With this and subsequent posts, I plan to describe how I went about planning and writing The Descendants of Isaac Casbon in America (see "The Casbon Book" link at top menu). The stages in the book’s production were something like this: The decision to write; scope of the project; format Compiling the information Writing Editing… Continue reading Writing the Book, Part One
Tag: James
Back to the future—the book is finished!
My entire year has been devoted to writing a family history about the Casbon family—specifically the American branch of the family with English origins. I’m happy to say the book has gone to press and is now available by a private link to the Lulu.com website. Screenshot of the book’s product page on Lulu.com Since… Continue reading Back to the future—the book is finished!
The Book
I haven't posted anything in a few weeks, so thought I would take this opportunity to explain why. I've started writing a book, so I've been devoting all of my time to that project. The book is an offshoot of Our Casbon Journey. It's the story of the two Casbon brothers, Thomas and James, who… Continue reading The Book
Michael J. Casbon, 1965–2019
My universe was shaken earlier this week when I learned that Michael “Mike” Casbon had passed away suddenly and without warning on Sunday morning, 17 March. He was fifty-three years young, and lived in Hebron, Porter County, Indiana. I’ve been corresponding with Mike’s father, Ron for a number of years because of our common interest… Continue reading Michael J. Casbon, 1965–2019
The White Plague
The arrival of two death certificates from the General Register Office in England has helped to fill gaps in the life stories of two Casbon ancestors and also serves to highlight a topic I’ve touched on before—tuberculosis. The certificates are for two sisters-in-law, Lydia (Burgess) and Elizabeth (Waller) Casbon. Lydia was married to Joseph Casbon… Continue reading The White Plague
Musings on John
This is a follow-on to an earlier post titled “Stuck on John,” in which I described how my research into the origins of the Meldreth branch of the Casbon family hit a “brick wall.” I had been able to trace the ancestry to a John Casborn who married Anne Chamberlain in 1742.[1] The problem was… Continue reading Musings on John
Going, Going …
The sister villages of Meldreth and Melbourn in Cambridgeshire are my ancestral homeland. Records of Casbon ancestors in these villages go back to the mid-sixteenth century. Families occasionally moved from one village to another, or to other nearby villages, but there was little reason or incentive to go further. The situation remained stable for over… Continue reading Going, Going …
A Working Vacation in East Sussex
This story comes from the Sussex Agricultural Express of August 31, 1934.[1] I hope you’ll take the time to read the entire article. The highlighted section refers to “Mrs. Casban, of Croydon,” who has been picking hops at the same farm for 64 years. Mrs. Casban was Margaret (Donovan), the wife of Samuel C. Casban… Continue reading A Working Vacation in East Sussex
Joseph Casbon, Death Registration, 1847
Before getting to today’s topics, I have a couple of brief announcements. First, I’m happy to say that an article I wrote titled, “Thomas Casbon, James Scruby, and the Meldreth-Wayne County, Ohio Connection” has been published on the Meldreth History website. You can read the article here. Much of the information in this article has… Continue reading Joseph Casbon, Death Registration, 1847
The Death Certificate of Mary (Payne) Casbon (~1832–1903)
Death certificates can be a valuable source of information, especially when other sources about a given person are limited or cannot be found. However, the accuracy of the information is often questionable, depending on how and by whom the information was obtained. Both of these statements apply to the death certificate of Mary (Payne) Casbon,… Continue reading The Death Certificate of Mary (Payne) Casbon (~1832–1903)