Well, as the name suggests, this is a site dedicated to the accumulation of knowledge surrounding the Close name and ancestors.

If you’re researching the history of someone with the Close surname then hopefully we can add value. If not then please tell us why, but above all keep coming back because this is a work-in-progress and will accumulate more and more over time.

Basically we’ve accumulated a whole load of stuff and it seems a shame to just keep it to ourselves. It’s pretty hard to find good quality information (we’ve got the scars) so we figured … why not?

Our fundamental premise is that we won’t publish here until we’ve validated the source, or we have a trusted provider who can vouch for it. Since we’re based in the UK we have access to UK resources, but for the rest of the world (and the remote parts of the UK … i.e. not Westmorland or Yorkshire) we’d be kidding ourselves if we thought we could cover everything. So, we’re happy to collect other things as long as it can be vouched for – drop us a mail.

This all means you can be pretty sure that if you see it on the site, it’s going to be as accurate and complete as we can make it.

It does, however, mean that we’re starting off small (but beautifully formed) with a view to building over time. If there’s anything you want to see that isn’t covered then drop us a mail to stuff@closeancestry.com

We’re just two Close’s trying to research our family tree and history. Linda has been at it for years but Andy only became insane in 2006. Anybody who has tried to research the Close name going back a few generations into Yorkshire and Westmorland will soon realise that if they weren’t barking mad when they started then they soon will be:

  • Having at least 10 children was obviously mandatory in those days
  • They all had to be named with something beginning with “J” … John, Joseph, James, … err … George …
  • You had to name your first 3 boys after yourself, your brother and your father. So, John cousin of John son of John cousin of John son of John is enough to drive you nuts

Anyway, as it turns out we’re actually related via a Great Grandfather … John Close, so no surprise there then … who I blame for the insanity gene! However, once we’d “discovered” each other it actually became easier to cross-check our bits and pieces. That got us thinking about how difficult and time-consuming it is to do this kind of research … particularly when you just know that every other Close is doing the same thing over and over again.

So, we decided to put together a site that takes some of the strain out of this by providing information that has been researched and validated. In theory this means that whatever you see here is as correct as we can make it. However, if you spot anything that you think is dubious, please challenge it, we’re not infallible. The site first went live in January 2007 with 50 people on it. It’s fair to say it’s grown a bit since then, and we’re continually fiddling with it.

We also like to encourage people to contribute by providing information, documents, trees, branches, leaves … whatever. There’s an awful lot of information out there and there’s no point trying to recreate what has been done already. So, if you have anything that you feel may be of interest (and that you’d like to share), please drop us a mail. We give full credit for all contributions, no matter how large or small.

Contact Us

We have a number of email addresses which break down as follows:

Linda:

Has been accumulating … stuff … since 2001, but claims to be the most disorganised person on the planet.

You can mail Linda at: linda@closeancestry.com

Andy (Sunday name: John Andrew (son of John!)):

Was brought up on a farm in the Yorkshire Dales and has never been the same since. Escaped at 18 to become an IT professional and has worked on some of the biggest (and usually disastrous) commercial IT programmes in the world … and no sheep in sight. What you’re looking at now is his doing … web designer he ain’t! Any comments, suggestions, problems, etc on the site .. moan to him.

You can mail Andy at: andy@closeancestry.com

Stuff:

If you have stuff to send, but aren’t sure who to send it to, or if you want to make sure it reaches at least one or both of us then: stuff@closeancestry.com

Thanks for looking.

The Books of Andy Close

So, in his other spare time, Andy has been writing and self-publishing his books on Amazon. These are e-books for the Amazon Kindle, as well as paperback versions for those who prefer the ripple and sniff experience. So far it’s been a bit of an eclectic mix …

If you want to know what really goes on inside his head, then check out www.andyclose.co.uk for the gory details.


And now for a bit of housekeeping

See the wood and the trees

We publish everything we have in our fabulous trees, so basically if you can’t find it, we don’t have it. With over 20,000 people, 5,000 families, 12,000 sources, and 69,000 image references currently sat in our database, you’ll appreciate the amount of work that has gone into this over the years.

You can see more in the Close Ancestry Trees.


Donations

We know that everyone in the world is after your hard-earned cash, but if you do feel a donation coming on as a result of your visit here, then please feel free to send it our way. It all goes towards the upkeep of the site, for which we charge absolutely nothing. So, please help us to keep the site free to use. Thanks.


Contacting us

If you find anything that you think may be of interest to us, then drop us an email at stuff@closeancestry.com


Get updates directly to your inbox

Subscribe to our updates and join 122 other subscribers around the world. Simply enter your email address below.

Read more about email subscriptions
By subscribing you agree to receive our newsletters and agree with our Privacy Policy.

All our updates are also published to my Twitter feed, @PoetClose. So, you can follow me there … if you really have nothing better to do.