{"id":6433,"date":"2018-10-02T18:42:21","date_gmt":"2018-10-02T18:42:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/casbonjourney.wordpress.com\/?p=6433"},"modified":"2020-05-06T09:38:13","modified_gmt":"2020-05-06T15:38:13","slug":"the-family-bible-of-charles-and-mary-casbon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/casbon.one-name.blog\/wp\/the-family-bible-of-charles-and-mary-casbon\/","title":{"rendered":"The Family Bible of Charles and Mary Casbon"},"content":{"rendered":"

My pursuit of family history began in the early 1990s as a collaborative effort with my father. He had received an offer in the mail to purchase The World Book of Casbons<\/em>, published by Halbert\u2019s Family Heritage.\u00a0 We didn\u2019t know it at the time, but this company was named as a purveyor of “scam” genealogy books, and had several cease-and-desist orders placed against it by the U.S. Postal Service.[1]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Regardless, he ordered the book, and I think was quite pleased with what he received. It contained several chapters containing generic information: \u201cThe Great Migrations of Man: Early Origins, Settlement and Development,\u201d \u201cThe Origin and Meaning of Names,\u201d \u201cHow Early Coats of Arms Were Granted,\u201d and \u201cHow to Discover Your Ancestors.\u201d One chapter was titled \u201cEarly Casbon Immigrants to North America.\u201d This indicated (correctly) that Thomas Casbon had arrived in America in 1846 and (incorrectly) that he had arrived in Ohio in 1854. This was the only family-specific genealogical information found in the book.<\/p>\n

The final chapter was titled \u201cThe Casbon International Registry.\u201d This chapter explained that, \u201cusing a highly sophisticated network of computer sources in Europe, North America, and Australasia, over 220 million names and address records have been searched to locate Casbon family members.\u201d The registry identified 65 households in the United States, 41 in Great Britain, and 1 in Germany (that was me \u2013 I was stationed there at the time!), and included names and mailing addresses. You may recall, that in those relatively early days of home computers, you could purchase CDs containing millions of phone and address listings for various countries. I suspect that was the \u201csophisticated network\u201d used by the publisher to come up with the list.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The cover and title pages of The World Book of Casbons (Click on image to enlarge)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Scam or no, I have to say that my father got his money\u2019s worth out of that book. He took those mailing addresses to heart and started writing dozens of letters to other Casbons. Many sent replies and shared information about their families. I suspect that at least of few readers of Our Casbon Journey<\/em> were recipients of those letters (feel free to leave a comment if you did!). He was able to meet a number of these people, including quite a few in England. He somehow learned about the Casbens<\/em> of Australia and contacted them as well.<\/p>\n

In the course of all of this, he learned that others had been researching the Casbon family origins and were willing to share their research.<\/p>\n

My role in all of this was pretty minor at the time. I bought some genealogy software and started to input names and connections. I would print out reports and my dad would send them out with his letters. He would get replies with corrections and additions. Eventually I started doing more of the research on my own and later took over the enterprise.<\/p>\n

I thought my father had given me all of his old genealogy papers several years ago, but a couple of months ago he sorted through some boxes and presented me with another box containing various reports, notes, photocopies and photographs. These included much of his original correspondence along with The World Book of Casbons<\/em> pictured above.<\/p>\n

There was a thick pile of photocopies that looked like they had all come from the same person. After some investigation I discovered that the source was Ilaine Church, who had done quite a bit of local research in Valparaiso, Indiana. Ilaine, with whom I occasionally correspond, is married to a descendant of Hiram and Lodema (Casbon) Church. She went with my dad to the local copy center in Valparaiso, where he copied a great quantity of her genealogy research findings.<\/p>\n

Which finally brings me to the topic of today\u2019s post. Among the materials from Ilaine were several photocopied pages from a family Bible.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Title and first family history pages from the family Bible of Charles and Mary Casbon
(Click on images to enlarge)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This was the family Bible of Charles Thomas (1840\u00ad\u20131915) and Mary Elizabeth (Marrell, 1844\u20131928) Casbon. Charles was the second son of Thomas (1803\u20131888) and Emma (Scruby, 1811\u20131870) Casbon, and is my third great uncle.<\/p>\n

The title page tells us that this Bible was published in Philadelphia by the A.J. Holman company in 1882. A.J. Holman was a well-known Bible publisher. His firm was established in 1872.[2]<\/sup><\/a> Holman Bibles were quite popular in the 1880s and 90s, and usually sold door-to-door.[3]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The exhibit of the A. J. Holman publishing company at the 1876 United States Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia[4]<\/sup><\/figcaption><\/figure>Family Bibles are wonderful heirlooms, and can be a treasure trove of family history information. “Prior to easily retrievable birth certificates, marriage licenses, death certificates, and digitized record keeping in general, the family Bible held the ultimate narrative of ancestral history.”[5]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Official records of births and deaths were not required in Indiana until 1900 or later, so the records in this Bible are a valuable substitute for vital records.<\/p>\n

The family history section of the Bible begins with the marriage of Charles and Mary:<\/p>\n

This Certifies
\nThat the Rite of
\nHoly Matrimony
\nWas Celebrated Between
\nCharles T. Casbon of Valparaiso Indiana
\nand Mary E Marrell of Lakevill Ohio
\non December 30th<\/sup> 1868 at L. Marrell\u2019s
\nby Rev. Winbigler of Ashland Ohio
\nWitness: J. Crotz\/E. Joyce<\/strong><\/p>\n

Subsequent pages are for births, marriages, and deaths.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Pages from the family Bible for births, marriages, and deaths (Click on images to enlarge)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Births<\/h2>\n
\n

Charles Thomas Casbon
\nWas born at
\nMeldreth Near Royston
\nCambridgeshire
\nEngland on the 6th<\/sup>
\nday of November 1840.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mary Elizabeth (Marrell) Casbon
\nWas born in Wayne
\nCounty Ohio on the
\n10th<\/sup> day of December 1844<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lillie May Casbon
\nwas born in Porter
\nCounty Indiana on the
\n17th<\/sup> of June 1870<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Lodema Evaline Casbon
\nwas born in Porter
\nCounty Indiana
\non the 24th<\/sup> day of
\nOctober 1871<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sina Jane Casbon
\nwas born in Porter
\nCounty Indiana
\non the 27th<\/sup> day of
\nMarch 1873<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lawrence John Casbon
\nwas born in Porter
\nCounty Indiana
\non the 26th<\/sup> day of
\nAugust 1875<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Marriages<\/h2>\n
\n

Mr Hiram Church
\nAnd
\nMiss Lodema E. Casbon
\nWere united in holy
\nMatrimony. Elder Utz
\ndid the ministrial tying
\non February 26th<\/sup> 1890<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lawrence J. Casbon
\nAnd
\nLyda May Pouter
\nwas married. January
\n23rd<\/sup> 1899 at Adrian
\nMichigan by Rev.
\nC. L. Adams<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Mr Alfred Urbahns
\nAnd
\nMiss Sina J. Casbon
\nwas married Oct 15th 1915
\nat Muskegan Michigan
\nby Elick Scott<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Deaths<\/h2>\n
\n

Daughter
\nLillie May Casbon
\nDeparted this life
\nSeptember 10th<\/sup> 1871
\none year 2 months old<\/strong><\/p>\n

Father
\nCharles T. Casbon
\nDeparted this life
\non the 26th<\/sup> of October
\n1915 at 9 o.clock in the
\nMorning. Aged
\n74 year and 11 days<\/strong><\/p>\n

Son
\nLawrence J. Casbon
\nDied peacefully in his
\nhome 309 W 42 street in
\nLos Angeles California
\non Tuesday morning
\nOctober 9th<\/sup> 1923. Age 48
\nyears one month and
\n12 days<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Mother
\nMary Elizabeth (Merrell)
\nCasbon departed this
\nlife Febuary [sic] 26, 1928
\n83 years 2 months &
\n6 days<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alfred Urbahns Departed
\nthis life January 3 1930.
\nage 56 years. Brother in Law<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

To my eye, it appears that all of the family events that occurred prior to the purchase of the Bible were written by the same hand, probably in one sitting. These include the marriage of Charles and Mary, all the births, and the death of infant daughter Lillie May Casbon in 1871. The handwriting is elegant and neat, reflecting the importance of the events that were recorded. All the marriages, as well as the deaths of Charles and Lawrence are written in a nearly identical hand as the earlier entries.<\/p>\n

I’m almost certain that all of these entries were made by Mary. What feelings did she have as she entered the deaths of her infant daughter, husband, and son into the Bible. Was she in the depths of despair, or did the Bible bring her comfort and solace? Or both?<\/p>\n

The handwriting changes with the last two entries \u2013 the deaths of Mary and Alfred Urbahns. These must have been written by Mary’s daughter, Lodema \u2013 note the reference to Alfred Urbahns as brother in law. She must have ended up with the Bible after her parents\u2019 deaths. Also note that Lodema\u2019s death in 1938 was not recorded. You can see on the title page that it was in the possession of Bud (Merritt) Church, one of Lodema\u2019s grandsons, as of 1994.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s too bad no one continued the tradition of recording important dates after Lodema was gone. Sadly, family Bibles have fallen out of favor as a means of transmitting and preserving significant family events.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t say that I gleaned new information about the people listed in these pages, but this Bible is still a valuable genealogical source, and it validates the information I have gathered from other sources. I\u2019m glad it has stayed in the family. Thanks to Ilaine, who allowed my dad to copy these pages so many years ago!<\/p>\n

[1]<\/sup><\/a> “Beware of this scam!,” Goldstraw & Goostrey Geneaology<\/em> (http:\/\/goldstraw.org.uk\/scam.html<\/a> : accessed 1 October 2018).
\n[2]<\/sup><\/a> \u201cA.J. Holman Dead,\u201d The Philadelphia Inquirer<\/em>, 15 Oct 1891, p. 5, col. 3; online image, Newspaper Archive<\/em> (accessed through participating libraries: 1 October 2018).
\n[3]<\/sup><\/a> \u201cSalesman Bible Samplers \u2013 How the Antique Family Bibles were sold \u2018door-to-door\u2019,\u201d AntiqueBible.com<\/em> (http:\/\/www.antiquebible.com\/salesman-sampler-Bibles.html<\/a> : accessed 1 October 2018).
\n[4]<\/sup><\/a> Centennial Photographic Co., A.J. Holman & Co.’s exhibit–Main Building<\/em> [Albumen print]; online image, Free Library of Philadelphia<\/em> (https:\/\/libwww.freelibrary.org\/digital\/item\/1620<\/a> : accessed 2 October 2018).
\n[5]<\/sup><\/a> Dave Tabler, \u201cThe Family Bible,\u201d Appalachian History: Stories, quotes and anecdotes (http:\/\/www.appalachianhistory.net\/2016\/02\/family-Bible.html<\/a> : accessed 2 October 2018).<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My pursuit of family history began in the early 1990s as a collaborative effort with my father. He had received an offer in the mail to purchase The World Book of Casbons, published by Halbert\u2019s Family Heritage.\u00a0 We didn\u2019t know it at the time, but this company was named as a purveyor of “scam” genealogy… Continue reading The Family Bible of Charles and Mary Casbon<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[16,64,92,114,215,306,392,406,413,424,462,611,639,651],"class_list":["post-6433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-genealogy","tag-alfred-urbahns","tag-bible","tag-casben","tag-charles-thomas","tag-emma-scruby","tag-hiram-church","tag-lawrence","tag-lillie-may","tag-lodema","tag-lydia-may-pauter","tag-mary-marrell","tag-sina","tag-thomas","tag-valparaiso"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbXrZc-1FL","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/casbon.one-name.blog\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/casbon.one-name.blog\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/casbon.one-name.blog\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casbon.one-name.blog\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casbon.one-name.blog\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6433"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/casbon.one-name.blog\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6433\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8591,"href":"https:\/\/casbon.one-name.blog\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6433\/revisions\/8591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/casbon.one-name.blog\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casbon.one-name.blog\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casbon.one-name.blog\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}