The CLOSE/CLOSS Blog is moving!


The Guild of One-Name Studies has established a blog programme, and this blog will be transferred there very shortly.

All posts from this site will be copied over, and future posts can be accessed at https://close.one-name.blog.


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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
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Who shares your birthday?

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On my birthday I thought it might be interesting to see who else was born on 10th March.  In my CLOSE one-name study I found 23 individuals with the CLOSE surname who share my birthday - not counting the spouses who became CLOSE by marriage.  I suppose when you have over 20,000 people in a database (although of course for many I don't have an exact birth date) there are bound to be quite a number born on any given date in the year. I made the count using one of the tools offered by RootsMagic: an 'on this day' list - which lists not only the March 10th births in my own one-name study database but also a long list of famous people born on the same day.  As I browsed through the list, I came across one I already knew about: Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex; I'm old enough to remember his birth being announced in 1964.  Then I spotted the conductor Sir Charles Groves, and as a music-lover I was pleased to share his birthday.  The next name which caught my eye was Sepp B
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An enterprising Sunderland shipwright - Robert CLOSE 1825-1894.

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Who was he? There are over 300 people named Robert CLOSE in my current one-name study database.   Little has been discovered about many of them apart from their family relationships and census records.   However, there are some for whom an interesting back-story has emerged, and one of these is the Robert CLOSE born in Bishopwearmouth, Sunderland, County Durham, England, in 1825.   He was christened on 24 February 1825 in Bishopwearmouth [1] , the son of Jobling CLOSE and his wife Rachel, formerly HODGE. On 25 May 1845, Robert was married in Monkwearmouth to Mary STUDHOLME [2] , whose family had moved to the area from Cumberland.   They appear on the 1851 census [3] together with their first child Mary (born 1847) [4] at 8 Walworth Street, Bishopwearmouth, where Robert is listed as a shipwright. Another five children were born to the family between 1850 and 1857, of which four died in infancy. The second surviving daughter was Elizabeth Ann, born 1855 [5] .   One wonders w
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