Males
| Given name | Individuals |
|---|---|
| John | 1,133 |
| William | 1,045 |
| Thomas | 646 |
| James | 570 |
| George | 554 |
| Henry | 406 |
| Robert | 361 |
| Joseph | 306 |
| Charles | 296 |
| Edward | 232 |
Females
| Given name | Individuals |
|---|---|
| Mary | 1,138 |
| Elizabeth | 937 |
| Ann | 734 |
| Jane | 578 |
| Margaret | 459 |
| Sarah | 397 |
| Hannah | 269 |
| Alice | 237 |
| Annie | 153 |
| Ellen | 150 |
Eyes down for another mega update which has been over a year in the making.
It all started with a 1589 reference to William Close (1598) in Leeds, Yorkshire and went rapidly downhill from there. From Leeds, Yorkshire it branched into Manchester, Lancashire, Westmorland and America, where I finally tracked down the source of Close Brothers, the Merchant Bankers.
Unfortunately, part-way through the meander, I accidentally slipped into the rabbit-hole which is the Clowes family of Nantwich, Cheshire, Staffordshire and Leicestershire. There are literally hundreds of them, ranging from Earls to paupers. I've had to cut this short because after a year of trying to finish the original update I was just digging a progressively deeper hole. As far as I can tell (so far) they're not related to the Close families of Yorkshire. There's plenty more work to be done here, for anyone with a strong constitution and a plentiful supply of red wine.
So, unsurprisingly, after a 400 year meander, there are a few memorable facts and figures, including:
- 1955 new People
- 2819 new Images
- 1571 new Sources
- 36 new Hall of Fame heroes, some of which didn't make it out alive
All these are now online through the Close Ancestry Trees, with the recruits also available in the Close Hall of Fame on the main site.
So, here we are at the full set of trees, which contain all the available information we currently have; if it isn't here then we haven't found it yet.
We try to add new things on a regular basis but, to be honest, every time we scratch a surface it seems to turn into a massive exercise which can take months (or even years) to bottom out. So, please bear with us, we will get there eventually. Just so's you know, the last update was on May 11, 2020.
If you have anything to contribute, correct, or comment on then please get in touch at stuff@closeancestry.com. All contributions are welcome, and we always give credit to anyone who adds something to the Close story, which currently spans from 1500 to the current day.
With 18,187 people, 4,928 families, 10,792 sources, and 66,292 image references currently sat in our database, you'll appreciate the amount of work that has gone into this over the years. We don't charge for any of this, even though it costs a fair amout to keep it all running. Instead, we rely on donations to the cause. So, if you find anything of interest or use here, and you feel inclined to pass a few quid in our direction, we'll be very happy to receive it.
You can see what's new by heading back to our main site at www.closeancestry.com
A few links below:
Thanks for looking.