“alias Baker”

This one has me stumped. I came upon this military record recently.^[1]

This is the first of seven pages documenting Thomas Casbon’s military history. The Short Service Attestation, Army Form B.265 is the equivalent of a military enlistment application. The applicant, or recruit, signs up for a term of 12 years, “for the first seven years in the Army Service, and for the remaining five years in the 1^st Class of the Army Reserve” (item 19 on the form).

We can see from the form that Thomas was born in St. Mary’s Parish, Peterborough, Northamptonshire, and that he was 20 years, 2 months old. This would give him a birth date of about February, 1863. We can also see that he was working as a “Coach (or Couch?) Painter.” He was assigned to the Grenadier Guards in London.

So far so good. The problem is, I haven’t been able to find any other records for a Thomas Casbon born in the Peterborough area in or around 1863. There were plenty of Casbons in Peterborough at the time, and Thomas was the most common name (see “How doth your garden grow? Part 1”). I’ve searched through birth, baptism, marriage, death and census records to no avail.

Fortunately, the military record contains another clue to Thomas’ identity. Here is part of the third page.^[2]

We see the curious entry “alias Baker” written in. What does that mean? Why would he be using an alias?

Actually, the surname Baker was already known to me. Sarah Casbon (~1834–1904), daughter of Thomas (~1807–1863) and Jane (Cooper, ~1803–1874) Casbon, married Richard Baker (~1835–1888) in 1857.^[3] They had a son, Thomas, born in February 1863.^[4]

The date and location of birth match the information given in Thomas Casbon’s attestation form almost perfectly, so this must be the same person, right? It certainly explains why he would be known as Thomas Baker.  I have plenty of records for this Thomas Baker, including a marriage in 1890; census records in 1891, 1901, and 1911; and a death registration in 1929.

But why would he sign up for the Army as Thomas Casbon? I have only one clue to offer, and a theory. Here’s the clue.^[5]

This is the last page of Thomas’ military record. After item 2, Next of Kin, is written “Father Thomas Casbon.” This throws a monkey wrench into everything! If his father is Thomas Casbon, then why does he have the alias “Baker”? If he isn’t Thomas Baker, born in 1863, why can’t I find any other records for him?

OK, so here’s the theory: what if his real father is Thomas Casbon, but he was raised, and possibly adopted, by Richard and Sarah Baker? It turns out that Sarah had a brother named Thomas (1840–1887). This Thomas was married in 1865, two years after Thomas alias Baker’s birth. What if he had a child before he was married? I admit, this theory is pretty thin – it would be unusual for a child born out of wedlock to be adopted by the father’s relatives, but it wouldn’t be the first time. Maybe the mother died in childbirth or shortly thereafter. There had been a five-year gap since the birth of Richard and Sarah’s first child, so maybe they were eager to adopt. This is the only theory I’ve come up with that explains what’s written in the military record. I’m afraid that’s as far as I can take it.

Why do I like to chase after stories like this? One reason is that I want to have as complete of an accounting as possible of our surname. I recently joined the organization Guild of One-Name Studies, which “provides its members with the means to share, exchange and publish information about one-name studies as well as encouraging and assisting all those interested in one-name studies.”^[6] A one-name study is defined as “a project researching all occurrences of a surname, as opposed to a particular pedigree (ancestors of one person) or descendancy (descendants of one person or couple).^[7] That’s essentially what I have been doing with this blog.

The other reason, of course, is that I just can’t help myself!

^[1] Military records, Thomas Casbon alias Baker, 23 Apr 1883 – 29 Mar 1895, imaged as “UK, Royal Hospital Chelsea Pensioner Soldier Service Records,” database with images, Fold3 (https://www.fold3.com/image/587378752?terms=thomas%20casbon : accessed 19 January 2018); citing The National Archives, WO 97.
^[2] Military records, Thomas Casbon alias Baker, 23 Apr 1883 – 29 Mar 1895, p. 3 of 7, Fold3.
^[3] Marriage record of Richard Baker & Sarah Casbon, 22 Jun 1857, Northamptonshire, Peterborough, Parish church of Peterborough, imaged as “Northamptonshire, England, Church of England Marriages, 1754-1912,” database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/9199/42672_338731__0007-00040? : accessed 19 January 2018), image 41 of 66; citing Northamptonshire Record Office, Peterborough, St. John, 261P/70, “Marriages 1855–1866,” p. 76, 2^nd entry.
^[4] England, birth registration (PDF copy) of Thomas Casbon, born 8 Feb 1863; registered 26 Feb 1863, Peterborough District, no. 207, Counties of Northampton, Huntingdon & Cambridge; citing Peterborough registration district,  3B/235, General Registry Office, Southport.
^[5] Military records, Thomas Casbon alias Baker, 23 Apr 1883 – 29 Mar 1895, p. 7 of 7, Fold3.
^[6] “About the Guild,” Guild of One-Name Studies (http://one-name.org/about-the-guild/ : accessed 19 January 2018).
^[7] “One-Name Studies,” Guild of One-Name Studies (http://one-name.org/one-name-studies/ : accessed 19 January 2018).