A Minor Mystery Solved

A more appropriate title for this post might have been “The Many Wives of James Casbon.” However, I’ll stick with the current title because it was finding the answer to the “minor mystery” that prompted me to write the post. This is a cautionary tale. The caution is that one should be very careful about… Continue reading A Minor Mystery Solved

The Casbon Family Reunion, October 1901, Valparaiso, Indiana

Casbon family reunion 24 October 1901; author’s collection (Please! Click on image to enlarge and see names) I’ve had this photograph for so long that I don’t remember where or who it came from. I believe I was given a copy sometime in the 1990s when I was just starting my genealogy research. Many of… Continue reading The Casbon Family Reunion, October 1901, Valparaiso, Indiana

Alice Hannah Casbon (1871–1950)

Alice Hannah Casbon was the last child born to James (~1813–1884) and Mary (Jackson, ~1833–187_?) Casbon. There is a family tradition that Alice was born at sea while the family was making the crossing from Liverpool to New York aboard the ship Great Western. Although there is no evidence to support the claim, it is… Continue reading Alice Hannah Casbon (1871–1950)

Five Families, Eleven Weddings

Slocum … I’ve heard that name before; I wonder if she’s related? Today’s post is an outgrowth of the two previous posts, in which I explored the connections between the Casbon and Aylesworth family trees. While conducting my Aylesworth research, I came upon the name of Martha Slocum, who married Philip Aylesworth, a member of… Continue reading Five Families, Eleven Weddings

William Scruby … or, “Aha,” Continued

In my last post I presented this news item from the Porter County (Indiana) Vidette of 27 August 1891. I explained how finding this article had been an “aha” moment for me because it proved that Mary (Payne) Casbon and Emma/Rachel (Payne) Slocum were sisters. With this post I want to show how the article… Continue reading William Scruby … or, “Aha,” Continued

A Visit to Ohio

aha moment noun informal. 1. a point in time, event, or experience when one has a sudden insight or realization.[1] Most of the time, genealogy research is fairly routine. You ask a question—“when was so-and-so born?”—and look for records that might answer the question. You either find the answer or you don’t, and then you… Continue reading A Visit to Ohio

The Obituary of Mrs. William Biederstadt

I rely on the internet so much that it’s easy to forget that there are other ways to get information. Sometimes all it takes is a phone call. Do you remember when we used to look up numbers in the phone book? In this case, I happened to be browsing the web site of the… Continue reading The Obituary of Mrs. William Biederstadt

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)

Margaret Casbon, 1864–1903

The original title for this post was going to be “What Happened to Margaret?” I was going to write about how female ancestors can be more difficult to trace than males. However, in the course of writing, I came upon new (to me) data sources. With the new information, some more puzzle pieces have slid… Continue reading Margaret Casbon, 1864–1903

The Amos Casbon Farm, Boone Grove, Indiana

During my Indiana visit, my cousin (third, twice removed) Ron Casbon toured me around the parts of Porter County most closely associated with the descendants of Amos James Casbon (1869–1956). Amos was the only one of James Casbon's (~1813–1884) sons who came with him to America. As such, he is the patriarch of what is… Continue reading The Amos Casbon Farm, Boone Grove, Indiana