Mable Ruth was the only daughter of Thomas S. (1870–1955) and Ella (Downs, 1873–1936) Casbon. She was born at Deep River, Lake County, Indiana on 11 August 1893.[1] Most published records indicate that she never married. However, I have come across evidence that shows this assumption to be incorrect.
The first indication that Mable might have been married appears in a Kitsap County, Washington death certificate dated 3 January 1910.[2] The certificate records the stillborn death of George Francis Perrault, born at Charleston, Washington to “T.J. Perrault,” born in Canada, and “Mable Casbon,” born in “Ind.”
This is a startling piece of information. Who else could Mable Casbon from Indiana be other than Mable Ruth? I have what I believe is a complete listing of Indiana Casbons from that era and there are no other women named Mable. Mable Ruth Casbon was 16 years old when the birth occurred.
If Mable Ruth Casbon was the mother of George Perrault, she must have returned to Indiana sometime between January, when the stillbirth occurred, and early May of 1910, for we find her living with her parents in Porter County, Indiana on the 1910 census, which was enumerated on 10 May of that year.[3] By the way, every United States census from 1900 through 1940 shows Mable Ruth living with her parents in Indiana and her marital status as “S[ingle]”.
Were Mabel and T.J. Perrault married? I have never found a marriage record, but there is a divorce record showing that Mabel [sic] Perrault, plaintiff, was divorced from Theodore Perrault on 26 January 1911.
Is this plausible? It’s certainly possible that the stillbirth was the final straw in a possibly hasty and undesirable marriage and that Mabel returned to Indiana shortly afterwards while awaiting the outcome of her divorce suit.
The evidence is muddied by the fact that a man named Theodore Perrault married a woman named Mabel Howard at St. Paul, Minnesota in April 1902,[4] and that Mabel Howard and Theodore Perrault were listed as the parents of a child born at Bremerton, Kitsap County, Washington in 1907.[5] Did Theodore marry two women with the same first name? I haven’t found a divorce or death record for Mabel (Howard) Perrault, so I don’t know what became of her—unless she was the woman who divorced Theodore in 1911? But if so, why is Mable Casbon listed as the mother on the death certificate? I can’t come up with a scenario that would result in “Mable Casbon” from “Ind.” being written on the death certificate by mistake.
I can’t say there is enough evidence to prove that Mable Ruth was married to T.J. Perrault, but whether they were married or not, she is most likely the woman who had his child in 1910.
Then I found another record.
It appeared in a database of Porter County, Indiana, divorce records maintained by the Porter County Public Library. Mabel Ruth Casbon/Bancroft is listed as the plaintiff in a divorce filed against Joseph A. Bancroft in late 1925.[6]
Once again, I haven’t found a marriage record. However, I found this listing in a 1924 city directory for Chesterton, Porter County, Indiana.[7]
Note that “Ruth M.” is listed as the wife of Joseph R. Bancroft, who works for “Casbons & Bancroft.” Note also the entries for George and Jay Bancroft, who also work for Casbons & Bancroft. Two pages later in the same directory is a listing for “Casbons & Bancroft (Thomas S Casbons [sic], Joseph and G P Bancroft) auto supplies 100 N. Calumet rd.”
Mable Ruth was known by many as “Ruth” Casbon. There is no doubt from this directory entry that she was married to Joseph Bancroft, who was in business with her father, Thomas S. Casbon.
To summarize, Mable Ruth was probably married and divorced twice—once as a teenager and again when she was close to 30 years old. The evidence is much stronger for the second marriage than the first. She evidently decided to retain her maiden name after her divorce from Joseph Bancroft.
After the divorce from Joseph Bancroft, Mable Ruth lived with her parents at 208 E. Morgan Street for the remainder of their lives. Her mother died in 1936 and her father in 1955. Prior to his death, her father conveyed his real estate to Mable Ruth “principally by way of compensation and in appreciation of what she has done in helping to take care of her mother and myself during our lives.”[8] She was active in various community and fraternal organizations for most of her life. When she died on 27 February 1989, the death certificate listed her marital status as “never married.”[9]
Did others know about her marriage(s)? It’s possible that the presumed marriage to T.J. Perrault and the birth of a child were kept secret from all except immediate family, but her marriage to Joseph Bancroft would have been public knowledge. However, in the ensuing years, the marriage and divorce became a dim memory that was known only by a few and eventually forgotten by all.
Update, 2 February 2022
I now believe that T.J. Perrault and Mable Ruth Casbon were never married. We know that Theodore Perrault married Mabel Howard in 1902 and divorced “Mabel Perrault” in January 1911. It seems much more likely that the divorce was from Mabel Howard rather than Mable Ruth Casbon. I have not uncovered any new information to explain why Mable Ruth would have been in Washington State in 1909 or 1910, but cannot dismiss or otherwise explain the name Mable Casbon, from Indiana, on the January 1910 death certificate of George Francis Perrault. So, I think it is likely that Mable Ruth Casbon had some sort of relationship with Theodore Perrault resulting in the pregnancy and subsequent stillbirth.
[1] Indiana, Porter County, [delayed] Birth Certificate Record, vol. 2, 9 Oct 1942-29 Apr 1955, p. 140, Mable Ruth Casbon, 11 Aug 1893; imaged as “Birth certificate record, 1941-1984,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/007665021?cat=608975: accessed 15 Nov 2018) >Film # 007665021 >image 914 of 1017.
[2] Washington State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, death certificate no. 2 (county no. 485), Kitsap County, Charleston; imaged as “Washington Death Certificates, 1907-1960”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-68TW-KVJ : accessed 11 September 2018) >image 1243 of 2836; citing FHL film 1,991,660, item 6.
[3] 1910 U.S. census, Kitsap Co., Washington, ED 151, sheet 12A, Washington Twp., dwelling & family 119; database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1727033 : accessed 15 August 2017) >Indiana >Porter >Washington >ED 151 >image 19 of 20.
[4] “Minnesota Marriages, 1849-1950”, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FD68-JXQ : 20 January 2020), Theodore J. Perrault, 1902.
[5] Washington, Kitsap County, register of births, 1891–1907, p. 26, no. 9490, 31 May 1907; imaged as “Washington, Birth Records, 1870-1935,” Ancestry (https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1209 ) “>Kitsap >Kitsap County, Birth Register: 1891-1907 >image 26 of 27.
[6] “Porter County, Indiana, Divorce Records,” database, Porter County Library (http://engagedpatrons.org/database/PCPLS/DivorceRecords/ : accessed 23 May 2020), Case no. 5953, Joseph A Bancroft & Mable Ruth Bancroft (also Casbon), filed 20 Nov 1925; citing Porter County Circuit Court.
[7] Polk’s Valparaiso City and Porter County Directory, Including Rural Routes, 1924-1925 (Chicago: R.L Polk & Co., 1924), vol. 7, p. 206, Bancroft, Joseph R (Ruth M), 915 Broadway, Chesterton; imaged as “U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995,” Ancestry (https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=2469 : accessed ) >Indiana >Valparaiso >1924 >Valparaiso, Indiana, City Directory, 1924 >image 109 of 206.
[8] Photocopy of Last Will and Testament of Thomas S Casbon, dated 23 Feb 1949; privately held by Jon Casbon.
[9] Indiana, State Board of Health, Certificate of Death, no. 89-006540, Porter County, Valparaiso; imaged as “Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011,” Ancestry (https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=60716 : accessed 2 November 2018), Certificate >1989 >03 >image 1585 of 2582; citing Indiana Archives and Records Administration, Indianapolis.
What a fascinating story.
I’m glad you liked it.