Tag: Sarah 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.

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]