Steven – Our Casbon Journey

Snapshots: Anna Mae and Jesse Casbon II

August 26, 2018 adminLeave a comment

Here are a few more odds and ends from the treasure trove sent to me by John N Casbon, grandson of Anna (1876–1957) and son of Jesse (1898–1974) and Elizabeth (Ryan, 1906–2000) Casbon.

John Newton Kitchel Family, about 1902

Photo Courtesy of John Casbon (Click on image to enlarge)

The inscription on the photo reads “Dads father/mother” with arrows pointing to John Newton Kitchel and Anna Mae (Casbon) Kitchel. The two young boys are Steven (left) and Jesse II (right). The “Dad” referred to in the inscription probably refers to Jesse and would have been added at a later date by one of his children. The back of the photo has a handwritten label that reads: “John Newton – F (?? – possibly “am”); Jesse II & Steven; Hunting Lodge; Wisconsin.” I like the composition of this photo, with a large tree stump and possibly garden in the foreground, guns and flags on the front of the log house.

The photo is undated, but I’m guessing it was the summer or fall of 1902, based on the apparent ages of the boys. Jesse was born in December, 1898 and Steven in August, 1900. The identities of the other family members are not given; they are possibly other relatives on the Kitchel side.

This was obviously taken before Anna and John Newton Kitchel were divorced. After the divorce, he remained in Wisconsin, while she went first to Minnesota, and then later to stay with her father Jesse in Indiana. She had the boys’ last name changed back to Casbon.

Anna and family

Photo Courtesy of John Casbon (Click on image to enlarge)

The back of this photo (same handwriting as the previous photo) reads: “Betty – F(em?)– Mom – Jesse II – Steve.” John Casbon tells me that Betty was his sister Elizabeth Casbon (1924–2011). Second from left is Anna Mae (Casbon) Fleming. Given the labels on the two photos, I’m wondering if she had a nickname of “Fem” or something similar. “Mom” is Elizabeth (Ryan) Casbon (1906–2000). Next is Jesse II, and then Steven, Jesse’s brother (1900–1979).

The date of the photo is harder to determine. Betty was born in 1924. It’s hard to guess her age in the photo, but she looks like she could be in her early teens. Jesse and Elizabeth’s next child was born in December, 1937. I’m guessing the photo was taken before that, since the baby is not included in the picture. Elizabeth does not appear pregnant, so if the photo was taken in 1937, it would have been early in the year. The car looks like a 1930s design, but that doesn’t help. It’s possible the picture was taken in the late 1930s or possibly even early 1940s. The entire family was still living in Maryland at the time, so that’s probably where the photo was taken. I don’t have much else to say, except it appears that everyone in the family looks stylish and dapper!

Jesse’s Barber Shop, Glen Burnie, Maryland

Photo Courtesy of John Casbon (Click on image to enlarge)

The back of the photo is labeled “Barber Shop in Glen Burnie Md – our car 1938.” When we last heard about Jesse (in 1922), he was in the confectionary business with brother Steven.^[1] However, by the 1930 census, his occupation was listed as “Barber.”^[2] John Casbon tells me that Jesse had been in the painting business with Steve and learned the barber’s trade from an older man. “Dad later had 6 chairs and made a good living and during the depression men needed a job so getting a haircut was very important.”^[3]

Jesse’s Barber Shop, Cocoa Beach, Florida

Photo Courtesy of John Casbon (Click on image to enlarge)

According to John, his dad moved to Florida in 1947. “He moved to cocoa beach on a hunch that there was going to be a space program in a town of cocoa beach. … the barber shop was town hall and everyone came there to sit in AC and run the town.”^[4] Jesse was an astute businessman who bought and developed a lot of downtown property. With Cape Canaveral on one side and Patrick Air Force Base on the other, the town was in an ideal location. The fact that the shop was air conditioned (see the sign by the door!) probably enticed his customers to linger. John says the family lived in the door to the left of the barber ship. Many German scientists also lived there, and John recalls playing with the children of Wernher von Braun.

Elizabeth and Jesse

Photo Courtesy of John Casbon (Click on image to enlarge)

You can see that this photo was taken in front of the Cocoa Beach barber shop and residence. Once again, it’s obvious and Jesse and his lovely wife were stylish dressers. The photo is also undated, but appears to be late 1940s or early 1950s to me.

Thanks again to John for the photos and his reminiscences. Reader contributions are always welcome!

^[1]Jon Casbon, “Jess & Steve’s Excellent Adventure,” 9 Jul 2018, Our Casbon Journey (https://casbonjourney.wordpress.com/2018/07/09/jess-steves-excellent-adventure/ : accessed 26 August 2018).
^[2] 1930 U.S. Census, Anne Arundel County, Maryland, population schedule, Glen Burnie, enumeration district 2-25, sheet 8A, p. 71 (stamped), dwelling 161, family 164, Jesse Casbon; imaged as “United States Census, 1930,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RH3-8SN?i=14&cc=1810731 : accessed 26 August 2018), Maryland > Anne Arundel > Election District 5 > ED 25 > image 15 of 94; citing NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 845.
^[3] John Casbon (e-address for private use) to Jon Casbon, email, 9 Jul 2018, “Glen Burnie”; privately held by Jon Casbon (e-address for private use).
^[4] Ibid.

Report Cards

August 1, 2018April 15, 2020 admin2 Comments

Among the many treasures recently sent to me by John Casbon were photographs of these two report cards.

Photos courtesy of John N Casbon. (Click on images to enlarge)

These are obviously report cards for brothers Jesse (1898–1974) and Steven (1900–1979) Casbon. Jesse was John N Casbon’s father. Although the location and year of the report cards are not given, we can narrow these facts down through other sources of information. In addition, the report cards can give us some insight into Jesse and Steven’s education and the educational system of the time.

As to time and location, the name of Jesse and Steven’s teacher, Grace Hubbell, aids us greatly in pinning these down. The name looked familiar to me, and then I recalled an earlier post, “Bundy School, Porter County Indiana, 1907,” that mentioned Miss Hubbell and even included a photograph of her. In a 1912 biography of her uncle, Fletcher D White, we are told, that

Mr. and Mrs. White have reared in their home a niece, Grace Hubbell, an amiable, talented young lady, who is a graduate of Valparaiso University in the scientific and normal departments. She has taught for three years in the Bundy school near this city and has recently been engaged to teach in the schools of Gary.^[1]

Based on this information, we can guess that the report card is from Bundy school in Porter County, probably sometime between 1908–1912.

This matches well with what we know about the boys’ whereabouts based on census reports. In 1905, they were living with their mother Anna and aunt Lillie Casbon in Red Lake Falls, Minnesota.^[2] By 1910 they were living with their grandfather, Jesse Casbon Sr. in Porter County.^[3] Jesse and Steven were listed as ages 10 and 9, respectively. This was probably within a year or two of the time the report cards were written.

The Bundy school was a one-room schoolhouse with only one teacher, so the boys would have been in class with children of all ages and grade levels. The report cards don’t tell us what “grades” they were in, but evidently there was some way of distinguishing, since “Rank in Grade” (Jesse: 78 percent; Steven: 70 percent) was a category on the report cards. I find it interesting that the report cards were entirely hand-written. The only academic subjects receiving grades were Spelling ,Reading and Writing. Punctuality and Deportment (a word rarely used these days) were also graded. What a difference from today’s educational system!

Jesse and Steven weren’t at the top of their grade levels, but it looks like they were in the upper 50 percent (assuming Miss Hubbell was using a zero to 100 percent scale). Jesse seems to have been a slightly stronger student than Steven. In particular, he scored 96 percent on an examination in mathematics. We know from later life that Jesse was an astute businessman. Perhaps this was an early indication.

The 1912 History of Porter County has some interesting information about the county’s public schools. Outside of the city of Valparaiso, there were several high schools and one grammar school. Aside from these, each township was divided into a number of school districts, “and one teacher is employed in each district school.”^[4] The one-room schoolhouse was still the norm for education through the eighth grade. The average school term was 178 days.^[5] We’re also told that the average daily wage for teachers in Porter County was $3.38.^[6]

We know from the 1940 census that Jesse and Steven completed eight years of school education.^[7] I wonder how much of their education was completed in Porter County? Their early years must have been rough – parents separated, then divorced, relocation to Minnesota and then Indiana. These experiences probably helped to build a strong bond between them. The report cards were presumably saved by their mother, Anna. What significance did they hold for her?

^[1] History of Porter County Indiana: a Narrative Account of its Historical Progress, its People and its Principal Interests, vol. 2 (Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1912), p. 569 (entry for Fletcher White, pp. 564-9).
^[2] Fifth Decennial Census of Minnesota (1905), Red Lake County population schedule, Red Lake Falls, p. 344 (penned), enumeration nos. 1079–1082, Annie Kitchenn, Lillie Casbon, Jessie & Steven Kitchenn; imaged as “Minnesota State Census, 1905,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9Q97-YSB7-M72?i=7&owc=waypoints&cc=1503056 : accessed 1 August 2018), Red Lake > Red Lake Falls, Ward 02 > image 8 of 10; citing State Library and Records Service, St. Paul.
^[3] 1910 U.S. Census, Porter County, Indiana, Center Township, enumeration district 137, sheet 10A, dwelling 155, family 158, Jesse Casbon; imaged as “”United States Census, 1910,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRJJ-CL9?i=18&cc=1727033 : accessed 1 Auguest 2018), Indiana > Porter > Center > ED 137 > image 19 of 26; citing NARA microfilm publication T624, roll 374.
^[4] History of Porter County Indiana: a Narrative Account, vol. 1, p. 87.
^[5] Ibid.
^[6] Ibid.
^[7] 1940 U.S. Census, Anne Arundel County, Maryland, population schedule, election district 5, p. 622 (stamped), enumeration district 2-29-B, sheet 4-A, household 79, Casbon, Jesse (age 41); imaged as “United States Census, 1940,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89M1-HKD9?i=6&cc=2000219 : accessed 6 July 2017); citing NARA digital publication T627, roll 1502. 1940 U.S. Census, Anne Arundel County, Maryland, population schedule, 4th Election District, District Training School, enumeration district 2-23, sheet 9A, p. 494 (stamped), line 16, Stephen Casbon (indexed as “Carbon”); imaged as “United States Census, 1940,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9M1-HVF6?i=16&cc=2000219 : accessed 28 June 2018); citing NARA digital publication T627, roll 1501.

Anna Mae (Casbon) Fleming – Widow?

July 16, 2018April 15, 2020 admin2 Comments

As I researched my previous post about Jesse and Steven Casbon, I uncovered additional bits of information about this branch of the family, and I received a welcome flood of new materials from some of Jesse’s descendants. I’ll be writing about some of the new information in this and subsequent posts.

Sometimes records can be deceiving and lead one to make incorrect conclusions. Such was the case with Anna Mae (Casbon) Fleming, the mother of Jesse and Steven. Specifically, based on census and other records, I made incorrect assumptions about Anna’s marital status and the fate of her husband James H Fleming.

As background, Anna Mae was the second daughter of Jesse (1843–1934) and Emily (Price, 1856–1893) Casbon. Born in Porter County, Indiana, in December 1876, she married John Newton Kitchel there in 1898.^[1] They moved to Wisconsin, where Jesse was born in 1898 and Steven in 1890. A daughter, Emma, was born in 1902, but died of pneumonia when she was two months old.^[2] Anna and her husband were divorced sometime before 1905. In 1911, she married a Michigan farmer and widower named James Fleming.^[3] For reasons unknown, James, Anna, and the two boys moved to Newport News, Virginia, where they appear in the 1920 census.^[4]

This is the point where I allowed the records to lead me astray. Specifically, when I found Anna in the 1930 census, she was now living in Baltimore, Maryland, and listed as a widow.^[5]

Detail/composite image from 1930 Census, Baltimore. Anna’s marital status is “Wd” for widowed. She is the proprieties of a boarding house. (Click on image to enlarge)

Based on this census, I had assumed that Anna’s husband, James, died sometime between the 1920 and 1930 censuses. This belief was reinforced by an entry I later found for Anna in the 1922 Baltimore City Directory.^[6]

Detail from Polk’s Baltimore City Directory of 1922. Anna is listed as “wid J H.”

This allowed me to narrow the date of James’ death to sometime between 1920 and 1922. However, I was unable to find a death record for James in either Virginia or Maryland within this time frame. This did not trouble me greatly, since not all records can be found online and he was not the focus of my research efforts.

I don’t remember what prompted me, but I decided to try once again to find James’ death record. This time I did not specify a location or narrow time frame in my online search. The search turned up a surprising result: a death certificate for James Harvey Fleming, who was born March 3, 1863 and died November 12, 1934 in Alma, Gratiot County, Michigan.^[7] This was at least twelve years later than expected, based on Anna’s status in the Baltimore directory.

Death certificate of James Harvey Fleming. (Click on image to enlarge)

Was this the right James? As I compared what I knew about Anna’s husband and the man named in the death certificate, many of the facts lined up. I knew from an earlier census that Anna’s husband was born in March 1863 and that he had lived in Gratiot County, Michigan.^[8] His first wife’s name was Myrtie (Newcomb).^[9] He had two sons from his first marriage: Norman W and Marley.^[10] Note that Norman was listed as the informant for the death certificate. To confirm my suspicions, I compared two marriage records: James Fleming to Myrtie Newcomb, and James Fleming to Anna Casbon. Both records gave the names of James’ parents as Robert F Fleming and Eliza Rice. There was no doubt: Anna’s husband was the man who died in 1934.

There are minor discrepancies on the death certificate. His marital status is listed as “Widowed” and his wife’s name is given as Myrtie Fleming. While technically correct – he had been previously widowed – it does not reflect the fact that he had been more recently married to Anna. James’ father’s name is incorrectly given as “Jessie” instead of Robert F Fleming. Robert died before the informant, Norman, was born, so it’s possible that Norman conflated the name of his grandfather with that of Jesse Casbon, Anna’s father. These are minor discrepancies and don’t alter my conclusions about James Fleming’s identity.

The death certificate proves that my earlier assumptions about James’ death were wrong, but it doesn’t explain what happened to the marriage or why Anna was listed as a widow while James was still living. Since James was still alive in 1930, I decided to look for him in the U.S. census of that year. He was easily found, listed as an employee (“servant”) at the Gratiot County (Michigan) Infirmary.^[11]

Detail from 1930 Census, Gratiot County, Michigan. (Click on image to enlarge)

James marital status is listed as “D” for divorced. So, Anna’s status on the 1930 census and 1922 Baltimore directory was clearly incorrect. This false information was presumably given by her. Why would she do that?

It turns out that this was probably a fairly common occurrence. In the early twentieth century, being divorced was less socially acceptable that it is today. The death of a spouse would have been considered a much more acceptable way for a marriage to end. By stating that she was a widow (while conveniently moving to a new city – Baltimore – where people didn’t know her), Anna could avoid the stigma of divorce and the questions of nosy neighbors.

Another possibility is that she was neither widowed nor divorced. James and Anna might have separated without a formal divorce, or James might have abandoned her. Without a divorce record, we can’t know for sure. I’ve looked for a record online but haven’t found one. Many such records have not been digitized and are only available in local court houses.

At any rate, we now have a more accurate picture of what happened. Sometime between 1920, when James and Anna were recorded together on the U.S. Census, and 1922, when Anna was listed as a widow in the Baltimore directory, their marriage ended. Whether this occurred before or after Anna moved to Baltimore is unknown. At some point, James moved back to his home county in Michigan, where he died in 1934.

Finally, Anna really was a widow, and remained so until her death in 1957.

^[1] 1900 U.S. Census, Forest County, Wisconsin, population schedule, Cavour Town, enumeration district 39, sheet 5B, dwelling 87, family 90, Anna Kitchel in household of Newton Kitchel; imaged as “United States Census, 1900,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-6X19-MYQ?i=9&cc=1325221 : accessed 25 July 2017), Wisconsin > Forest > ED 39 Cavour town > image 10 of 16; citing NARA microfilm publication T62, roll 1789. Porter County, Indiana, Marriage Record Book 11, Sept 1895–Jan 1899, p. 430 (stamped), Newton Kitchel and Anna Casbon, 9 Jul 1898; imaged as “Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9R15-4M4?i=253&cc=1410397 : accessed 18 June 2017), Porter > 1895-1899 Volume 11 > image 254 of 286; citing Porter County Clerk, Valparaiso.
^[2] Indiana, State Board of Health, Certificate of Death, Center Township, Porter County, no. 118, Emma E Margreete Kitchel, 6 Apr 1902 (age 2 mo, 7 d); imaged as “Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011,” Ancestry (https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=60716 : accessed 10 July 2018), Certificate >1902 >10 >image 1020 of 2753; citing Indiana Archives and Records Administration, Indianapolis.
^[3] Oceana County, Michigan, Marriage Register, vol. 4, 1911, p. 205 (penned), record 3515, James H Fleming & Anna Casbon Kitchel, 16 Jun 1911, imaged as “Michigan, Marriage Records, 1867-1952,” Ancestry (https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=9093 : accessed 25 June 2018), Registers, 1887 – 1925 >1911 – 1915 >1911 Manistee – Washtenaw >image 294 of 703; citing Michigan Department of Community Health, Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics.
^[4] 1920 U.S. Census, Warwick County, Virginia, population schedule, Newport News, enumeration district 86, sheet 5A, p. 5 (stamped), family 74, James H Flemming; imaged as “United States Census, 1920,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRN2-CNJ?cc=1488411 : accessed 25 July 2017), Virginia > Newport News (Independent City) > Newport News Ward 1 > ED 86 > image 18 of 21; citing NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 1899. FHL microfilm 1,821,899.
^[5] 1930 U.S. Census, Baltimore City, Maryland, population schedule, enumeration district 4-583, sheet 5A, p. 173 (stamped), 602 North Ave., dwelling 85, family 104, Anna Fleming; imaged as “United States Census, 1930,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9R4J-W2C?i=8&cc=1810731 : accessed 26 July 2017), Maryland > Baltimore (Independent City) > Baltimore (Districts 501-673) > ED 583 > image 9 of 18; citing NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 856.
^[6] Polk’s Baltimore City Directory 1922 (Baltimore: R.L. Polk & Co., 1922), p. 743, Fleming, Anna (“wid JH”), imaged as “U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995,” Ancestry (https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=2469 : accessed 28 June 2018), Maryland >Baltimore >1922 >Baltimore, Maryland, City Directory, 1922 >image 380 of 1156.
^[7] Death certificate, Alma, Gratiot County, Michigan, register no. 118, state office no. 129 1397, James Harvey Fleming, 12 Nov 1934; imaged as “Michigan, Death Records, 1867-1950,” Ancestry (https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=60872 : accessed 5 July 2018), Certificates 1921-1942 >103: Gratiot-Alma, 1921-1935 >image1413 of 1516; citing Michigan Department of Community Health, Division of Vital Records and Health Statistics, Lansing.
^[8] 1900 U.S. Census, Gratiot County, Michigan, population schedule, Seville Township, enumeration district 59, sheet 1B, dwelling & family 19, James H Flenny; imaged as “United States Census, 1900,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-DTBS-FYV?i=1&cc=1325221 : accessed 5 July 2018), Michigan > Gratiot > ED 59 Seville township > image 2 of 29; citing NARA microfilm publication T623, roll 713.
^[9] Marriage register, Missaukee County, MIchigan, no. 188, 2 Dec 1891, James H Fleming & Myrtie Newcomb; imaged as “Michigan Marriages, 1868-1925,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-D8QQ-7Z?i=281&cc=1452395 : accessed 5 July 2018), 004208240 > image 282 of 646; citing Department of Vital Records, Lansing.
^[10] 1910 U.S. Census, Oceana County, Michigan, population schedule, enumeration district 127, sheet 2A, p. 94 (stamped), James H Fleming; imaged as “United States Census, 1910,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRVJ-1J6?i=2&cc=1727033 : accessed 5 Jul 2018), Michigan > Oceana > Greenwood > ED 127 > image 3 of 16; citing NARA microfilm publication T624, roll 669.
^[11] 1930 U.S. Census, Gratiot County, Michigan, population schedule, Newark Township, Gratiot County Infirmary, enumeration district 29-18, sheet 11A, p. 193 (stamped), line 6, James Fleming in household of Lee Raycraft; imaged as “United States Census, 1930,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RHS-9SQ?i=20&cc=1810731 : accessed 5 July 2018), Michigan > Gratiot > Newark > ED 18 > image 21 of 24; citing NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 989.

Jess & Steve’s Excellent Adventure

July 9, 2018 admin5 Comments

Jess and Steve’s excellent adventure began on June 8, 1921, when they signed on as crewmembers aboard the S.S. Western Comet in Baltimore, Maryland.^[1]

Manifest of crew members of S.S. Western Comet, arriving in New York from St. Nazaire, France, 8 October, 1921. Column 4 shows that “J Casbon” and “SF Casbon” were engaged as crew members 8 June, in Baltimore. The form was apparently filled out incorrectly, as corrections were made to the ports of arrival and departure.
(Click on image to enlarge)

“J” Casbon on the ship’s manifest is Jesse John Casbon, and “SF” Casbon is his younger brother Steven. Jesse and Steven were close. They were born less than two years apart in Wisconsin, Jesse in December 1898 and Steven in August 1900, the offspring of John Newton (1875–1945) and Anna Mae (Casbon, 1876–1957) Kitchel.

Their early lives were tumultuous. By 1905 the parents were separated, their father remaining in Wisconsin, and Anna and the two boys living in Minnesota (see “1905, Red Lake County, Minnesota” [link]).^[2] By 1910, John and Anna were divorced. Anna and the two boys were staying with her father, Jesse Casbon, on his farm in Porter County, Indiana.^[3]

The boys acquired a step-father in 1911 when Anna married a Michigan farmer named James H Fleming.^[4] The available records are silent on their whereabouts during most of their teen years. Jesse enlisted in the Army in October, 1916 and served for the duration of the first World War, returning from Brest, France, in early 1919.^[5] Upon his return, he moved back in with his family, who were now living in Newport News, Virginia.

In the 1920 census, we find James Fleming, the stepfather, employed as a watchman at a shipyard. Jesse is working as a clerk and checker at a warehouse, and Steven is listed as a steam engineer at a shipyard.^[6]

Detail from 1920 U.S. Census, Newport News, Virginia. (Click on image to enlarge)

It must have been during this time that they hatched the idea of the adventure. Maybe Steven’s work in the shipyard inspired them; or maybe Jesse wanted to return to France in peacetime with his little brother. At any rate, they joined the crew of Western Comet where they were listed as ordinary seamen (“OS” in column 2 of the ship’s manifest).

The Western Comet was built in 1918 by the Northwest Steel Company in Portland, Oregon.^[7] Originally built under contract to the French government, the ship was transferred to the U.S. Navy after the United States entered World War I.^[8] Following the war, the ship was transferred to the U.S. Shipping Board for use in commercial operations.^[9]

Source: Heave Together, Official Organ of the Northwest Steel Company, Portland Oregon,
vol. 2, p. 695; image copy, Google Books (https://books.google.com/books?id=8tVHAQAAMAAJ&dq=s.s.+western+comet&source=gbs_navlinks_s : accessed 26 June 2018).

Signing up as fledgling sailors on a cargo ship bound for France was an adventure in itself. However, the boys were in for more than they expected. Contemporary newspapers recount the various mishaps that befell the ship, even before departing the port at Baltimore.

On June 13, five days after joining the crew, the ship was “badly disabled” while still in port, the damage being attributed to striking marine workers.^[10] The nation was in the midst of a seamen’s strike involving 140,000 marine workers at all major ports.^[11] This raises another possible reason why the two brothers decided to become sailors that summer: they might have been filling vacancies left by striking sailors.

Apparently, the damage to the ship was repaired quickly, as The New York Herald reported on June 19^th that Western Comet had departed Baltimore on Friday, June 17.^[12] However, on the same day the New York Tribune reported, “while outward bound Friday evening with coal for St Nazaire the str [steamer] Western Comet went aground off Hawkins Point and remained here today. Defective steerng [sic] gear is attributed as the cause of the accident.” Hawkins Point lies at the southern tip of Baltimore, where the outlet of the harbor begins to merge with the Chesapeake Bay. The ship was barely out of port and already in trouble!

Map of Baltimore showing location of Hawkins Point. (Google Maps; click on image to enlarge)

Again, there did not appear to be any serious damage, but the cargo had to be unloaded in order to refloat the ship. Five days after its original departure, The New York Herald reported “Str Western Comet, hence for St. Nazaire, before reported aground at Hawkins Point, floated and is reloading cargo.” Two days later The Herald reported “Cape Henry, Va … Passed out … 23d, 9 AM, str Western Comet, … (from Baltimore) for St Nazaire,” meaning the ship had passed Cape Henry, Virginia, the outlet of the Chesapeake Bay and entrance to the Atlantic Ocean.

The voyage across the Atlantic was unremarkable. All was going well until …

Source: The Boston Post, 9 Jul 1921, p. 2, col. 7; online image, Newspaper Archive (accessed through participating libraries: 26 June 2018).

A similar report appeared in the New York Tribune on June 10.^[13]

On Jun 25, more than two weeks after the mishap, The New York Herald reported that Western Comet was once again afloat, and “proceeded to St Nazaire, where she is expected to go into dry dock.”^[14] The Bulletin of the American Bureau of Shipping gave a more detailed report:

“BORDEAUX, August 1, 1921.— The S.S. Western Comet. after being hard aground off St Nazaire, has been salvaged and dry docked in the same port. It is estimated that repairs will cost about $200,000. All French repair films along the coast are to bid on the work, and the job may be done in La Palice.”^[15]

I haven’t been able to determine where the repair work was done. The next reports tell us that Western Comet departed St. Nazaire for New York on September 16, more than two months after foundering off the French coast.^[16] The ship finally arrived in New York on October 8. There are reports that Western Comet was being towed, at least part way across the Atlantic, by another ship.^[17] Apparently whatever repairs were done in France were not sufficient. Once in port in New York, the ship was immediately taken to dry dock for more work.^[18]

Approximate route taken by Jesse and Steven from Baltimore to St. Nazaire, and then to New York. (Google Maps; click on image to enlarge)

The adventure was over, and apparently so were Jesse and Steven’s careers as sailors. In 1922, we find the brothers living together in Baltimore (with their mother), now running their own confectionary business.^[19]

The story of the brothers’ voyage on the Western Comet as I’ve told it is based entirely on contemporary records. It leaves many questions unanswered. Why did they sign up? What did they do while the ship was awaiting repairs in St. Nazaire? Was this the vacation of a lifetime or were they stuck on board ship? It was a small but memorable episode in their lives. I wonder if any tales have been handed down to later generations? If so, I would love to hear more of the story.

^[1] “List of Aliens Employed on the Vessel as Members of Crew,” S.S. Western Comet, arriving New York 21 Oct 1921 from St. Nazaire, France, nos. 12 & 13, Casbon J and Casbon S.F.; imaged as “New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C95R-F771-9?i=202&cc=1368704 : accessed 25 June 2018), Roll 3034, vol 6913-6914, 7 Oct 1921-10 Oct 1921 > image 203 of 990; citing NARA microfilm publication T715, roll 3034.
^[2] 1905 Minnesota Census, Red Lake County, population schedule, Red Lake Falls, p. 344 (penned), no. 1079, Kitchen, Annie; imaged as “Minnesota State Census, 1905,” FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9Q97-YSB7-M72?cc=1503056&wc=M8SL-WT1%3A67006601%2C67115001 : 21 May 2014), Red Lake > Red Lake Falls, Ward 02 > image 8 of 10; citing State Library and Records Service, St. Paul.
^[3] 1910 U.S. Census, Porter County, Indiana, population schedule, Center Township, enumeration district 137, sheet 10A, p. 26 (stamped), dwelling 155, family 158, Jesse Casbon; imaged as “United States Census, 1910,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRJJ-CL9?i=18&cc=1727033 : accessed 4 July 2018), Indiana > Porter > Center > ED 137 > image 19 of 26; citing NARA microfilm publication T624, roll 374.
^[4] Oceana County, Michigan, Marriage Register, 1911, p. 205 (penned), record 3515, James H Fleming & Anna Casbon Kitchel, 16 Jun 1911, imaged as “Michigan, Marriage Records, 1867-1952,” Ancestry (https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=9093 : accessed 25 June 2018), Registers, 1887 – 1925 >1911 – 1911 Manistee – Washtenaw >image 294 of 703; citing Michigan Department of Community Health, Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics.
^[5] Passenger List, U.S.S. Virginia, sailing 12 Feb 1919 from Brest, France, Battery C 1st Battalion Trench Artillery, no. 79, Jesse Casbon;imaged as “US Army WWI Transport Service, Passenger Lists,” Fold3 (https://www.fold3.com/browse/250/hR09WBr_U : accessed 21 Jun 2018), Incoming >Virginian >1918 Nov 11-1919 Apr 20 >page 151; citing NARA, RG 92, roll 347, College Park, Maryland.
^[6] 1920 U.S. Census, Warwick County, Virginia, population schedule, Newport News, enumeration district 86, sheet 5A, p. 5 (stamped), family 74, James H Flemming; imaged as “United States Census, 1920,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRN2-CNJ?cc=1488411 : accessed 25 July 2017), Virginia > Newport News (Independent City) > Newport News Ward 1 > ED 86 > image 18 of 21; citing NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 1899.
^[7] “USS Western Comet (ID-3569),” Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Western_Comet_(ID-3569) : accessed 26 Jun 2018), rev. 28 Dec 17, 12:14.
^[8] Ibid.
^[9] Ibid.
^[10] “Blaze Holds up Buckeye State,” Evening Public Ledger (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), 13 Jun 1921, p. 8, col. 3; online image, “Chronicling America,” Library of Congress (https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045211/1921-06-13/ed-1/seq-8/ : accessed 5 Jul 2018).
^[11] Florence Peterson, “Review of Strikes in the United States,” Monthly Labor Review 46 (May 1938), no. 5, p. 1056; online image, JSTOR (https://www.jstor.org/stable/i40085540 : accessed 5 July 2018).
^[12] “American Ports (By Telegraph),” The New York Herald, 19 Jun 1921, 2d news section, p. 9, col. 4; Library of Congress (https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045774/1921-06-19/ed-1/seq-31/ : accessed 5 July 2018).
^[13] “Maritime Miscellany (Baltimore July 9),” New York Tribune, 10 Jul 1921, p. 19, col. 4; Library of Congress (https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1921-07-10/ed-1/seq-19/ : accessed 26 June 2018).
^[14] “Maritime Miscellany,” The New York Herald, 25 Jul 1921, p. 15, col. 1; Library of Congress (https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045774/1921-07-25/ed-1/seq-15/ : accessed 26 June 2018).
^[15] R W Clark, “Repairs to S.S. Western Comet,” Bulletin of the American Bureau of Shipping, vol. 1, no. 5, September-October, 1921, p. 15; Google Books (https://books.google.com/books?id=FVT36EA2CUYC&dq=s.s.+western+comet&source=gbs_navlinks_s : accessed 26 June 2018).
^[16] “Foreign Ports … Departures for New York,” New York Tribune, 21 Sep 1921, p. 20, col. 3; Library of Congress (https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1921-09-21/ed-1/seq-20/ : accessed 26 June 2018).
^[17]“Wireless Reports: from United States Shipping Board Daily Shipping Bulletin,” The New York Herald, 6 Oct 1921, p. 10, col. 3; Library of Congress (https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045774/1921-10-06/ed-1/seq-10/ : accessed 9 July 2018).
^[18]“Arrived,” The New York Herald, 2d news section, 9 Oct 1921, p. 10, col. 3; Library of Congress(https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045774/1921-10-09/ed-1/seq-34 : accessed 5 July 2018).
^[19] Polk’s Baltimore City Directory 1922 (Baltimore: R.L. Polk & Co., 1922), p. 509, entries for Casbon Bros, Jesse and Stephen, imaged as “U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995,” Ancestry (https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=2469 : accessed 28 June 2018), Maryland >Baltimore >1922 >Baltimore, Maryland, City Directory, 1922, image 263 of 1156.

1905, Red Lake County, Minnesota

January 8, 2018April 15, 2020 admin2 Comments

The word serendipity means “the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.”^[1] I was browsing through various census results the other day, not looking for anything in particular. It was through serendipity that I chanced upon this entry in the 1905 Minnesota state census.

Minnesota State Census, 1905, Red Lake Falls, entry for Lillian Casbon.^[2] (Click on image to enlarge)

At first, I thought this might be a misspelling, because I was not aware of a Lillie Casbon living in Minnesota. The closest Lillian I knew of was the daughter of Jesse Casbon (1845–1934). She was born and raised in Porter County, Indiana. I began to compare the details in the Minnesota census with Jesse’s daughter: she was born in February 1880, which would have made her 25 years old in June of 1905.^[3] This doesn’t exactly match the age of 23 in the census, but it’s close. Her place of birth (Indiana) and those of her parents (father – England, mother – Minnesota) as written in the census match the information I have about Jesse’s daughter. So far, so good.

Then I noticed something else in the Minnesota entry: Lillian’s entry is sandwiched between those for Annie Kitchen and two children, Jessie and Steven. Annie, age 27, was also born in Indiana, and her parents were born in the same states as Lillian. It appears that Lillie is living in the same household as the Kitchens.

Now things started to snap into place. Lillian Casbon, of Indiana, had an older sister, Anna Mae, who was born in December 1876.^[4] This would have made her 30 years old in 1905. Anna Mae Casbon married Newton Kitchel in 1898,^[5] and had two children, Jesse John (b. 1898) and Steven (b. 1900).^[6]^,^[7] Anna divorced Newton Kitchel and eventually changed her surname back to Casbon. She was apparently still going by Kitchel when the Minnesota census was taken in 1905, but her name was misspelled as Kitchen.

The 1905 census has a little bit more information to give us. We can see that both Anna and Lillian were employed as bakers. Anna had been a resident of Minnesota for 1 year, 1 month and a resident of Red Lake County for 10 months. Lillian came to Minnesota after her sister; she had only lived there for 3 months. As we have seen, both women “fudged” a couple of years on their true ages.

It turns out, Anna and Lillian were not the only Casbons living in Red Lake County at the time. George W. Casbon and his stepmother/aunt Emma (Casbon) Rigg, were living in nearby St. Hilaire, as seen in this image.^[8]

Minnesota State Census, 1905, St Hilaire, entries for Emma Rigg and GW Casbon. (Click on image to enlarge)

I’ve written about George and Emma in the post “Introducing the Iowa Casbons! Part 1.” Anna and Lillian were George’s first cousins, and Emma was their aunt.

St Hilaire and Red Lake Falls are only about 8 miles apart. Is it a coincidence that these cousins were in such close proximity? It’s impossible to know for sure, but it seems unlikely. George’s occupation in the 1905 census was listed as “farming,” but his obituary tells us that he operated “a bakery (my emphasis) and farm in Minnesota for two years” before moving back to Iowa.^[9] How interesting that Anna and Lillian were both listed as bakers!

We know that George and Emma maintained contact with their Indiana relatives.^[10] We also know that when Emma died in 1910, she was staying with her brother Jesse, Anna and Lillian’s father, in Indiana.^[11] Anna was living in the same household, and cared for Emma during her final illness.^[12] Emma expressed her gratitude to Anna in her last will and testament with a bequest of 500 dollars.^[13] So, it seems likely to me that Anna, Lillian, George, and Emma would have know of each other’s presence in Minnesota.

Why were they all in Minnesota? George might have been there to be close to his future bride, Maud Carpenter.^[14] Other than that I don’t have any clues about their reasons for being there. From the residency information in the 1905 census, it looks like Anna arrived in Minnesota first, then George, then Emma, and finally Lillian. I know from the obituary quoted above that George, and presumably Emma, only stayed in Minnesota for two years, but I don’t know how long Anna and Lillian lived there.

It seems like their time in Minnesota was just a small footnote in their life stories. George and Emma returned to Iowa. Anna and Lillian returned to Indiana. Anna eventually remarried. Lillian never married, but eventually started a flower shop in Valparaiso, Indiana, with her other sister Edna. My father recalls them and their shop, located across the street from the Pioneer apartments, and just behind the present-day Porter County Library (now a vacant lot).

^[1] “Serendipity,” Oxford English Living Dictionaries (https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/serendipity : accessed 8 January 2018).
^[2] “Minnesota State Census, 1905,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9Q97-YSB7-M72?cc=1503056&wc=M8SL-WT1%3A67006601%2C67115001 : 21 May 2014), Red Lake > Red Lake Falls, Ward 02 > image 8 of 10, entry for Lillian Casbon, schedule sheet 28 (versa), p. 344 (penned), no. 1080; citing State Library and Records Service, St. Paul.
^[3] “United States Census, 1880,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHS7-ZZV : accessed 8 January 2018), entry for Lilly E Casbon in household of Jesse Casbon, Center Township, Porter County, Indiana, enumeration district 141, sheet 516C, p. 39(penned), household 273, family 275; citing NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 305.
^[4] “Deaths … Mrs. Anna Mae Fleming,” The (Valparaiso, Indiana) Vidette-Messenger, 21 Dec 1957, p. 2, col. 5; database with images, Newspaper Archive (accessed through participating libraries : accessed 31 May 2017).
^[5] “Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9R15-4M4?i=253&cc=1410397 : accessed 18 June 2017), image 254 of 286, Newton Kitchell/Anna Casbon, 9 Jul 1898; citing Porter County Clerk, Marriages 1895–1899, vol. 11, p. 430.
^[6] “United States Census, 1900,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MMKK-WJ6 : accessed 25 July 2017), Jesse Kitchel in household of Neuelan Kitchel, Cavour town, Forest, Wisconsin, enumeration district (ED) 39, sheet 5B, family 90; citing NARA microfilm publication T623, roll 1789.
^[7] “United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K6Z8-GQZ : 12 December 2014) >Virginia > Warwick County no 1, A-C > image 1862 of 2615, Steven Casbon, 1917-1918; citing NARA microfilm publication M1509.
^[8] “United States Census, 1880,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9Q97-YSBQ-11S?i=17&cc=1503056 : accessed 3 August 2017), G W Casbon, Saint Hilaire, River Falls township, Red Lake, schedule shhet 17, p. 173, line 677; citing State Library and Records Service, St.Paul.
^[9] “Deaths – George W. Casbon,” Waterloo (Iowa) Daily Courier, 25 Feb 1944, p. 2, col. 5; online archive, Newspaper Archive (accessed through participating libraries: 16 January 2016).
^[10] Jon Casbon,“Introducing the Iowa Casbons! Part 1,” Our Casbon Journey, 5 Oct 2017, para. 4 (https://casbonjourney.wordpress.com/2017/10/05/introducing-the-iowa-casbons-part-1/ : accessed 8 January 2018).
^[11] “La Porte City Resident Dies,” Waterloo (Iowa) Evening Courier, 5 Aug 1910, p. 5, col. 5; online images, Newspaper Archive (accessed through participating libraries : accessed 29 June 2017).
^[12] Jon Casbon, transcriber, letters written by Emma Casbon to George & Maude (Carpenter) Casbon in 1910, transcribed 2017; privately held by Casbon. The letters were provided to him by Claudia Vokoun, who received them from her mother, Emma Elizabeth (Casbon) Eldridge.
^[13] Last will and testament of Emma E. Rigg, Valparaiso, Porter County, Indiana, 1909, photostatic copy in scrapbook compiled by Claudia Vokoun, Aug 2017; copy privately held by Jon Casbon.
^[14] Casbon,“Introducing the Iowa Casbons! Part 1,” Our Casbon Journey, 5 Oct 2017, para. 6.

John Newton Kitchel Family, about 1902

Anna and family

Jesse’s Barber Shop, Glen Burnie, Maryland

Jesse’s Barber Shop, Cocoa Beach, Florida

Elizabeth and Jesse

Minnesota State Census, 1905, Red Lake Falls, entry for Lillian Casbon.[2] (Click on image to enlarge)

Minnesota State Census, 1905, St Hilaire, entries for Emma Rigg and GW Casbon. (Click on image to enlarge)

Minnesota State Census, 1905, Red Lake Falls, entry for Lillian Casbon.^[2] (Click on image to enlarge)