The life sketches of the two Babcock brothers are still to be shared. Today, we will look at the family of Charles G. [as he was known in adulthood] and Harriet (Turner) Babcock.
Charles Babcock had a difficult life growing up and marriage didn’t make life much easier.
His exact date of birth is unknown, but was born about 1842. Family lore states he was born in Peekskill, Westchester, New York, which is possible as it is bordering Rockland County, where his family lived in 1855.
He was reportedly 22 years old when he married in 1866, making his birth year about 1844. However, his birth year was reported as 1842 when he died in 1891, born c1843 per the 1855 census and born c1843 in the July 1860 census. In 1870, he was reportedly born c1843, but in 1880, c1842. It seems he was probably born in later 1842 or early 1843, which would fit his age on most of the records in which he is found.
Charles’ gravestone at Preakness Reformed Church Cemetery indicates that he had military service. The photo of his gravestone is very difficult to read, but it looks like he was in Savannah during the Civil War.
Charles married Harriet Turner, daughter of John and Sarah (MNU) Turner on 1 October 1866. His marriage, and other family events, are recorded in the registers of the Hamilton Avenue United Methodist Church in Paterson, Passaic, New Jersey.
By 1870, Charles and Harriet had moved to Wayne, Passaic, New Jersey, living a few doors from her parents.
At the top of the page, we find:
Babcock, Charles, 27, machinist, born New York
Harriet, 21, born New jersey
Charles, 3, born New Jersey
Lucy, 10/12, born New Jersey
Circumstances have changed by 1880:
The Babcocks are family #210 in the middle of the page.
Babcock, Charles, 38, foreman in mill, NJ, NJ, NJ
Harriet, 29, housekeeper, NJ, NJ, NJ
Katie, 4/12, born February, NJ, NJ, NJ
So, between 1870 and 1880, Charles and Harriet lost not only son Charles and daughter Lucy, but also buried another daughter, Harriet, born 27 June 1873 in Paterson and died 18 March 1876, also in Paterson.
Therefore, Charles’ and Harriet’s only surviving child was daughter Catherine.
His occupations were recorded as machinist and foreman in a mill, of which Paterson had many!
Charles’ Babcock’s death was recorded on 30 November 1891 in Paterson. He was buried in the Preakness Reformed Church Cemetery, in Wayne, where her parents are said to be buried.
Harriet survived her husband by quite a few years, passing away on 16 August 1910, probably in Saddle River, Bergen, New Jersey, where she was enumerated with daughter Catherine Smith’s family in the 1910 census.
However, Charles Babcock wrote his will on 12 November 1891, a couple of weeks before he died. His daughter, Katie, was named as his only heir and Charles “friend” Edward Bolton, was named as ehr guardian.
Did Charles and Harriet divorce? No record has been found.
By the 1890s, Harriet would have been permitted to be the guardian of her daughter and, in any era, she was entitled to a share of her husband’s estate. Yet, nowhere in the will or probate is she mentioned.
She is listed as the widow of Charles Babcock in the 1894 Paterson city directory and was living with newlyweds Robert and Katie Smith in 1900. Why she inherited nothing is a mystery and isn’t even mentioned is a mystery.
Children:
- Charles, born c1867; died between 1870-1880
- Lucy, born 14 August 1869, Manchester, Passaic, New Jersey; died between 1870-1880
- Harriet, born 7 June 1873, Paterson, Passaic, New Jersey; died 18 March 1876, Paterson, Passaic, New Jersey
- Catherine, born 29 December 1879 [discrepancy with age in 1880 census], Paterson, Passaic, New Jersey; died 1939, New Jersey
Catherine celebrated the start of the 20th century in a big way, as she married Robert Alexander Smith on 1 January 1900 in Paterson.
Robert was born on 11 August 1880 in Paterson and died on 25 November 1954, also in Paterson.
They were the parents of three children:
- Robert Alexander, born 11 August 1900, probably Paterson, Passaic, New Jersey; died 9 November 1949, Teaneck, Bergen, New Jersey; married Stella Reierson, in the 1930s, probably in South Dakota. They had no children.
- Edward Meleady, born 22 April 1902, Paterson, Passaic, New Jersey; died 4 February 1974, Passaic, Passaic, New Jersey; married Hazel Fennell Gill, 6 September 1922, probably in Paterson. They were the parents of three children.
- Harriet, born 1 September 1906, Newark, Essex, New Jersey; died after 1950; married Edward Herbert Van Tassel, 24 March 1925, Warren County, New Jersey. However, by 1930, she was back living with her parents, although noted as married. They apparently divorced as Edward remarried. Harriet continued to use the Van Tassel surname, but by the 1950 census, she reported she had never been married and apparently had no children.
The last chapter of the Babcock story will unfold tomorrow with the family sketch of Charles’ brother, George Westley Babcock.
Child mortality is one of the most difficult aspects of my genealogy research…
As for the mystery of Harriet being ignored in the will, it is mysterious. We can speculate – had they separated? was she ill? was he just a chauvinist? Any and all are possibilities. A shame you don’t have any family letters – we would all benefit from finding a cache of those in family papers!!