Tag: William Slocum

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.

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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]

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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]

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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]

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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.

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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]