Query: Close and Madden, Scott County

            I found the below family history in records my mother kept and have recently also found the story on Ancestry.com.  I am looking for the rest of the story.  Is there a family history listed by a “John Close Family,” or “Madden/Maiden Family?”  In my mother’s record, I have many family members listed.  The article was being prepared by William Hardy “Doc” Close, the 7th child of John Close, Jr. and Cornelia Hollenbeck Close. 
            In old England there were three brothers – William, Henry, and John Close.  After the death of their parents, John being a mere boy was placed under the care of his oldest brother, William.  William desired John to be a sailor and apprenticed him to the captain of a ship much against his will.  On his third trip to America in 1774, he deserted the ship.  A widow lady in New York City concealed him until the ship left.  After a vain endeavor to find John, the ship had to leave without him.  He was then about 12 years old.  He lived with this lady until he was about 20.  He then went to Connecticut where he practiced the tanners’ trade. 

            On Sept. 22, 1792, he married Elizabeth Gibbens, and they resided about 20 miles east of Albany, New York.  He and his wife had 12 children, but 3 died very young.  In 1818 he migrated with his family to Indiana.  They went to Pittsburgh in wagons drawn by oxen.  Then on rafts they floated down the Ohio, landing at Madison, Indiana.  They could have taken land along the Ohio bottoms, but it was reputed to be unhealthy, so they sought the uplands and finally settled near Lexington in Scott County.

Karen MacKay 1025 Chesley Park Drive, Sedro Woolley, WA 98284-9566
Email Address: karen@mackay-family.net