Tag: Elijah Priest

Five Families, Eleven Weddings

Jon CasbonLeave a comment

Slocum … I’ve heard that name before; I wonder if she’s related?

Today’s post is an outgrowth of the two previous posts, in which I explored the connections between the Casbon and Aylesworth family trees. While conducting my Aylesworth research, I came upon the name of Martha Slocum, who married Philip Aylesworth, a member of the fourth generation of his family in America and a direct ancestor of many living Casbons.

The name Slocum was not new to me. William Wallace Slocum married Mary Casbon in Ohio, 1862.[1] After Mary died, he married Emma Payne in 1865 (see “From England to America, Part 8”).[2] Mary Casbon was the niece of Thomas Casbon, the original immigrant from England, and Emma Payne was the niece of Thomas’s wife, Emma Scruby. Emma Payne’s mother, Sarah Scruby, was married to James Payne of Meldreth, Cambridgeshire, England.

A little digging showed that Martha and William Wallace Slocum were distantly related. They were both descended from Giles Slocum ( ? –1682), who immigrated from England to Rhode Island before 1648.[3] Martha was descended from Giles’s son Samuel and William Wallace from Giles’s son Eleazar. Martha was in the fifth generation of descendants and William Wallace in the seventh.

So now I knew that the Slocum, Aylesworth, and Casbon families were all related to one another.

Furthermore, with William Wallace Slocum’s marriage to Emma Payne, the Slocums became connected to the Scruby family, who were already related to the Casbons through the marriage of Emma Scruby to Thomas Casbon and later through the marriage of Mary Payne (Emma Payne’s sister) to James Casbon.

Are you confused yet?

I decided to plot out all the ways that the Slocum, Aylesworth, Scruby (including Payne), and Casbon families were related. I added a fifth family, Priest, because I was aware of multiple connections on their part as well. Here is the result of my efforts.

5 family connections cropped
Diagram depicting interconnected family trees of the Slocum (green), Aylesworth (orange), Scruby (pink), Casbon (blue) and Priest (yellow) families. Superscript numbers denote generations, with “1” depicting either the original immigrant (Slocum and Aylesworth) or the common ancestor (Scruby, Casbon, and Priest); colored lines indicate parent-child relationships and arrows depict direct descent through multiple generations; marriages are connected by black lines (Click on image to enlarge)

You’ll need to enlarge the diagram to see details.

As the title suggests, these five families are connected to each other through eleven marriages. Here is a summary of the connections for each family:

  • Slocum:
    – Connected to Aylesworth through the marriage of Martha5 Slocum to Philip4 Aylesworth, 1762[4]
    – Connected to Casbon through the marriage of William Wallace7 Slocum to Mary3 Casbon, 1862
    – Connected to Scruby through the marriage of William Wallace7 Slocum to Emma3 Payne, 1865
  • Aylesworth:
    – Connected to Slocum through the marriage of Philip4 Aylesworth to Martha5 Slocum, as above
    – Connected to Casbon through the marriages of Mary Adaline7 Aylesworth to Sylvester3 Casbon, 1860,[5] and Carrie Belle9 Aylesworth to Amos3 Casbon, 1900[6]
    – Connected to Scruby through the marriage of Louisa8 Aylesworth to George3 Scruby, 1872[7]
    – Connected to Priest through the marriage of Elliot7 Aylesworth to Caroline2 Priest, 1848[8]
  • Scruby:
    – Connected to Slocum through the marriage of Emma3 Payne to William Wallace7 Slocum, as above
    – Connected to Aylesworth through the marriage of George3 Scruby to Louisa8 Aylesworth, as above
    – Connected to Casbon through the marriages of Emma2 Scruby to Thomas2 Casbon, 1830,[9] and Mary3 Payne to James2 Casbon, 1876[10]
    – Connected to Priest through the marriage of James2 Scruby to Phebe2 Priest, 1824[11]
  • Casbon:
    – Connected to Slocum through the marriage of Mary3 Casbon to William Wallace7 Slocum, as above
    – Connected to Aylesworth through the marriages of Sylvester3 Casbon to Mary Adaline7 Aylesworth and Amos3 Casbon to Carrie Belle9 Aylesworth, as above
    – Connected to Scruby through the marriages of Thomas2 Casbon to Emma2 Scruby and James2 Casbon to Mary3 Payne, as above
    – Connected to Priest through the marriage of Mary Ann3 Casbon to Elijah2 Priest, 1853[12]
  • Priest:
    – Connected to Aylesworth through the marriage of Caroline2 Priest to Elliot7 Aylesworth, as above
    – Connected to Scruby through the marriage of Phebe2 Priest to James2 Scruby
    – Connected to Casbon through the marriage of Elijah2 Priest to Mary Ann3 Casbon, as above

Three of the families—Aylesworth, Scruby, and Casbon—are connected by marriage to all four of the remaining families. The remaining two families—Slocum and Priest—are connected to three of the other four families. Of the marriages, one took place in England, one in Rhode Island, six in Ohio, and three in Indiana.

The chart shows how entangled family trees can become. I’m going to coin a new term for this. Instead of a family tree, this is a family hedge! It’s an accurate description of what we see, with branches from several families intermingling and creating complex relationships.

I suspect this occurs more often than we might realize, but we might not see it because we’re not looking for it. Have you discovered any hedges in your family history?

[1] Ohio, Huron County, Marriage Records, vol. 1 [1855–1866], p. 350; imaged as “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789–2013,” FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XZ65-99 : accessed 21 Jul 2016) >Huron >Marriage Records 1855–1866 vol 1 >image 220 of 306.
[2] Ohio, Huron County, Marriage Records, vol. 1 [1855–1866], p. 465, no. 2779; imaged as “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789–2013,” FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XZ65-99 : accessed 22 May 2018) >Huron >Marriage Records 1855–1866 vol 1 >image 277 of 306.
[3] “Giles Slocum (abt. 1623 – aft. 1683),” article, WikiTree (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Slocum-10 : accessed 9 Apr 2020).
[4] James Newell Arnold, Rhode Island Vital Extracts, 1636–1850, volume 1 (Providence, R.I.: Narragansett Historical Publishing Company, 1891), p. 4; imaged at Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/3897/ : accessed 2 Apr 2020) >Vol· 01: Kent County: Births, Marriages, Deaths >image 432 of 637.
[5] Indiana, Porter County, Marriage Record Book 2 [Dec. 1850–Jun. 186], p. 458; Valparaiso (Indiana) Public Library.
[6] Indiana, Porter County, Marriage Record, vol. 12 [Nov. 1898–Oct. 1901], p. 326; browsable images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/005014498?cat=608739 : accessed 8 Apr 2020) > Film # 005014497 >image 548 of 922.
[7] Ohio, Holmes County, Marriage Record, vol. 5 [1868–1877], p. 217; browsable images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/004024929?cat=229343 : accessed 8 Apr 2020) > Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013 >Holmes >Marriage records 1868-1877 vol 5 >image 491 of 649.
[8] Ohio, Wayne County, Marriage Record, vol. 4B [1843–1851], p. 377; browsable images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/004260649?cat=335541 : accessed 26 Aug 2016) >Film # 004260649 >image 550 of 644.
[9] Church of England, Melbourn (Cambridgeshire), Marriages, 1813–1837, p. 59, no. 175; browsable images, ” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/007549343?cat=210722 : accessed 5 Feb. 2019) >image 318 of 710.
[10] Indiana, Porter County, Marriage Record, vol. 4 [Sep. 1871–Jan. 1875], p. 348; browsable images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/005014495?cat=608739 : accessed 8 Apr 2020) > Film # 005014494 >image 693 of 928.
[11] Ohio, Wayne County, Marriage Record, vol. 4A [1835–1843], p. 91; browsable images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/004260649?cat=335541 : accessed 8 Apr 2020) >Film # 004260649 >image 77 of 644.
[12] Ohio, Wayne County, Marriage Record, vol. 4 (1-2) [1844–1856], p. 140; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/004260672?cat=335541 : accessed 8 Apr 2020) > Film # 004260672 >image 97 of 720.

Children of Thomas Casbon (1803–1888): Mary Anne

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My third great grandfather Thomas Casbon and his wife Emma (Scruby) had five children who survived into adulthood. Four were born in England and the fifth was born in Ohio, less than a year after their arrival in the United States. Their oldest child was Mary Ann, born in about 1833.

What did thirteen-year old Mary Ann think when the family boarded the Parkfield in April 1846 to start their voyage to America? One account says “The sailing vessel on which they all embarked encountered adverse winds that after several weeks drove it back within sight of the starting point, and it was a long voyage before the western continent appeared.”[1] By the time the ship arrived in Quebec, she was probably grateful to have survived the voyage, amazed by the varied landscapes and new experiences, and both apprehensive and excited about starting a new life in Ohio.

Mary Ann is said to have been born on January 7th, 1833, but there are no reliable records supporting this date. The earliest record I have is her baptism in Meldreth on October 13th, 1833.[2]

Mary Anne Casbon BP Meld 1833 PR detail
Detail of Meldreth (Cambridgeshire, England) parish register, Baptisms in 1833. (Click on image to enlarge)

As the oldest child and daughter, she was probably given a lot of responsibility in their new home, helping with chores and caring for the younger children, especially baby sister Emma, who was born in 1847.[3] She probably received a basic education as well, since Thomas’ children were said to have “attended a neighboring schoolhouse of the type which has been described so often, with slab benches for seats and the other furnishings of a similar crude character.”[4]

In October 1853, Mary Ann married Elijah Priest, son of Samuel and Sarah (Sands) Priest.[5]

Elijah Priest Mary Ann Casbon M OH 1853
Marriage record of Elijah Priest and Mary Anne Casbon, October 23, 1853, Wayne County, Ohio.
(Click on image to enlarge)

In the 1850 census, Mary Ann and Elijah lived in adjacent townships of Wayne County, Ohio with their parents.[6],[7] I don’t know how young men and women met in those days – church? school? in “town”? social gatherings? By whatever means, their paths crossed and a connection was made.

Mary Ann and Elijah had their only child, a son named Willis, in about 1856.[8] By 1860, the family was living in Richland township in Holmes County, Ohio, some 10-15 miles south of Mary Anne’s father Thomas.[9]

In the mid-1860s (during, or immediately after the Civil War), Mary Ann and Elijah moved to Porter County, Indiana. Sylvester and Charles Thomas Casbon were the first to move to Indiana. Thomas Casbon and the young Elijah Priest family followed a few years later. Thomas made his first land purchase in Porter County in January, 1865, while Elijah bought land in March, 1866.[10],[11] By 1876, Elijah and Mary Ann were living adjacent to Thomas, as well as Mary Ann’s brothers Charles and Jesse, as seen in this plat map.[12]

1876 Casbon_Priest land Porter twp
Detail from map of Porter township, Porter County,
Indiana, ca. 1876. (Click on image to enlarge)

They continued to live in Porter township until their deaths: Mary Ann’s on February 9, 1890; and Elijah’s 5 years later on March 17, 1895.[13],[14]

Their son Willis married Emma C. Allenbrand on Christmas Day, 1882.[15] Although they had four children, only two daughters survived beyond childhood, and neither married or had children. Willis died in 1896, and Emma in 1946.[16],[17] With the death of Willis and Emma’s daughter Iva in 1970, the line of Elijah and Mary Ann (Casbon) Priest’s descendants came to an end.[18]

[1] “Charles Thomas Casbon,” History of Porter County, Indiana: A Narrative Account of its Historical Progress, its People and its Principal Interests (Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company, 1912), vol. 2, p. 459; online images, Hathi Trust Digital Library (https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89067919191;view=1up;seq=115 : accessed 29 April 2017).
[2] Parish of Meldreth (Cambridgeshire, England), “Register of Baptisms in the Parish of Meldreth in the County of Cambridge [1813–67],” p. 40, no. 318, Mary Anne Casbon, 13 Oct 1833; accessed as “Parish registers for Meldreth, 1681-1877,” browsable images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/search/film/007567609?cat=210742 : accessed 28 April 2017), image 207; citing Family History Library (FHL) microfilm 1,040,542, item 5.
[3] Find A Grave, database and images (http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=18208125 : accessed 18 August 2016), memorial page for Emma Rigg (1847–1910), memorial no. 18208125, created by “Deb”; citing Westview Cemetery, La Porte City, Black Hawk, Iowa.
[4] “Charles Thomas Casbon,” History of Porter County, Indiana, vol. 2, p. 460; Hathi Trust Digital Library (https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89067919191;view=1up;seq=116 : accessed 20 April 2017).
[5] “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XZNC-9QT : accessed 29 April 2017), Elijah Priest and Mary Ann Cashbon, 23 Oct 1853; citing Wayne, Ohio, United States, reference 140; county courthouses, Ohio; FHL microfilm 425,755.
[6] 1850 U.S. Census, Wayne County, Ohio, population schedule, Clinton township, p. 2, dwelling 8, family 8, Thos. Casban; image, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-XHRS-K7M?i=1&cc=1401638 : accessed 4 July 2016); citing NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 739.
[7] 1850 U.S. Census, Wayne County, Ohio, population schedule, Plain township, p. 379 (stamped), dwelling 39, famiy 359, Samuel Priest; image, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-DZHS-636?mode=g&i=48&cc=1401638 : accessed 29 April 2017); citing NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 740.
[8] 1870 U.S. Census, Porter County, Indiana, population schedule, Porter township, p. 8, dwelling 55, family 55, Willis Priest; image, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-D5GG-5V?mode=g&i=7&cc=1438024 : accessed 20 August 2016); citing NARA microfilm publication M593, roll 351.
[9] 1860 U.S. Census, Holmes County, Ohio, population schedule, Richland township, p. 26, dwelling 175, family 175, Elijah Priest; image, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GBSH-9ZVJ?mode=g&i=22&cc=1473181 : accessed 20 August 2016); citing NARA microfilm publication M653, Roll 989.
[10] Porter County, Indiana, “Deed Index Grantee, Jan 1860—Oct 1868,” Book Q p. 403, Casbon Thos, 15 Jan 1865; FHL microfilm 1,703,895, Item 4.
[11] Porter County, Indiana, “Deed Index Grantee, Jan 1860—Oct 1868,” Book T p.106 or 166, Priest, Elijah, 20 Mar 1866.
[12] A.G. Hardesty, “Porter [township],” Illustrated historical atlas of Porter County, Indiana, (Valparaiso, Ind.: A.G. Hardesty, 1876), p. 39; digital image, Library of Congress (https://www.loc.gov/item/2007626934/ : accessed 29 April 2017).
[13] Find A Grave, memorial page for Mary Aann[sic] Casbon Priest (1833–1890).
[14] Find A Grave (https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=19478951 : accessed 29 April 2017), memorial page for Elijah Priest (1829–1895), memorial no. 19478951, created by Linda Parnell, citing Fleming Cemetery, Porter County, Indiana.
[15] “Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KDH3-188 : 21 January 2016), Willis L Priest and Emma C Allenbrand, 25 Dec 1882; citing Porter, Indiana, United States, various county clerk offices, Indiana; FHL microfilm 1,686,157.
[16] “Indiana News,” Jasper (Indiana) Weekly Courier, 10 Apr 1896, p. 6, col. 4; online image, “Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers,” Library of Congress (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84023963/1896-04-10/ed-1/seq-6/ : accessed 29 April 2017).
[17] “Emma Priest Dies Aged 85,” The (Valparaiso, Indiana) Vidette-Messenger, 7 Mar 1946, p. 1, col. 8; online archive, Newspaper Archive (accessed through participating libraries : accessed 29 April 2017).
[18] Find A Grave (https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=177086959 : accessed 29 April 2017), memorial page for Iva Elizabeth Priest (1885–1970), memorial no. 177086959, created by “BethM1130”; citing Graceland Memorial Park, Valparaiso, Porter, Indiana.

 

From England to Indiana, Part 7

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This the seventh in a series of posts reviewing a handwritten family history of Isaac Casbon and his son Thomas. I’ve been dividing it into ‘bite-sized’ chunks to keep from overwhelming myself and my readers. This post will cover Emma Scruby’s (wife of Thomas) brother James and his descendents.

James Scruby
(Click on image to enlarge)

James Scruby came to United States of America settled in Wayne Co Ohio Married Pheobe Priest to them was born seven children
Joab William Charles Sam George are all dead excep two first named
no heirs left but George’s two boys Bennett and Olen

For a long time, I wondered why Thomas Casbon settled in Ohio before moving on eventually to Indiana. Then I read the following in the biography of Thomas’ son Charles, in History of Porter County, Indiana:

Thomas Casbon … determined to bring his family to America, which was then a land of opportunities and almost undeveloped resources…. The sailing vessel on which they all embarked encountered adverse winds that after several weeks drove it back within sight of the starting point, and it was a long voyage before the western continent appeared. The boat came down the St. Lawrence river, and from Buffalo the family continued on to Cleveland. Thomas Casbon then walked on to Wooster, Ohio, where James Scruby, a brother of his wife and a farmer, lived, and having obtained a horse and wagon returned to Cleveland for his family. [1]

This explained why he initially chose Wayne County, Ohio (Wooster is the county seat) as his destination. It’s simple: he had family there! Imagine what a relief it must have been, after leaving their home and country, enduring a difficult voyage, and arriving in a strange country, to be reunited with a family member who was already settled and could ease their transition to this new life.

This was when I first learned of Emma’s brother James.

There are relatively few records available concerning James. I haven’t found a birth or baptismal record for him in England, and he is not listed on any census in England. I eventually located him in the 1840 United States Census for Plain Township, Wayne County, Ohio. [2]

James Scruby 1840 census
(Click on image to enlarge)

His age was listed as 30-39 (exact ages were not recorded in 1840), and his household included two males under 5 years old, one male 5-9 years, and one female 30-39.

I also found a “James Scrubby” named on a passenger list of the ship Plato which disembarked in New York June 26th, 1832. [3]

James Scruby passenger list 1832stitch
(Click on image to enlarge)

This James was 26 years old and his occupation was listed as “Farmer.” His country of origin was listed as England. These few facts matched up with what little I knew about James, but I could not be sure that “James Scrubby” in the passenger list was MY James Scruby. My confidence was boosted considerably when I found this inquiry in the December 29, 1851 Portage Sentinel newspaper from Ravenna, Ohio. [4]

James Scruby newspaper inquiry 1851

Based on the statement that he “left England some 18 years ago,” James would have immigrated to the United States about 1833. This matches closely enough to the date of the passenger list, that I’m reasonably certain they all refer to the same person. If he was 26 years old when he arrived in 1832, his birth date would have been about 1806. This is very close to reported age of 45 when he died on October 11th, 1852, in Wayne County, Ohio. [5]

The fact that James married Phebe Priest is interesting. Recall that Thomas Casbon’s daughter Mary Ann married Elijah Priest and later migrated to Porter County, Indiana. I’m not sure whether Phebe and Elijah Priest were siblings, but they must have been related.

As to the children of James and Phebe, the manuscript says seven children were born to them but only lists five. I’ve been able to locate records pertaining to six of them. The one not listed was Catharine Scruby. She died in March 1843 when she was about 1 year old. [6]

Joab and William Scruby were the only two surviving sons at the time the manuscript was written (early 1890s, see Part 5 in this series). Joab Scruby was born 1835 in Ohio and died in 1901. [7] William Scruby was born about 1837. I haven’t been able to find a record of his death.

Charles Scruby was born about 1838 in Millbrook, Wayne County, Ohio. He enlisted in the 120th Ohio Volunteer Infantry in August 1862 and died in April 1863 at Milliken’s Bend, Louisiana. [8]

Samuel Scruby also served the American Civil War. He was born in 1843, served in the 102nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and died in July 1865 shortly after mustering out of his unit. [9]

George Scruby was born about 1848. [10] He married Louisa Aylesworth in 1872. [11] Louisa was the daughter of Eliott Aylesworth and Caroline Priest, (sister of Elijah Priest, who married Mary Anne Casbon, daughter of Thomas and Emma (Scruby) Casbon). George died in 1882. [12]

Here is a chart of James Scruby and his descendants.

Descendant Chart for James Scruby.bmp
(Click on image to enlarge)

The final statement of this section of the manuscript, “no heirs left but George’s two boys Bennett and Olen” is confusing – and incorrect. It ignores Joab’s four sons, all of whom moved to Iowa with their parents and lived well into the 20th century. That fact that the author knew about Bennett and Olin suggests that there was continued contact between the Casbons in Indiana and the surviving Scrubys in Ohio for a number of years.

[1] “Charles Thomas Casbon.” History of Porter County, Indiana: A Narrative Account of its Historical Progress, its People and its Principal Interests. Lewis Publishing Company (1912) p. 458.  Indiana State Library Digital Collections http://cdm16066.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p1819coll6/id/31510 [accessed 30 October 2016]
[2] “United States Census, 1840.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHRJ-1DC [accessed 24 August 2015]
[3] “New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1891.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVPX-G734 [accessed 13 Aug 2016]
[4] Portage Sentinel, December 29, 1851, Image 3 (of 4). Library of Congress http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83035101/1851-12-29/ed-1/seq-3/ [accessed 13 Aug 2016]
[5] “Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center Obituary Index”, Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center http://index.rbhayes.org/hayes/index/record_detail.asp?id=2304084 [accessed 16 Aug 2016]
[6] “Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center Obituary Index”, Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center, Search on surname Scruby. http://index.rbhayes.org/hayes/index/record_detail.asp?id=2304094 [accessed 16 Aug 2016]
[7] “Joab Scruby.” Find A Grave http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=27335862 [accessed 25 Aug 2016]
[8] Holderfield, S. “Company A, 120th OVI, Scruby, Charles.” Research report. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~holder/coa/scruby_charlescoapdf.pdf [accessed 25 Aug 2016]
[9] “Samuel Scruby.” Find A Grave, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=37988351 [accessed 24 Aug 2016]
[10] “United States Census, 1880” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M83C-6DB [accessed 15 Aug 2016]
[11] “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013.”, FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XZND-MXF [accessed 15 Aug 2016]
[12] “Ohio, Deaths and Burials, 1854-1997”, FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F6C1-JNB [accessed 15 Aug 2016]

From England to Indiana, Part 4

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This the fourth in a series of posts examining the handwritten family history of Isaac Casbon and his descendants. The manuscript, unsigned and undated, was written by someone with apparently first-hand knowledge of many of the people and events.

Move to IN(Click on image to enlarge)

They concluded to go to the State of Ind
Silvester went arrived in Indiana
Thomas Casbon mooved his family soon after and settled at Boon Grove…

This short narrative glosses over the fact that Thomas and his family lived in Ohio for almost 20 years before moving to Indiana.

Holmes county ohio 1861
1871 Map of Washington Township, Holmes County, Ohio, showing Thomas Casbon’s acreage (his name is misspelled as Gasben). “Sectional & topographical map of Holmes County, Ohio.” New York : H.F. Walling, 1861. Library of Congress hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g4083h.la000641 [accessed 2 March 2016] (Click on image to enlarge)

Here’s a timeline of what I know about Thomas and his family from the time they arrived in Ohio until they were living in Indiana:

    • About June 1846: Thomas, Emma, Mary Ann, Charles, and Jesse arrive in vicinity of Wooster, Wayne County, Ohio from England after an arduous sea voyage[1]
    • May 1847: Daughter Emma Elizabeth Casbon is born[2]
    • June 1850: Thomas, Emma, and all 5 children are recorded on the 1860 census, living in Wayne County, Ohio. Thomas’ real estate is valued at $2,000[3]
T Casbon 1850 Ohio censusUnited States Census 1850, Clinton Township, Wayne County, Ohio (Click on image to enlarge)
    • Sept 1852: Thomas applies for naturalization in Wayne County[4]
    • Oct 1853: Mary Anne Casbon marries Elijah Priest in Wayne County (they later move to Porter County, Indiana)[5]
    • Sept 1854: Thomas is naturalized as a U.S. citizen in Wayne County[6]
    • 1859: Sylvester moves to Porter County, Indiana, and begins teaching school[7]
    • June 1860: Thomas, Emma, Charles Thomas, Jesse, and Emma are recorded on US Census, now living in Holmes County, Ohio. Also living with the family is Thomas’ niece, Mary Casbon, age 19, daughter of Thomas’ brother Joseph (more about this in a later post)[8]
T casbon 1860 ohio census
United States Census 1860, Washington Township, Holmes County, Ohio (Click on image to enlarge)
    • Oct 1860: Sylvester marries Adaline Aylesworth in Porter County, Indiana[9]
    • March 1862: Charles Thomas Casbon moves to Porter County, Indiana[10]
    • July 1862: Mary Casbon (Thomas’ niece) marries William Slocum in Huron County, Ohio[11]
    • Jan 1864: Thomas’ subscription to Holmes County Farmer, newspaper, is published as current[12]
    • Dec 1868: Charles Thomas Casbon returns to Holmes County, Ohio to marry Mary E McMarrell[13]
    • April 1869: Daughter Emma marries Robert N Rigg in Porter County, Indiana[14]
    • Jun 1870: Thomas, Emma, and Jesse are recorded on US Census, Porter Township, Porter County, Indiana[15]
T Casbon 1870 census
United States Census, 1870, Porter Township, Porter County, Indiana (Click on image to enlarge)

Thomas must have moved from Ohio to Porter County, Indiana sometime between 1864 and 1869. From the statement in the family history that he moved his family “soon after” Sylvester arrived, I would guess that it was closer to the earlier date. I would also assume they lived in Indiana for some time in order for Emma to meet and court Robert Rigg before their marriage in 1869. If I want to pin it down further, I’ll need to find the records of Thomas’ land sale in Ohio or purchase in Indiana.

…and settled at Boon Grove lived ther some years and mooved to the County seat where he died in the 84 year of his age Feb 7 1888. his second wife Hannah Edwards survived him six week. Thomas bought land about 1½ miles northwest of present-day Boone Grove. In this 1876 map[16] you can see that Thomas owned about 100 acres, his son Jesse owned 80, and son Charles owned 40, all in close proximity to one another.

1876 Casbon land closeup Porter twp
Detail of 1876 plat map, Porter Township, Porter County, Indiana (Click on image to enlarge)

Thomas’ daughter Mary Anne was married to Elijah Priest, who lived right next door, and daughter Emma married Robert Rigg, whose father William lived about 2 miles north of Thomas’ home. Sylvester Casbon lived about 9 miles northwest near Deep River in adjacent Lake County.

Thomas’ first wife Emma died in Indiana September 14th, 1870.[17]  Thomas then married Hannah Edwards, widow of Isaac Edwards (1776-1863) in February 1871.[18] In the 1880 census, Thomas and Hannah were still living in Porter Township.[19] As the family history says, Thomas “mooved to the County seat” of Valparaiso, where he is listed in this city directory for 1885-6.[20]

1885 Valparaiso Directory
(Click on image to enlarge)

Thomas died February 7th, 1888.[21] Hannah died 6 weeks later on March 21st (or possibly April 8th – I haven’t been able to confirm either date).

Once again, the family history is spot on with the facts, suggesting that our mystery author was there when it happened.

[1] Elihu, C. History of the Slocums, Slocumbs and Slocombs of America. 1908. P.129. Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/historyofslocums1908sloc [ accessed 15 Aug 2016]
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