Five Families, Eleven Weddings

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.

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.

Digging into the Aylesworth Story

My last post introduced the Aylesworth family and described the two marriages that tied the Casbon and Aylesworth names together: Sylvester Casbon and Mary Adaline Aylesworth, married in 1860, and Amos Casbon and Carrie Belle Aylesworth, married in 1900. Today I delve more deeply into the history of the Aylesworth family and how their story converged with that of the Casbon family.

I refer once again to the diagram I introduced in the last post, showing how the Aylesworths of Porter County, Indiana, descended from Arthur¹ Aylworth, the original immigrant from England. The superscript numbers in the chart (“Arthur¹”) represent the respective generations of each person. In order to minimize confusion, I am using generation numbers corresponding to those in the diagram throughout the post.

Descendancy chart of the Aylesworth family, beginning with the original immigrant, Arthur¹ Aylworth and ending with Carrie Belle⁹ and Mary Adaline⁷ Aylesworth in their respective branches (Click on image to enlarge)

First, let me say a few words about spelling. In the diagram, I’ve followed the spelling conventions used in the Aylesworth Family genealogy, using the Aylworth spelling for the first five generations and Aylesworth for later generations.^[1] In fact, as was typical of the times, many different spellings are found in records, each spelling being determined arbitrarily by whomever made the entry in a given record. Thus, we see Aleworth, Aylsworth, Aulsworth, and Elsworth, among many others. Today’s Aylesworth spelling became fixed sometime in the 19^th century. That said, the editors of History of Porter County spelled the name as Ellsworth when the book was published in 1912.^[2]

It is unknown when Arthur¹ Aylworth, the original immigrant from England, arrived in the New World. However, it must have been sometime before 29 July 1679, because on that date his name appears on a list of signatures in a petition from the inhabitants of Narragansett country [Rhode Island] to King Charles II of England.

Arthur¹ Aylesworth’s name, seen in this detail from “Copy of a Petition of the Inhabitants of Narragansett Country, King’s Province, to King Charles II,” 29 Jul 1679; Yale University Library, Digital Collections (http://findit.library.yale.edu/catalog/digcoll:1018481) (Click on image to enlarge)

Arthur¹ settled in an area known as Quidnessett, now part of North Kingston Township in Washington County, Rhode Island.^[3] His son Arthur² lived in what is now West Greenwich Township.^[4] Philip³, grandson of the first Arthur, moved to Coventry Township in about 1745.^[5] His son, Philip⁴ Jr., left Coventry and lived in Pownal, Vermont, for several years before migrating to Milford, Otsego County, New York.^[6] John⁵ Aylworth, the common ancestor of Mary Adaline⁷ and Carrie Belle⁹ Aylesworth, was born in Rhode Island. Like his father, he ended up in Milford, New York, where he died in about 1810.^[7]

Elizabeth (Humphrey) Aylesworth, the widow of John⁵, and two of her adult sons, Ira⁶ and Philip⁶, moved from New York to Ohio, beginning in about 1815. We are told that Elizabeth, with her children, moved to “Ashland or Wayne Co., Ohio, or perhaps near the line dividing these two counties, where she died.”^[8] Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find any trace of Elizabeth in Ohio records. She does not appear in census, marriage, or death records. However, both Ira⁶ and Philip⁶ can be found in the 1820 Ohio census of Wayne County, living in Pike and Mohican Townships, respectively. Giles⁶, the younger brother of Ira and Philip, does not appear in the census until 1840, when he was living in Prairie Township, Holmes County (immediately south of Wayne County).^[9]

Giles⁶ was the first member of the family to move to Indiana. We are told that in the autumn of 1842 he “moved here [Porter County, Indiana] with his wife and 5 children. He brought 2 wagons, household goods, various tools, grub hoe, axe and musket. Sealed in a false bottom of a dinner bucket was $2,000 in gold with which he bought the farm.”^[10] His daughter Mary Adaline⁷, having been born in April 1842, must have been only a few months old when the family made the move. Giles’s⁶ brother Philip⁶ bought a 160-acre tract of land in Porter County in 1842, but he never moved to Indiana. Instead, he sold the land to his son Ira B.⁷ Aylesworth, who came to Porter County in 1845.^[11]

Detail from a map of the northeastern United States, showing the locations associated with the Aylesworth
family, beginning with Arthur¹and ending with Giles’s⁶ and Ira B.⁷; approximate locations: 1. Quidnessett,
Rhode Island; 2. Pownal, Vermont; 3. Milford, New York; 4. Wayne County, Ohio; 5. Porter County, Indiana;
adapted from A.K. Johnston, “Map of part of North America to illustrate the naval and military
events of 1812-13-14,” (London: William Blackwood & Son, 1852); David Rumsey Map Collection (https://www.davidrumsey.com/)

Thomas Casbon arrived in Wayne County, Ohio, from England in 1846, and later moved to Holmes County. Presumably, Thomas and his family met members of the Aylesworth family who were still living in Ohio. After Thomas’s son Sylvester completed his education, he “taught one term at Mt. Ollie [sic. Olive], Ohio. Then acting under the persuasion of a friend Mr. Ellsworth [my emphasis], who had settled in Porter County, Indiana, and also from his own wish to locate further west, Mr. Casbon came to this [Porter] county in 1859 and began teaching in what was known as the Ellsworth school, which he conducted successfully for three terms.”

The identity of “Mr. Ellsworth” is unknown to me. It seems unlikely that he would have been either Giles⁶ or Ira B.⁷ Aylesworth, since they had already been living in Indiana for many years. It seems more likely that he would have been a contemporary who grew up with Sylvester in Ohio and then later moved to Porter County. Two likely candidates are the brothers Elias⁸ and Sylvenus⁸ Aylesworth, who were nephews of Ira B.⁷ Aylesworth. They were born in 1834 and 1836, respectively,^[12] and moved to Porter County from Wayne County, Ohio, sometime between the 1850 and 1860 censuses.

The exact identity and location of the “Ellsworth school” is also unknown to me, but my best guess is that it was located near the north line of Section 9 in Boone Township, near what is now the intersection of S 225 W and W 700 S. An 1875 plat map of the township (the oldest available to me) shows a school at that location on land owned by Ira B.⁷ Aylesworth.

Detail from a plat map of Boone Township, Porter County, Indiana, 1875, showing location of the district 1 school (circled) and outline of lands owned by Giles and Ira B. Aylesworth at the time; from “Boone Township Maps,” Porter County Indiana (GenWeb), http://www.inportercounty.org/Data/Maps/BooneTownshipMaps.html (Click on image to enlarge)

Sylvester Casbon would have been teaching at this school when he met his bride-to-be, Mary Adaline⁷Aylesworth. It is even possible that he was living in one of the Aylesworth households at the time.

Amos Casbon was only two years old when arrived in Porter County directly from England (via New York City) in early 1871. I don’t know how or when Amos and Carrie Belle⁹ Aylesworth met and began their courtship. Amos had a hard life in his early years, especially after his father, James, died in 1884. He probably worked on several farms during this time and might have met Carrie Belle in the course of his work.

How does all of this pertain to Our Casbon Journey? Well, I guess the point is that family history doesn’t occur in a vacuum. Even though the emphasis of this blog is on the history of the Casbon family, that history is affected at every point by the histories of other families. Perhaps, in knowing how we are connected through our ancestors, we can achieve a greater sense of connection with our living, but more distant, relatives. The fact that descendants of both Sylvester and Amos Casbon—now third, fourth, and fifth cousins, once removed—share a connection through the Aylesworth family gives us one more thing in common and hopefully binds us more closely together.

[1] Howard Aylesworth, Aylesworth Family, 2d ed., updated and reprinted by Joyce Knauff, et al. (Privately printed, 1984).
[2] History of Porter County, Indiana: A Narrative Account of its Historical Progress, its People and its Principal Interests (Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company, 1912).
[3] Homer Elhanan Aylsworth, Arthur Aylsworth and His Descendents in America (Providence, R.I.: Narragansett Historical Publishing Co., 1887), p. 36; online image, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/arthuraylsworthh00ayls : accessed 1 January 2019).
[4] Arthur Aylsworth and His Descendants, p. 42.
[5] Arthur Aylsworth and His Descendants, p. 50.
[6] Arthur Aylsworth and His Descendants, p. 71.
[7] Arthur Aylsworth and His Descendants, p. 112.
[8] Arthur Aylsworth and His Descendants, p. 112.
[9] 1840 U.S. census. Holmes County, Ohio, Prairie Township, p. 228, line 10 (FamilySearch)
[10] “Transcribed Biography of Aylesworth,” Porter County, Indiana (GenWeb) (http://www.inportercounty.org/Data/Biographies/Aylesworth45.html : accessed 1 January 2018); citing Mrs. John C Aylesworth, “Aylesworth Family of Porter County,” in American Revolution Bicentennial Committee of Porter County, A Biographical History of Porter County, Indiana (Valparaiso, Indiana: American Revolution Bicentennial Committee of Porter County, Inc., 1976), p. 76.
[11] “Transcribed Biography of Aylesworth.”
[12] Arthur Aylsworth and His Descendants, p. 431.

 

Aylesworth Connections

The Aylesworth name is well-known to many of the Casbons who trace their roots through Porter County, Indiana. One reason for this is that Carrie Belle Aylesworth (1873–1958) was the wife of Amos Casbon (1869–1956). Their wedding took place on 28 November 1900 at the home of Carrie’s parents (see “Wedding Bells”) in Boone Township. This loving couple had six sons and three daughters, all but one of whom lived into adulthood and had families of their own. Many of their grandchildren are living today and remember them well.

Before Amos or Carrie were even born, there had been another Casbon-Aylesworth wedding in Porter County. That was the marriage of my second great-grandfather Sylvester Casbon to Mary “Adaline” Aylesworth on 30 October 1860. Sylvester and Adaline had two surviving children—Cora Ann and Lawrence—before Adaline’s untimely death in 1868.

Because of these two marriages, the descendants of Amos, Carrie, Sylvester, and Adaline  are connected through both their Casbon and Aylesworth ancestries.

But what are those connections? How are the two branches related? The answer is fairly straightforward on the Casbon side. Their common ancestor was Isaac Casbon (~1773–1825) of Meldreth, Cambridgeshire, England, the grandfather of both Amos and Sylvester Casbon. Amos and Sylvester were first cousins, despite the fact that their ages were 37 years apart. Because of the age difference, their descendants of similar ages are mostly cousins “once-removed,” meaning their relationship to the common ancestor—Isaac Casbon—is one generation apart.

The connection on the Aylesworth side is more complicated. Carrie Aylesworth’s great-grandfather, Philip Aylesworth (~1793–1866) was the older brother of Adaline Aylesworth’s father, Giles (1807–1880). Their common ancestor was John Aylesworth (~1764–1810). Carrie was two generations farther away from John than Adaline; therefore, they were first cousins, twice removed.

The concept of cousins once or twice removed can be confusing, so I’ve created a diagram showing the lines of descent of the branches of the Aylesworth family to which Carrie and Adaline belonged.

Descendancy chart of the Aylesworth family, beginning with the original immigrant, Arthur¹ Aylworth and ending with Carrie Belle⁹ and Mary Adaline⁷ Aylesworth in their respective branches; superscript numbers after names represent each generation, beginning with Arthur¹ (Click on image to enlarge)

The diagram also demonstrates the places where the Aylesworth ancestors lived as they slowly migrated westward to Indiana. This is an interesting story in itself and will be the topic of the next post.

The Aylesworth genealogy has been well-documented. Many of today’s living descendants have a copy of the Aylesworth Family book, last published in 1984. This book traces the family back to Arthur (generation 1). Most of the information about the first seven generations comes from an earlier book, Arthur Aylesworth and His Descendants in America, written by Homer Elhanan Aylesworth and published in 1887.^[1] A copy of this book has been scanned and can be viewed or downloaded at https://archive.org/details/arthuraylsworthh00ayls.

Because of the Casbon-Aylesworth connection, members of the Casbon family have always been invited to the Aylesworth family reunions, which still take place on a (mostly) annual basis.

Aylesworth family reunion ca. 1921; several Casbons are in the photo: Amos & Carrie and their children, Lawrence and Leslie Casbon; how many can you pick out? (Click on image to enlarge)

[1] (Providence, R.I.: Narragansett Historical Publishing Co., 1887).

Color!

At this moment, most if not all of my readers are practicing some form of “social distancing” because of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. I hope you are all staying well and coping with the difficulties associated with this historic situation.

With today’s post, I have a suggestion that will hopefully lift your spirits and alleviate any boredom you might be experiencing. The suggestion comes courtesy of the MyHeritage genealogy website. Back in February (it seems so long ago!), MyHeritage introduced MyHeritage in Color™, a feature that automatically colorizes black and white photographs. As an introductory offer, users could upload and colorize up to ten photos. Once the limit was reached, a user would need a paid subscription to continue using the feature. I tried it out and was impressed with the results. However, I did not opt for the paid subscription.

A few days ago, I was surprised to receive this email message from MyHeritage.

Yes, they are offering “free and unlimited access” to this feature. I took them up on the offer and went through my collection and colorized about 200 photos. More importantly, if you have old photos stashed away, you might want to try it out yourself. It’s a good way to stay active if you’re stuck at home. This shows what a photo looks like before and after colorization.

Sylvester and Mary (Mereness) Casbon, with Sylvester’s descendants; about 1905,
Valparaiso, Indiana; author’s collection (Click on image to enlarge)

The results are impressive. The process uses artificial intelligence (AI) to decide which colors to use and where to place them. The computer algorithms are very good, but not perfect. If you look carefully at the photo above, you’ll see that the right hand of the girl standing in the front row is still gray. The AI failed to identify it as a body part. You can see a more extreme version of this in this detail from a photograph of Amos and Carrie Casbon’s family.

Detail from photograph of Amos and Carrie (Aylesworth) Casbon’s family and
home near Boone Grove, Indiana, about 1911; courtesy of Ron Casbon

The AI has missed two of the children altogether, making them look like clay sculptures.

On the other hand, some of the results are amazing. The AI seems particularly good at producing flesh tones, hair color, and vegetation. In most cases, it seems to do a good job with clothing as well. I would think that better quality scanned images are more likely to fare well, but I’ve had good results with poor quality originals.

Jesse John II and Elizabeth (Ryan) Casbon, Cocoa Beach, Florida; adapted
from an iphone photo of the original; courtesy of John N. Casbon 

You can also see that the MyHeritage logo gets added to the colorized image—a small price to pay, in my opinion.

Do you have old black and white family photos or snapshots? I encourage you to try this out. Visit https://www.myheritage.com/incolor, where you’ll need to sign up for a free account. You’ll need to scan your black and white photos to make digital copies so you can upload them to the web page. I suggest you use a scanning resolution of 300 dots per inch or better.

Here are some of the favorites from my collection.

Left: Sylvester and Mary (Mereness) Casbon, courtesy of Ilaine Church;
Right: Reuben and Elizabeth (Neyland) Casben, courtesy of Phil Long

Lawrence and Kate (Marquart) Casbon and family; seated on the horse, L to R, are Lynnet, Loring and Leslie; about 1898 near Hebron, Porter County, Indiana; courtesy of Don Casbon (Click on image to enlarge)

Left: James Casbon; Right: Amos and Carrie Belle (Aylesworth) Casbon; both courtesy of Ron Casbon

Left: Donald Glen Casbon (L) and Herbert Aylesworth (R) Casbon, undated; courtesy of Michael J. Casbon;
Right: L to R—Herman, Harriet, and Floyd Casbon; courtesy of Claudia Vokoun (Click on images to enlarge)

Lynnet Casbon and an unidentified man delivering a refrigerator in
Valparaiso, Indiana, about 1940; courtesy of Dave Casbon

Margaret (Donovan) Casban (second from left), her daughter Nell (third from left),
and others, hops picking in Sussex, England, early 1930s; courtesy of Alice Casban

 

Sunday School

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

Many genealogy researchers have learned that old books can be a valuable source of information about their ancestors. Many books that are no longer protected by copyright have been digitized and are available online. The three book sources that I use most often are Internet Archive, Hathi Trust Digital Library, and Google Books. You can go to any of these sites and type in a search term, such as a surname, and then get a list of books containing that search term. A regular Google search will also find these references, although they may be scattered throughout the search results.

A recent search turned up a source, titled The Sunday Schools of Lake: An Account of the Commencement and Growth of the Sunday Schools of Lake County, Indiana, from about 1840 to 1890.^[1] The book was written to commemorate the 25^th anniversary of the Lake County Sunday-school Convention, an interdenominational annual meeting of many of the county’s churches, as well as “the 50^th Anniversary of Sunday-school work in Lake County.”^[2]

In addition to giving a detailed history of Sunday schools in the county, the book provides a listing of students enrolled in the Convention’s Sunday schools in 1890. A few Casbon names turned up in this list.

Detail from pages 161-2 of The Sunday Schools of Lake, showing students enrolled at the Deep River Union School in 1890; (note: “1888” next to the name of the school is the year the school was organized)
(Click on image to enlarge)

The three names on page 161, Charles, Lawrence and T. (Thomas) Casbon, are all known to me. They are the sons of my second great-grandfather, Sylvester Casbon. Sylvester had moved to Deep River from Porter County in about 1865. Lawrence was born in 1865 to Sylvester’s first wife, Mary Adaline (Aylesworth), who died in 1868. Thomas and Charles were born in 1870 and 1872, respectively, to Sylvester’s second wife, Emilene Harriet (Perry), who died in 1874. In 1890, Lawrence, Thomas, and Charles would have been about 25, 20, and 18 years old, respectively. All three were still unmarried.

I must admit that I am completely baffled by the name on page 162—Stella Casbon. There is no other record of a child with that name. She does not appear in vital records, census reports, family histories, newspaper articles, or photographs. The fact that she was enrolled in the Boys’ and Girls’ class tells us that she would have been younger than the three Casbon sons. But there are no records of a younger daughter being born to Sylvester. Nor was a child of that name born to any of Sylvester’s siblings. There is no record that Sylvester’s third wife, Mary (Mereness) had any children. There were no other Casbon families living in Lake County at the time. So, who was Stella? I just don’t know.

The fact that the Casbon name appears in this book led me to reflect upon the religious beliefs and practices of the early Indiana Casbons. I’ll say at the outset that there is insufficient information to draw any firm conclusions. The Indiana Casbons are all descended from Isaac Casbon of Meldreth, Cambridgeshire, England, who lived from about 1773 to 1825. The baptisms, marriages, and burials of Isaac’s family were recorded in the parish registers (i.e., Church of England) of Meldreth and nearby parishes. Since this was the near universal practice of the time, it tells us nothing about the family’s religious beliefs or practices. The baptisms of two of Isaac’s children, Joseph and James, were not recorded, which suggests that the sacrament was not a high priority. As a poor agricultural laborer, Isaac was at the lower end of the social order. Putting bread on the table was probably a higher priority than religious practices.

Of Isaac’s son Thomas, my third great-grandfather, nothing is written about his religious beliefs. The few biographical references I have seen do not mention religion. If he is mentioned in church records in the U.S., I am not aware of them.

However, I do have a little information about Thomas’s sons. An 1882 biographical sketch of Sylvester Casbon, the father of the three sons mentioned above, states that “he is liberal in politics, attends church, and is much esteemed by his neighbors.”^[3] The 1912 History of Porter County Indiana includes sketches about Sylvester and his brother Charles. Of Sylvester, the book says “he and his wife are members and liberal supporters of the Christian church [of Valparaiso, Indiana], with Rev. Hill as their pastor.”^[4] Charles and his wife, Mary (Marrell) were also said to be liberal supporters of the same church.^[5] Sylvester’s obituary also mentions his membership in the Christian church.^[6] The fact that Sylvester and his brother were members of this church tells us that they considered themselves to be Christians, like the majority of Americans at the time. However, it tells us nothing about how important their Christian beliefs were to them.

The Christian church referred to above is now known as First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and was founded at Valparaiso, Indiana, in 1837.^[7] A modern source describes the denomination in these terms: “the Disciples of Christ, also known as the Christian Church, has no creed and gives its congregations complete autonomy in their doctrine. As a result, beliefs vary widely from individual church to church, and even among members of a church.”^[8] Thus, it is hard to tell exactly what the members of The Christian Church in Valparaiso believed.

First Christian Church, Valparaiso, Indiana, 1950 (https://www.fccvalpo.org/our-building-over-time)

Going back to the Sunday school roster of 1890, The Sunday Schools of Lake tells us that the Deep River Union School was organized “in August, 1888, by the evangelist ‘Christian’ minister of this district, Rev. Ellis B. Cross.”^[9] I haven’t been able to find out anything more about the school or its founder. Were the three Casbon sons there because of their Christian beliefs or was it more of an acceptable social outlet—something young men in Deep River were expected to do (especially since there was also a young ladies’ class!)?  How was their Sunday school experience reflected in their later lives?

I was always under the impression from conversations with my father that his family in Indiana wasn’t very religious. His grandfather was Lawrence Casbon—the one listed on the Sunday school roster above. Lawrence’s obituary mentions his membership in the local Masonic Lodge but says nothing about church membership.^[10] Likewise, the obituaries of his three sons, Leslie, Loring, and Lynnet, mention their memberships in the Masons, Scottish Rite, American Legion, and similar organizations, but say nothing about church membership. Perhaps these social organizations became their surrogates for participation in an organized church. [Update: see comment from Dave Casbon, below.]

Of Lawrence’s two brothers, Thomas’s obituary describes him as a member of the same Christian church as his father.^[11] Charles’s obituary says that he belonged to the Elks lodge but does not mention a church affiliation.^[12]

As I said earlier, there isn’t enough information to draw firm conclusions. The Indiana Casbons described above were all respected members of their communities. They fit in with the norms and expectations of their fellow citizens. Church membership and Sunday school attendance was probably one of those expectations in the late 1800s.

I will be eager to hear from any of their descendants whether they have different recollections or opinions.

[1] T.H. Ball (Crown Point, Indiana: T.H. Ball, 1891); Google Books (https://books.google.com/books?id=g5A_1QM4wVAC : accessed 21 Jan 2020)
[2] The Sunday Schools of Lake, p. 5.
[3] Weston A. Goodspeed, Charles Blanchard, Counties of Porter and Lake Indiana: Historical and Biographical, Illustrated (Chicago: F.A. Battey & Co., 1882), p. 707; Hathi Trust Digital Library.
[4] History of Porter County Indiana: A Narrative Account of its Historical Progress, its People and its Principal Interests (Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Co., 1912), p. 484; Hathi Trust Digital Library.
[5] History of Porter County Indiana, p. 461.
[6] “Death Calls S.V. Casbon; Reached 90,” The (Valparaiso, Indiana) Vidette-Messenger, 10 Dec 1927, p. 1, col. 1; Newspaper Archive (accessed through participating libraries).
[7] “Our Story,” First Christian Church (https://www.fccvalpo.org/our-story).
[8] Jack Zavada, “Disciples of Christ Beliefs and Practices,” Learn Religions (https://www.learnreligions.com/disciples-of-christ-beliefs-and-practices-700019).
[9] The Sunday Schools of Lake, p. 86.
[10] “85-Year-Old Resident of County Dies.” The Vidette-Messenger, 16 Jun 1950, p. 1, col. 5; Newspaper Archive.
[11] “Deaths … Thomas S. Casbon,” The Vidette-Messenger, 16 Mar 1955, p. 6, col. 3; Newspaper Archive.
[12] “Death Takes C.P. Casbon,” The Vidette-Messenger, 1 Feb 1949, p. 1, col. 1; Newspaper Archive.

“Wedding Bells”

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

My last post was about the period in Amos Casbon’s life before his marriage. Today we read about his wedding to Carrie Belle Aylesworth on 28 November 1900. This is another newspaper discovery from my visit to the Valparaiso (Porter County, Indiana) public library in May 2019.

Here is the article from The Porter County Vidette of 6 December 1900.^[1]

(Click on image to enlarge)

Wedding Bells
The Marriage of Amos J. Casbon
and Miss Carrie Aylesworth

Mr. Amos J. Casbon and Miss Carrie B. Aylesworth were united in marriage Wednesday evening, Nov. 28, at the bride’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Aylesworth, of Boone Grove. The bride was very tastefully attired in a beautiful cream cashmere, richly trimmed in silk lace.
The young couple were attended by Mr. Clyde Aylesworth, a brother of the bride, and Miss Sadie Breyfogle.
About seventy-five of their friends and relatives were present to witness the ceremony which was performed at 8 o’clock by Rev. Miller, of Indianapolis. After congratulations were extended a bountiful repast was served.
Mr. and Mrs. Casbon expect to go to housekeeping in about six weeks and will reside on Mr. Casbon’s farm, two miles west of Boone Grove.
They were the recipients of many useful and valuable presents, viz: Dinner set, Mr. and Mrs. John Aylesworth; clock, Clyde Aylesworth and Sadie Breyfogle; coffemill [sic], Mr. and Mrs. Edgar Aylesworth and family; butter knife and sugar shell, Glenn Aylesworth; set silver teaspoons, Wm. Sawyer and family; silver cracker jar, Misses Sina, Lillian and Maud Casbon; salad dish, Floyd Aylesworth and Jettty [sic] Carson; silver sugar shell, Mr. and Mrs. Clinton Aylesworth and family; silver gravy ladle, Mr. and Mrs. L.H. Coplin; glass salt and pepper box, Bessie Shreve; half dozen napkins and bed spread, Emery Wickham; one pair linen towels, Mrs. J.W. Aylesworth; rug, Mr. and Mrs. [i.e., Cora Casbon] John Sams and Elmer Stulz; bed spread, Mr. and Mrs. Jerome Massey; silver gravy ladle, Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Skinkle; silver jelly spoon, Mr. and Mrs. L.L. Casbon and family; set silver teaspoons, Jesse Casbon; silver berry spoon, Mrs. Belle Aylesworth and daughter; bed spread, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Shreve; broom, Mr. and Mrs. Guy Aylesworth; pair linen towels, Mr. and Mrs. [i.e., Lodema Casbon] Hiram Church; glass salt and pepper boxes, Anna Aylesworth; glass vase, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Massey; silver gravy ladle, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Casbon; one dozen water glasses, Mr. and Mrs. H.B. Kenney; silver pickle castor, Mr. and Mrs. S.V. Casbon; glass tea set, Giles Aylesworth and family; cream ladle, Mr. and Mrs. W.E. Black and daughter; chamber set, Mr. and Mrs. Wallace, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Leeka, Mr. and Mrs. Guy Aylesworth and Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Aylesworth; pair white leghorn chickens, Mr. C. Wallace. The house was a piece of Mr. Wallace’s own work and showed his skill as a workman.

The article is full of interesting details, from the description of Carrie’s dress to the itemized list of wedding gifts.

Wedding portrait of Amos and Carrie (Aylesworth) Casbon;
courtesy of Ron Casbon (click on image to enlarge)

I suspect this wedding was a bigger affair than many in the local community. Carrie’s father, John Aylesworth, was a prominent farmer. Members of the Aylesworth family first settled in Porter County in 1842. Their descendants owned several hundred acres of land in Boone Township.

Carrie Belle was not the first Aylesworth to marry a Casbon. Sylvester (“S.V.” in the article) Casbon’s  first wife was Mary Adaline Aylesworth, who died in 1868. Consequently, the Aylesworth and Casbon families have always had close ties, and Casbons have been invited to the annual Aylesworth family reunions up to the present day.

I think it’s very interesting that the minister, Rev. Miller, was said to be from Indianapolis, which is about 140 miles away from Boone Grove. A search on FamilySearch.org shows that Rev. Melnotte Miller was the officiating minister for many weddings in various Indiana locales, although Indianapolis is not among them. He officiated at many Porter County weddings in 1899 and 1900, so perhaps he was temporarily assigned to the county at that time.

The list of gifts reveals a mix of practical items and valuable silverware. Have you ever heard of a pickle castor? I had not. This was apparently an ornate container for serving pickled condiments.

Pickle castors (www.carolsantiqueshop.com)

I especially like the gift of two leghorn chickens, apparently with their own henhouse, custom built by Mr. Wallace.

I wonder if any of these gifts have been handed down in the family?

From the standpoint of my one-name study, the guest list is chock full of Casbons, indicated in bold font in the transcript. This is not surprising, given that Porter County was ground zero for all the Casbons of English descent. Notably absent, however are any of Amos’s immediate family, which then consisted of his stepmother, Mary, and his sisters Margaret “Maggie,” and Alice. He was said to have been estranged from Mary and Maggie, but I don’t know why Alice wasn’t there. Or, perhaps they were in attendance, but just not listed as the givers of gifts.

There is one other item of interest in the article: the statement that the couple would “go to housekeeping in about six weeks and will reside on Mr. Casbon’s farm, two miles west of Boone Grove.” The location doesn’t make sense to me. In the previous post, I mentioned a January 1900 news item stating that Amos, then living in Chicago, was job hunting in the Boone Grove area.^[2] He apparently found a job, since we find him in the 1900 U.S. census, residing in Porter Township.

Detail from the 1900 U.S. census, Porter Township, Porter County, Indiana
(FamilySearch.org) (click on image to enlarge)

Amos is listed as a boarder on the farm of William Shreves. (Note that Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Shreve and their daughter Bessie were present at the wedding). Amos’s occupation is not given in the census listing, but presumably he was engaged in farming. The Shreve farm was located about 1 ½ miles west of Boone Grove, so perhaps that is the location referred to in the article. However, if that is the case, it could not be rightfully described as “Mr. Casbon’s farm.” Also, I doubt that Amos’s lodgings on the Shreve farm would have been suitable for a young newlywed couple.

The statement that Amos and Carrie would start housekeeping “in about six weeks” brings another explanation to mind. I have reviewed the Porter County deed records and note that Amos’s first land purchase closed on 14 January 1901, almost six weeks exactly after the wedding. On that date, Amos purchased 65 acres from Hattie Dye for the price of $3,250.^[3] That land is located about one-half mile southwest of Boone Grove. Although the location does not match what is written in the article, the timing and the description as “Mr. Casbon’s farm” make this the likely place.

Detail of 1895 plat maps of Porter and Boone Townships, Porter County, Indiana, showing John Aylesworth’s farm, Amos’s residence in the 1900 U.S. census, and Amos’s first land purchase in 1901. (Porter County Indiana: A Part of the InGenWeb Project, http://www.inportercounty.org/)(Click on image to enlarge)

At any rate, this is where Amos and Carrie spent their lives together. Over many subsequent years, Amos bought adjoining plots of land to increase his holdings and the value of his property. This land remains in the family today.

[1]“Wedding Bells,” The Porter County (Indiana) Vidette, 6 December 1900.
[2]“Boone Grove Items,” The Porter County Vidette, 25 January 1900.
[3]Indiana, Porter County, Deed Records, vol. 59, 1899–1901.

Amos in Iowa?

This is my sixth post in the Guild of One-Name Studies (GOONS) blog challenge 2020. The challenge is to post 10 blogs in the first 12 weeks of the year.

Amos Casbon is not a new character in my blog. He can be considered the patriarch of what may be the largest branch of Casbons living in America. He was the son of James and Mary (Jackson) Casbon and the brother (or half-brother?) of Margaret “Maggie” Casbon, about whom I wrote in the fourth post of the GOONS challenge. Amos was born 6 July 1869 at Cottenham, Cambridgeshire, England.^[1] He was only a toddler when his family emigrated to Porter County, Indiana, USA, in late 1870. He was probably only 4 or 5 years old when his mother died. His father remarried in 1876.^[2] James was murdered in an unprovoked attack in August 1884, when Amos was 15 years old.^[3]

After his father’s death, there is little solid information about Amos until his marriage to Carrie Belle Aylesworth in 1900. He was probably forced to grow up fast, without the support of a close loving family. Family tradition has it that Amos and his stepmother did not get along and that he was estranged from his sister Margaret, who seemed to have strayed from the “straight path.” He might have lived with and worked for local farmers. He was said to have lived for some time with his older cousin, Jesse Casbon, who also lived in Porter County. My impression is that this was an unsettled time in Amos’s life.

Portrait of a young Amos Casbon; undated, courtesy of Ron Casbon

We know that he worked as a grip for a Chicago streetcar company for four years in the late 1890s.^[4]

Amos’s entry in The Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago
(Chicago: The Chicago Directory Co., 1896), p. 391; Ancestry.com

In addition, a 25 January 1900 news announcement tells us that Amos, then living in Chicago, was job hunting in the Boone Grove (Porter County, Indiana) area.^[5]

Last May, when I spent time at the Valparaiso Public Library, I discovered that Amos had also spent some time in his late teens and perhaps early twenties living and working in Iowa. The discovery was made when I found this news item on microfilm.

Untitled Article, The Porter County Vidette, 11 July 1889

Why is this important? For one thing, it puts another data point on the timeline of Amos’s life, during a time about which we have little other information. The timeline is probably only important to me and to those descendants of Amos who share in interest in their family history (of whom there are several).

The second reason is that Amos’s presence in Iowa connects him to another branch of the family, specifically the branch living in Iowa that consisted Emma (Casbon) and Robert Rigg, and their nephew George Washington Casbon (see “Introducing the Iowa Casbons! Part 1”). Emma, although 22 years older, was Amos’s first cousin, the daughter of his uncle Thomas Casbon (1803–1888). George, who was five years younger than Amos, was his second cousin, the son of Emma’s brother Sylvester Casbon. Emma, Robert, and George lived on a farm in Tama County, Iowa, about six miles away from LaPorte City, where Amos was reported to be living in 1889.

It is unlikely to be a coincidence that that Amos was living and working so close to his Iowa relatives. It is a little surprising, though, since the Rigg family had moved to Iowa in 1876, when Amos was only 7 years old. Considering the difference in their ages, he was hardly old enough to have formed a close personal friendship with Emma, or with George, who was only 2 years old when he moved to Iowa.

We can infer from this that family ties between all the branches of the family—Amos, his stepmother and sisters, Emma’s family in Iowa, and her siblings in Indiana—were still very close. There had probably been occasional family visits between Iowa and Indiana, and letters were probably frequently exchanged. Even though Amos might not have had a close relationship to Emma and George, he was a member of the larger family. That bond was strong enough to bring him to Iowa as a young man.

Ties between the Iowa and Indiana Casbons remained strong for a generation or two. We know this from photographs and other items documenting visits between the Iowa and Indiana families. There is even a news item from 1931 reporting that Amos and his family had returned “from a trip to points in Iowa visiting friends and relatives.”^[6]

By my generation, the ties between the Iowa and Indiana clans were virtually forgotten. For that matter, the ties between my branch and the descendants of Amos were very weak. Even though their families continued to live in the same county in Indiana, I never met or knew any of these cousins until recent years. I don’t believe this was the result of any kind of hostility; it was just a natural process that happened as each generation grew in size and the degrees of separation increased. Thankfully, as a result of efforts by members of all three branches to reconnect with our common heritage, not to mention modern conveniences such as Facebook and email, we are communicating and sharing stories with each other again.

[1] England, birth registration (PDF copy) for Amos James Casburn, born 6 Jul 1869; registered September quarter 1869, Chesterton District 3b/452, Willingham Sub-district,  no 45; General Registry Office, Southport.
[2] “Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1410397 : accessed 24 October 2015) >Porter >1871-1875 Volume 4 > image 242 of 246; Indiana Commission on Public Records, Indianapolis.
[3] “Murder! That is About what is Made out of the Case of Old Man Casbon,” Porter County (Indiana) Vidette, 28 Aug 1884, p. 1, col. 2.
[4] “Boone Grove Couple Will Observe 50th Anniversary,” The (Valparaiso, Indiana) Vidette-Messenger, 21 Nov 1950, p. 1, col. 6.
[5] “Boone Grove Items,” The Porter County Vidette, 25 January 1900.
[6]“Aylesworth,” The Vidette-Messenger, 27 Nov 1931, p. 6, col. 1.

Writing the Book, Part Four

This is my second post in the Guild of One-Name Studies 2020 Blog challenge.

In the previous post, I discussed the process of writing the text for The Descendants of Isaac Casbon in America. Today I’ll talk about three important steps needed to get the text ready for printing. These are use of illustrations, editing, and layout. These steps don’t necessarily fall into chronological order. In fact, they were ongoing throughout much of the writing process.

Illustrations. These are not strictly required for traditional family history books, but they certainly make them more appealing. I knew from the start that I wanted to use illustrations in the book. Over the years, several Casbon relatives have shared family photos with me, so I had a good selection to choose from. When I started writing the book, I created an “Illustrations” folder on my computer to store photos that I thought I might use. As I wrote the text in Microsoft Word, I inserted the photos at appropriate points and wrote captions for them.

Photographs weren’t the only type of illustrations. I also wanted to use maps to illustrate important places in the family history, notably Cambridgeshire (England), Ohio, Indiana, and Iowa. I found good examples of period maps on public-domain websites. Then I did some additional editing, such as shading or highlighting certain areas of the maps to show where the Casbon ancestors lived. I created nested maps that allow the reader to “zoom in” to see certain areas in more detail. Here is an example of one.

Example of a nested map showing England (top), Cambridgeshire (center-left), and detail of
southwestern Cambridgeshire (bottom). The villages of Meldreth and Melbourn are circled.
John Cary, Cary’s new English Atlas: Being a Complete Set of County Maps (London: John Cary, 1809);
David Rumsey Map Collection, https://www.davidrumsey.com. (Click on image to enlarge)

Other illustrations included a chart of Isaac Casbon’s ancestors, images from parish registers, censuses, and other online document collections, excerpts from newspapers,
a handwritten family history, and pages from a family Bible.

Most of the images needed some kind of modification before they were ready to insert into the book. For printed books, a resolution of 300 dots per inch (dpi) or higher is recommended. Most of my images were lower resolution—some as low as 72 dpi. Although this resolution looks fine on a computer screen, it isn’t detailed enough for a print publication. I won’t go into details, but I was able to use image-enhancement software to increase the resolution of my pictures. I also used the software to adjust the lighting and contrast, to sharpen the images, and to crop them. Most of the photographs were originally printed in black and white or sepia-toned. Color photographs would have greatly increased the cost of the book, so I converted all the images to greyscale.

A photograph of Sylvester and Mary (Mereness) Casbon, before and after image enhancement;
Courtesy of Ilaine Church

Editing. I was blessed with a “secret weapon.” My daughter worked as a copy editor for a New York publishing company for several years. She graciously accepted my request for her to review my text. She happened to be on maternity leave during the time that I needed her skills. Although taking care of a newborn child was her first priority, she managed to keep up with my writing.

I usually sent her one or two completed chapters at a time by email. She returned them to me with comments which we then discussed over the phone. Even though I had carefully proofread what I had written, she invariably found errors and made helpful suggestions on ways to improve the text for readability. We had good discussions about the finer points of grammar, such as use of commas and when to spell out numerals.

For those who don’t have an editor in the family, I strongly suggest finding someone with a good grasp of grammar and composition to edit your text for you. It’s important to have another set of eyes read what you’ve written, not only to find typos and grammatical errors, but to make sure your target audience will understand what you are trying to say with your words.

Layout. This is the process of placing all the elements of the book—text, illustrations, headings, page numbers, etc.—into the final form needed to make it print-ready. Up to this point in my life, the only experience I had in publishing was some professional correspondence and my annual Christmas letter. I had a lot to learn!

The first step in layout was deciding what size I wanted the finished book to be. This is known as the trim size of the book. I decided upon a trim size of 6 by 9 inches—the most common size for paperback books in the United States. Based on this I changed the page size in Microsoft Word to 6 by 9 inches. I also set the margins, leaving room for a header on top, page numbers on the bottom, and a gutter. The gutter is the additional space added to the inside page margin to account for the binding. The page layout was set for mirror margins so that the outside and inside margins would match on odd and
even pages.

I learned that chapters should always begin on odd-numbered pages. This means that an extra blank page must sometimes be inserted at the end of a chapter so the next one can begin on an odd number. I set up headers so that the book’s title would appear on even-numbered and the chapter title on odd-numbered pages. I set footers so the page numbers would be placed at the outside bottom margin of each page. I found headers and footers to be very frustrating. They seemed to keep moving to places I didn’t want them or disappearing from places I did want them. It took a lot of time, trial and error to get
them right.

Once the page size and margins were set, it was time to fill the pages with my text and illustrations. Of course this required a number of decisions as well: typeface, or font (Times New Roman), type size (16-pitch for chapter headings, 12-pitch for body text, 11-pitch for child lists, 10-pitch for bibliography and index, 9-pitch for captions and endnotes), use of small caps for names, line spacing, justification, and placement of headings. I didn’t find many rules for these decisions, so I looked at a lot of examples and made my best guess.

Another aspect of layout is making sure your pages don’t break at undesirable places. For example, you don’t want your reader to have to turn the page to read the last word or two of a paragraph (a “widow”). Likewise, a single line of a new paragraph or section should not fall at the bottom of a page (an “orphan”).

Placement of illustrations greatly complicates the layout process, You have to decide where to place them and what size they should be. They should be in close proximity to the relevant text so your readers don’t have to flip pages trying to find them. Microsoft Word isn’t an ideal program for illustrations and it takes quite a bit of fine-tuning to adjust spacing and how words and paragraphs flow around pictures.

One other aspect of layout is the creation and placement of the front- and back-matter of the book. Front-matter is everything that goes before the main text of the book: half title page, title page, copyright page, dedication, preface, etc. Front matter is numbered with small roman numerals, beginning with the half-title page. However, these page numbers are not printed until the table of contents, which was page vii in my book.

The back matter is everything that comes after the main text. In my book, these included the Notes, Bibliography, Index, and About the Author.

My table of contents, showing the front matter, main text, and back matter

 Obviously layout is complicated and makes the difference between having a professional versus home-made appearance to the book. Many people pay professionals to help with this part of self-publishing for good reason.

At this point in the process, other than proofreading a few more times, the book was ready to publish. Stay tuned for the next and final post in this series!

A Practical Guide for Emigrants

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Going, Going …

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

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

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

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

Casbon households in Meldreth, 1841 England Census.

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

Casbon households in Meldreth & Melbourn, 1851 England Census.

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

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

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

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

Casbon households in Meldreth, 1861 England Census.

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

Casbon households in Meldreth & Melbourn, 1871 England Census.

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

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

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

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

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