David Babcock Sr (abt. 1746 - 1820)

Born about 2 Feb 1746 in Stonington, New London, Connecticut

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Hinckley) Babcock — married 17 Mar 1769 in Stonington, New London, Connecticut Colony

Descendants

Died 6 Nov 1820 at about age 74 in Worcester, Otsego, New York, United States

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Biography

This profile is part of the Babcock Name Study.

David Babcock was born February 2, 1746 in Stonington, New London, CT, USA. He is believed to have been the son of Ezekiel Babcock and Eunice Billings.^[1]

He married his wife Mary Hinckley on March 12, 1769 in Stonington.^[2] Together they had the following children:

1. Darius Babcock 1769 - 1831
2. David Babcock, Jr. 1770 - 1833
3. Henry Babcock 1771 - 1824
4. Robert Babcock 1773 - 1862
5. Gurdon Babcock
6. Mary Polly Babcock Morgan 1778 - 1858
7. Dudley Babcock
8. Frederick Babcock
9. Merritt Babcock 1784 - 1848
10. Fanny (Babcock) Gill
11. Franklin Babcock

David served for six months during the Revolutionary War. He enlisted 8 May 1775 in the 3rd Company, which was raised in Stonington, of the Sixth Regiment under Col. Parsons. They were ordered to Roxbury, Mass. in June to assist with the siege of Boston. He was discharged from service 17 Dec 1775.^[3]

David and his family moved west to New York at an unknown date. No entry has been found in the 1790 census that can confidently be said to represent David's household. He signed a lease for lot 66 in Rensselaerville, part of Rensselaerwyck Manor, on 11 Jan 1792.^[4] The lot was in what is now the town of Knox in Albany County.^[5] David was reported to have first paid his "allotted annual tribute" (rent) on lot 66 in 1799. This conforms to having signed the lease in 1792, since the first seven years of the leases in Rensselaerwyck Manor were rent-free.^[5]

David was listed in the town of Bern in the census of 1800.^[6]

In 1804 David bought 166 acres of land in the town of Worcester, New York, about 30 miles west of his leasehold in Bern (now spelled Berne, which had been set off from Rensselaerville in 1795).^[7] David had either done very well for himself while farming in Bern, or had some other source of money. He paid just over $1,000 for the land in Worcester, a substantial sum in those days, and no record was found of a mortgage being written for the purchase.

David was listed in the town of Worcester in the census of both 1810 and 1820.^[8][9]

David deeded his land in Worcester to his sons in September 1820.^[5][10] He passed away November 6, 1820 in Worcester, Otsego, New York and is buried in East Worcester Cemetery, East Worcester, Otsego, New York.^[11] PLOT on south edge

Research Notes

David's date of birth is uncertain. The inscription on David's grave marker says "Nov. 16, 1820 ae. 75 years, 9 mo. & 14 dys." by which a birth date of 2 Feb 1745 can be calculated. The grave marker was probably the source for David's birth date as reported in Stephen Babcock's Babcock Genealogy and elsewhere.^[12] However, no primary source has been found to support this date, and it is clearly incorrect, since his sister Mary was born less than two months earlier on 18 Dec 1744.^[13]

The likeliest explanation is that the inscription is incorrect, and that David was somewhat younger then 75 at his death. The day, 2 February, may be correct, but the year was likely 1746 or later. It may be that David's birth date was recorded somewhere (such as a family bible) as 2 Feb 1745, when it was in fact 2 Feb 1745/6, since this was a few years before the Gregorian calendar was adopted for use in New England.

It seems odd that there is no record of David's birth in the Stonington records, since there are records of the births of his siblings both before and after his. In fact, no primary sources are known that show he was the son of Ezekiel Babcock and Eunice Billings. Although the records show that he lived in Stonington before and during the Revolutionary War, there were many Babcock families in the area. While there is no reason to doubt his reported parentage, at present there is also no proof. Circumstantial evidence connects David to his sister Mary, for whose parentage there is documented evidence; Mary, David and their brother Robert all married children of Samuel and Mary Hinckley of Stonington.^[2]

David had the right to sell his leasehold in Rensselaerwick Manor, which may have been the source of some or all of the money to buy the land in Worcester. A search of the records for the Manor may uncover additional information.

Sources

1. ↑ Richard A. Wheeler, History of the town of Stonington, county of New London, Connecticut, from its first settlement in 1649 to 1900 (New London, Conn.:Press of the Day Publishing Co., 1900), page 221. [1]
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Richard A. Wheeler, History of the First Congregational Church, Stonington, Conn., 1674-1874 (Norwich, Conn.: T.H. Davis and Co., 1875), p. 255. [2]
3. ↑ Henry P. Johnston, ed., The Record of Connecticut Men in the Military and Naval Service during the War of the Revolution (Case, Lockwood & Brainard, printers: Hartford, Conn., 1889), pp.72-74. [3]
4. ↑ lessee list for Rensselaerwick Manor
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2} Jane E. Babcock Hacker, The Babcocks of New York State : 1794-1943 (manuscript), foreword, pp. 1-10.[4]
6. ↑ "United States Census, 1800", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHRC-P7L : Sat Mar 09 05:50:55 UTC 2024), Entry for David Babcock, 1800.
7. ↑ Philip Livingston to David Babcock, 8 Dec 1804, Otsego Co., N.Y., Deeds O:173. [5]
8. ↑ D. Babcock household, 1810 U.S. census, Worcester, Otsego Co., N.Y. (NARA M252, roll 34), p. 251 (penned, top right). [6]
9. ↑ "United States Census, 1820", FamilySearch, Entry for David Babcock, 1820. [7]
10. ↑ David Babcock to Darius Babcock et al., Otsego Co., N.Y., Deeds CC:200. [8]
11. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #46104594
12. ↑ Stephen Babcock, Babcock Genealogy (New York: Eaton & Mains, 1903), pp. 93-4. [9]
13. ↑ Stonington Conn. Vital Records, Vol. 3, p. 132. [10]