Charles B. Barlow was born 15 Jul 1823 (or 1826) at Congleton, Cheshire, England. The names of his parents are not known. Charles emigrated from England to New Jersey "as a very young man who was in dire financial straights." However, through his years of industry and perseverance, Charles was able to develop his slowly accumulated financial assets to the point where he was generally considered
wealthy. He was involved in several business ventures in Paterson, New Jersey, the most lucrative being the silk business.

Charles's business often demanded his presence in England. It was during one of these journeys, family lore has it, that Charles met Rhoda Choyce who eventually became his bride. Charles B. Barlow and Rhoda Choyce were married 19 Sep 1865, at Chicago, Illinois.

RHODA (CHOYCE) BARLOW OF ATTLEBOROUGH, CHICAGO, AND DECATUR

Rhoda Choyce, daughter of Eliza (Haddon) and John Choyce, Jr., was born about 1841 possibly at Attleborough, England, according to family information. However, there is an entry in St. Catherine's House Index for a Rhoda Choyce marrying which is entered in the March 1843 index for the Registration District of Nuneaton, which includes Attleborough,(v16, p458). But, be aware researchers, Nuneaton would also include Colley Croft, where Rhoda's mother lived before her marriage.

A registration in 1843 would indicate that the child would have been born in that quarter or earlier, possibly years earlier. The index entry would depend upon WHEN the source of the baptism forwarded the record to St. Catherine's House.

The family believes that Rhoda Choyce emigrated from England with her parents between 1862 and 1865, depending upon which statistic you accept. In a letter dated 11 Jan 1982, Charles "Chuck" Thomas Barlow, grandson of Rhoda (Choyce) and Charles B. Barlow, offers some family history pertaining mainly to his grandfather, Charles B. Barlow:

...concerning that ride over from England, when Charles Barlow met Rhoda Choyce...Ships in those days were subject to winds and tides and oftentimes a trip would take many weeks. So, there is no way to guess at the time of their arrival, or when they came on to Chicago. But, one might conjecture that they landed late in April, or early in May, and came on to Chicago where they married that summer.

Do these dates agree with what you have? Figuring back from what documentation I do have, they had to leave Chicago soon after her birth (daughter Rhoda Barlow) and return to Nebraska where he resumed his itinerant sales work, but now he had a horse and buggy. He mentioned in one of his account books, "Hat for Rhoda...$1.50" Whether she went along with him, or whether this was something she bought and he entered, will never be known. About 1868, he went into business building a general store at Decatur, Nebraska, and they lived in a building that adjoined the main store. He was a chemist, so they handled meat, groceries,
drugs, hardware, dry goods, and you name what else. I have a picture of him in the Decatur Town Band dated 1873, so he had become a part of the community activity by this time.

(Perhaps the hat for Rhoda was a gift?) The dates Chuck offers are at odds with those from other family sources. In addition, Charles B. Barlow and Rhoda Choyce could not have arrived in America in April or May of 1865, because Charles B. Barlow set sail for England "the day President Lincoln was assassinated," according to author DeMilt. That would have been the 14th of April, 1865. Perhaps Rhoda Choyce had made a trip to England to visit relatives, or perhaps to attend school. She may have met Charles on one of his many sailings. We might also consider the possibility that Charles met Rhoda in 1862 when her family first emigrated, and then courted her for three years.

Their first baby was born in Chicago in December of 1865. Rhoda could well have been Mrs. Barlow by that time and when Charles left in April of 1865, she may have accompanied him. A check of passenger records would clear that up.

I attempted to obtain a copy of the marriage certificate for Rhoda Choyce and Charles B. Barlow, from the County Clerk of Cook County, Illinois, which includes Chicago. My response was: "Due to the Chicago Fire of October 1871, there are no records for Chicago, or Cook County, Illinois, prior to that time since all records were burned in the fire." Perhaps there was a notice in the Attleborough newspaper back in England?

Rhoda (Choyce) and Charles B. Barlow appear to have lived in Chicago for about one year, because that's where their first child was born. However, they could have been living in Decatur, and Rhoda "went home to mother" as her confinement neared. The next four children were born at Decatur, Nebraska, 400 miles west of Chicago. The five children were: Rhoda, born in 1865; Bernard, who died in infancy; Emma J. Barlow, born in 1869; Charles E. Barlow, 1871; and John Choyce Barlow born in 1872.