Tag: Joseph

Shoreditch—a Tale of Woe

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Today’s post starts with a record I recently found on Ancestry. The record comes from a register of admissions and discharges from the Shoreditch workhouse in London.[1]

William Casbon London Workhouse register 1827
Detail from an alphabetical register of admissions and discharges, Shoreditch workhouse, 1827, showing entries for William and Sophia Casbon, admitted on 13 March and again on 11 April. (Click on image to enlarge)

The record shows that William Casbon, age 43, and Sophia Casbon, age 27, were admitted to the workhouse 13 March 1827 and discharged 9 April “with 3/ [shillings?].” They were admitted again from 11 to 30 April 1827, and this time discharged “with 25/ to redeem his Furniture [or Furnishing?].” They were admitted to wards 8 and 10, presumably men’s and women’s wards, respectively.

Who were William and Sophia Casbon and why were they in the Shoreditch workhouse? A marriage record from 1822 shows that William Casbon, a bachelor, married Sophia Phillips, a spinster, in the Parish of St. Matthew, Bethnal Green, London, on 1 December 1822.[2] Bethnal Green is a short distance east of Shoreditch. I know this is the correct couple because of another record presented later in this post.

Wm and Sophia marriage 1822
Detail from Register of Marriages, St. Matthew, Bethnal Green, 1822.
Note that William and Sophia each signed with their marks.

Based on the ages written in the workhouse register, William would have been born in about 1784 and Sophia in about 1800. I have an extensive database of baptismal records for Casbon and related surnames throughout England. Baptisms were recorded for William Caseburn in 1780 (Downham, Norfolk), William Casebourn in 1788 (Soham, Cambridgeshire), and William Casbolt in 1789 (Linton, Cambridgeshire), but there is nothing to connect them to William of Shoreditch. The marriage of John Casbon to Elizabeth Toon was recorded at St. Leonard’s Shoreditch in 1783, so it’s possible they were either William’s parents or related to him in some way.[3] There is no evidence that William comes from the Meldreth or Peterborough Casbon lines.

Sophia Phillips was a common name and there are many corresponding baptismal records. Without knowing the names of her parents, it is impossible to tell where or when she was born.

Shoreditch is an ancient suburb of London and is now part of inner London. By the early to mid 1800s, it was mainly a lower and working class area.

london 1827 detail
Detail of an 1827 map of London; approximate location of Shoreditch is circled; arrow points to St. Leonard’s Church; John & Christopher Greenwood, “Map of London, From an actual Survey made in the Years 1824, 1825 & 1826” (London: Greenwood, Pringle & Co., 1827); digital image, David Rumsey Historical Map Collection (https://davidrumsey.com : accessed 13 Mar 2020); Creative Commons License. (Click on image to enlarge)

Workhouses were institutions designed to support the poor with food, lodging and medical care. While charitable in nature, conditions in the workhouses were often so bad that only the truly desperate would seek admission. “Men, women, children, the infirm, and the able-bodied were housed separately and given very basic and monotonous food such as watery porridge called gruel, or bread and cheese. All inmates had to wear the rough workhouse uniform and sleep in communal dormitories.”[4] Thus, we can infer that William and Sophia were admitted to the workhouse because of difficult circumstances. They would have desired to get out as soon as their situation allowed.

The couple had at least three children. A daughter, Elizabeth, was baptized at the City of London Lying-in Hospital, St. Luke’s Parish, on 26 August 1829.[5] Elizabeth’s burial at St. Leonard Church, Shoreditch, was recorded on 29 July 1831.[6] A son named Joseph or John (both names are used in different records) was born in about December 1832 and died at Shoreditch workhouse one year later.[7] Finally, another son, James, was born at the Shoreditch workhouse on 30 May 1834.[8]

Seven weeks after James was born, Sophia was interviewed at the Shoreditch workhouse and revealed some startling news.[9]

Sophia Casben poor law removal record 21Jul1834
Statement of Sophia Casbon, Shoreditch Poor Law Union, 21 Jul 1834. (Click on image to enlarge)

                 July 21
Sophia Casben – No 5 New Court Webb Sqr
Saith that she is 33 years of age is the wife
of Wm Casben to whom she was married in
Bethnal Green Church on 1st Decr – 1821 and
by him hath one child named James aged
7 weeks –
She has been informed that when she was
married to him he had a wife then living.
So she was informed by a Mrs Thompson who
then lived in No [blank] Brick Lane above[?] a
silk winder –
That she hath not seen him for above
4 months – that she doth not know where
he resides or is to be found –

So, we learn the terrible news that Sophia has been abandoned by her husband and that he married her when he was already married to another woman.

There is a marriage record of William Casbourn to Margaret Black at St. James Church, Westminster in May 1817[10] and records of children born to this marriage, but there is insufficient evidence to prove that he is the man who later married Sophia. It is not possible to positively identify William through later census or death records. Thus, we lose track of him at Sophia’s last sighting in early 1834.

I’ve drawn up a chronology of this family’s story as far as I’ve been able to trace it.

  • About 1784: William Casbon is born, location unknown
  • About 1800: Sophia Phillips is born, location unknown
  • 1 December 1822: William and Sophia are married, St. Matthew Church, Bethnal Green
  • 13 March 1827: William and Sophia are admitted to Shoreditch workhouse; discharged
    9 April
  • 11 April 1827: William and Sophia are admitted to Shoreditch workhouse; discharged 30 April
  • 26 August 1829: Elizabeth Casbon, daughter of William & Sophia, is baptized, City of London Lying-in Hospital, St. Luke Parish, Westminster
  • 29 Jul 1831: Elizabeth is buried, St. Leonard Church, Shoreditch
  • About December 1832: Joseph/John Casbon is born (based on age given in subsequent records)
  • 26 September 1833: Sophia and Joseph/John Casbon are admitted to Shoreditch workhouse; discharged 5 October[11]
  • 10 October 1833: Sophia and Joseph/John Casbon are admitted to Shoreditch workhouse; Joseph/John dies there 7 December and is buried 17 December at St. Leonard Church, Shoreditch; Sophia is discharged 18 December[12]
  • 6 January 1834: Sophia is admitted, Shoreditch workhouse; discharged 10 January[13]
  • 15 February 1834: Sophia is admitted, Shoreditch workhouse; discharged
    24 February[14]
  • 24 February 1834: Sophia is readmitted, Shoreditch workhouse; discharged
    27 February[15]
  • 30 May 1834: James Casbon is born at Shoreditch workhouse (baptized at St. Leonard Church, Shoreditch, 19 June 1834)[16]
  • 21 July 1834: Sophia reports her husband missing for the previous four months
  • 15 August 1835: Sophia and James are admitted to Shoreditch workhouse; both are transferred to Enfield (poor house for infants) 20 August[17]
  • 18 March 1836: Sophia is admitted to Shoreditch workhouse; she dies there 8 July[18]
  • 11 July 1836: Sophia is buried, St. Leonard Church, Shoreditch[19]
  • 1841 census: James, age 7, is living at Enfield, District Workhouse for Shoreditch Poor Children[20]
  • 24 October 1843: James Casbon (age incorrectly listed as 11)—— is admitted to Shoreditch workhouse; unknown discharge date[21]

We can see that from September 1833 until her death on 8 July 1836, Sophia was admitted to the Shoreditch workhouse on multiple occasions. Although the circumstances are not described, we can assume that she must have been desperately poor, and possibly ill for much of this time. Her young son Joseph died at the workhouse in 1833 and her next son, James, was born there five months later. In August 1835, Sophia and James were transferred to the Shoreditch Infant Poor House located at Enfield, about 10 miles north of London. James probably remained there throughout his early childhood. Sophia was probably in the final stages of an illness (tuberculosis?) when she was admitted to the Shoreditch workhouse for the last time in March 1836 and remained there until her death in July.

James, now an orphan, was still in the Children’s workhouse at Enfield when the 1841 census was taken. The last record we have of him is his admission to the Shoreditch workhouse in October 1843. It is unknown what happened to him after that, but as an orphan in Victorian London, it is unlikely that his story had a happy ending.

James Casborn workhouse admission and death 1843
Detail from an alphabetical register of admissions and discharges, Shoreditch workhouse, 1843, showing admission of James Casborn on 24 October; the meaning of the “X” markings under “Discharged” and “Remarks” is unknown. (Click on image to enlarge).

The story of William and Sophia Casbon and their family is a sad addition to Our Casbon Journey. Their tragic tale would have been fitting for a Charles Dickens novel, minus the happy ending.

[1] “London, England, Workhouse Admission and Discharge Records, 1764–1930,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/60391/ : accessed 10 Mar 2020) >Hackney >Shoreditch >Alphabetical List Workhouse Admissions with Subsequent Discharges, 1823–1831 >image 51 of 190; citing London Metropolitan Archives; reference no. P91/LEN/1336.
[2] St. Matthews, Bethnal Green, Register of Marriages, vol 12 [1818–1823], p. 224, no. 672; imaged as “Parish registers for St. Matthew’s Church, Bethal Green, 1745–1900,” browsable images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/008040614?cat=110313 : accessed 10 Mar 2020); Film DGS 8040614, item 4, image 774 of 838.
[3] Westminster, St. Leonard Parish, Register of Marriages [1883–1785], p. 49, no. 145; imaged as “London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754–1932, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1623/ : accessed 12 March 2020) > Hackney >St Leonard, Shoreditch >1783–1875 >image 25 of 263; London Metropolitan Archives, P91/LEN/A/01/Ms 7498/13.
[4] Peter Higginbotham, “Introduction,” The Workhouse: story of an institution … (http://workhouses.org.uk/intro/ : accessed 13 Mar 2020).
[5] Middlesex, Saint Luke Parish, City of London Lying in Hospital, Register of baptisms, 1829, p. 25, no. 196; imaged as “London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813–1917,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1558/ : accessed 12 March 2020) > Islington >City of London Lying-In Hospital, City Road, Finsbury >1820–1837 >image 161 of 296; London Metropolitan Archives, DL/T/013/017.
[6] Middlesex, St. Leonard Shoreditch, Register of Burials [1829–1832], p. 237, no. 1893; imaged as “London, England, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813–2003,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1559/ : accessed 12 Mar 2020) >Hackney >St Leonard, Shoreditch >1829–1832 >image 121 of 153; London Metropolitan Archives, P91/LEN/A/012/MS07499/019.
[7] “London, England, Workhouse Admission and Discharge Records, 1764–1930,” >Hackney >Shoreditch >Alphabetical List Workhouse Admissions with Subsequent Discharges, 1832–1836 >image 34 of 173; London Metropolitan Archives, P91/LEN/1337.
[8] “London, England, Workhouse Admission and Discharge Records, 1764–1930,” (same as above), image 36 of 173.
[9] Shoreditch, Westminster, England, Poor Law settlement papers, vol. “H” [Dec 1833–May 1838], p. 63, 21 Jul 1834; imaged as “London, England, Selected Poor Law Removal and Settlement Records,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2651/ : accessed 10 March 2020) >Shoreditch >Settlement Papers >1833 Dec–1838 May >image 74 of 309; citing London Metropolitan Archives, London; reference no. P91/LEN/1270.
[10] “England, Select Marriages, 1538–1973,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/9852/ : accessed 12 Mar 2020), William Casbon & Sophia Phillips; citing FHL film no. 1042319.
[11] “London, England, Workhouse Admission and Discharge Records, 1764–1930,” Ancestry, same as above, image 34 of 173.
[12] “London, England, Workhouse Admission and Discharge Records, 1764–1930,” (same as above). Also, Middlesex, St. Leonard Shoreditch, Record of Burials [1832–1833], p. 241, no. 1921 (buried as “John Casburn); imaged as “London, England, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813–2003,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1559/ : accessed 12 Mar 2020) >Hackney >St Leonard, Shoreditch >1831–1833 >image 59 of 61; citing London Metropolitan Archives, DL/T/069/049.
[13] “London, England, Workhouse Admission and Discharge Records, 1764–1930,” (same as above) >image 35
of 173.
[14] “London, England, Workhouse Admission and Discharge Records, 1764–1930,” (same as above).
[15] “London, England, Workhouse Admission and Discharge Records, 1764–1930,” (same as above).
[16] “England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975,” database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/9841/ : accessed 12 Mar 2020), entry for James Casben.
[17] “London, England, Workhouse Admission and Discharge Records, 1764–1930,” (same as above), image 38 of 173.
[18] “London, England, Workhouse Admission and Discharge Records, 1764–1930,” (same as above), image 40 of 173.
[19] Middlesex, St. Leonard Shoreditch, Record of Burials [1834–1837], p. 188, no. 1497; Ancestry > Hackney >St Leonard, Shoreditch >1834–1837 >image 95 of 151; citing London Metropolitan Archives, P91/LEN/A/012/MS07499/021.
[20] 1841 England census, Middlesex, Enfield Parish, schedule for public institutions, Workhouse for Shoreditch Poor Children, p.3, line 15 (James Casburn); Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8978/ : accessed 12 Mar 2020) >Middlesex Enfield District Workhouse For Shoreditch Poor Children >image 2 of 3; citing The National Archives, HO 107/653/8.
[21] “London, England, Workhouse Admission and Discharge Records, 1764–1930,” Ancestry >Hackney >Shoreditch >Alphabetical List Workhouse Admissions with Subsequent Discharges, 1837–1845 >image 72 of 387; London Metropolitan Archived, P91/LEN/1338.

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 White Plague

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The arrival of two death certificates from the General Register Office in England has helped to fill gaps in the life stories of two Casbon ancestors and also serves to highlight a topic I’ve touched on before—tuberculosis.

The certificates are for two sisters-in-law, Lydia (Burgess) and Elizabeth (Waller) Casbon. Lydia was married to Joseph Casbon (~1811–1847). She was born about 1812 and died in 1851.[1] Elizabeth was the first wife of Joseph’s brother, James Casbon (~1813–1884). She was born in 1815 and died in 1852.[2]

Here are the death “certificates” (copies of the official death registrations).

Lydia death cert Death registration of Lydia Casbon. (Click on image to enlarge)

Eliz death cert
Death registration of Elizabeth Casbon. (Click on image to enlarge)

Starting with Lydia, we can see that she died 8 June 1851 at Meldreth (Cambridgeshire, England). She was said to be thirty-five years old and the “Relict [widow] of Joseph Casbourn, Labourer.” The cause of death is a most interesting word—Phthisis. Sarah Worland, the informant, was also the informant for the death registration of Lydia’s husband, Joseph, who died in 1847.

Phthisis is an old medical term that generally refers to the wasting away of the body from any cause, but during this period of time referred to pulmonary consumption, i.e., tuberculosis.[3] This diagnosis confirmed my earlier suspicions that Lydia, and probably her children too, had perished from tuberculosis. More recently, I wrote that her husband Joseph also died from a form of the same disease.

Now looking at Elizabeth, she died 16 August 1852 at Melbourn (Cambridgeshire). She was thirty-six years old, the wife of “James Casbon, Labourer.” She died of “Consumption
1 year,” i.e., she also died of tuberculosis.

It’s hard today to imagine the impact that tuberculosis (TB) had in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century England. The disease had been around for millennia, but by the early 1800s had become epidemic.[4] Death rates in London and other major European cities were as high as 800 to 1,000 per 100,000 per year, meaning that up to one percent of the population died from the disease every year.[5] Young adults were hardest hit: in the late nineteenth-century England and Wales, almost half of the deaths in twenty to twenty-four-year-olds were caused by TB.[6]

TB has been referred to as the white plague or white death, perhaps because of the extreme pallor of those afflicted with the disease.[7] Unlike many epidemic diseases, its course was slow and progressive, sometimes taking many years to claim its victims. Charles Dickens described it in Nicholas Nickleby:

There is a dread disease which so prepares its victim, as it were, for death; which so refines it of its grosser aspect, and throws around familiar looks unearthly indications of the coming change; a dread disease, in which the struggle between soul and body is so gradual, quiet, and solemn, and the result so sure, that day by day, and grain by grain, the mortal part wastes and withers away, so that the spirit grows light and sanguine with its lightening load, and, feeling immortality at hand, deems it but a new term of mortal life; a disease in which death and life are so strangely blended, that death takes the glow and hue of life, and life the gaunt and grisly form of death; a disease which medicine never cured, wealth never warded off, or poverty could boast exemption from; which sometimes moves in giant strides, and sometimes at a tardy sluggish pace, but, slow or quick, is ever sure and certain.[8]

Although TB occurred in all social classes, “it was a disease above all spread by overcrowded homes, unhealthy working conditions and poor nutrition; it was in other words … a disease of the poor.”[9] Which brings me back to Lydia and Elizabeth.

We know that Lydia was poor. She was listed as a “pauper” in the 1851 census.[10] By that time she had lost her husband and two of her four daughters.[11] (A third survived her by less than a year.) Her death registration says she suffered from Phthisis for three years. In other words, she had been visibly wasting away for at least three years; but she likely contracted the disease several years before it became apparent. Life must have been difficult even before her husband died, and unbearable afterwards. We don’t know anything about the family’s home or living conditions but can guess that they were far from ideal. Lydia almost certainly received some poor relief from the parish, but not enough to lift her from extreme poverty.

We can also surmise that the family of James and Elizabeth Casbon was poor. James was a laborer his entire life, near the bottom of the social ladder. In the seventeen years of their marriage, Elizabeth had born eight children, the youngest only a year before her death. The ten of them were probably squeezed into only a couple of rooms. In the 1851 census, only the oldest son, William, was earning additional income as a laborer.[12] There were many mouths to feed on meager wages. Elizabeth probably already had symptoms of TB when her daughter, Emma, was born in 1851. (Emma was baptized just three days before Elizabeth’s death – was this done because she was dying?[13]) Young Emma died in November 1853 at the Royston Union Workhouse, located in Bassingbourn (a few miles from Meldreth).[14] The location of her death is another indication of the family’s poverty. Considering the circumstances, it’s amazing that the remainder of James and Elizabeth’s children, as far as I’ve been able to trace them, lived normal lifespans.

I’ll try to end on a more positive note. As sad as these stories are, they are a testament to the fortitude of our ancestors. It may be a bit of a cliché, but comparing their lives with ours today, we can look back on their endurance and survival with both gratitude and awe.

[1] 1851 England census, Cambridgeshire, Melbourn, p. 29, enumeration district 11c, schedule 114, Lydia Casbourn; image, Ancestry (https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=8860 : accessed 22 February 2019), Cambridgeshire >Melbourn >11c >image 30 of 36; citing The National Archives, HO 107/1708/206. England, death registration (unofficial copy) for Lydia Casbourn, died 8 Jun 1851; registered June quarter 1851, Royston & Buntingford District, vol. 6/405, Melbourn Sub-district, no. 410; General Register Office (GRO), Southport.
[2] Parish of Meldreth (Cambridgeshire, England), Register of Baptisms, 1813-67, p. 8, no. 57, , Elizabeth Waller, b. 11 Sep 1815, baptized 15 Oct 1815; imaged as “Parish registers for Meldreth, 1681-1877,” FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/search/film/007567609?cat=210742 : accessed 28 April 2017), image 201; citing Family History Library microfilm 1,040,542, item 5. England, GRO, death registration (unofficial copy) for Elizabeth Casbon, died 16 Aug 1852; registered Sep. qtr 1852, Royston & Buntingford Dist, vol. 3A/134, Melbourn sub-dist., no. 117; GRO, Southport.
[3] Robert Hooper, M.D., Lexicon Medicum; or, Medical Dictionary: Containing an Explanation of the Terms  … on All These Subjects , rev. 8th ed., Klein Grant, M.D., editor (London: Longman, 1838),  p. 1026, “Phthisis”; image copy, Hathi Trust Digital Library (https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.a0000834499 : accessed 6 February 2019).
[4] Thomas M. Daniel, “The history of tuberculosis,” Respiratory Medicine, Nov 2006, vol. 100, no. 11, pp. 1862–70; html edition (https://www.resmedjournal.com/article/S0954-6111(06)00401-X/fulltext : accessed 22 February 2019).
[5] Ibid.
[6] Richard Evans, “The White Plague,” transcript of lecture given at The Museum of London, 27 Nov 12; MS Word transcript, Gresham College (http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/the-white-plague : accessed 22 February 2019).
[7] John Frith, “History of Tuberculosis. Part 1 – Phthisis, consumption and the White Plague,” Journal of Military and Veteran’s Health, 22/2; online archive (https://jmvh.org/article/history-of-tuberculosis-part-1-phthisis-consumption-and-the-white-plague/ : accessed 22 February 2018).
[8] Charles Dickens, Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, reprint of 1st ed. (London: MacMillan & Co., 1916); html edition, Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org/files/967/967-h/967-h.htm : accessed 22 February 2019).
[9] Evans, “The White Plague.”
[10] 1851 England census, Cambridgeshire, Melbourn, p. 29, Lydia Casbourn.
[11] Jon Casbon, “Joseph and Lydia (Burgess) Casbon, Our Casbon Journey, 2 Mar 2017 (https://casbonjourney.wordpress.com/2017/03/02/joseph-and-lydia-burgess-casbon/ : accessed 22 February 2019).
[12] 1851 England census, Cambridgeshire, Meldreth, p. 32, James Casbon.
[13] Meldreth Parish, Baptisms, 1813–1867, p. 75, no. 599, Emma Casbon; accessed as “Parish registers for Meldreth, 1681-1877,” browsable images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/007567609?cat=210742 : accessed 29 August 2017); citing Family History Library microfilm 1,040,542, item 5, image 234.
[14] England, death registration (unofficial copy) for Emma Casbon, died 4 Nov 1853; registered Dec. qtr. 1853, Royston & Buntingford Dist., vol. 3A/107, Melbourn Sub-dist., no. 319.

Joseph Casbon, Death Registration, 1847

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Before getting to today’s topics, I have a couple of brief announcements. First, I’m happy to say that an article I wrote titled, “Thomas Casbon, James Scruby, and the Meldreth-Wayne County, Ohio Connection” has been published on the Meldreth History website. You can read the article here. Much of the information in this article has been presented in earlier blog posts, but the emphasis in the article is different, and there is some new information as well. I hope you will take a look.

Also, a previous article, “‛The Old Cow Got Round It’,” was also selected as the current Editor’s Choice on the Meldreth History site. The article in the website is nearly identical to an earlier blog post.

Finally, the blog will be on vacation for a while, as I will be doing a bit of traveling.

Now to today’s post. Joseph Casbon was the third son of Isaac (~1773–1825) and Susanna (Howes, ~1776–1840) Casbon. I have written previously about Joseph and his wife Lydia (Burgess). At that time, I only had three records or documents that mentioned Joseph by name. The first was a handwritten Casbon family history from about 1890 that mentioned Joseph as the son of Isaac (and gave the incorrect name for his mother) and the brother of Thomas, Williams and James.[1]

Isaac descendants
“Isaac Casbon Married Jayne Miller of Meldreth,
Near Royston Cambridge shire Englan both were raised and born in this place
There were born to them Thomas William Joseph, one dead he left no heirs James”
(Click on image to enlarge)

The other two records were Joseph’s marriage and burial records. There is no record of his birth or baptism, so we could only estimate his birth year as 1810 or 1811 based on the age (36) given when he was buried in 1847.[2] Now we have one more record to add to Joseph’s file: a copy of his civil death registration, which I recently ordered from the England and Wales General Register Office.[3]

death reg 1847
(Click on image to enlarge)

The most important new details in this record are the exact date and location of death, his age, occupation, and cause of death. We can see that he died on March 3, 1847 in Melbourn, Cambridgeshire. Melbourn is the village just east of Meldreth, where Joseph was probably born and raised. His stated age of 35 would give him a birth date sometime between March 4, 1811 and March 3, 1812. Since his burial record listed his age as 36, we need to extend the beginning of this range to 1810. His occupation was “Labourer.” Given his family background, it would have been unlikely to be anything else.

Two conditions are listed under Cause of Death: “Catarrh 4 months” and “Pulmonary Consumption” (the word under this is “Certified,” which probably means a doctor certified his death). Neither of these terms are commonly used today. Catarrh in its simplest sense means “a discharge from a mucus membrane.”[4] In America, the term was generally restricted to inflammation of the membranes of the air passages.[5] In England, catarrh referred more specifically to inflammation of the trachea and bronchi (what we would call bronchitis).[6] An 1856 medical dictionary has this to say of the English version:

It is commonly an affection of but little consequence, but apt to relapse and become chronic. It is characterized by cough, thirst, lassitude, fever, watery eyes, with increased secretion of mucus from the air-passages. … Sometimes, the inflammation of the bronchial tubes is so great as to prove fatal.[7]

Consumption, in the generic sense, meant “progressive emaciation or wasting away,” but the term was most often applied to pulmonary tuberculosis, as in Joseph’s case.[8] In the early 19th century, the cause of tuberculosis was unknown, and many believed it to be hereditary or caused by constitutional weakness.[9] It wasn’t until 1865 that tuberculosis was determined to be infectious, and not until 1882 that the causative bacillus was identified.[10] There were no effective treatments until the twentieth century.

To summarize the cause of death for Joseph, he had pulmonary tuberculosis, a chronic wasting infection. In his final months, he developed catarrh; probably an accelerated phase of his underlying condition, with increased cough and mucus production.

In my earlier post about Joseph and his family, I mentioned that five of the six family members died within a five-year period, and speculated that tuberculosis was the likely cause.[11] This is certainly supported by Joseph’s death record. It’s likely that the infection was spread among the family members, all living in close quarters.

I was curious about the informant for the facts of the death record, a woman named Sarah Worland. She was most likely Sarah Worland, born about 1788 in Meldreth, who lived within one or two houses of Lydia (and Joseph?) Casbon.

I have never been able to find Joseph in the 1841 census, the first census to list names of household members. I have no idea why he doesn’t appear in the census, but clearly he was living in Melbourn when he died in 1847.

[1] Handwritten Casbon family history, ca. 1888–92, photocopy, whereabouts of original unknown, private collection of Jon Casbon.
[2] Parish of Meldreth (Cambridgeshire, England), Register of Burials 1813-75, p. 47, no. 373, Joseph Casbon, 7 Mar 1847; imaged as “Parish registers for Meldreth, 1681-1877,” FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/search/film/007567609?cat=210742 : accessed 28 April 2017), image 466 of 699; citing FHL microfilm 1,040,542, item 10.
[3] Cambridgeshire, England, Royston and Buntingford district, Melbourn sub-district, death registration, 1847, no. 92, Joseph Casbon (indexed as Caston, age 35), 3 Mar, Melbourn; image copy (downloaded as pdf file), General Registration Office, Southport, vol. 6/491.
[4] Robley Dunkinson, Medical Lexicon: a Dictionary of Medical Science; Containing a Concise Explanation of the Various Subjects and Terms of Physiology, Pathology, Hygiene, Therapeutics, Pharmacology, Obstetrics, Medical Jurisprudence, &c, 13th ed. rev. (Philadelphia: Blanchard and Lea, 1856), p. 179, “Catarrh’”; online image, Hathi Trust Digital Library (https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009703960 : accessed 29 May 2018).
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid, p. 233, “Consumption.”
[9] John Frith, “History of Tuberculosis. Part 1 – Phthisis, Consumption and the White Plague,” Journal of Military and Veterans’ Health, vol. 22, no. 2, online edition (http://jmvh.org/article/history-of-tuberculosis-part-1-phthisis-consumption-and-the-white-plague/ : accessed 29 May 2018).
[10] Ibid.
[11] Jon Casbon, “Joseph and Lydia (Burgess) Casbon,” 2 Mar 2017, Our Casbon Journey (https://casbonjourney.wordpress.com/2017/03/02/joseph-and-lydia-burgess-casbon/ : accessed 29 May 2018).

Joseph and Lydia (Burgess) Casbon

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You might need the Kleenex® for this one.

One goal of genealogy, at least for me, is to keep lives from being forgotten. By writing about them, I hope to recognize, and give context and meaning to their existence, even if there are no living descendants to preserve their memory. Sometimes there is precious little to preserve when it comes to genealogical records.

Such is the case with Joseph Casbon and his wife Lydia. There is such a paucity of records, that I can only provide a bare outline of their lives. Unfortunately, those few records tell a depressing story

Until I was given a very old hand-written family history last year, I didn’t know if or how Joseph was related to the other Casbons. I wrote about this in a post titled “From England to Indiana, Part 2.” Joseph was listed as the son of Isaac Casbon (1773–1825), and brother to Thomas (1803–1888), William (1806–1875), and James (abt. 1813–1884). The only description given of Joseph was this: “dead he left no heirs.”[1]

Other than this family history, the only two records I have that mention Joseph by name are those documenting his marriage and his burial. The first of these records his marriage to Lydia Burgess in 1835.[2]

1835 Joseph Casbon Lydia Burgess M Royston Marriage record of Joseph Casbon and Lydia Burgess, October 17, 1835, Parish of Royston (Hertfordshire & Cambridgeshire, England). (Click on image to enlarge)

A little information can be gleaned from this record. We can see that Joseph was a resident of Melbourn parish (just outside of Meldreth) and a bachelor. Lydia was “of this parish” (Royston) and a spinster – meaning an unmarried woman. Both Joseph and Lydia signed with their marks, meaning they were not proficient at writing, and possibly could not read. I don’t recognize the names of either of the two witnesses (John Thurley & Phoebe Huggins).

The only other record I have of Joseph is his burial in Meldreth March 7, 1847.[3]

1847 Joseph Casbon Bu MeldDetail from Meldreth Parish register, burials 1847. (Click on image to enlarge)

The burial record tells us that Joseph was still a resident of Melbourn, and that he was 36 years old when he died. This is useful information, because I’ve never been able to find a record of his baptism. Assuming the age is correct, we can estimate that he was born in 1810 or 11, and that he was about 24 years old when he married Lydia.

For Lydia, in addition to the marriage record, I have two census entries, birth registrations for her children, and a burial record. The first of these is the 1841 England and Wales census.[4]

Lydia Burgess Casbon 1841 Census Melb Detail from 1841 census of England, Melbourn, Cambridgeshire. (Click on image to enlarge)

The census tells us that Lydia lived in Chiswick End, a street lies roughly in between Melbourn and Meldreth proper.

Meldreth ord surv map 1945 color detailMap detail showing location of Chiswick End, from Ordnance Survey of Great Britain New Popular Edition, Sheet 148 – Saffron Walden. This work is based on data provided through www.VisionofBritain.org.uk and uses historical material which is copyright of the Great Britain Historical GIS Project and the University of Portsmouth.

The 1841 census also shows that Lydia was 28 years old and was born outside of Cambridgeshire (the “No” in the right-hand column). Two children were in the home: Ann, age 2, born in Cambridgeshire; and Mary, 6 months, also born in Cambridgeshire.

For an unknown reason, Joseph is not recorded in this census. The census only recorded those who were physically present in the household at the time of the census. If a family member was visiting relatives or working elsewhere, they could be recorded at whichever location they occupied on the day of the census (more accurately the night of the census, but that’s another story). Some records have been lost or are too illegible to read. At any rate, I haven’t been able to find an entry for Joseph anywhere in England in the 1841 census. He must have been around, since Lydia continued bearing children (presumably his) through 1844.

In the 1851, Lydia was living in “M[elbourn] in Meldreth,” and listed as: head of household, widow, age 39.[5]

Lydia C 1851 meldreth census Detail from 1851 census of England, Melbourn, Hertfordshire. (Click on image to enlarge)

Her status is widow makes sense, given that Joseph died in 1847. In addition, she is described as a “Pauper,” meaning she was dependent on public support. Her birthplace is listed as Chrishall, Essex. Daughter Ann is not recorded, but Mary, now age 10, is there, along with a new daughter Emma, age 6. Both daughters were born in Meldreth. From these two censuses, we can estimate that Lydia was born in 1812 or 13. I’ve searched online for records of her birth in and around Chrishall, Essex, in this timeframe, without success.

Three children are mentioned in the two census records. I haven’t found baptismal records for any of them, but in the course of researching for this post, I was able to find civil registrations of their births. Birth registrations were required in England beginning in 1837. Births in Meldreth and Melbourn were registered in nearby Royston, Hertfordshire. The online birth registration index contains limited information – only name, year, quarter of birth, and mother’s maiden name. Individual birth records with complete information can be purchased from the General Register Office, but I haven’t done so.

In addition to the daughters listed in the census, I found a birth registration for a fourth child, also a daughter. Sadly, I also found burial records in Meldreth for three of these four children. Here is a summary of the four daughters’ lives:

  • Harriet Ann (“Ann” in the 1841 census): born 4th quarter, 1838;[6] buried August 15, 1850, age 11.[7] Her death explains her absence from the 1851 census.

  • Mary: born 1st quarter, 1841.[8] Orphaned at age 10, she survived to adulthood. Her immigration to the United States and subsequent marriage to William Slocum is described in “From England to Indiana, Part 8.”

  • Hannah (not in either census record): born 4th quarter, 1842;[9] buried June 6, 1848, age 5.[10]

  • Emma: born 4th quarter, 1844;[11] buried April 9, 1852, age 7.[12]

Lydia was buried in June, 1851, just a couple months after the census was taken.[13]

Lydia C Burial 1851 MeldrethDetail from Parish of Meldreth, Bishop’s transcripts for Meldreth, 1599-1862, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9T9-NXZK?mode=g&i=287&cc=1465708&cat=1108704 : accessed 28 February 2017) (Click on image to enlarge)

Her age on the burial record does not match her estimated year of birth from the census records, but this must be her. There was no one else in England with her name and the same approximate age.

What happened to this family? Five of six family members were buried within the span of five years. They could have died from a variety of causes, but my guess is that they suffered from what was then known as consumption (tuberculosis), a disease aggravated by conditions associated with poverty: living in close quarters, poor sanitation, and malnutrition.

On the other hand, after the loss of her husband and two daughters, and with another probably very sick at home, is it too much to believe that Lydia might have died from a broken heart?

[1] Author unknown, photocopy of untitled, undated, handwritten family tree describing descendants of Isaac and Thomas Casbon, 1890-92 (estimated), p. 1, line 5; privately held by Jon Casbon [Address for private use], 2017; photocopy was given to Jon Casbon by Donald A Casbon [Address for private use] in 2016; source and location of original is unknown.
[2] Parish of Royston (Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire, England), “Register of Marriages [1813–1837],” p. 89, Joseph Casbon & Lydia Burgess, 17 Oct 1835; database with images, “Hertfordshire Marriages,” findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : accessed 3 February 2017).
[3] Parish of Meldreth (Cambridgeshire, England), parish registers, 1681-1877, Joseph Casbon burial (1847); FHL microfilm 1,040,542.
[4] 1841 census of England, Cambridgeshire, Melbourn, p. 14 (stamped), Lydia Casbon; image, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : accessed 21 July 2016); citing [The National Archives] HO 107, piece 63, book 15, folio 14, p. 22.
[5] 1851 census of England, Hertfordshire, Melbourn, p. 29 (stamped), Lydia Casbon; image, findmypast (accessed 21 July 2016); citing [The National Archives] HO 107, piece 1708, folio 206, p. 29.
[6] HM Passport Office, database, Search the [General Register Office] GRO Online Index (https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/indexes_search.asp : accessed 28 February 2017), birth of Harriet Ann Casbon (1838); citing Hertfordshire, December quarter 1838, Royston & Buntingford district, vol. 6: 463.
[7] Parish of Meldreth, parish registers, 1681-1877, Harriet Anne Casbon burial (1850); FHL microfilm 1,040,542.
[8] GRO Online Index (accessed 28 February 2017), birth of Mary Casbon (1841); citing Hertfordshire, March quarter 1841, Royston & Buntingford district, vol. 6:553.
[9] GRO Online Index (accessed 28 February 2017), birth of Hannah Casbon (1842); citing Hertfordshire, December quarter 1841, Royston & Buntingford district, vol. 6:530.
[10] Meldreth parish registers, Hannah Casbon burial (1848); FHL microfilm 1,040,542.
[11] GRO Online Index (accessed 28 February 2017), birth of Emma Casbon (1844); citing Hertfordshire, December quarter 1841, Royston & Buntingford district, vol. 6:540.
[12] Meldreth parish registers, Emma Casbon burial (1852); FHL microfilm 1,040,542.
[13] Meldreth parish registers, Lydia Casbourn burial (1851); FHL microfilm 1,040,542.

Stepping back: Thomas Casbon, 1743-1799

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One thing that most people want to know about in tracing their ancestry is “how far back can I go?.” The best way to do this is to go back one generation at a time, looking for evidence that proves how the two generations are related. Eventually you reach a point where there is not enough evidence to be sure of the connection.

In the case of my “Meldreth Casbon” ancestors, records go back to the 1500s. However, I’ve only been able to confidently trace our ancestry back to the early 1700s. The reason is that earlier records do not provide enough information to “connect the dots,” that is, to say with certainty who is related to whom. The method for establishing these connections is known as the Genealogical Proof Standard.

GPS insert
Adapted from The Board for Certification of Genealogists http://www.bcgcertification.org/resources/standard.html

I will try to illustrate this process with the subject of today’s post, Thomas (yes, another Thomas!) Casbon, father of my 4th great-grandfather, Isaac. This diagram shows how Thomas is related to the other “Meldreth Casbons” I’ve discussed so far.

John c 4 gen w Thomas b1843
(Click on image to enlarge)

I’ll start with Isaac’s baptismal record, since I have a good chain of evidence proving that he is my ancestor.

Isaac C bapt 1773 highlighted
Church of England, Parish Church of Meldreth “Bishop’s transcripts for Meldreth, 1599-1862” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9T9-NF4Z?i=236&cat=1108704
(Click on image to enlarge)

We’ve seen this record before, in “The Collage Explained.” From this record we know that Isaac was baptized July 11, 1773 and that his parents’ names were Thomas and Jane. But who were Thomas and Jane? How can we learn more about them?

If Isaac was baptized as an infant, we can guess that his parents were married within the previous 20 years and born another 20 years or so before that. Although unlikely, his father Thomas might even have been born as many as 70 years or so earlier than Isaac. This gives approximate dates to look back in the parish registers for marriage and birth records.

The parish registers are available on microfilm. In addition, Bishop’s Transcripts, i.e., copies of the parish registers that were sent to the Bishop every year, can be viewed online at https://familysearch.org/search/film/007672879?cat=1108704 (free user account required to view these records).

I could not find a marriage record for Thomas and Jane in Meldreth, but from past experience, I knew that many of our ancestral records could also be found in the adjacent parish of Melbourn, located less than a mile away from Meldreth (just across the A10 highway). My search was more productive here: I found a record for Thomas Casbon and Jane Wilson, married October 25, 1769. [1]

Thomas C Jane W marriage Melbourn 1769
From Melbourn Bishop’s Transcripts, Marriages 1769 (Click on image to enlarge)

This date of this marriage fits very well with Isaac’s baptism, so at this point we can say these are probably [my emphasis] his parents. But Thomas and Jane were both common names, so it’s important to make sure there aren’t any other records for a Thomas Casb* (* = any string of letters) marrying a woman named Jane in this time frame. Fortunately, several online genealogy sites make it relatively easy to search for this kind of information. I could not find any other marriages in the correct time frame between Thomas Casb* and a woman named Jane. So, based on the evidence (names, dates, location) and lack of contradictory information, I’m comfortable saying that Thomas Casbon and Jane Wilson, who were married in Melbourn, 1769, are the same Thomas and Jane listed on Isaac’s baptismal record.

The next step is to find a birth or baptismal record for Thomas Casb* in about the 1700 to 1753 time frame. Again, the parish registers on microfilm, Bishop’s transcripts and online search engines come to the rescue. Fortunately, there is only one viable candidate: Thomas, the son of John and Ann Casbel, baptized December 11, 1743 in Meldreth. [2]

Thomas C bp1743 Meld PR
Meldreth parish registers, Baptisms 1743. (Click on image to enlarge)

This birth date fits very well with what we know so far: Thomas would have been 26+ years old when he married Jane and 30+ when Isaac was born.

I would also like to know more about Jane, since she is my 5th great-grandmother. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find a baptismal record for a Jane Wilson in Meldreth or the immediate area. Apparently there were no Wilson families living in Meldreth, as the name appears very rarely in the parish records. However, I can deduce that Jane was born in about 1841 based on the age reported on her burial record (see below). This would have given her an age of about 22 when her son Isaac was born.

Now that I’ve established birth and marriage dates for Thomas and Jane, let’s see what other children were born to them.

Their first recorded child is Anne, baptized as Casbull in June 1773. [3] She died less than 4 months later. [4]

Anne C bu Meld 1770
Burial record of Anne Casbull 1773 (Click on image to enlarge)

You can see that another Anne Casbull was buried on February 18th of the same year. This was Anne, the wife of John. She was the mother of our Thomas, and was mentioned in his baptismal record above.

Thomas and Jane’s second child was baptized James Casbull in Meldreth, July 19, 1772. [5]

James C bapt 1772 Meld
(Click on image to enlarge)

I’ll be writing more about James in a future post. He had several children and is the ancestor of a significant line of Casbons today.

Isaac was their third child. As I’ve discussed in previous posts, his sons Thomas and James emigrated to the United States, while sons William and Joseph remained in England.

After Isaac came another son, Thomas, baptized Casbul, May 28, 1775, in Meldreth. [6]

1775 Thomas Casbul bp Meld
(Click on image to enlarge)

He left Meldreth and lived his entire adult life in the nearby parish of Shepreth (1.5 miles from Meldreth). His three children died in their teens and did not have descendants.

I’ve mentioned before that it was common practice to name a child after one who was previously deceased. This was the case with Thomas and Jane’s fifth, sixth, and seventh children – all named John and baptized in Meldreth. The first son John was baptized with the surname Casbill in February 1776. [7] His burial was recorded on October 29, 1777. [8] There is no baptismal record for their second son John. He must have been born sometime between his namesake’s death in 1777 and his own burial in June 1778. [9]

John C burial Meld 1778
Burial record of the second John, June 7, 1778, in Meldreth, John Son of Thomas and Jane Casbon   7th.
(Click on image to enlarge)

The third son John survived into adulthood. He was baptized Casborne, October 3, 1779. [10]

John C baptism Meld 1779
You can clearly see the grain of the parchment in this image (Click on image to enlarge)

This John also fathered a significant line of Casbons. He is included in the diagram at the top of this post, and is the father of Reuben and Samuel Clark, who were discussed in earlier posts.

This diagram shows all of Thomas and Jane’s children.

Thomas C b1843 1 generation
(Click on image to enlarge)

The only remaining records needed to complete this profile of Thomas and Jane’s lives are their burial records. Based on the baptism of their last child, 1779 would be the earliest possible year to find a death record for either of them. Based on their estimated birth years, it would be very unlikely to find a burial record later than 1840.

I have located this record for Thomas Casbell, buried July 22, 1799 in Meldreth. [11]

Thomas Carsbell burial Meldreth 1799
(Click on image to enlarge)

Although there is nothing in this record to tell us for certain that this is our Thomas, born in 1843 and married to Jane Wilson, he is the only likely candidate. The only other Thomas Casb* living in the area at the time was our Thomas’ own son Thomas, born in 1775. Fortunately, there is good evidence that Thomas the son died in 1825. [12] After a thorough review of the available local records, I haven’t found any contradictory evidence, so I’m confident this is the correct burial date.

For Jane, I’m confident that she was buried on November 22, 1831 in Meldreth. [13]

Jane C Burial Meldreth 1831 age 90
Meldreth Bishop’s Transcripts, Burials 1831. (Click on image to enlarge)

There was one other Jane living in the area in the time after Thomas’ death. She was the granddaughter of Thomas and Jane by their son John, baptized Jane Casburn 1803, in nearby Royston. [14] Census records show that she was still alive after 1831, so she could not be the Jane buried in 1831. [15] In addition, by 1813 or so, burial records consistently recorded the age of the deceased. In this case, we can see that Jane’s age at death was recorded as 90, which is how I derived a birth year of 1741. She is listed as a widow, which is consistent with Thomas’ death in 1799.

While these records are sufficient to establish an outline of their lives, they give us little insight into what kind of lives Thomas and Jane led. We know that Thomas was a labourer, and that he lived long enough to see his surviving children reach maturity. As an elderly widow, we can guess that Jane was supported by her children. Beyond that we can only speculate.

This illustrates the challenges of locating, compiling, and interpreting genealogical data in order to trace one’s lineage. From Thomas, I can only trace the “Meldreth Casbons” back one more generation with reasonable certainty. I will save that for a future post.

[1] Church of England, Parish of Melbourne, “Bishop’s transcripts for Melbourne, 1599-1847.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9T9-6BCP?i=256&cat=1109075 [accessed 11 May 2016]
[2] Church of England. Parish Church of Meldreth, “Parish registers for Meldreth, 1681-1877.” Baptisms 1743 FHL microfilm #1040542
[3] “Bishop’s transcripts for Meldreth, 1599-1862.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9T9-NFCJ?i=233&cat=1108704 [accessed 12 May 2016]
[4] “Bishop’s transcripts for Meldreth, 1599-1862.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9T9-NFCJ?i=233&cat=1108704 [accessed 12 May 2016]
[5] “Bishop’s transcripts for Meldreth, 1599-1862.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9T9-NF4G?i=235&cat=1108704 [accessed 12 May 2016]
[6] “Parish registers for Meldreth, 1681-1877.” Baptisms 1775
[7] “Bishop’s transcripts for Meldreth, 1599-1862.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9T9-NFLC?i=239&cat=1108704 [accessed 12 May 2016]
[8] “Parish registers for Meldreth, 1681-1877.” Burials 1777
[9] “Bishop’s transcripts for Meldreth, 1599-1862.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9T9-NXYQ?i=242&cat=1108704 [accessed 12 May 2016]
[10] “Bishop’s transcripts for Meldreth, 1599-1862.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9T9-NFVM?mode=g&i=243&cat=1108704 [accessed 1 December 2016]
[11] “Parish registers for Meldreth, 1681-1877.” Burials 1799
[12] Church of England, Parish of Shepreth, “Bishop’s transcripts for Shepreth, 1599-1871.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9TD-N7KB-X?i=248&cat=1126796 [accessed 8 November 2015]
[13] “Bishop’s transcripts for Meldreth, 1599-1862.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9T9-N656?i=354&cat=1108704 [accessed 11 May 2016]
[14] “England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975,” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NB69-ZXJ [accessed 4 August 2016]
[15] “1841 Census of England and Wales,” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MQR8-J6S [accessed 8 September 2016]

From England to Indiana, Part 8

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This the eighth and final post concerning a handwritten family history of Isaac Casbon, his son Thomas, and Thomas’ descendants.

The final section of the document introduces three new characters to the story.

Mary Payne etc
(Click on image to enlarge)

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

I’m calling this the super bonus surprise section of the manuscript. Before I was given this family history, I had no knowledge of these three women – Mary Payne, Rachell (or Emma) Payne, and Mary Casbon. These few sentences fill in a few more blanks in Thomas and Emma Casbon’s family trees.

I learned from this section that Emma (Scruby) Casbon had a sister named Sarah who married a man named Payne, and I also learned that Thomas’ brother Joseph had a daughter named Mary. These names and dates gave me new leads to investigate, both in England and the United States.

I was able to locate a marriage record for James Pain and Sarah Scruby, both of Meldreth, in 1822. [1]

James Pain Sarah Scruby M Meld 1822
(Click on image to enlarge)

James and Sarah had several children, including Mary Ann (born 1822, [2] died 1831 [3]), John (born 1827 [4]), Rachel [5] and Emma [6] (both baptized 1831), Mary (born 1833 [7]), and David (born 1836 [8]).

The manuscript says “Rachell or Emma Payne came to America”. This is confusing, since there are separate records for both Rachel and Emma, daughters of James and Sarah, baptized in Meldreth on October 10th, 1831. [9] My confusion is compounded by the fact that there is a burial record for Emma Pain, age 10, in September 1831 (i.e., before the baptism just mentioned). [10] No parents are listed in the burial record. It’s possible there was more than one Emma Pain, as there were multiple Pain families in Meldreth at the time. In the 1841 England and Wales census, only Rachel, age 11, is listed in the household of James and Sarah.[11] This demonstrates the challenge of interpreting genealogical data.

At any rate, the manuscript implies that either Emma or Rachel came to the United States, not both. Furthermore, there is evidence that she went by both names. Remember that the manuscript says, “Emma came with the family of Thomas Casbon to America,” which means she came in 1846. I found an entry for Rachel Paine, age 20, born in England, in the 1850 U.S. Census for Clinton Township, Wayne County, Ohio. [12] She is listed in the household of Ernest Eddy, presumably as a boarder or servant. Her entry is just 2 entries above that for Thomas Casbon, so she is almost certainly the same Rachel (or Emma) as referred to in the manuscript.

In the 1860 U.S. Census, “Emma R Payne,” age 29, born in England, is listed in Plain Township, Wayne County, Ohio, as a domestic servant. [13] I suspect that Emma’s middle initial “R” stands for Rachel, that she is the same person referred to above in the 1850 census, and that she went by both names. For the sake clarity, I will henceforth refer to her as Emma.

The manuscript says that Mary Payne and Mary Casbon came to America together in 1856. I haven’t been able to locate any definite records for this Mary Payne in the United States. However, there is an interesting but totally unproven possibility. James Casbon, the brother of Thomas, emigrated to Indiana from England in 1870. In 1876 he married Mary Payne in Porter County. [14] The 1880 census shows her birthplace as England, [15] and her grave marker gives her age at death (May 1903) as 69 years, 8 months, 20 days, [16] which would make her approximately the same age as the Mary Payne who emigrated in 1856. Could they be the same person?

Mary Casbon was easier to find. She appears in the 1860 United States Census living with her uncle Thomas Casbon in Washington Township, Holmes County Ohio. [17]

Mary C in 1860 census detail
(Click on image to enlarge)

Now the story takes another interesting twist. Mary Casbon married a widower named William Slocum in July, 1862 [18]. She must not have lived long thereafter, because he remarried in 1865.

Here’s the twist: after Mary Casbon’s death, William Slocum married Emma Payne…yes the same Emma Payne who came across with Thomas in 1846! I discovered this fact in the following biographical sketch of William Slocum.[19]

Mary Casbon Emma Payne in William Slocum genealogy
(Click on image to enlarge)

Other than incorrectly giving Mary Casbon’s birth location as London, England, this account matches and confirms the details given in the handwritten family history.

By the way, the spelling in William Slocum’s biography is intentional. The author was part of a movement to adopt phonetic English spelling. The movement didn’t catch on.

This concludes my review of this remarkable document. Other than minor errors and inconsistencies, its content is well supported by other sources. It fills in a number of gaps in the Casbon family record, and it enabled me to find new sources to put the family history on a firmer footing.

**********

Here are my thoughts about the unknown author. First, he or she had first-hand knowledge of Thomas Casbon’s family in America. The relatively minor factual errors pertain mainly to events that happened in England before Thomas emigrated. Second, the author had access to accurate information about Thomas’ wife Emma Scruby and her brother James. I think it’s likely that the author knew Emma personally before she died in 1870. Detailed information was provided to the author either by word of mouth or through written sources, such as a family bible. Third, no information is given about Thomas’ brother James, who emigrated to Porter County in 1870. It seems unlikely that the author didn’t know about James, so I’m guessing that he or she was more closely related to Thomas. Fourth, the author had only a basic level of education. The handwriting is neat, fluid and well-formed, and the document has a coherent organization. On the other hand, there are numerous spelling errors and punctuation is virtually non-existent. Fifth, the author was alive in the 1890 -1892 time frame (see Part 5). This eliminates Thomas (d. 1888) or Emma (d. 1870), although they could have provided much of the information to a third party before they died.

My best guess is that the author was either one of Thomas’ children, the spouse of one of his children, or possibly a grandchild. Without new information, I don’t think it can be narrowed down any further.

[1] “Bishop’s transcripts for Meldreth, 1599-1862.” Church of England, Parish Church of Meldreth. FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9T9-N6FG?i=395&cat=1108704 [accessed 12 August 2016]
[2] “England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NRSY-93T [accessed 1 September 2016]
[3] “Parish registers for Meldreth, 1681-1877”, Burials 1831. Church of England. Parish Church of Meldreth FHL Microfilm #1040542
[4] “England and Wales Census, 1841.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MQR8-N84 [accessed 14 August 2016]
[5] “England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NRSY-381 [accessed 1 September 2016]
[6] “England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NRST-BH8 [accessed 1 September 2016]
[7] “England and Wales Census, 1841.” [accessed 14 Aug 2016]
[8] “England and Wales Census, 1841.” [accessed 14 August 2016]
[9] “Parish registers for Meldreth, 1681-1877”, Baptisms 1831.
[10] “Parish registers for Meldreth, 1681-1877”, Burials 1831.
[11] “England and Wales Census, 1841.”
[12] “United States Census, 1850.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MX78-W2V [accessed 1 November 2016]
[13] “United States Census, 1860.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCLM-X92 [accessed 14 Aug 2016]
[14] “Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KDH3-B7L [accessed 24 October 2015]
[15] “United States Census, 1880.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHS7-4N2 [accessed 4 July 2016]
[16] “Mary P. Casbon.” Find A Grave Memorial# 109800943. Find A Grave http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=109800943 [accessed 4 July 2016]
[17] “United States Census, 1860.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCG3-1MJ [accessed 1 November 2016]
[18] “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XZ65-99Z [accessed 21 Jul 2016]
[19] Slocum, C.E. “History of the Slocums, Slocumbs and Slocombs of America.” 1908. p. 129. MyHeritage https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-90100/history-of-the-slocums-slocumbs-slocombs-of-america-1908?itemId=93176168&action=showRecord [accessed 12 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]
[2] Emma E. Rigg. Find A Grave Memorial# 18208125. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=18208125 [accessed 18 Aug 2016]
[3] Thos Casban, Clinton, Wayne, Ohio, United States; citing family 8, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.) FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MX78-W2P [accessed 9 Nov 2014]
[4] Wayne County Historical Society (Ohio), Genealogical Section. Wayne County, Ohio : abstracts of naturalization records, 1812-1903. Wooster. 1985. P.29.
[5] “Ohio, Marriages, 1800-1958.”, FamilySearch. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XDK9-L58 [accessed 8 December 2014]
[6] Wayne County Historical Society (Ohio), Genealogical Section. Wayne County, Ohio : abstracts of naturalization records, 1812-1903. Wooster. 1985. P.31.
[7] History of Porter County, Indiana: A Narrative Account of its Historical Progress, its People and its Principal Interests. Lewis Publishing Company. Chicago. 1912. PP.482-4. In Hathi Trust Digital Library https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/011679885 [accessed 18 Aug 2016]
[8] Thomas Casbon, Washington, Holmes, Ohio. FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCG3-1MD [accessed 30 December 2015]
[9] County clerk offices, Indiana. Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007. FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KDH3-L4L [accessed 21 January 2016]
[10] History of Porter County, Indiana…. Lewis Publishing Company. Chicago. 1912. PP.459-461.
[11] “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013, “, FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XZ65-99Z [accessed 21 July 2016]
[12] “Receipts for Subscription.” The Holmes County Farmer (Millersburg, Ohio). 21 Jan 1864. P.3. In Library of Congress http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84028822/1864-01-21/ed-1/seq-3/ [accessed 19 Aug 2016]
[13] “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013, “, FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XZN8-G9Z [accessed 8 December 2014]
[14] “Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007”, FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KDH3-Y66 [accessed 21 January 2016]
[15] Thomas Casbon, Porter, Porter, Indiana. FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MX65-X7B [accessed 17 October 2014]
[16] “Illustrated historical atlas of Porter County, Indiana.” Valparaiso, Ind. : A.G. Hardesty, 1876. Library of Congress https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4093pm.gla00036/?sp=28 [accessed 19 August 2016]
[17] Emma Scruby Casbon. Find A Grave Memorial# 19252724. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=19252724 [accessed 19 Aug 2016]
[18] “Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007”, FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KDH3-59M [accessed 19 Aug 2016]
[19] Thomas Casbon. Porter, Porter, Indiana. FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHS7-91F [accessed 19 Aug 2016]
[20] “Valparaiso City Directory …For the Year 1886-6.” Talcott & Tevis, Publishers. 1885. Page 45. The Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/valparaisoindian1885polk {accessed 14 October 2016]
[21] Thomas Casbon. Find A Grave Memorial# 19252737. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=19252737 [accessed 19 Aug 2016]

From England to Indiana, Part 3

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This is the third post in a series discussing the handwritten family history of Isaac Casbon and his descendants. This post focuses on Thomas Casbon’s emigration to the United States with his family.

Thomas and family(Click on image to enlarge)

Thomas Casbon emigrated to United States in the year of 1865 1846. Although I haven’t been able to find a ship’s manifest or passenger list documenting Thomas’ voyage to America, there are several sources describing his emigration. One of the more detailed is the following, contained in a biographical sketch of his son Sylvester:

“Thomas … Casbon … who was an English farmer, in 1847 determined to share in the remarkable opportunities of the new world, and in that year embarked his family at Southampton on board the Canadian lumber boat Parkfield.…The boat on which they took passage had a long and tedious voyage, leaving England in February, first sighting land at the Banks and thence sailing up the St. Lawrence river.… 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, where they arrived in the month of May. Thomas Casbon, the father, moved to Wayne county, Ohio, and bought eighty acres of land near Wooster.”[1]

The source above incorrectly gives the year as 1847. When Thomas applied for naturalization in 1852, he gave the year of his emigration as 1846.[2]

The journey must have been memorable. Another description 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.”[3] Sylvester later named a son Charles Parkfield Casbon – his middle name commemorating the ship that brought them from England to America!

He was Married to Emma Scruby at Meldrith or Melborn Church Cambridgeshire England where the record may be found. Here is a copy of Thomas and Emma’s marriage record from the Melbourn parish registers, dated October 9, 1830.[4]

1830 Thomas C Emma Scruby M Melb(Click on image to enlarge)

There are a couple of interesting things to point out in this marriage record. First, notice that the married couple and the two witnesses all signed with their ‘mark.’ Thomas used an ‘x’ and Emma used a ‘+’ sign. This suggests that neither one was proficient at writing. This is not surprising, because there was no compulsory education in England at the time.[5]

The other item of interest is that Joseph Casbon is listed as a witness to the marriage. We learned in the previous post that Joseph was Thomas’ younger brother. This marriage record is the only primary source document I’ve seen that links Joseph with the rest of the family.

Thomas and Emma Casbon had born to them 4 son’s and 2 daughters the firs born son died in infancy the name being the same as the secon born boy. Mary Ann Silvester Charles Jesse and Emma the last Daughter beng born in the state of Ohio Wayne Co. Mary Anne Casbon was baptized in Meldreth in 1833[6]. Their firstborn son was named Sell. He was baptized in 1836[7] and buried 23 days later[8]. Their next son, also named Sell (a nickname for Sylvester), was baptized 1837 in Meldreth[9]. The next two sons, Charles (“Thomas Charles”) and Jesse, were baptized in Meldreth 1840[10] and 1844, respectively.[11] Finally, daughter Emma was born May 22nd, 1847[12], not quite 1 year after they arrived in Wayne County, Ohio.

Everything in this part of the family history matches the original sources. The author must have had first-hand knowledge of most of this information. I wonder if one of Thomas’ children was the author?

[1] “Sylvester V. Casbon” History of Porter County, Indiana: A Narrative Account of its Historical Progress, its People and its Principal Interests. Lewis Publishing Company (1912), Pages 482-484. Hathi Trust Digital Library: https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/011679885 [accessed 20 August 2016]
[2] Wayne County HIstorical Society (Ohio), Genealogical Section, Wayne County, Ohio : abstracts of naturalization records, 1812-1903 (Wooster, Ohio:  Wayne County Historical Society – Genealogical Section, 1985), page 29
[3] “History of Porter County, Indiana.” Page 459
[4] Church of England. “Bishop’s transcripts for Melbourne, 1599-1847.” Marriages 1830. FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9T9-6B25?i=536&cat=1109075 [accessed 15 May 2016]
[5] Lemire, D. A Historiographical Survey of Literacy in Britain between 1780 and 1830. Constellations Vol 4, No.1 (2012). https://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/constellations/article/viewFile/18862/14652 [accessed 18 Aug 2016)
[6] Church of England., “Parish registers for Meldreth, 1681-1877”, Baptisms 1833. FHL Microfilm #1040542. Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1980
[7] Church of England., “Parish registers for Meldreth, 1681-1877”, Baptisms 1836
[8] Church of England., “Parish registers for Meldreth, 1681-1877”, Burials 1836
[9] Church of England., “Parish registers for Meldreth, 1681-1877”, Baptisms 1837
[10] Church of England., “Parish registers for Meldreth, 1681-1877”, Baptisms 1840
[11] Church of England., “Parish registers for Meldreth, 1681-1877”, Baptisms 1844
[12] “Emma Rigg” Find A Grave Memorial # 18208125. Find A Grave http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=18208125 [accessed 18 Aug 2016]

From England to Indiana, Part 2

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This is the second post of several reviewing the handwritten family history of Isaac Casbon and his descendants.

Beginning with this post, I plan to go through the document paragraph by paragraph, comparing what it says with other sources. This post looks at the first two paragraphs discussing Isaac Casbon and his four sons.

Para 1and2
(Click on image to enlarge)

Isaac Casbon Married Jayne Miller of Meldreth, Near Royston Cambridge shire Englan …. This statement is incorrect. Isaac’s wife wasn’t Jayne Miller. Parish records show that Isaac married Susanna Howes 1800 in Bassingbourn, a village near Meldreth.[1]

Isaac C Susanna H M Bassingb 1800Isaac Casbil & Susanna Howes _ _ _ 15th. Oct.r (1800). (Click on image to enlarge)

Baptismal records for Thomas[2] and William[3] also show that their mother’s name was Susanna.

This is an understandable mistake. It turns out that Isaac’s mother’s maiden name was Jane Wilson.[4] Jayne Williams and Jane Wilson are very similar. I think what happened is that as the family history was passed down orally the names of Isaac’s mother and wife were unintentionally switched and altered. This is a good illustration of why secondary sources like this aren’t considered as reliable as primary sources such as birth or baptismal records.

… both were raised and born in this place. Isaac was definitely born[5] and raised in Meldreth. Susanna Howes was born in nearby Bassingbourn,[6] where they were married.

There were born to them Thomas William Joseph one dead he left no heirs James. As I mentioned in the previous post, I’ve only been able to find parish baptismal records for Thomas and William.

Thos C birth christening 1803 Meldreth William C James C births Meldreth 1806
(Born) Nov’r 3 Thos. Son of Isac & Susanna Carsborn (baptized) Dec’r 25 (1803)
(Born) Aug.st 23 William, Son of Isaac & Susannah Casbon (baptized) Sep’t 28 (1806) (Click on images to enlarge)

Of Joseph, I have only located two records: his marriage in 1835 to Lydia Burgess[7], and his burial in 1847 at the age of 36.[8] From the latter we can estimate that Joseph was born about 1811. Joseph’s death also explains the statement one dead he left no heirs. Joseph and his wife Lydia had three daughters, Ann,[9] Mary, and Emma.[10] The statement that he left no heirs refers to the fact that he left no male heirs to carry on his name.

The final son, James, was born about 1814, based on census records.[11] James emigrated to the United States in 1871, and settled in Porter County, Indiana, near his brother Thomas.

Isaac Casbon was one of Six brothers their record of birth can be found at Meldreth or Melborn Church. As mentioned above, Jane Wilson (1741-1831) was the mother of Isaac and his siblings. Thomas Casbon (1743-1799) was their father. I’ve been able to locate baptismal records for one sister and five brothers, all at Meldreth. Anne was baptized in 1770[12]; James was baptized 1772[13]; Isaac was baptized July 1773. Thomas was baptized 1775.[14] Next were born three boys named John: the first was baptized 1776[15] and buried 1777[16]; the second was buried 1778[17] (no baptismal record); and the third was baptized 1779[18] and survived into adulthood. It was common practice at the time to ‘recycle’ names of offspring who were deceased.

Isaac C 1773 baptismIsaac Casbon’s baptismal record, 1773. Isaac Son of Thomas & Jane Casbull _ _ _ _ _ July 11. Does this record look familiar? Look at the collage at the top of the page! (Click on image to enlarge)

It’s impressive that the author of the family history knew so much about Isaac and his siblings. It’s unlikely that the author actually knew Isaac, since the name of his wife was recorded incorrectly; and the document was likely written very late in the 1800s, well after Isaac’s death in 1825.[19]

[1] Church of England. “Bishop’s transcripts for Bassingbourne, 1599-1859.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-896D-9D4?i=798&cat=672796 [accessed 17 May 2016]
[2] “England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J7WG-M77 [accessed 11 May 2016]
[3] “England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JWKF-RZS [accessed 4 September 2015]
[4] “England Marriages, 1538–1973.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NJK5-XZD [accessed 30 September 2015]
[5] “England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NRST-1T5 [accessed 10 May 2016]
[6] “England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N8KD-9YM [accessed 11 October 2016]
[7] “England Marriages, 1538–1973.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NF33-222 [accessed 12 July 2016]
[8] Church of England. “Parish registers for Meldreth, 1681-1877.” Burials 1847. FHL Microfilm #1040542
[9] “1841 Census of England and Wales.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MQRZ-RDC [accessed 21 July 2016]
[10] “1851 Census of England and Wales.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SGRW-567 [accessed 21 July 2016]
[11] “1851 Census of England and Wales.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SGBL-24P [accessed 12 July 2016]
[12] “England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JWKF-R2K [accessed 12 May 2016]
[13] “England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J7WG-93D [accessed 11 May 2016]
[14] “England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J7WG-93D [accessed 15 September 2015]
[15] “England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J7WG-93D [accessed 11 May 2016]
[16] Church of England. “Parish registers for Meldreth, 1681-1877.” Burials 1777.
[17] Church of England. “Parish registers for Meldreth, 1681-1877.” Burials 1778.
[18] “England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NRST-1P2 [accessed 15 September 2015]
[19] Church of England. “Parish registers for Meldreth, 1681-1877.” Burials 1825.