One of the most satisfying aspects of writing this blog has been the occasional comment from a previously unknown relative, who found the blog through Google or by similar means. These contacts not only give me a boost; they usually provide information that otherwise would not have been available to me and help to fill in gaps in the family tree. One of these correspondents is Alice Casban, a sixth cousin once removed, who contacted me after reading some of my posts concerning the Casban branch of the family.
Alice shared my latest post, “A Working Vacation in East Sussex,” with her grandfather, whose grandmother was Margaret (Donovan) Casban, the subject of that post. I won’t use his name, as I have not asked permission to do so. After showing him the post, Alice said,
My grandad used to go hops picking all the time, his face lit up talking about it! He remembered getting the hopper trains, and also the name of the Lodge before I even read it out!
By coincidence as well, my grandad also said he knew Joanna Feeley (mentioned in the article), he could even recall she wore a trilby hat and stayed nearby to all the Casbans down in Bodiam![1]
Alice was also kind enough to send this photo.
Alice’s granddad would have been less than two years old when the article in my previous post was written, so evidently his grandmother Margaret must have continued picking hops at Court Lodge Farm for some years after the article came out. “Nell” was Ellen Kathleen Casbon (1908–2008), Margaret’s youngest child.
So, thank you, Alice, for sharing your grandfather’s reminiscences with us! Maybe other readers will be inspired to do the same.
[1] Alice Casban [(e-address for private use)] to Jon Casbon, e-mail 4 Jul 2018, “Our Casbon Journey”; privately held by Casbon [(e-address and street address for private use)].