"He was buried in the Babcock burying ground at Massatuxet, which isupon the east side of the road about midway between Westerly and WatchHill. His grave is covered by a horizontal tablet six feet long andfour feet wide. The inscription upon the tablet is as follows: 'Inmemory of Capt. James Babcock, who died January ye 17th, 1736, in yeyear of his age. Having been in his life of extensive charityand benificence and not wholly silent at his death.' The year of hisage has been, by time or vandalism, completely obliterated." Histitle and rank of Captain came from being commissioned Captain ofMilitia in Westerly, RI, date unknown but prior to 1690. Onetradition says he married (1) Elizabeth Saunders (1687?) the daughterof Tobias Saunders. Another tradition has it that her name wasElizabeth Babbitt daughter of Erasmus Babbitt. Her tombstone is nearher husband's grave. He married (2) Content Maxon (July 7, 1731)daughter of Jonathan and Content Rogers Maxon. He is said to havebeen the first white child born in Westerly. SOURCE: Babcock,Stephen, BABCOCK GENEALOGY, 1903. pp 14-16. (I found the followingtypewritten discription of "The Babcock House" among the genealogicalpapers of O. T. Babcock. There is no indication of where he obtainedit, who wrote it, or when. The house was built by, or for, Dr. JoshuaBabcock (b. 5/17/1707; d. 4/1/1783), the youngest son of Capt. Jamesand his first wife, Elizabeth. See pp. 30-33 of Stephen Babcock'sBabcockGenealogy.) Babcock House ---- Westerly, Rhode IslandThe Joshua Babcock House (Private), 124 Granite St., was built about1750. It is a fine two-story, white frame, gambrel-roof structurewith a central stone chimney. The heavy well-proportioned door isflanked by hand-carved pilasters, and is surmounted by a broken-scrollpediment. In the interior a fine stair rail is designed with twistedbalusters. The parlor, with its corner cupboard, has wooden shuttersand paneled walls. The original kitchen, now a living-room, containsa huge fireplace and oven with appropriate fittings for open-fircooking. Wide plank floors and corner posts in many of the roomsreflect the sturdy construction of the frame. Dr. Babcock, aphysician and town leader, was also Chief Justice of Rhode Island(1749-51, 1763-64), a major general in the Revolution and a member ofthe first board of trustees (1764) of Rhode Island College. BenjaminFranklin was a frequent visitor here, and he is said to have putlightening rods on the house. In the ell off the main house was thefirst post office for Westerly (1776). (For comments in this paperon the Babcock Burial Ground, see notes under John Badcock. It refersto James as "the first white child born in Westerly.") * * * *(The Babcock Genealogy (see above) also mentions that Joshua Babcockmarried 1) Hannah Stanton and 2) Ann Maxon, the great-granddaughter ofElder John Maxon, the first white child born on the island of RhodeIsland and the first pastor of the S.D.B. Church of Westerly. Joshuagraduated from Yale College in 1724, the first graduate of thatcollege from RI. He studied medicine and surgery in Boston andLondon, England. Besides being a practicing physician, he also owneda retail store. He represented Westerly in the ColonialLegislature nine different years between 1740 and 1778, "servingrepeatedly as Speaker". He was one of the corporators of Brown Univ.in 1764. Benjamin Franklin , as Postmaster General, established thefirst post office in Westerly in 1776 and appointed Joshua Babcock asPostmaster. Frankin was a frequent visitor and the two men often wentfishing together. It is said that George Washington stopped at theBabcock home on more than one occasion. Dr. Babcock was closelyidentified with the colonists who demanded freedon from Great Britain,and was a signer of the Declaration of Independence passed by theRhode Island Legislature severalmonths prior to July 4, 1776. In Nov.1775, by Act of the General Assembly of Rhode Island, he was appointedMajor General of that colony's forces. In Dec. 1776 he was appointedas a member of the Council of War and was reappointed to that positionin 1778 and 1779. "The Rhode Island records of Revolutionary timesshow that no man was more active in the service of his country, orheld more responsible positions, than did Dr. Babcock. He is buriednear the graves of his parents in the ancient Babcock burial ground ofWesterly.") Source: Babcock Genealogy, pp 30-33.