CLOSE one-name study

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has puzzled in my family history research over certain individuals who seem to appear from nowhere: - death or marriage records for individuals for whom there appears to be no corresponding earlier census or birth records.   Sometimes it may be that they were out of the country, sometimes they previously used a different given name or put the names in a different order, but more often than not it transpires that they previously used a different surname.  Finding the original surname sometimes requires quite a bit of detective work, and just recently that detective work paid off in grand style! I was delighted to make a breakthrough in my CLOSE one-name study researches when I discovered that a whole batch of unidentified 20th century CLOSEs were previously known as KLOSZ.  Several KLOSZ brothers came to London in the early 19th century from Prussia, and established bakery and grocery businesses.  Another branch ran a drapery business in the M

Today my husband Alan and I are celebrating our wedding anniversary, and in the context of our respective one-name studies I am particularly reminded today of a strange coincidence which we came across some time ago, concerning Ivy CLOSE (1890-1968). Ivy Lilian CLOSE was born on 15 June 1890 in Stockton on Tees, County Durham, the daughter of watch maker and jeweller John Robert CLOSE (1867-1936) and his wife Emma BLACKBURN (1868-1927).   In the 1911 census she described herself as a vocalist, the Daily Mirror awarded her the title of “Most beautiful woman in the world”, but in her 20s she became much better known as a popular actress in silent films. My husband is studying the surname NEAME, and I am researching CLOSE.   Imagine our surprise, then, when we discovered a marriage between a NEAME and a CLOSE, neither of whom, as far as we know, was related to us.   Not only that, but it was a marriage between two people who have made a significant impact on the world of en

I'm deviating from my usual practice of focusing on one CLOSE individual today to record some of the exciting recent developments in my one-name study. First of all, I've had a number of very interesting email exchanges with Karen Close Goodman in the USA who has spent many years researching the family of Goodman John CLOSE who emigrated with his family from Swaledale to Fairfield, Connecticut about 1640.  Karen has not only recorded the genealogy of several thousand descendants of this John CLOSE in the USA, but has collected an amazing amount of background information about the individuals and the places where they lived.  It makes fascinating reading, and will take some time to digest the enormous amount of detail!  Thank you for sharing this with me, Karen! A second, but not entirely unrelated, development is the progress recently made with the CLOSE Y-DNA project - details can be found at www.familytreedna.com I'm in contact with the project co-ordinator Catherine

The multi-talented Hezekiah CLOSE 13.1.1885 – 20.6.1950 I'm grateful to Ian Johnson for the following account of his grandfather (and my 2nd cousin once removed), and look forward with interest to the day when Ian publishes the full biography. Hezekiah Close 1885-1950 Hezekiah was born in the mining & cotton mill town of Leigh in South Lancashire, a town in previous agricultural times noted for its excellent Leigh `Toaster` Cheese.   He was the fourth child and only surviving son of coal miner Melchizedeck Close and cotton weaver Jennet Jamesey Porteous. His CLOSE family origins go back from Leigh via Westhoughton, Pemberton, Orrell and the Shevington areas of Lancashire then back in the 1790`s to the Grinton area of Swaledale in Yorkshire where Hezekiah`s 2x Great Grandparents James CLOSE and Ann (Nanny) Harker married just prior to them `emigrating` to the Wigan area of Lancashire.   The reason for the move is not known but more than likely could have been the

On the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race day I am reminded of an illustrious family of CLOSEs who were very much involved in the Cambridge rowing scene in the 1870s, at least one of them taking part in every race between 1871 and 1877.   The winning Cambridge crew in 1871 included John Brooks CLOSE (1850-1914) – later known as John B CLOSE-BROOKS. Cambridge triumphed again in 1872 when both John and his younger brother James Brooks CLOSE (1851-1910) were in the crew.   James retained the bow seat in the 1873 race, the year in which he was also President, and rowed at 3 in 1874. In 1875 their younger brother William Brooks CLOSE (1853-1923) rowed for Cambridge – suffering their first defeat of the decade, but he enjoyed victory as a member of the 1876 crew, and also rowed in the famous dead-heat of 1877. For an account of what William did in later life, have a look at http://www.iagenweb.org/sioux/books/british/british_2_1.htm   and http://www.closebrothers.com/about-close-brothers/hi

No hiding place in 1876 - even in Austr alia! Thomas Cameron Close was the Borough Accountant for Middlesbrough Borough Council during the 1860s and early 1870s. He was married, and had 5 children born between 1862 and 1872. A number of discrepancies in the accounts were identified in December 1875, and Close was suspended from his duties.   A London firm of accountants was called in, and they found evidence of false accounting, fraud and forgery, concluding that a total of £2,403 18s 9d was missing. Pursued by a dedicated police officer  In early January 1876 it was reported that Close had 'disappeared', and enquiries established that he and his family had sailed from the Thames in the Highflyer , a sailing ship bound for Australia. The Middlesb

I'm aiming to include here some stories I've come across in the course of my CLOSE one-name study, and to start off, here's a brief history of John CLOSE of Bourne, Lincolnshire, who made a bad start in life but seems to have done pretty well for himself in the end!  born           1816                   Bourne, Lincolnshire married      16 Nov 1835     Esther SMITH,  Bourne, Lincs married      21 Jul 1848       Sophia SMALL, Camden, NSW died            19 Apr 1873     Bob's Range, Camden, NSW    John Close , labourer, of Bourne, Lincolnshire, was tr ied at the Kesteven Sessions, Bourne, on 3 April 1838, aged 23. [ England & Wales Criminal Registers, 1838, County of Lincoln, F559] He was accused of t

Here's a brief report on how far this CLOSE one-name study has progressed so far.  England & Wales data collection so far includes complete census data from 1841, 1851, 1871, 1891, 1901 and 1911, and BMDs 1837-1950.  I also have almost 3,000 England & Wales christenings, over 700 pre-1837  marriages and around 300 burials in my database. When it comes to the rest of the world, my collection looks much more sparse, compared to the amount of information out there.  Co-researchers in other parts of the world - particularly the USA, Australia and New Zealand - are urgently needed!  Let's crack this together! It's my intention to post here not just statistical information, but some stories about notable CLOSEs from various locations and historical periods. Pictured here is James CLOSE (1900-1971) of Horwich, Lancashire. If there's someone you think deserves a mention, then do let me know! Have a look at my Guild of One-Name Studies profile page here: www.one-na