Having got slightly bored at the end of last year, I decided to take a look at my maternal ancestors (Graham and Peacock) for the amusement value. I didn’t realise what a slippery slope I was pushing myself over.

I thought the Graham’s would be tricky as I anticipated them heading into Scotland. As it turns out I would probably have been correct had they not fizzled out in Cumberland in the 1790′s. There were dozens around, all with the same names naturally, which makes it difficult to find they right connections. They added another 50 new people, but to get any further back it looks like a trip to the CRO at Carlisle.

So, on to the Peacocks … I thought these would be fairly straightforward until I tracked them back into … Swaledale. Yep, they came from exactly the same place as all my Close ancestors, and there are hundreds of them! I’ve ended up with around 1,350 of them, all attached to each other in some way. Slightly oddly, given the smallish population occupying Swaledale, there are very few who married into the Close line. However, that doesn’t seem to have stopped them marrying back into the Peacock line! Their tree is not so much a tree as a series of figures of 8 that start to branch and then join up again.

Be afraid, be very afraid.

1411 new people!

The memorial reads:

To The Memory Of
Anthony Close Of Reeth In This Parish
Who Died
The 19th Of June 1786 Aged 56

Of
Elizabeth Close His Wife Who Died The 30th
Of June 1802 Aged 61

Of
Nancy Close Their Daughter Who Died
The 7th Of August 1808 Aged 41

Of
Betty Close Their Daughter Who Died
The 22 Of May 1812 Aged 37

And Of
James Close Their Son
Who Died The 24th Of May 1814
Aged 46

Simply pick the number pointing to the person on the photograph, and “order” that number through the shop – first come, first served. To make life easier (for me), if we have two people choosing the same person then the first order in my in-box will get it, and the second will get the nearest available number to that one (higher or lower). The competition will close when all 29 numbers have been selected / allocated.

On offer is a goody bag of … well, stuff … books, T-shirts, whatever I can find to make your life a brighter place.

Because this is purely an attempt to raise funds for the site, each order will cost £5. No restrictions on how many guesses you can have, other than for people who actually know me personally, and who would have an unfair advantage … although what you see in the photograph is not exactly what you see today, so even they may struggle!

So, have a look (click the image for a bigger picture), go to the shop, and have a go.