dyer, Earl, Faneuil, Freake, Freeland, Germaine, Gilbert, Goulding, Harris, Hutchinson, Jennison, Johonnot, Kitchen, Learned, Lilley, Makepeace, Moore, Papillon, Rawson, Rossiter, Sedgwick, Shumway, Sigourney, Sternes, Tourtellotte, Towne, and Wolcott.