Albert H. Babcock was born in North Loup, NE, April 3, 1897, and diedin a Los Angeles, CA, hospital June 5, 1971, at the age of 74. Hegrew up in North Loup, attended the SDB Church there, and graduatedfrom North Loup High School. After graduation, he attended MiltonCollege, Milton, WI, but his college life was interrupted by servicein the U.S. Navy during World War I. After the war he enrolled at theUniversity of Nebraska and received his batchelor's degree inchemistry from that institution. He married Jessie Beryl Sayre,and after finishing college he taught in a country school in Nebraska.Other school teaching jobs followed until Albert became interested inthe baking business. When an opportunity arose to establish a bakingbusiness in North Loup, the family moved back to Albert's home town.Unfortunately, the community was just too small to support a bakingbusiness and the venture failed. Albert worked for a time for theCooperative Credit Association in North Loup and continued in bankingwork in nearby Scotia, NE. He was never happy in this type of work.After the outbreak of World War II, jobs were plentiful in California,so the family pulled up stakes and moved there, where Albert worked atNorth American Aviation Co. as an electrician until he retired. Thefamily settled in Bellflower, CA, where they were members of the FirstBaptist Church and both Albert and Jessie spent long hours workingwith kindergarten children in the church. After retirement the familytook a three month long trip across the United States visitingrelatives and friends. The last years of his life were spent helpingothers in his church and family. SOURCE: Information supplied byhis daughter, Mary Babcock Hurley, to me in January 1998. -- BryceBabcock
Jessie Beryl Sayre was born on October 5, 1898, in Welton, ClintonCo., IA. She had two brothers, Walter and Paul, and a sister, Leona.When Jessie was about three years of age her parents, Jesse AlbertSayre and Clara Mattison Sayre, moved to New Auburn, WI. Jesse workedas a woodcutter. The entire family was stricken during a terribleoutbreak of smallpox, and Clara Sayre, who was pregnant, died. Jessemoved the family to Nortonville, KS, where Paul died of scarlet feverand whooping cough. Jesse then married a widow, Susan Madelia Talbot,the mother of two sons. The new combined family homesteaded inOklahoma for a period of about five years. Everything went well atfirst, but bad weather finally forced them to leave. They sold theirclaim and moved to North Loup, NE, where they bought a farm, and itwas here that Jessie grew up and where she met and married AlbertHenry Babcock. The family moved to Bellflower, CA, during WorldWar II (see Notes for Albert H. Babcock). After Albert's death in1971, Jessie lived in neighboring Lakewood, CA, in a home the couplehad purchased, and later at Friendship Manor, an apartment complex forseniors. She died October 7, 1988, just two days after her 90thbirthday. SOURCE: Information supplied by her daughter, MaryBabcock Hurley, to me in January, 1998. -- Bryce Babcock
John Badcock, the second son of James Badcock, the Immigrant, was bornin Portsmouth, RI, in 1644, and died in Westerly, RI, in 1685. Hemarried Mary Lawton, daughter of George and Elizabeth Hazard Lawtonalso of Portsmouth. After John's death, Mary married Erasmus Babbitt,April 21, 1698. She died in Westerly on November 8, 1711."Tradition says that John and Mary eloped from Newport, settled uponthe east bank of the Pawcatuck River on Massatuxet Cove (near what isnow Avondale, town of Westerly, RI), with no neighbors but thefriendly Indians, and that they were not discovered by their parentsfor several years. Much poetry and romance have been written uponthis tradition, but as no history has been found to establish it as afact, and as authenticated records seem clearly to disprove (it), wemust class the elopement story as fiction." The MisquamicutCompany was formed to settle the area that is now Westerly andeighteen persons from Portsmouth were selected to go there in March1662. John, about 18 years of age at that time, and his father weretwo of the eighteen. John settled on the banks of the Pawcatuck Rivernear what is now Avondale. Later two brothers, James and Job, alsosettled in the community. From the time of its settlement, theWesterly area was claimed by both Connecticut and Rhode Island. OnMay 17, 1671 Rhode Island ordered the settlers to take an oath ofloyalty to "his Majesties and this Colony". John and his father wereamong the 22 who did so. When King Phillip's War, the mostdevastating Indian war in New England, broke out (1675-76) most of thesettlers in Westerly left their homes and fled to the island of RhodeIsland. Indications are that John and his family did not leave theirhome. As they could receive no protection from Rhode Island, Johnvolunteered to serve in the Connecticut Militia formed for protectionagainst the Indians. Tradition says that he was with the militia atthe "Great Swamp Fight", December 19, 1675, and that his son Elihu wasborn on that date. John was among the members of the Stonington (CT)Militia who received bounty land from the Colony of Connecticut afterthe war. John had been declared a freeman of that Colony on May14, 1676, during King Phillip's War at a time when he apparently wasthe lone settler left in Westerly. After the war was over, the otherinhabitants returned and Rhode Island once again asserted itsauthority over Westerly. John was elected by the General Court ofRhode Island as "Conservator of the Peace" for Westerly on June 121678. On September 17, 1679, just 3 months after their father'sdeath, John, James and Job, along with thirty others, once again took"the oath of allegiance and fidelity to his Majesty's authority, forthis Colony (Rhode Island)." John Badcock was Deputy from Westerly tothe Colonial Legislature in 1682 and 1684. The exact date of hisdeath is not known but was probably in May or June, 1685. "Whenthe will of James Badcock, Sr. was written, June 12, 1679, the firstsyllable was written Bad, and had been so written up to that time.Six years later, when the will of John Babcock was made by the TownCouncil of Westerly, June 26, 1685, the first syllable was spelledBab, and has been so spelled ever since." Previous to this John hadbeen known as John Badcock. All of his ten children were born inWesterly and they are listed in his will in the following order (datesof birth are believed to be approximately correct): James (b. 1663?);Ann (b. 1665?); Mary (b. 1667?); John (b. 1669?); Job (b. 1671?);George (b. 1673); Elihu (b. tradition says the day of the Great SwampFight, Dec. 19, 1675); Robert (b. 1678?); Joseph (b. 1681?); Oliver(b. 1683?). SOURCE: Babcock, Stephen, THE BABCOCK GENEALOGY,1903. pp. 8-12. (The following information is from a paperdescribing the Babcock House in Westerly, RI (see notes under Capt.James Babcock ) that was among the genealogical papers of my father,O.T. Babcock. There is nothing to indicate the source of theinformation, who wrote it, or when.) "The first permanent settlersof Westerly were probably John and Mary (Lawton) Babcock (1648). JohnBabcock was a Plymouth man who moved to Newport where he worked for aThomas Lawton. John fell in love with his employer's daughter Mary;after several 'delightful trysts.... about Aquidneck's ancient trees',they eloped from Newport in a small open boat. They built their homenear Mastuxet (sic) Brook. "The Old Babcock Burying Ground, justsouth of Mastuxet Brook in the section of Westerly still calledMastuxet, is probably near the site of the home of John and MaryBabcock, the first white settlers in Westerly. This cemetary,probably the oldest in town, contains the remains of John and MaryBabcock and many of their descendants. Two large horizontal tabletsmark the graves of James and Joshua Babcock. James was the firstwhite child born in Westerly and Joshua was the owner of the OldBabcock House on Granite St. Many of the (grave)stones bearold-fashioned inscriptions, such as: "Behold and see as you pass by,As you are now so once was I." The cemetary is now (when?) overgrownwith trees and shrubbery and in the summer it is difficult to findsome of the headstones." (The above account of the "elopement" is,it seems, one version of the tradition doubted by Stephen Babcock inthe Babcock Genealogy. Note: (1) the quote from that source that"much poetry and romance have been written about this tradition" and(2) the phrase in quotes above, "delightful trysts.... aboutAquidneck's ancient trees", which sounds like a line from a poem. Onecan't help but wonder if, in fact, there was (is?) a piece ofliterature based on this tradition.)
About 13 years after John's death, Mary married [Apr. 21, 1698]Erasmus Babbitt (Wheeler]. SOURCE: Babcock, Stephen, THE BABCOCKGENEALOGY, p. 8.