Edward Charles Close

Edward Charles Close
Personal details
Born(1790-03-12)12 March 1790
Rangamati, Bengal
Died7 May 1866(1866-05-07) (aged 76)
Morpeth, New South Wales, Australia
Resting placeAnglican Church of St James, Morpeth
Political partyNone
Professionsoldier, civil engineer, local government official, magistrate
AwardsPeninsular medal[1]
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited Kingdom British Army
Years of service1808-1822
RankLieutenant
Unit48th Regiment
Battles/warsPeninsular War

Edward Charles Close (Senior) (12 March 1790 – 7 May 1866)[2] was a British soldier, engineer, New South Wales colonial magistrate, member of the New South Wales Legislative Council, and early European settler in Morpeth.[3][4] He was born at Rangamati, British India (in what is now Bangladesh) and was the only child of merchant Edward and Marianne Collinson, daughter of Michael Collinson.[5] He accompanied his mother to England when she went there following his father's death. They settled with Marianne's brother Charles Streynsham Collinson on his estate at the Chantry, Ipswich.[6]

Enlisted in the army in 1808, he served in the Peninsular War as lieutenant in the 48th Regiment.[5]

He arrived in New South Wales on the 3rd of August 1817 on the Matilda.[5] Close was transferred to Newcastle where he was acting engineer from 1821 to 1822.[2]

On 27 September 1821 at St John's Church, Parramatta he married Sophia Susannah Palmer, daughter of John Palmer.[5] In 1822 he resigned from the army to settle in a 2,560 acre property in Morpeth.[5]

In 1829 he was appointed to the Legislative Council, however he found membership of the council to be a burden, both in expense and time and he resigned with effect from 1838.[3]

Close's son, Edward Charles Close junior, was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly.[7]

  1. ^ "The Late MR. E. C. Close of Morpeth". The Sydney Morning Herald. 23 May 1866. p. 5. Retrieved 29 May 2013 – via Trove.
  2. ^ a b "Major Edward Charles Close [1] (1790-1866)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  3. ^ a b Gray, Nancy. "Close, Edward Charles (1790–1866)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  4. ^ "Edward Charles Close – New South Wales Sketchbook: Sea Voyage, Sydney, Illawarra, Newcastle, Morpeth, c. 1817-1840" in Manuscripts, Oral History and Pictures Catalogue (database), New South Wales Government, State Library accessed 28 May 2013.
  5. ^ a b c d e Gray, Nancy, "Close, Edward Charles (1790–1866)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 6 October 2020
  6. ^ Willetts, Jen. "Edward Close, Settler". www.freesettlerorfelon.com. Jen Willetts. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  7. ^ "Mr Edward Charles Close [2] (1825–1887)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 18 April 2019.