Tag: Emma Scruby

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.

William Scruby … or, “Aha,” Continued

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In my last post I presented this news item from the Porter County (Indiana) Vidette of
27 August 1891.

Mary P Casbon visit Rachel Slocum PCV 27Aug1891
Untitled news item, Porter County Vidette, 27 August 1891

I explained how finding this article had been an “aha” moment for me because it proved that Mary (Payne) Casbon and Emma/Rachel (Payne) Slocum were sisters. With this post I want to show how the article confirmed my belief that William Scruby was the son of James Scruby of Wooster, Ohio and the cousin of Mary and Emma/Rachel.

I need to step back 45 years earlier, to 1846, when Thomas Casbon and his family arrived in Ohio after leaving England. They chose to come to Wayne County, Ohio, because that is where James Scruby, the brother of Thomas’s wife, Emma, lived with his family.

James Scruby also had another sister, Sarah, who had married James Payne in England. Mary (i.e., “Mrs. James”) Casbon and Emma/Rachel Slocum were Sarah’s daughters. Therefore, the two sisters were first cousins to both James Scruby’s and Thomas Casbon’s children. This explains how William Scruby was related to the two sisters in the news item. However, before finding this news item, I had not been able to positively link William to Porter County, Indiana.

James Scruby, who was born about 1807, came to America in 1832. He appears in a document I call the “Isaac Manuscript,” because it is a handwritten family history that begins with Thomas Casbon’s father, Isaac.

James Scruby
Detail from an untitled manuscript, author unknown, ca. 1890-92,
describing Isaac Casbon and the descendants of his son Thomas

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

James, a farmer, appears in the 1850 U.S. census with his wife Phoebe (or Phebe) and the five sons mentioned in the manuscript.[1] (They also had a daughter who died in infancy. I haven’t been able to find evidence of a seventh child.)

James Scruby 1850 censusDetail from 1850 U.S. census. Plain Township, Wayne County, Ohio (FamilySearch) (Click on image to enlarge)

Phoebe died in November 1851 and James died 11 months later, leaving the boys orphans ranging in age from 4 to 17 years old. Guardians were appointed for the boys, and Thomas Casbon was appointed as the guardian for William Scruby. The guardianship was required until William reached the age of 21, in about 1858. Thus, it’s possible that William lived in Thomas’s household until that time.

William’s brother Charles died from diptheria in 1863 while serving in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Samuel also served in the Union Army. He died of an unknown cause just one month after mustering out in June 1865. Brother George, who became a farmer in Wayne County, died in 1882. These deaths account for the statement “all dead excep two first named” in the Isaac Manuscript, above.

Joab Scruby, the oldest brother, became a teacher. He remained in Wayne County for many years, but eventually moved to Des Moines, Iowa, where he died in 1901. Contrary to what is said in the Isaac Manuscript, Joab had four sons, thus there were six heirs, including George’s two sons.

Returning to William, we find him listed in the 1860 census, in Wayne County, where he is reported as living alone in Plain Township, with the occupation of “Shoe Maker.”[2] In 1863 he registered for the draft in Wayne County.[3] However, there is no evidence that he ever served during the Civil War.

In the 1870 census, William Scruby, age 29, occupation “laborer,” and born in Ohio, was living in Boone Township, Porter County, Indiana.[4] Was this the same William? The reported age is about four years too young for our William. Before finding the news item above, I could not be sure he was the same man. However, with that new piece of information, I had proof, or at least strong circumstantial evidence that William Scruby—the son of James Scruby of Ohio—was living in Porter County in 1891. Therefore, I think it is likely that he was also the man reported on the 1870 census. Unfortunately, I have never found a listing for him in the 1880 census and the 1890 census was lost in a fire.

Assuming that William was living in Porter County, Indiana, in 1870, it is certainly possible that he arrived there at about the same time as Thomas Casbon, who moved there from Ohio in 1865. The fact that William came to Porter County at all suggests that he maintained a close relationship with Thomas and Emma Casbon. Perhaps the fact that Thomas had been his guardian created a strong and lasting bond.

William died on 9 May 1900.[5] His death was noted in the Porter County Vidette.

Death of Wm Scobey PCV 17May1900
“Here and There … Death of Wm. Scobey,” Porter County Vidette, 17 May 1900, p. 2, col. 1; microfilm image, Valparaiso Public Library; William’s age is misstated—he was actually 67 years old

The strength of his relationship with his two female cousins is evidenced by the terms of his Will, in which he bequeathed 500 dollars to Mary and 250 dollars to Emma.

Scruby Wm will PCV 24May1900
“Will of William Scruby,” Porter County Vidette, 24 May 1900, p. 1, col. 2;
microfilm image, Porter County Public Library

William’s death ended a chapter of the story that began when his father, James Scruby, came to America in 1832, followed by Thomas Casbon and Emma/Rachel Payne in 1846, Mary Payne in 1856, and James Casbon in 1870. The story shows how family ties formed a bridge between continents, how those ties played an important role in the immigration to America, and how they continued to influence lives over the course of several decades.

[1] 1850 U.S. census, Wayne County, Ohio, Plain Township, p. 382 (stamped), dwelling 397, family 407 (surname indexed as “Lemly”; FamilySearch.org.
[2] 1860 U.S. census, Wayne County, Ohio, Plain Township, p. 52, dwelling 401, family 400; FamilySearch.org.
[3] Records of the Provost Marshall General’s Bureau, Enrollment Lists and Corrections, 1863-1865, Ohio, 14th Congressional District, Class 1, (L-Z), p. 431; contained in “Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865,” database with images, Ancestry.com > Ohio >14th > Vol 2 of 3 >image 318 of 549; citing NARA, RG 110.
[4] 1870 U.S. census, Porter County, Indiana, Boone Twp., page 17, dwelling & family 137, William Scruby (indexed as “Sernby”) in household of Henry Smity; FamilySearch.org.
[5] Indiana, State Board of Health, Certificate of Death, no. 189, Porter County, Boone Township, 9 May 1900, William Scruby; imaged as “Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011,” Ancestry.com >Certificate >1899 – 1900 >15 >image 24 of 3028.

A Visit to Ohio

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aha moment
noun informal.
1. a point in time, event, or experience when one has a sudden insight or realization.[1]

Most of the time, genealogy research is fairly routine. You ask a question—“when was so-and-so born?”—and look for records that might answer the question. You either find the answer or you don’t, and then you move on. What can make it fun is when you have that “aha” moment—when the answer to a question pops up quite unexpectedly. Has this ever happened to you?

I had such a moment last year when I was browsing through old newspaper articles on microfilm in the Valparaiso (Porter County , Indiana) Public Library. I found this in the Porter County Vidette of 27 August 1891.

Mary P Casbon visit Rachel Slocum PCV 27Aug1891
Untitled news item, Porter County Vidette, 27 August 1891

This single sentence answered not one but two questions that I had all but given up on finding the answers to. The questions were:

  1. Was Mary Payne, who married James Casbon in 1876, the same Mary Payne who arrived in Ohio from England with Mary Casbon in 1856?
  2. Was William Scruby who lived in Porter County, Indiana in the late 1800s, the son of James Scruby of Wooster, Ohio?

After finding this article, it was clear to me that the answer to both questions was yes!

Some background information will help you see how I came to these conclusions. Accordingly, let me introduce a brief cast of characters:

Emma Scruby (1811–1870): the wife of Thomas Casbon (1803–1888)

Emma or Rachel Payne (b. 1830): a niece of Emma (Scruby) Casbon; daughter of Emma’s sister Sarah (Scruby) Payne

Mary Payne (b. 1832 or 33): another niece of Emma (Scruby) Casbon; sister of Emma/Rachel Payne

William Scruby (b. abt. 1837): a nephew of Emma (Scruby) Casbon; son of Emma’s brother, James Scruby; also a first cousin of Emma/Rachel and Mary Payne

James Casbon (1813–1884), the brother of Thomas Casbon

The Scruby family plays an important role in the story of the Casbon family in the United States. When Thomas and Emma (Scruby) Casbon migrated from England to Ohio in 1846, they were greeted by Emma’s older brother James Scruby, who left England in 1832 and settled near Wooster, Wayne County, Ohio. Thomas and Emma lived and raised their family in Ohio, initially in Wayne County, and later, a few miles south in Holmes County. James undoubtedly influenced their decision to emigrate and helped them to get settled.

In addition to their own family, Thomas and Emma brought Emma’s niece “Rachell [sic] or Emma Payne” with them from England. Two names are given for this niece because she is referred to in various records by either of these names and is also recorded as “Emma R. Payne.”

Ten years after the arrival of Thomas and Emma Casbon, Emma/Rachel’s sister, Mary Payne migrated from England to Ohio, along with Thomas Casbon’s niece, Mary Casbon, who was the daughter of Thomas’s deceased brother, Joseph. This story is told in a handwritten family history.

Mary Payne etc
Detail from an untitled manuscript, author unknown, ca. 1890-92, describing Isaac Casbon
and the descendants of his son Thomas; note the term “Rachell or Emma Payne”

Mary Payne & Rachell or Emma Payne
came to America & They were the
daughters of Sarah Scruby sister to
Emma wife of Thomas Casbon
Mary Payne came to America in
the year 1856 Mary Casbon daughter of
Joseph Casbon who was a brother of
Thomas Casbon came to America with
Mary Payne Emma came with the
Family of Thomas Casbon to America

The story gets convoluted at this point. Mary Casbon, Thomas’s niece, married William Wallace Slocum in 1862.[2] Mary evidently died within a few years. Mr. Slocum next married Emma R. Payne on 23 March 1865.[3] In addition to the official marriage records, we find this part of the story published in a history of the Slocum family.

Mary Casbon Emma Payne in William Slocum genealogy
Detail from Charles Elihu Slocum, M.D., Ph.D., LL.D., History of the Slocums, Slocumbs and Slocombs of America
(Defiance, Ohio: privately published, 1908), vol. 2:129; the peculiar spelling is due to the fact that the
author was an adherent of a movement to simplify spellings in the English language.

We know from the description of her birthplace and voyage to America that Mr. Slocum’s third wife was same woman who emigrated to America with Thomas and Emma Casbon.

Through her marriage Emma/Rachel became the “Mrs. Rachel Slocum” referred to in the 1891 news brief. We can place Emma/Rachel in Shiloh, Ohio, because that is where her husband died in 1888.

But what of her sister Mary? Although she arrived in Ohio in 1856, Mary does not appear in the 1860 or 1870 censuses and I haven’t been able to find any trace of her during this time frame.

Enter, stage left, James Casbon. In 1870, James emigrated from England to Indiana, where his brother Thomas had been living since 1865. James married a woman named Mary Payne at Porter County, Indiana, in 1876, following the death of his wife Mary neé Jackson.

James C Mary P marriage
The marriage record of James Casbon and Mary Payne, Porter County, Indiana, 15 January 1876;
“Indiana Marriages, 1811–2007” (FamilySearch); citing Porter County Marriage Records, vol. 4:348
(Click on image to enlarge)

Was James Casbon’s wife the sister of Emma/Rachel Slocum? I thought she might be but did not have enough evidence to prove the relationship. James and Mary appear together in the 1880 U.S. census in Porter County. Her age was reported as 53, which would give her a birth year of about 1827—about five years earlier than expected for Emma/Rachel’s sister. Her birthplace was reported as England, so at least that fact fit the theory.

The question remained unresolved for several years until my “aha” moment arrived last year. “Mrs. James Casborn [sic]” was going to visit her sister, “Mrs. Rachel Slocum,” in Shilo [sic] O[hio]. Quod Erat Demonstrandum! The missing link was found!

There is still a lot of missing information. Where was Mary Payne between 1856 and 1876? When did she move to Indiana? What circumstances led to her marriage to James Casbon? My guess is that she either followed her aunt Emma and uncle Thomas Casbon to Indiana, or that she came with William Scruby, who was her cousin. Although it is common for relatives to remain in proximity to one another, it is still intriguing to me that the paths of Emma and Thomas Casbon, James Casbon, William Scruby, and Mary Payne intersected in so many places and points in time.

But what of William Scruby? He has had only had a minor role in today’s story. His story will be next.

[1] “aha moment,” Dictionary.com (https://www.dictionary.com/browse/aha-moment )
[2] “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013 ” (FamilySearch) )>Huron >Marriage Records 1855-1866 vol 1 >image 220 of 306; citing Huron County.
[3] “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013 ” (FamilySearch) )>Huron >Marriage Records 1855-1866 vol 1 >image 277 of 306; citing Huron County.

The Deaths of Thomas and Hannah Casbon

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This is my fifth post in the Guild of One-Name Studies blog challenge 2020.

One of my favorite sources of information about the Casbons who left England and eventually settled in Porter County, Indiana, USA, is The (Valparaiso, Indiana) Vidette-Messenger, or The Vidette, for short. For most of the twentieth century The Vidette was the main newspaper for Porter County. Thanks to my local public library, I have free access from my home computer to the digital archives of The Vidette from 1927 to 1977. That’s because my library subscribes to the Newspaper Archive web service. (Hint: see if your local library subscribes to Newspaper Archive—it’s a great resource.). The Vidette archives are also available up to 1995 with a paid Newspapers.com subscription.

Although I love The Vidette archives, they fall short because they don’t cover the first six decades of the Casbon family’s presence in Porter County. Many of the earlier Porter County newspapers are available on microfilm at the Valparaiso, Indiana, Public Library. Unfortunately, I live almost a thousand miles from Valparaiso, so I don’t have ready access. Therefore, it was a real treat for me to spend several hours in Valparaiso planted in front of the microfilm reader last May. I collected many articles about my early Casbon relatives and plan to feature many of these in upcoming posts.

In this post, I am highlighting three articles printed about the death of my third great-grandfather Thomas Casbon and his second wife, Hannah.

The brief announcement of Thomas Casbon’s death appeared in The Valparaiso Messenger on 9 February 1888. Thomas died on 7 February.

Thomas death announcement Messenger 9Feb1888
“Local News,” The Valparaiso Messenger, 9 Feb 1888

I haven’t found other contemporary accounts that describe Thomas. The statement that he was “an old and highly respected citizens [sic]” tells us very little about him but reflects that he was regarded in a positive light.

The following article was printed in the 16 February 1888 Porter County Vidette. It includes a poem written by Thomas’s daughter, Emma.

Thomas C In Memorium B
“In Memorium,” The Porter County Vidette, 16 Feb 1888

Emma’s poem is sweet and sentimental. Her words, “Now our mother and brother, will lead you in a better land” refer to the deaths of Thomas’s first wife, Emma (Scruby), who died in in 1870, and their first son, Sell, who died in infancy while the family was still living in England. Emma—the daughter—was living in Iowa at the time of Thomas’s death, but it’s quite likely that she returned to Valparaiso during his final days or shortly after his death.

Hannah’s obituary appeared in The Porter County Vidette on 5 April 1888. She died in late March, six weeks after Thomas’s death.

Hannah Wilsey Casbon death announcement
“Mrs. Hannah Casbon,” The Porter County Vidette, 5 April 1888

It’s interesting that Hannah’s obituary contains so much more information than the brief paragraphs announcing Thomas’s death. It includes a rather nice biography as well as a testimony to her Christian faith.

Thomas and Hannah died before death registration was required in Indiana. Consequently, we don’t know anything about the circumstances or causes of their deaths. Thomas was buried in Merriman Cemetery with his first wife, Emma. As far as I know, he died intestate, and I haven’t located any probate papers.

I haven’t been able to locate Hannah’s grave. It is not listed on FindAGrave.com under any of her surnames and does not appear with her first husband’s FindAGrave entry. Her will was signed 3 August 1887 and was probated in the Porter County Circuit Court on 4 April 1888. She bequeathed ten dollars each to a granddaughter and grandson and the rest of her estate to her two daughters by her first marriage. It isn’t surprising that Thomas’s four children were not mentioned, as they were all adults when Thomas married Hannah, and she was not involved in raising them.

As I was writing this post I realized that I have not written a single post summarizing Thomas’s life. However, many details of his life are described in the following posts: “A Christmas Baptism”; “From England to Indiana” Parts 2, 3, and 4; “Why Indiana?”; “From Labourer to Landowner”; “Pursuing the Parkfield”; “Was my Third Great Grandfather a Convicted Thief?”; “A Practical Guide for Emigrants”; and “The Appeal.” I guess there is too much information to contain in a single post!

A Practical Guide for Emigrants

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What was it like to emigrate from England to North America in the mid-1800s? How would you travel? What kind of supplies would you need? How would you go about planning for such a trip and where would you go for answers to these questions? These are questions that Thomas Casbon faced when he decided to leave England to find a new home in Ohio, U.S.A.

I’m pretty sure Thomas and his wife Emma (Scruby) were getting letters from Emma’s older brother, James, who settled in Ohio in the 1830s. These would have offered words of encouragement and practical guidance, and perhaps even some money to help cover expenses. But another source might have been a printed guidebook. I’ve recently learned that many of these were printed throughout the 1800s. They are brimming with practical advice and generally written by men who had first-hand experience, being recent immigrants themselves.

One such book is A Practical Guide For Emigrants to North America, including the United States, Lower and Upper Canada, and Newfoundland …, by George Nettle, published in London, 1850.[1]

Title page
Title page of A Practical Guide for Emigrants … (1850).

Although Thomas left England in 1846, four years before this book was published, it is representative of the types of guidebooks available at the time. It addresses many matters that would have been of concern to Thomas and his family. It also gives us greater insight into what the experience of emigrating to America would have been like.

In the opening paragraphs, the author describes “who ought to go” to America. His description fits Thomas perfectly: “America being a growing country and a land for labour and industry, the poor industrious laboring man, with a wife and two, three, or more sons and daughters [Thomas had three sons and one daughter] fit for labour and of sober habits, would do well to emigrate.”[2]

He goes on to explain how much a man can earn and what his earnings can purchase in America.

A laboring man and his two sons, for instance, may earn 18s. per week each, making together £2 14s., whilst the common necessaries of life are generally less than half the price paid for them in this country. This amount brought to a careful wife, would, at the end of a year or two only, place the poor man and his family almost above the world’s perplexities; and his table would be plentifully supplied with such necessaries of life as he probably never before had the privilege of enjoying.[3]

The opportunity for financial independence would have been a strong incentive for Thomas, whose future in England did not offer much hope for improvement or relief from a life of economic hardship.

The book goes on to address practical matters concerning the voyage, starting with expenses. He explains that “London and Liverpool are the principal ports in this country for emigration” and that the steerage fare in a steam vessel from one of these ports is between £4 and £5. On the other hand

there are other ports from which merchant ships, principally in the timber trade, sail during the spring and summer months, to Quebec and other places in North America, in which the passage-money charged is generally under £3: and should a family, or a company of friends or neighbors, emigrate together, the cost to each individual may be considerably reduced by contracting for the whole.[4]

We know that Thomas sailed from Southampton to Quebec aboard the Parkfield, described in one source as a Canadian lumber boat.[5] He would not have been able to afford anything better than steerage, so this gives us an idea of what they voyage cost. He traveled with a niece and probably with another Meldreth man, James Wing, so maybe they were able to negotiate a cheaper price.

steerage
“Emigration Vessel—Between Decks,“The Illustrated London News, vol. 18, no. 483, 10 May 1851, p. 387; Hathi Trust Digital Library (https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000520935 : accessed 5 February 2019) (Click on image to enlarge)

On ocean voyages today, the fare usually includes the cost of meals, but Thomas probably had to bring his own provisions for the voyage. What would you need for a long ocean voyage in the 1840s? Here’s what the author of A Practical Guide advises.

It will be necessary to procure bedding, provisions, cooking utensils, and a little medicine. The cooking and table utensils should be the most simple and useful, made of tin, and in quantity according to the circumstances of the emigrant. The provisions should, by all means be sufficient in variety, the time occupied on the passage being very uncertain, averaging from four to six weeks, and not unfrequently extending to eight weeks. The stock for each adult ought to be, at least, as follows:—[6]

recommended provisions
Provisions recommended for the voyage to America.[7] (Click on image to enlarge)

Try to imagine the preparations needed for this voyage, and then the voyage itself. The foodstuffs had to be things that wouldn’t spoil on a long voyage; no milk, no fresh vegetables or meats. The author says that “about £2 5s. will, however, purchase the stock above enumerated,—if judiciously laid out.”[8]

The author then waxes philosophical, warning the traveler about the feelings he is likely to experience:

As the emigrant leaves “the lessening land,” and passes over the “trackless deep,” a medley of feelings and sensations will naturally occupy his mind: he will feel that he is parting from his associates and friends, and from those endearing ties and circumstances of his childhood, the comforts and enjoyments of which he was not before aware of, for the true value of friendship is never properly estimated until it becomes lost for ever. These observations are not designed to intimidate or to create unpleasant feelings, but merely to forewarn the emigrant of what will occur before he leaves his county, that he may not regret his departure, as thousands have done when it has been too late.[9]

What thoughts did Thomas and Emma have as they left England behind forever?

The book then describes the approach of land and information about the city of Quebec. The Casbon family would have had to disembark at Quebec and secure transportation along the Saint Lawrence River to Montreal. “He has the choice of two routes, the one by steam vessels on the river St. Lawrence, and the other by canal and land carriage. The former will be preferable.”[10] I’m pretty sure Thomas took the river route.

From Montreal, the family would have next proceeded to Kingston, on the eastern end of Lake Ontario. And from there they traveled across the great lake to Niagara. “At Niagara the family made the transfer in the horse cars then in use, and all had time to enjoy the spectacle of the mighty falls. From Buffalo they took another boat to Cleveland.”[11] “Thomas Casbon then walked on to Wooster, Ohio, … and having obtained a horse and wagon returned to Cleveland for his family. By this means they all arrived at a place ten miles from Wooster … where Thomas Casbon began his career in the New World.”[12]

Map detail
Detail of map insert from A Practical Guide For Emigrants, with Thomas Casbon’s route added in.
(Click on image to enlarge)

The previous paragraph quotes from biographies of Thomas Casbon’s sons, Sylvester and Charles. Returning to A Practical Guide For Emigrants, the book has much more to say about what a new immigrant should do once he arrives in the new land, along with various observations about life in America. Towards the end of the book, the author offers these words to the potential emigrant.

The English emigrant will not be a month in America before the aspect of things will seem strange and unpleasant to him; and unless the country which he has left has been “too warm for him,” he will long for home, “with all its faults.” He will see no green hedges adorned with sweet-scented flowers … If, however, a man with his wife and family are living as they ought to do, their best home is in any civilized country where they can procure the greatest amount of the comforts and necessaries of life, and make a provision for old age.[13]

In other words, although homesickness and regret are likely to occur, given time, most will realize the advantages of life in the new country.

Life in Ohio would have been a huge adjustment for Thomas and his family. They would never see their families in England again, nor any of the things they loved about the old country. But, within a few years, they were on firm ground financially and well on their way to having comforts of life they would have thought impossible had they remained in England.

[1] George Nettle, A Practical Guide for Emigrants to North America, including the United States, Lower and Upper Canada, and Newfoundland … (London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co., 1850); image copy, Hathi Trust Digital Library (https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/100008573 : accessed 28 February 2019).
[2] Ibid., p. 7.
[3] Ibid., pp. 7–8.
[4] Ibid., p. 9.
[5] History of Porter County Indiana: a Narrative Account of its Historical Progress, its People and its Principal Interests (Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Co., 1912), vol. 2: 483; image copy, Hathi Trust Digital Library (https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/011679885 : accessed 28 February 2019).
[6] Nettle, A Practical Guide for Emigrants …, p. 10.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Ibid., pp. 10–11.
[10] Ibid., p. 17.
[11] History of Porter County Indiana, p. 483.
[12] Ibid., pp. 459–60.
[13] Nettle, A Practical Guide for Emigrants …, pp. 51–2.

Going, Going …

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The sister villages of Meldreth and Melbourn in Cambridgeshire are my ancestral homeland. Records of Casbon ancestors in these villages go back to the mid-sixteenth century. Families occasionally moved from one village to another, or to other nearby villages, but there was little reason or incentive to go further. The situation remained stable for over 250 years, but in the 1840s, things began to change.

Slowly at first, and then with increasing speed, the number of Casbons in Meldreth and Melbourn began to dwindle. In the 1841 census, there were 7 households with 30 people; in 1851, 7 households with 27 people; 1861 – 4 households/14 people; 1871 – 5 households/12 people; 1881 – 2 households/4 people; 1891 – 2 households/5 people; 1901 & 1911 – 1 household/2 people.[1] (1911 is the last year census records have been made available to the public.) The 1939 register (a census-like record taken before World War 2) shows only one Casbon living in Meldreth.

chart Chart showing decline in Casbon households and family members in Meldreth and Melbourn from 1841 to 1939. (Click on image to enlarge)

What happened? Where did they go and why did they leave? The reasons are varied, but for the most part revolve around the “three Fs”: finance, family, friends. In the mid-1800s, the growth of cities and improvements in transportation created new job opportunities. The exodus from Meldreth took off after the arrival of the railroad in 1851.[2]

1841
Casbon households in Meldreth, 1841 England Census.

The first to leave was my third great grandfather, Thomas (1803–1888), and his family, when they emigrated to the United States in 1846. I’ve written extensively about Thomas and his journey, so will not elaborate further here.

1851 Casbon households in Meldreth & Melbourn, 1851 England Census.

The next to go was James Casbon (1806–1871), who moved to the village of Barley in Hertfordshire with his family, probably in the early 1850s.[3] Barley is located about five miles south of Meldreth.

Barley map
Detail map showing Cambridge, Meldreth, Melbourn, and Barley.[4] (Click on image to enlarge)

James was a landowner, which put him in a different class than his poorer Casbon relatives. He also had a business as a carrier, hauling freight (and perhaps passengers) to and from London. His reasons for moving to Barley are unknown. His sons remained in Barley and established their own families there. Thus, Barley became a new population center for the Casbon surname.

Between 1851 and 1861 the number of Casbon households was further reduced due to deaths, employment, and unknown other reasons. Lydia (Burgess) Casbon, widow of Joseph (abt. 1811–1847), died in 1851.[5] Two daughters, Hannah and Harriet Ann, preceded her in death in 1848 and 1850, respectively, and a third daughter, Emma, died in 1852.[6] Lydia’s surviving daughter, Mary, emigrated to the United States, where she joined her uncle Thomas Casbon, in 1856.[7] “Patty” Barns (née Martha Wagstaff), widow of John Casbon (abt. 1779–1813), died in 1855.[8] After losing his wife, Elizabeth, in 1852, James Casbon (b. abt. 1813) and his family disappeared from view until he emigrated to Indiana in 1870.[9] Mary Ann Casbon (b. 1831, daughter of William, b. 1805), who had been working as a servant in Melbourn in 1851, was employed as a cook in a London public house by 1861.[10]

1861 Casbon households in Meldreth, 1861 England Census.

Although the numbers remained relatively stable between 1861 and 1871, some important moves still took place. Three more of William’s (b. 1805) children left for the environs of London: John (b. abt. 1842), Reuben (b. 1847) and Martha (b. abt. 1855). John was working as a Labourer when he was married in Lambeth (now a borough of London) in 1866.[11] Reuben must have moved to the London area in the same time frame, since he and his sister Mary Ann are listed as witnesses on the marriage record. Martha, perhaps following in her brothers’ footsteps, is listed as a sixteen-year-old “domestic servant housemaid” for a suburban London household in the 1871 census.[12]

1871 Casbon households in Meldreth & Melbourn, 1871 England Census.

The numbers plunged after 1871, as the “old-timers” – Jane (1803–1872), William (1805-1877) and William (1806–1875) died and their remaining children moved away. Samuel Clark Casbon (b. 1851) moved to Croydon, Surrey.[13] His sister, Jane, married John Camp in 1881.[14] Only the younger William (b. 1835), and John Casbon (b. 1849) remained. William’s three children, Walter (b. 1856), William (b. 1860), and Priscilla (b. 1862), all left home for jobs in domestic service or the railroads.

William (b. 1835) died in 1896. After his death, his wife, Sarah (West, b. abt 1823) moved to Hitchin, Hertfordshire, where she lived with her son, Walter, until her death in 1905.[15] John (b. 1849) died in 1935, followed by his wife Sarah (Pepper, b. abt 1850) in 1938.[16] John and Sarah were the only two Casbons on the 1901 and 1911 censuses for Meldreth.

Wm C b1835 grave marker 1896
The memorial stone of William (1835–1896) and Sarah (West, abt 1823–1905) Casbon, Holy Trinity Churchyard, Meldreth. “In/ Memory of/ WILLIAM CASBON/ who died March 7th 1896/aged 61 years/”We hope to meet again at/ The Resurrection of the just/A light is from the household gone/ A voice we loved is stilled/ A place is vacant in our home/ Which never can be filled”./ Also of /SARAH, wife of the above/who departed this life/ December 22nd 1905/ aged 83 years./She hath done what she could/ Her end was peace./”
Photograph by Malcolm Woods; Meldreth History website (http://www.meldrethhistory.org.uk).
(Click on image to enlarge)

Martha Casbon (b. abt. 1855), who spent most of her adult life in domestic service, returned to Meldreth in her later years, and is the sole Casbon listed on the 1939 register.[17] With her death in 1947, the Casbon name became extinct in Meldreth.[18]

[1] Data extracted from England censuses by Jon Casbon.
[2] Happy Birthday, Meldreth Station (no publication details available), leaflet; PDF download (http://meldrethsheprethfoxtonrail.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Meldreth150.pdf : accessed 1 November 2018).
[3] Jon Casbon, “James Casbon, Farmer and Carrier, 1806-1871, Part 1,” 23 Jan 17, Our Casbon Journey (https://casbonjourney.wordpress.com/2017/01/23/james-casbon-farmer-and-carrier-1806-1871-part-1/ : accessed 1 November 2018).
[4] Ordnance Survey of England and Wales (Southampton: Director General at the Ordnance Survey Office, 1903), Sheet 16; online image, A Vision of Britain Through Time (http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/maps/sheet/new_series_revised_medium/sheet_16 : accessed 1 November 2018).
[5] England and Wales, “Search the GRO [General Register Office] Online Index,” database, HM Passport Office (https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/indexes_search.asp : accessed 1 November 2018), Lydia Casbon, 2d qtr, 1851, Royston & Buntingford, vol. 6:405.
[6] Ibid., Hannah Casbon (age 5), 2d qtr, 1848, Royston & Buntingford, vol. 6/433. Ibid., Harriet Ann Casbon (age 11), 3d qtr, 1852, Royston & Buntingford, vol. 6/366. Ibid., Emma Casbon (age 7), 2d qtr, 1852, Royston & Buntingford, vol. 3A/131.
[7] Jon Casbon, “From England to Indiana, Part 8,” 18 Nov 2016, Our Casbon Journey (https://casbonjourney.wordpress.com/2016/11/18/from-england-to-indiana-part-8/ : accessed 1 November 2018).
[8] England and Wales, “Search the GRO [General Register Office] Online Index,” (cited previously), Martha Barnes, 4th qtr, 1855, Royston, vol. 3A: 128.
[9] Jon Casbon, “James Casbon of Meldreth, England and Porter County, Indiana,” 29 Nov 2016, Our Casbon Journey (https://casbonjourney.wordpress.com/2016/11/29/james-casbon-of-meldreth-england-and-porter-county-indiana/ : accessed 1 November 2018).
[10] 1861 England Census, Middlesex, Islington, population schedule, district 36, Johnston parish, p. 55 (stamped), schedule 153, Mary Ann Cusbin in household of Richd Munford; imaged on Ancestry (https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=8767 : accessed 1 November 2018), Middlesex >Islington >Islington East >District 36 >image 28 of 84; citing The National Archives, RG 9, piece 146, folio 55, p. 27.
[11] “London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1921,” Ancestry (https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1623 : accessed 22 March 2017), Lambeth >St. Mary, Lambeth >1761-1896 >image 337 of 540; citing London Metropolitan Archives, ref. no. p85/mry1/541.
[12] 1871 England Census, Kent, Lewisham, population schedule, enumeration district 4, schedule 214, Martha Casbon (indexed as “Carbor”} in household of John H Greeno; imaged on Ancestry (https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=7619 : accessed 19 March 2018), Kent >Lewisham >Lee >District 4 >image 62 of 80; citing The National Archives, RG 10, piece 763, folio 89, p. 61.
[13] 1881 England Census, Surrey, Croydon, population schedule, enumeration district 35, schedule 256, Samuel Casban; image on Ancestry (https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=7572 : accessed 1 November 2018), Surrey >Croydon >District 35 >image 49 of 66; citing The National Archives, RG 11, piece 816, folio 60, p. 47.
[14] “England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005”, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2DRB-92Y : accessed 1 November 2018), Jane Casbon, 1st qtr, 1881, Royston, vol. 3A/323.
[15] Kathryn Betts, “Holy Trinity Churchyard: Monumental Inscriptions.” Meldreth History (http://www.meldrethhistory.org.uk/page_id__484_img__4391.aspx : accessed 1 November 2018).
[16] “England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007”, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVHV-Q78D : accessed 1 November 2018), John J Casbon, 1st qtr, 1935, Cambridge, vol. 3B/564. Same source (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVHP-YBY9 : accessed 1 November 2018), Sarah Casbon, 1st qtr, 1938, Cambridge, vol. 3B/553.
[17] 1939 Register, South Cambridgeshire R.D., enumeration district TBKV, schedule 34, Martha Casbon; imaged on findmypast (https://search.findmypast.com/search-world-records/1939-register : accessed 19 November 2016); citing The National Archives, R39/6326/6326I/005/05.
[18] “England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007”, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVCQ-FH17 : accessed 2 August 2016), Martha Casbon, 1st qtr, 1947, Cambridge, vol. 4A/257.

Was my Third Great Grandfather a Convicted Thief?

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Sometimes there are long gaps in records, especially for people who lived before censuses were taken. You might only have records for birth (or baptism), marriage, and death (or burial)—commonly referred to as “BMD” records, with no information about what happened in the intervals between these major life events.

Such is the case with my third great grandfather, Thomas Casbon. Thomas was born November 3, 1803 in Meldreth, Cambridgeshire. He married Emma Scruby October 9, 1830 in nearby Melbourn. The 27-year gap between his birth and marriage is a silent period in Thomas’ life.

Or at least it was.

Here’s an interesting record I found on the Findmypast website:[1]

Court proceeding 1822 marked(Click on image to enlarge)

This is a register of criminal court proceedings for Cambridgeshire held in the year 1822. I’ve marked the pertinent items. Thomas Casborn was tried during the October Sessions, convicted of larceny, and sentenced to seven years’ transportation. Sessions were courts that met quarterly to try a variety of civil and criminal offenses.[2] They were generally held in the county seat – in this case, Cambridge.

The sessions were also reported in the local newspaper:[3]

Thomas Casburn convicted Camb Oct Sessions 1822 Camb Chronicle 25Oct1822 marked
Cambridge Chronicle, 25 Oct 1822. (Click on image to enlarge) Newspaper image © The British Library Board. All rights reserved. With thanks to The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk). 

I’ve included the entire article, as I think readers might find it interesting, but here is the paragraph in question.

Thomas paragraph
(Click on image to enlarge)

There are a couple of interesting terms in this report: harvest home – a festival traditionally celebrated on the Sunday nearest the harvest moon in late September or early October;[4] haulm – “the stems or tops of crop plants (such as peas or potatoes) especially after the crop has been gathered.”[5]

You can see that Thomas’ surname was spelled Casburn in this report. Was he my ancestor? Spelling of surnames was still highly fluid at that time, so minor variations do not rule out anyone with a similar name. The fact that the stolen watch was located in Bassingbourn possibly points to “my” Thomas, because Bassingbourn is quite close to Meldreth. (Thomas’ father Isaac and mother Susanna (Howes) were married in Bassingbourn in 1800.[6]) But this is weak evidence at best.

To complicate matters further, there were quite a few men named Thomas, with similar surnames, living in Cambridgeshire at the time. These included the names Casborn, Casbourn, and Casburn. As a matter of fact, if you read the entire Cambridge Chronicle article, you will see that another man named Thomas Casburn was charged with disturbing the peace in the parish of Burwell. (The Casburn spelling is strongly associated with Burwell.) How can we tell if the man convicted of larceny was my ancestor?

Fortunately, there are other records that help to narrow down the field.

Leviathan prisoner register National Archives

(Click on image to enlarge)
This is a partial page from a register of prisoners on the convict hulk Leviathan.[7] A hulk was a decommissioned ship used as a floating prison.[8] Masts, rigging, and other components necessary for sailing were removed, rendering the ships unseaworthy, but still able to float.[9] They were used to house prisoners in England from 1776 until 1857, when the practice was finally banned.[10] Many convicts were placed on hulks temporarily, while awaiting transport on convict ships to Australia and other Commonwealth lands. But a few served their entire sentence aboard the hulk.

HMS Leviathan was first launched as a 74-gun ship of the line in the British Navy in 1790. She fought in the battle of Trafalgar. She was decommissioned and converted to a prison ship in 1816, and anchored in Portsmouth harbor.[11]

Prison hulks Portsmouth Harbour
Prison Hulks in Portsmouth Harbour, oil on canvas, Daniel Turner. © National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London. (Click on image to enlarge)

The register of prisoners shows that Thomas Casborn was the 6,072d prisoner registered on the ship’s book. He was one of four prisoners brought aboard from Cambridge on October 31, 1822. All four were convicted of grand larceny (“G.L.”) and received seven-year sentences. If you look back at the Cambridge Chronicle article, you will find the other three names. All except Thomas were transported to New South Wales (“N.S.W” in the last column) on May 8, 1823. Thomas served his entire sentence aboard the hulk and was discharged October 18, 1829. I believe the reason Thomas was not transported is that this was his first offense.[12] The other three men were repeat offenders.[13]

Most importantly, this register shows that Thomas was nineteen years old at the time of his conviction. This gives him a birth year of about 1803 and helps us to narrow down the list of men who might have been Thomas. I can only find two potential candidates:

  • Thomas Casbon, my third great grandfather, and
  • Thomas Casburn, baptized October 3, 1802 in Burwell, Cambridgeshire.[14]

There were also Thomases baptized in 1792 and 1808, but these are too far outside the margin of error to be listed as nineteen years old in 1822.

So, the list is down to two. But which one was the prisoner on the Leviathan? I needed more information.

With a little research, I learned that the records of the Cambridge Quarter Sessions are maintained at the Cambridgeshire Archives. I emailed the Archives, along with a copy of the news clipping, to see if they could tell me anything more about Thomas Casborn who stole the silver watch. I received this polite reply on October 4th.

I have looked at the Quarter Sessions order book for 1822-1826 (ref QSO/14) and there is indeed an entry for the trial and conviction of Thomas Casborn. There is no personal information about him other than that he was “late of the parish of Melbourn [my emphasis].” This may help you identify whether this is the Casborn you are searching for or not.[15]

He also mentioned that other supporting papers for the October 1822 sessions are located in the archives, but to access these I would have to hire a professional researcher for a fee. These papers might contain additional background information about Thomas Casborn, but they might not. I’m hoping to visit the archives myself in a couple years, so I decided to forego the professional researcher.

Besides, I think the information I received answered my question. Thomas Casborn, the convict, was from the parish of Melbourn. The parishes of Melbourn and Meldreth are next-door neighbors, and my ancestors lived in both at one time or another. As I mentioned already, “my” Thomas was married at Melbourn. There are no records of other men named Thomas with this surname living in or near Melbourn at the time.

Have I proved that “my” Thomas was the man convicted of larceny in 1822? I think the evidence is pretty strong. What do you think?

It might sound like I’m celebrating the fact that I’m related to a thief. Although it does add a bit more color to the family history, I think what I’m really celebrating is that I’ve been able to link my ancestor to these records, and because of that I now have a more complete picture of his life.

What was life like for Thomas on the hulk? Some generalities can be made. Prisoners were required to do hard labor at the dockyards or river banks.[16]

This work was backbreaking, exhausting and very public; convict chain gangs provided a moral spectacle and example for all who saw them. The rations … were inadequate, in that they did not provide the convicts with the energy or nutrition required to perform such arduous work. This was done on purpose – the parliamentary act authorizing the use of hulks stipulated that convicts were to be fed little other than bread, “any coarse or inferior food”, water and small beer.[17]

Discipline was said to be severe and convicts were frequently locked in irons. Mortality rates were high, although this does not seem to be the case on the Leviathan.[18] Of the 444 prisoners brought onto the Leviathan in 1822, only eight died while in captivity.[19]

These would be considered extreme and inhumane conditions by today’s standards. In Thomas’ time, harsh punishments were the norm, although criticism of the hulk system did occur.[20]

hulk diagram
© The British Library Board. (Click on image to enlarge)

I have another set of records from the Leviathan, known as Quarterly Returns. These list the prisoners on board at any given time, and they include entries about prisoners’ “Bodily State” and “Behavior.” Most of Thomas’ entries list his bodily state as “good” and behavior as “very good.” However, in 1827 his behavior was listed as “indifferent.”[21] After five years imprisonment, this would not be surprising. In 1828 and 1829, his behavior was once again “very good.” Perhaps by then he was seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

How does this change how I think of and feel about my third great grandfather? I don’t know if I have an answer. I never knew him, so everything I know about him is based on limited information. Now I know that he committed a criminal act, when he was old enough to know better, and was punished accordingly. Did he “learn his lesson” after serving his sentence? It would seem so. He married Emma Scruby one year after his release from the Leviathan. After another sixteen years he was somehow able to come to the United States, where his family was able to prosper in ways that would have been impossible in his mother country. There is nothing to suggest he was anything but a model citizen after coming to America. The balance sheet seems to be in his favor.

Nothing of this has been passed down in our family history that I know of. Who knew about it? His wife Emma would have surely known. The children, who ranged in age from thirteen to two years old when they emigrated, might have had an inkling. If they did know, it seems that they kept it to themselves.

His conviction and imprisonment on the Leviathan must have influenced his decision to emigrate. By coming to America he was able to put the past behind him and start over with a clean slate.

[1] “England & Wales, Crime, Prisons & Punishment, 1770-1935,” database with images, Findmypast (subscription site) (https://search.findmypast.com/record?id=TNA/CCC/HO27/023/00041&parentid=TNA/CCC/HO27/00950248 : accessed 26 September 2018), entry for Thomas Casborn, October Sessions, 1822, Cambridge; citing The National Archives, HO 27, piece 23.
[2] “England Quarter Session Records,” FamilySearch Wiki (https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/England_Quarter_Session_Records : accessed 10 October 2018), rev. 26 Dec 15, 02:53.
[3] “Cambridgeshrire Quarter Sessions, October 18 and 19, 1822,” Cambridge Chronicle and Journal, and Huntingdonshire Gazette, 25 Oct 1822, p. 3, col. 4; online image, The British Newspaper Archive (https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0000420/18221025/008/0003 : accessed 26 September 2018).
[4] “British harvest: how long does the season last, when is harvest day, plus history and traditions,”Countryfile Magazine (https://www.countryfile.com/how-to/food-recipes/british-harvest-how-long-does-the-season-last-when-is-harvest-day-plus-history-and-traditions/ : accessed 11 October 2018), 9 Aug 2018.
[5] “haulm,” Merriam-Webster (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/haulm : accessed 11 October 2018).
[6] “England Marriages, 1538–1973 ,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N63P-B9H : accessed 4 November 2015), Isaac Casbill and Susannah Howes, 15 Oct 1800; citing; FHL microfilm 1,040,367.
[7] “HO 9. Convict hulks moored at Portsmouth: Portland, Captivity, Leviathan: Register of prisoners,” p. 213 (stamped); PDF download, The National Archives (http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4286832 : accessed 10 October 2018). (file HO-9-8_1.pdf).
[8] “List of British prison hulks,” Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_British_prison_hulks : accessed 10 October 2018), rev. 31 Aug 18, 08:44.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Ibid.
[12] “HO 9. Convict hulks moored at Portsmouth: Portland, Captivity, Leviathan: Register of prisoners,” p. 145 (stamped).
[13] Ibid, pp. 154, 163 (stamped).
[14] “England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NVPC-NNY : accessed 10 October 2018), Thomas Casburn; citing FHL microfilm 887,403.
[15] Alan Akeroyd (cambs.archives@cambridgeshire.gov.uk), to Jon Casbon, email, 4 Oct 2018, “Cambs quarter sessions, October 1822”; privately held by Casbon [(e-address for private use)].
[16] “Convict Hulks,” digital panopticon (https://www.digitalpanopticon.org/Convict_Hulks : accessed 11 October 2018).
[17] Ibid.
[18] Ibid.
[19] Jon Casbon, review of Leviathan prisoner register, cited above.
[20] “Convict Hulks,” digital panopticon, previously cited.
[21] “England & Wales, Crime, Prisons & Punishment, 1770-1935,” database & images, findmypast (https://search.findmypast.com/record?id=TNA/CCC/HO8/011/00204 : accessed 26 September 2018), quarterly returns from Hulk Leviathan, Mar 1827, p. 192 (stamped), no. 6072, Thomas Casborn; citing The National Archives, HO 8, piece 11.

The Family Bible of Charles and Mary Casbon

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My pursuit of family history began in the mid-1990s as a collaborative effort with my father. He had received an offer in the mail to purchase The World Book of Casbons, published by Halbert’s Family Heritage.  We didn’t know it at the time, but this company was named as a purveyor of “scam” genealogy books, and had several cease-and-desist orders placed against it by the U.S. Postal Service.[1]

Regardless, he ordered the book, and I think was quite pleased with what he received. It contained several chapters containing generic information: “The Great Migrations of Man: Early Origins, Settlement and Development,” “The Origin and Meaning of Names,” “How Early Coats of Arms Were Granted,” and “How to Discover Your Ancestors.” One chapter was titled “Early Casbon Immigrants to North America.” This indicated (correctly) that Thomas Casbon had arrived in America in 1846 and (incorrectly) that he had arrived in Ohio in 1854. This was the only family-specific genealogical information found in the book.

The final chapter was titled “The Casbon International Registry.” This chapter explained that, “using a highly sophisticated network of computer sources in Europe, North America, and Australasia, over 220 million names and address records have been searched to locate Casbon family members.” The registry identified 65 households in the United States, 41 in Great Britain, and 1 in Germany (that was me – I was stationed there at the time!), and included names and mailing addresses. You may recall, that in those relatively early days of home computers, you could purchase CDs containing millions of phone and address listings for various countries. I suspect that was the “sophisticated network” used by the publisher to come up with the list.

WBC cover title page
The cover and title page of The World Book of Casbons. (Click on image to enlarge)

Scam or no, I have to say that my father got his money’s worth out of that book. He took those mailing addresses to heart and started writing dozens of letters to other Casbons. Many sent replies and shared information about their families. I suspect that at least of few readers of Our Casbon Journey were recipients of those letters (feel free to leave a comment if you did!). He was able to meet a number of these people, including quite a few in England. He somehow learned about the Casbens of Australia and contacted them as well.

In the course of all of this, he learned that others had been researching the Casbon family origins and were willing to share their research.

My role in all of this was pretty minor at the time. I bought some genealogy software and started to input names and connections. I would print out reports and my dad would send them out with his letters. He would get replies with corrections and additions. Eventually I started doing more of the research on my own and later took over the enterprise.

I thought my father had given me all of his old genealogy papers several years ago, but a couple of months ago he sorted through some boxes and presented me with another box containing various reports, notes, photocopies and photographs. These included much of his original correspondence along with The World Book of Casbons pictured above.

There was a thick pile of photocopies that looked like they had all come from the same person. After some investigation I discovered that the source was Ilaine Church, who had done quite a bit of local research in Valparaiso, Indiana. Ilaine, with whom I occasionally correspond, is married to a descendant of Hiram and Lodema (Casbon) Church. She went with my dad to the local copy center in Valparaiso, where he copied a great quantity of her genealogy research findings.

Which finally brings me to the topic of today’s post. Among the materials from Ilaine were several photocopied pages from a family Bible.

Clipboard02 Clipboard03
Title and first family history pages from the family Bible of Charles and Mary Casbon.
(Click on images to enlarge)

This was the family Bible of Charles Thomas (1840­–1915) and Mary Elizabeth (Marrell, 1844–1928) Casbon. Charles was the second son of Thomas (1803–1888) and Emma (Scruby, 1811–1870) Casbon, and is my third great uncle.

The title page tells us that this Bible was published in Philadelphia by the A.J. Holman company in 1882. A.J. Holman was a well-known Bible publisher. His firm was established in 1872.[2] Holman Bibles were quite popular in the 1880s and 90s, and usually sold door-to-door.[3]

holman
The exhibit of the A. J. Holman publishing company at the 1876 United States
Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia.[4]

Family Bibles are wonderful heirlooms, and can be a treasure trove of family history information. “Prior to easily retrievable birth certificates, marriage licenses, death certificates, and digitized record keeping in general, the family Bible held the ultimate narrative of ancestral history.”[5]  Official records of births and deaths were not required in Indiana until 1900 or later, so the records in this Bible are a valuable substitute for vital records.

The family history section of the Bible begins with the marriage of Charles and Mary:

This Certifies
That the Rite of
Holy Matrimony
Was Celebrated Between
Charles T. Casbon of Valparaiso Indiana
and Mary E Marrell of Lakevill Ohio
on December 30th 1868 at L. Marrell’s
by Rev. Winbigler of Ashland Ohio
Witness: J. Crotz/E. Joyce

Subsequent pages are for births, marriages, and deaths.

Clipboard04 Clipboard05 Clipboard06
Pages from the family Bible for Births, Marriages, and Deaths. (Click on images to enlarge)

     Births

Charles Thomas Casbon
Was born at
Meldreth Near Royston
Cambridgeshire
England on the 6th
day of November 1840.

Mary Elizabeth (Marrell) Casbon
Was born in Wayne
County Ohio on the
10th day of December 1844

Lillie May Casbon
was born in Porter
County Indiana on the
17th of June 1870

Lodema Evaline Casbon
was born in Porter
County Indiana
on the 24th day of
October 1871

Sina Jane Casbon
was born in Porter
County Indiana
on the 27th day of
March 1873

Lawrence John Casbon
was born in Porter
County Indiana
on the 26th day of
August 1875

     Marriages

Mr Hiram Church
And
Miss Lodema E. Casbon
Were united in holy
Matrimony. Elder Utz
did the ministrial tying
on February 26th 1890

Lawrence J. Casbon
And
Lyda May Pouter
was married. January
23rd 1899 at Adrian
Michigan by Rev.
C. L. Adams

Mr Alfred Urbahns
And
Miss Sina J. Casbon
was married Oct 15th 1915
at Muskegan Michigan
by Elick Scott

     Deaths

Daughter
Lillie May Casbon
Departed this life
September 10th 1871
one year 2 months old

Father
Charles T. Casbon
Departed this life
on the 26th of October
1915 at 9 o.clock in the
Morning. Aged
74 year and 11 days

Son
Lawrence J. Casbon
Died peacefully in his
home 309 W 42 street in
Los Angeles California
on Tuesday morning
October 9th 1923. Age 48
years one month and
12 days

Mother
Mary Elizabeth (Merrell)
Casbon departed this
life Febuary [sic] 26, 1928
83 years 2 months &
6 days

Alfred Urbahns Departed
this life January 3 1930.
age 56 years. Brother in Law

To my eye, it appears that all of the family events that occurred prior to the purchase of the Bible were written by the same hand, probably in one sitting. These include the marriage of Charles and Mary, all the births, and the death of infant daughter Lillie May Casbon in 1871. The handwriting is elegant and neat, reflecting the importance of the events that were recorded. All the marriages, as well as the deaths of Charles and Lawrence are written in a nearly identical hand as the earlier entries.

I’m almost certain that all of these entries were made by Mary. What feelings did she have as she entered the deaths of her infant daughter, husband, and son into the Bible. Was she in the depths of despair, or did the Bible bring her comfort and solace? Or both?

The handwriting changes with the last two entries – the deaths of Mary and Alfred Urbahns. These must have been written by Mary’s daughter, Lodema – note the reference to Alfred Urbahns as brother in law. She must have ended up with the Bible after her parents’ deaths. Also note that Lodema’s death in 1938 was not recorded. You can see on the title page that it was in the possession of Bud (Merritt) Church, one of Lodema’s grandsons, as of 1994.

It’s too bad no one continued the tradition of recording important dates after Lodema was gone. Sadly, family Bibles have fallen out of favor as a means of transmitting and preserving significant family events.

I can’t say that I gleaned new information about the people listed in these pages, but this Bible is still a valuable genealogical source, and it validates the information I have gathered from other sources. I’m glad it has stayed in the family. Thanks to Ilaine, who allowed my dad to copy these pages so many years ago!

[1] “Beware of this scam!,” Goldstraw & Goostrey Geneaology (http://goldstraw.org.uk/scam.html : accessed 1 October 2018).
[2] “A.J. Holman Dead,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, 15 Oct 1891, p. 5, col. 3; online image, Newspaper Archive (accessed through participating libraries: 1 October 2018).
[3] “Salesman Bible Samplers – How the Antique Family Bibles were sold ‘door-to-door’,” AntiqueBible.com (http://www.antiquebible.com/salesman-sampler-Bibles.html : accessed 1 October 2018).
[4] Centennial Photographic Co., A.J. Holman & Co.’s exhibit–Main Building [Albumen print]; online image, Free Library of Philadelphia (https://libwww.freelibrary.org/digital/item/1620 : accessed 2 October 2018).
[5] Dave Tabler, “The Family Bible,” Appalachian History: Stories, quotes and anecdotes (http://www.appalachianhistory.net/2016/02/family-Bible.html : accessed 2 October 2018).

Leslie Casbon, Valparaiso High School Class of 1914

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Getting distracted by “bright shiny objects” or BSOs is generally considered a bad habit in genealogy research. Such distractions can interrupt an organized plan of research, wasting valuable time and resulting in a disorganized mess of unrelated facts. While I generally agree with this view, I think a case can be made that pursuing BSOs can occasionally lead to serendipitous (there’s that word again!) discoveries and open up new lines of inquiry.

At least that’s my justification for today’s post. While looking through my archives for an unrelated item, I came upon my paternal grandfather’s high school yearbook, the Valparaiso (Indiana) High School Annual of 1914, the year he graduated.

Valpo HS 1914 yearbook cover
Grandpa’s yearbook. (Click on image to enlarge)

Browsing through his yearbook gave me a glimpse of life in Valparaiso at the time and a few tantalizing hints into my grandfather’s life as he was emerging into adulthood.

I haven’t really written about my grandfather or his generation, so I’ll briefly put him into context. Leslie Christy Casbon was born December 24, 1894 in Porter County, Indiana.[1] He was the eldest son of Lawrence (1865–1950) and Kate (Marquardt, 1868–1959) Casbon. Lawrence was the eldest son of Sylvester V (1837–1927) and Mary Adaline (Aylesworth, 1842–1868) Casbon; and Sylvester was the eldest son of Thomas (1803–1888) and Emma (Scruby, 1811–1870) Casbon, who emigrated from England first to Ohio in 1846, and then to Indiana in the 1860s. Thus, Leslie was in the fourth generation of Casbons living in Indiana.

Here is his class photograph and entry in the 1914 yearbook.[2]

Casbon Les 1914 yearbook entry
(Click on image to enlarge)

Of the 30 graduating seniors, his written entry was among the shortest (the shortest was for a girl: “She had her troubles but she kept them to herself and was a ray of sunshine to all”). From this description I’m led to believe that he wasn’t the most outgoing member of the class, but neither was he considered an outsider, and he seems to have been appreciated by his classmates.

The yearbook has a section called “Class Will,” in which members of the class make humorous bequests to underclassman. Here is the section containing Grandpa Les’ bequest.[3]

Class will

I had to puzzle out what this meant. I finally figured out that he’s saying he is able to walk down the stairs without engaging in conversation with Gail, and he’s bequeathing that ability to Howard. Does this mean that everyone else does talk to Gail Fehrman? Or is he making a jab at Howard, who perhaps can’t resist talking to Gail? I couldn’t find out anything more about Gail other than she had notable dimples. Howard seems to have been a class cutup. At any rate, it reinforces my thought that young Les took pride in his self-control.

The only other mention of Les in the yearbook is in a section titled “Calendar,” in which daily events throughout the school year are described.[4]

March calendar

Overall, Grandpa Les comes across as good-natured and generous, at least with his father’s horses and maybe a wagon too. It seems like there was a good sense of camaraderie among his classmates – a good thing with only 30 students in the class.

Unlike modern school yearbooks, this one seems to have been produced solely by the graduating class, with only a few contributions from underclassmen. The lower classes each have a page or two and a group photo, but class members are not listed by name. Many of the graduating seniors wrote sections of the yearbook. Les’ contribution was a description of the Manual Training Department. His concluding paragraph reads:

The Manual Training Department is a very important part of a school and should be installed in all high schools, for it not only affords a change in work during the day for the regular day pupil, but it gives him a training with tools. Since most men work with some kind of tools, it is a great advantage for a pupil to get his training while young.

The high school he attended was built in about 1904, so it was still a fairly new structure when Les attended.[5]

ValparaisoIndiana-CentralSchoolBuilding01-Interurban-1914-SSValparaisoIndiana-CentralSchoolBuilding-1913-SS
Postcards showing the Valparaiso High School (also known as Central School) in 1913. The building was located at 305 Franklin Street. This building burned down in 1938, but a new school was built, on the same foundation (as seen on Google Street View), and now houses the Central Elementary School.[6] I like the street car going down Franklin Street. (Click on images to enlarge)

As I was leafing through the yearbook I had another surprise. From out of the pages slipped a program for the commencement ceremony, held on May 19, 1914, in the Opera House.

Casbon Les 1914 HS graduation program
Cover and insert for 1914 Valparaiso High School commencement ceremony. Private collection of Jon Casbon. (Click on image to enlarge)

From this program, we learn that students could be enrolled in either a “Latin” or a “Scientific” course of study. Grandpa Les was enrolled in the latter. Although not described in detail in the yearbook, the Latin course, as the name implies, included in-depth study of the Latin language, grammar and literature throughout all four years of high school. The Scientific Course included a variety of science topics and allowed for Agriculture to be substituted for these classes in the second term of each year. The description also includes this interesting statement:

The boys in the scientific course are no longer compelled to take Manual Training and the girls are not compelled to take Domestic Art or Domestic Science, but any student, even in the Latin course, wishing to take this work may do so.… The girls are interested in Manual Training and the boy as well as the girls are learning how to cook.”[7]

What progressive thinking for the times!

As I mentioned, there were 30 students in the graduating class. The yearbook also listed 46 “ex-members of the class of 1914.” Compulsory education was only required up to age fourteen in Indiana at that time.[8] My grandfather was among the roughly 40 percent of his original classmates who completed their high school education.

It’s pretty impressive to me that he (and his two younger brothers, by the way) completed high school. He might have been the first Casbon to do so. The family was living on their farm in Morgan Township, about four miles from the school by road. How did he get there every day? How did he manage schoolwork in addition to the farm chores? I imagine most of his classmates were “city kids” who didn’t need to travel as far and could participate in extracurricular activities more easily.

For those interested, a nearly complete set of the Valparaiso High School yearbooks (known as The Valenian since 1917) from 1904–2012 has been digitized and is available for viewing on the Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/valparaisohighschoolyearbooks&tab=collection.

[1] Indiana, delayed birth certificate no. 113-94-504260 (1954), Leslie Christy Casbon; Indiana State Board of Health, Division of Vital Records, Indianapolis.
[2] Valparaiso (Indiana) High School, Class of 1914, Annual (Privately printed, 1914), unnumbered p. 11 (beginning with title page).
[3] Valparaiso High School, Class of 1914, Annual, unnumbered p. 34.
[4] Valparaiso High School, Class of 1914, Annual, unnumbered p. 58.
[5] Steven Shook, “Historical Images of Porter County: High School Building Valparaiso, Indiana,” Porter County, Indiana (http://www.inportercounty.org/PhotoPages/Valparaiso/Schools/Valparaiso-Schools003.html : accessed 23 January 2018).
[6] Shook, “Historical Images of Porter County: High School Building Valparaiso, Indiana.”
[7] Valparaiso High School, Class of 1914, Annual, unnumbered p. 19.
[8] Frank A Horner, compiler, The Revised Statutes of the State of Indiana: Embracing All General Laws in Force October 1, 1901, with Digested Notes of Judicial Decisions Construing Or Illustrating Their Provisions, Vol. 1 (Rochester, N.Y.: The Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Company, 1901), chapter 52, “Education,” section 4541a; online image, Google Books (https://books.google.com/books?id=aUkwAQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false : accessed 23 January 2018).

Children of Thomas Casbon (1803–1888): Emma

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Emma Elizabeth Casbon was the last child born to Thomas and Emma (Scruby) Casbon, and the only one born in the United States. Her life is poorly documented. Reporting of births was not required in Ohio until the 1850s, so there is no official record of her birth. The birth date carved into her grave stone is May 22, 1847.[1] This would have been about one year after her family arrived in Ohio from England. She was named after her mother Emma and her maternal grandmother, Elizabeth (Robinson) Scruby. Her name is duly recorded on the 1850 and 1860 census reports with the other family members, but no information is given other than her age and sex.[2],[3]

The next record I have is a copy of the marriage certificate of Emma with Robert Newell Rigg, in Porter County, Indiana, on April 15, 1869, when Emma was just shy of 22 years old.[4]

Rigg RN Emma Casbon marriage Valpo 1869
Marriage registration of Robert Rigg and Emma Casbon, 15 April, 1869, Porter County, Indiana.
(Click on image to enlarge).

As I’ve noted previously, Thomas Casbon moved with his family from Ohio to Indiana about 1865. His farm was only about 1½ miles south of that of William Byron Rigg in Porter Township. Mr. Rigg came to Porter County from Pennsylvania in 1861.[5] His son, Robert Newell (after his paternal grandmother), born in 1845, didn’t have far to look for his bride.[6]

Initially Emma and Robert continued to live in Porter Township, where Robert worked on a farm, presumably that of his father.[7]

The young couple remained childless after five years of marriage. This changed dramatically after an unfortunate event. In August 1874, a son was born to Emma’s brother Sylvester and his wife Harriet (Perry).[8] He was given the name George Washington Casbon. In November of the same year, Harriet died, leaving Sylvester a widower with five children at home, ranging from the infant George to 13-year old Cora.[9] Possibly to alleviate Sylvester’s burden (and grief), or to offset their own state of childlessness, Emma and Robert agreed to take responsibility for George’s upbringing.

In 1876 Robert, Emma, and George moved to Iowa. I don’t know why they moved, but as one of five sons, there might not have been enough affordable land to go around in Indiana, while Iowa still had abundant land for settlement (this is only speculation on my part). The 1880 census shows Robert, Emma, and “Georgio” living in Geneseo Township, Tama County.[10] George is listed as “son,” and the enumerator has mistakenly listed his parents’ birthplaces as Pennsylvania and Ohio (George’s father, Sylvester, was born in England; mother, Harriet, was born in Canada).

Rigg 1880 census Iowa
Detail from 1880 census, Geneseo Township, Tama County, Iowa. (Click on image to enlarge)

It is unclear whether George was truly adopted, or simply raised in loco parentis by Robert and Emma. There are some indications that his home life was not a happy one. Since Emma is the subject of this post, and not George, I won’t dwell on his situation at this time. He will be the subject of a future post.

Meanwhile, although I have no documentation, living descendants of George have told me that Robert and Emma’s marriage was troubled. They reportedly filed for divorce in 1904.[11] Whether the divorce was granted is unknown to me. It is noteworthy that in the 1905 Iowa State Census, Robert is listed as married but was apparently living by himself; I haven’t been able to locate Emma, and George was now grown and living on his own.[12]

detail from 1901 reunion
This is the only photo I have of Emma, taken at a family reunion in 1901 when she
was 54 years old. She is hidden in shadow behind her brother Jesse (a metaphor?).

The 1910 Census does nothing to clarify their marital status. They were not together when the census was enumerated. Robert was in Iowa, and Emma was in Indiana, a house guest of her brother Jesse. [13],[14] Robert was listed as married, while Emma was listed as widowed. Emma’s status could simply be an incorrect assumption by the enumerator, or an evasion on her part.

Detail from Emma 1910 census
Detail from 1910 Census, Center Township, Porter County, Indiana. Emma’s marital status is listed as
“Wd,” for widowed (compare to Jesse’s daughter Anna, who was divorced). (Click in image to enlarge)

Emma’s death occurred in Valparaiso, Indiana on July 29, 1910, just a few months after the census was taken. Her obituary gives little new information, and makes no mention of a divorce from Robert.[15]

Rigg Emma Casbon obit 1910
Obituary from the Waterloo (Iowa) Evening Courier,
August 5, 1910. (Click on image to enlarge)

Given her “widowed” status on the census and the fact that she had been staying with her brothers in Indiana for several months preceding her death, it seems likely that she was estranged from her husband. I’ve gotten the impression from living descendants that they might have even lived in separate homes in Iowa.

Robert lived another 14 years after Emma’s death and never remarried. He died July 17, 1924 in La Porte City, Iowa, not far from the farm he moved to in 1876.[16] His obituary described his as “one of the most substantial farmers and stock raisers of this section.”[17] It also makes no mention of a marital schism with Emma.

Rigg RN obit 17Jul1924 La Porte City IA
Obituary from the (La Porte City) Progress Review, July 17, 1924.
(Click on image to enlarge – image is poor quality)

Given the ambiguous state of their marriage, I find it interesting that, in the end, they were buried side by side in Iowa.

Rigg Stone
The Rigg memorial stone, Westview Cemetery, La Porte, Black Hawk County, Iowa.
(photo courtesy of Claudia Vokoun)

What I find most interesting, and sad, however, is that neither of the obituaries mentions their foster-son, George. I’m afraid the silence says a lot about their relationship. Whatever the case, it is thanks to Robert and Emma that the Casbon name was brought to Iowa, where there are now a considerable number of George’s descendants.

[1] 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.
[2] 1850 U.S. Census, Wayne County, Ohio, population schedule, Clinton township, p. 2 (written), dwelling 8, family 8, Emma (age 3) in household of 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.
[3] 1860 U.S. Census, Holmes County, Ohio, population schedule, Washington Township, p. 223 (written), dwelling 1534, household 1556, Ema (age 13) in household of Thomas Casbon; image, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9BSH-967D?cc=1473181 : accessed 12 August 2016); citing NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 989.
[4] “Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007,” Porter, Indiana, database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GTM4-GTV?i=272&cc=1410397 : accessed 20 July 2016), entry for R.N. Rigg & Emma E. Casbon, 15 Apr 1869; citing Marriage Record 3, 1863–1871, p. 455 (stamped), Porter County Clerk’s office, Indiana.
[5] “John Wallace Rigg,” History of Porter County, Indiana : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests (Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company, 1912), 2: 425; online image, Hathi Trust Digital Library (https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89067919191;view=1up;seq=79 : accessed 29 June 2017).
[6] History of Tama County, Iowa, Together with Sketches of their Towns, Villages and Townships, Educational,Ccivil, Military and Political History … and Biographies of Representative Citizens (Springfield, Illinois: Union Publishing Company, 1883), p. 739; online image, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/stream/historyoftamacou00unio#page/738/mode/2u : accessed 29 Jun 2017).
[7] 1870 U.S. Census, Porter County, Indiana, population schedule, Porter Township, p. 109 (stamped), dwelling 187, family 185, Noah Rigg; image, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-D5GG-K7?cc=1438024 : accessed 6 January 2017); citing NARA microfilm publication M593, roll 351.
[8] “World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards”; database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KZ2K-WY9 : accessed 22 December 2016), George Washington Casbon, b. 16 Aug 1874; citing Tama County, Iowa, United States, NARA microfilm publication M1509.
[9] Weston A. Goodspeed and Charles Blanchard, Counties of Porter and Lake, Indiana: Historical and Biographical: Illustrated (Chicago: F.A. Battey & Co., 1882), p. 706: online image, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/stream/countiesofporter00good#page/706/mode/2up : accessed 22 Aug 2016).
[10] United States Census, 1880, Tama County, Iowa, population schedule, Geneseo Township, p. 461 (stamped), enumeration district (E.D.) 322, dwelling 120, family 126, Riggs Robert N (age 34); database and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYB6-W74?cc=1417683&wc=QZ2W-NNS%3A1589394762%2C1589403638%2C1589401903%2C1589403041 : accessed 24 December 2015); citing NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 365.
[11] Casbon family tradition about Robert and Emma Rigg, privately held by Jon Casbon [address for private use], as reported by Claudia Vokoun, a granddaughter of George W. Casbon.
[12] Iowa State Census, 1905, Geneseo, Tama, card no. 268, R. N. Rigg; imaged in “Iowa, State Census Collection, 1836-1925” Ancestry Library Edition (accessed through participating libraries: accessed 29 June 2017); citing State Historical Society of Iowa.
[13] United States Census, 1910, Tama, Iowa, population schedule, Geneseo Township, E.D. 175, sheet 2-B, dwelling 34, family 34, Riggs, Robert N., in household of Rodman, W. Ray; database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRN2-6QR?i=3&cc=1727033 : accessed 30 June 2017); citing NARA microfilm publication T624, roll 424.
[14] United States Census, 1910, Porter, Indiana, population schedule, Center Township, La Porte Road, p. 26 (stamped), E.D. 137, sheet 10-A, dwelling 155, family 158, Emma Riggs in household of Jesse Casbon (indexed as “Larbon”); database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRJJ-CL9?i=18&cc=1727033 : accessed 30 October 16); citing NARA microfilm publication T624, roll 374.
[15] “La Porte City Resident Dies,” Waterloo (Iowa) Evening Courier, p. 5, col. 5; online images, Newspaper Archive (accessed through participating libraries : accessed 29 June 2017).
[16] “R. N. Rigg Died this Morning: Well Known Citizen Passed Away at Home of Mr. And Mrs. E. E. Gates, West of this City,” (La Porte City, Iowa) Progress Review, 17 Jul 1924, p. 1, col. 4; online image, Newspaper Archive (accessed through participating libraries: accessed 29 June 2017).
[17] “R. N. Rigg Died this Morning.”