How doth your garden grow? Part 2

I’ve been trying to decide how to best proceed with the story of the Peterborough Casbons. Part of the challenge is in deciding how much or how little information to include. The other part is in trying to turn limited information into a narrative that will be interesting to somebody besides myself. The nice thing about a blog, however, is that if a particular post doesn’t interest you, you don’t have to read it!

That said, the format I am using is a loosely structured version of a traditional descendant report, listing relevant details about successive generations. At some point in the future I hope to add a separate page with genealogical summaries of the various families as a reference for interested viewers.

I just subscribed last week to The British Newspaper Archive and have been downloading like crazy. I’ve found a lot of information that will be great fodder for future posts.

The previous post “How doth your garden grow? Part 1” covered the family’s origins in Littleport, Cambridgeshire, and two generations of the family beginning with Thomas Casborn (1776-1855). We now proceed to:

Generation 3. John (1832 – 1885), Sarah (1834-1904) and Thomas (1840 – 1887) Casbon

Thomas Casbourn (Generation 2) had three children: John (b. abt 1832), Sarah (b. abt. 1834), and Thomas (b. 1840), all born in Somersham, Huntingdonshire.[1]

After moving with his family to Peterborough, John Casbon married Rebecca Ann Speechly in 1853. John and Rebecca had five children: Thomas (b. 1854),[2] Sarah (1855 – 1859[3],[4]), Mary (b. 1860),[5] Elizabeth (b. 1861),[6] John (b. 1863),[7] and Sarah Jane (b. 1865).[8] In 1861 John was working as a gardener in Peterborough.[9]

John Casbon in 1861 England and Wales Census, Peterborough, Northhamptonshire. (Click on image to enlarge)

In the 1860s, John moved to Spalding, Lincolnshire, about 16 miles north of Peterborough. There he was listed as a “fruiterer, greengrocer, seedsman & florist.”[10]

1868 Post Office Directory of Lincolnshire (Click in image to enlarge)

He was still living in Spalding in 1871, where he was listed on the census as a “Nurseryman.”[11] From this ad, it appears he decided to sell his business in Spalding later in 1871.[12]

(Click on image to enlarge) Newspaper image © The British Library Board. All rights reserved. With thanks to The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk).

By 1881 all the children were gone, and John and Rebecca were back in Peterborough.[13] John died in 1885 at the age of 53[14] and Rebecca died 1 year later. She was 63.[15]

Sarah appears in the 1851 census as a household servant in Chatteris, Cambridgeshire.[16]

(Click on image to enlarge)

She married a house painter named Richard Baker in 1857,[17] lived in Peterborough, and had at least 8 children.[18] Sarah died 1904 in Peterborough.[19]

Thomas was also a gardener. He appears in the 1841, 1851, and 1861 censuses with his parents. He married Emily Cantrill in London 1865[20] and had two children, Charles (b.abt 1866 in Peterborough) and Emily (b. abt 1869, Camden Town, Middlesex). In 1868 Emily applied for divorce.[21] I don’t know if the divorce was granted, but it appears that Emily took the children and never lived with Thomas again. In the 1871 census, Thomas is listed as married, occupation gardener, and living alone in Peterborough[22], while Emily, and the two children were living in London with her parents.[23]

(Click on image to enlarge)

Thomas died 1887 in Peterborough.[24] Emily retained the Casbon surname and was listed as married in the 1871 and 1881 censuses.[25] She is listed as a widow in 1891.[26] She died in 1891 at the age of 44.[27]

[1] “1841 England, Scotland and Wales census.” findmypast http://www.findmypast.com [accessed 3 August 2016]
[2] “England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008”, FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2NH4-CCV [accessed 2 August 2016]
[3] “England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2N48-MWD [accessed 26 September 2016]
[4] “Peterborough…Two Children Drowned.” The Cambridge Independent Press, Huntingdon, Wisbech, Ely, Bedford, Peterborough, & Lynn Gazette http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/ [accessed 25 September 2016]
[5] “England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2NCD-QQQ [accessed 22 September 2016]
[6] “England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2NZY-3Z4 [accessed 22 September 2016]
[7] “England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2616-QHQ [accessed 28 September 2015]
[8] “England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2XMP-GB5 [accessed 22 September 2016]
[9] “1861 census of England and Wales.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M75L-YW6 [accessed 2 August 2016]
[10] Kelly, E.R. “The Post Office Directory of Lincolnshire.” [1868] University of Leicester Special Collections Online http://specialcollections.le.ac.uk/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16445coll4/id/167125/rec/4 [accessed 22 September 2016]
[11] “1871 census of England and Wales.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VRXT-FQZ [accessed 2 August 2016]
[12] Advertisement in Stamford Mercury, 15 December 1871. The British Newspaper Archive http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000237/18711215/067/0002 [accessed 26 September 2016]
[13] “1881 census of England and Wales.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q27C-CF7D [accessed 3 August 2016]
[14] “England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2J6S-1SB [accessed 10 Aug 2016]
[15] “England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2JTX-DQD [accessed 14 Sep 2016]
[16] “1851 census of England and Wales.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SGCY-JDV [accessed 4 August 2016]
[17] “England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2DQ8-H82 [accessed 22 September 2016]
[18] “1881 census of England and Wales.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q27C-CQJL [accessed 22 September 2016]
[19] “England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2N5P-P1K [accessed 26 September 2015]
[20] “England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2D7G-RM1 [accessed 22 September 2016]
[21] “Divorce Court File: 787. Appellant: Emily Casbon. Respondent: Thomas Casbon.” The National Archives http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ [accessed 26 September 2016]
[22] “1871 Census of England and Wales.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VFF9-HH8 [accessed 26 September 2016]
[23] “England and Wales Census, 1871.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VB68-ZPD [accessed 22 September 2016]
[24] “England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966.” Ancestry http://www.ancestry.com [accessed 27 September 2016]
[25] “1881 census of England and Wales.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q27Z-6MFY [accessed 26 September 2016]
[26] “1891 Census of England and Wales.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q66C-H6Z [accessed 26 September 2016]
[27] “England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007.” FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2JN4-CYX [accessed 26 September 2016]