Anna’s Migration Stories

I’m continuing to work through a number of photographs of family artifacts sent to me by John Casbon. One of the photos is of this single handwritten sheet of paper.

According to John, this was written by his grandmother Anna Mae (Casbon) Fleming (1876–1957). The text reads as follows (I’ve inserted periods where I think they belong):

Thomas and Emma Casbon of Melborn England sailed to America from So Hampton England April 11 arriving at Qubeck May 30 [.] moved to Wooster Ohio Wayne Co June 1856[.] came to Boon-grove in 1865[.] they had 5 living children Selvester, Mary Ann, Charles, Emma, and Jesse[.] Jesse had 4 living children Maud Anna Lill and Edna[.] Anna married and 3 children were born[.] one passed away in invency the other two both living[.] Jesse at Cocoa Beach Fla Steven at Laurel Md Their mother at Orlando Fla.

This is an abbreviated history of Anna’s family, beginning with the voyage of her grandfather Thomas Casbon (1803–1888) and up through her adult children. It describes Thomas’ voyage from England to a new home in Ohio, and later to Indiana. The year of Thomas’ voyage from England is wrong, but otherwise it gives an accurate account of events.

Some time ago, I received another photograph from John, this one of a family Bible that belonged to his mother, Elizabeth (Ryan) Casbon (1906–2000).

Thomas Casbon and wife Emma Scrubey Casbon of Meldreth near Royston Cambrige Shreve England, set sail to America from Southhampton England April the 11-1846 arriving at Qubeck Canada May 30^th then to Woster Ohio June 1846 then to Boon Grove in April 1865. They had six children while in England one died in invency in England[.] The five that came to America were Selvester, Mary Ann, Charles, Jesse and Emma[.] one child was born after coming to America but died in invency. Selvester the oldest child was a school teacher married three times had 5 children and died in his 92 year leaving four boys and one girl. Mary Ann was the second child[.] she was married to Eliga Priest and had one child Willis who died one year to the very month of his father[.] both died in March. Willis was married to Emma Allenbrant and had two girls Ivy and Mable. Mable died after grown to womenhood[.] Charles (third child died in Valparaiso Ind left three children[.] He was married to Mary Murell[.] Jesse the 4^th child and youngest boy died Jan 24-‘34[.] he was the last of the family of Thomas & Emma Casbons children[.] Emma was the youngest girl[.] she married Newell Riggs and passed away July 10 1910 had no children[.] Was taken back to Laport Iowa for buriel by her brother Jesse.

Maud Elma Casbon was born at Stevens Corner Ind March 4-1872
Anna May Casbon was born at Gates Corners. Dec 22-1876
Lillie Casbon was born at Valparaiso Feb 12-1884
Edna Emma was born Dec 9-1880 at Valparaiso

Jesse and Emma Casbon left four girls[.] a little boy died at Gates Corners at the age of 8 weeks[.] Maud the oldest married Myron Dayton[.] three children a little boy died in invency while in Waco, Tex. Anna the second child was Married to Newton Kitchel[.] three children 2 boys and a little girl who died at eight weeks old[.] There names of Kitchell was changed to Casbon at the time of sepration by law. Jesse Casbon was born Okuachle Wisconsin 12 miles from Oconowoco[.] Steven was born at Wabeno Forest Co Wis[.]

The description of Thomas’ migration to Ohio and his move to Indiana is almost identical to that of the shorter version. This version goes into more detail about Thomas children and their families. It focuses on the four daughters of Jesse (1843–1934) and Emma (Price, 1856–1893) Casbon, and ends with the births of Anna’s two sons.

If you look closely at these two documents you’ll see that the handwriting is identical, and many of the misspellings are the same. Presumably, Anna wrote both of these, probably at different times. If I had to guess, she wrote the entries in the Bible first, since the handwriting is a little steadier, and the chronology ends with Jesse and Steven’s births. I wonder if she gave the Bible to her daughter-in-law, Elizabeth, as a gift. It mentions the death of Anna’s father, Jesse, in 1934, so the Bible entry was written sometime after that date. Jesse didn’t move to Cocoa Beach until 1947, so that is the earliest date the shorter document could have been written.

It’s interesting to compare Anna’s version of events with other sources. There are quite a few accounts, both published and unpublished, of Thomas Casbon’s migration to Ohio and Indiana. I’ve written about most if not all of these. No two accounts are exactly alike: they differ in the level of detail, specific dates, and family history information. When combined they tend to give a more complete picture of what actually occurred. I’ll present them in chronological order.

Handwritten history of Isaac Casbon and his descendants (ca. 1890). This document is two and a half pages long. I only have a photocopy; the original is lost or forgotten. I’ve written about this document in an earlier series of posts, beginning with “From England to Indiana, Part 1.” The entire document can be found here. It summarizes Thomas’ voyage to America with a simple statement: “Thomas Casbon emigrated to Unites States in the year of 1846.” Thomas’ time in Ohio is barely mentioned, and the move to Indiana is described in these terms: “They concluded to go to the State of Ind[.] Sylvester went arrived in Indiana[.] Thomas Casbon moved his family soon after and settled at Boon Grove.”

Although the migration itself receives little attention, this document contains information found in no other single source. It provides the names of all four of Isaac Casbon’s sons. It also gives valuable information about Emma (Scruby) Casbon’s brother, James, who preceded them to Ohio. Finally, it is the only source to mention the fact that Emma’s niece, Emma Payne, accompanied them on their voyage to America, and that Thomas’ niece, Mary Casbon, came to America in 1856 with Mary Payne.

This text also lists the children of Sylvester and Charles Casbon by name. However, it only says that Jesse and his wife Emily had “four daudhters [sic] and one son who died in infancy,” and does not give their names. This suggests that the author had closer ties to the two older brothers. Anna’s account fills in the gap created by this omission. The Bible narrative also tells us about the marriages of Thomas’ two daughters, Mary Ann and Emma, information not contained in Isaac’s family history.

Biographical note on William Wallace Slocum (published 1908). This unlikely source exists due to the fact that Mr. Slocum married Emma Payne, who accompanied Thomas and his family to America. It provides a brief but concise summary of the voyage from England. “She kame with relativs to America, sailing from Southampton 16 April, 1846, arriving at Qubec, Canada, 30 May, and at Wooster, Ohio, in June, 1846.”^[1] (Misspellings are intentional, as the author endorsed a phonetic spelling system.) This single sentence gives dates and ports of embarkation and debarkation. Note that the date of departure is slightly different than the 11 April date given in Anna’s account. According to a notice in Lloyd’s List, the actual departure date from Southampton was 18 April 1846.^[2] I haven’t located a source for the arrival dates in Quebec and Wooster, Ohio, but the dates given here are consistent with Anna’s account as well as other published sources. Emma (Payne) Slocum was undoubtedly the source of this information, as she was still living when the book was published.

Biographical Sketches of Sylvester and Charles Thomas Casbon, in the History of Porter County (published 1912). Each of these sketches provides a different perspective on the voyage from England to Ohio, along with a bit of “creative writing” to spice up the story. Here is an excerpt from Sylvester’s entry.

His father, who was an English farmer, in 1847 determined to share in the remarkable opportunities of the new world, and in that year embarked his family at Southampton on board the Canadian lumber boat Parkfield. … At that date one of the few passenger railroads in England was the line from London to Southampton, and many other remarkable changes have occurred in England since then. The streets of London which they passed over were paved with cobblestones, and the modern pavements and subways were undreamed of. The boat on which they took passage had a long and tedious voyage, leaving England in February, first sighting land at the Banks and thence sailing up the St. Lawrence river. Sylvester was then eight years old and retains many vivid recollections of the eventful journey. 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, where they arrived in the month of May. Thomas Casbon, the father, moved to Wayne county, Ohio, and bought eighty acres of land near Wooster on the Columbus road at the village of Eddyville, where the stages between Cleveland and Columbus then changed horses.^[3]

This account gets the year wrong, but it concurs with Anna’s story that the family departed from Southampton. It also gives an important detail: the name of the ship – Parkfield. This fact enabled me to find details of the Parkfield’s sailing dates. Sylvester’s entry mentions the difficulty of the ocean voyage. Although Quebec isn’t mentioned, further details of the trip from Quebec are given, such as the use of horse carts at Niagara Falls and the boat trip from Buffalo to Cleveland. As the entry mentions, Sylvester was old enough to remember the voyage. He was the likely source of the factual information in this sketch.

Likewise, Sylvester’s younger brother, Charles, probably had some memories of the ocean voyage, perhaps supplemented by what he was told by his older brother and parents.

When the son (Charles) was five years old his father determined to bring his family to America, which was then a land of opportunities and almost undeveloped resources. … The sailing vessel on which they all embarked encountered adverse winds that after several weeks drove it back within sight of the starting point, and it was a long voyage before the western continent appeared. The boat came down the St. Lawrence river, and from Buffalo the family continued on to Cleveland. Thomas Casbon then walked on to Wooster, Ohio. where James Scruby, a brother of his wife and a farmer, lived, 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, on the old Cleveland and Columbus state road, where Thomas Casbon began his career in the new world.^[4]

Charles’ account also mentions the difficulty of the voyage, substantiating what Sylvester recalled. His account tells how Thomas traveled on foot from Cleveland to Wooster, Ohio (about 50 miles), and mentions Emma’s brother, James Scruby.

Neither of the brothers’ stories mention the month or year that Thomas moved to Indiana from Ohio. Anna’s migration stories give the date as April, 1865. Although the month cannot be confirmed by other sources, Porter County, Indiana land records confirm that Thomas first bought property there in 1865.

“Fate’s Hand Can Be Far Reaching,” by The Stroller, article in The (Valparaiso, Indiana) Vidette Messenger, 22 March 1957. This is a largely fictional account that combines details from Sylvester and Charles’ accounts in The History of Porter County with the writings of a British journalist and a quest for the “Vale of Paradise” (Valparaiso). It does not add any useful information to the other migration narratives, but is an entertaining story. I wrote about it in “A Tale of Three Stories.”

Most of these migration narratives were told by people who had first-hand knowledge of the events. Sylvester and Charles Casbon, and Emma Payne were passengers on the Parkfield when it sailed from Southampton to Quebec. They were witnesses to the events they described. What is remarkable about Anna’s descriptions is how accurate they are considering that she wasn’t there. She was born thirty years after the Parkfield sailed and eleven years after Thomas moved to Indiana. Her shorter account, given at the beginning of this post, was written more than one hundred years after Thomas emigrated from England. Yet, her version of events tracks very closely with the other accounts.

All of these narratives, especially Anna’s, tell me that preserving the family story must have been very important to the early generations of Casbons in America. Where did Anna get such detailed information? She might have heard it from her father, Jesse, but he was less than three years old when he came to America, so he could not have recalled much about the voyage. Maybe the stories were told and retold at family gatherings over the years. She might have heard directly from her Grandpa Thomas – she was eleven years old when he died in 1888.

Sadly, the migration stories have faded from the memories of later generations. It’s only because they have been preserved in dusty books or long-forgotten scraps of paper in old attics that we have them today. Our families have grown, branched, moved apart, and moved on to more recent events. Even though these stories have no bearing on our daily lives, they are still important. They are something we have in common. They are compass points in our heritage; waypoints in the chain of events that got us to where we are today. I hope by sharing them my readers will be able to relive and appreciate these events, and pass them on to future generations.

^[1] Charles Elihu Slocum, History of the Slocums, Slocumbs and Slocombs of America: Genealogical and Biographical, Embracing Twelve Generations of the First-named Family from A.D. 1637 to 1908, with Their Marriages and Descendants in the Female Lines as Far as Ascertained, Vol. 2 (Defiance, Ohio: published by the author, 1908), p. 129, entry on William Wallace Slocum; online image, Google Books (https://books.google.com/books?id=1e4UAAAAYAAJ&vq=casbon&source=gbs_navlinks_s : accessed 10 August 2018).
^[2] Lloyd’s List (London), No. 10,014, p. 1, col. 3, 20 April 1846, Parkfield sailing, 18 Apr 1846; online image, “British Newspaper Collection,” Findmypast (http://search.findmypast.com/search/british-newspapers : accessed 13 January 2017).
^[3] 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), pp. 482-3; online image, Hathi Trust Digital Library (https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/011679885 : accessed 10 August 2018).
^[4] Ibid, pp. 459-60.