The Babcock Genealogy, compiled by Stephen Babcock (1832-1916) and published in 1903 is the “go to” book for those interested in their Babcock ancestry.

However, Mr. Babcock himself acknowledged that there are many “unplaced” Babcocks whose origins are not known.

Unfortunately, many of those persons of unknown origin resided in those black holes of genealogy known as New York and New Jersey.

So it is with my cousin’s Babcock ancestors. However, in spite of the dearth of information to be had in the early 1900s, there are more clues that have surfaced in the past century that help to possibly create chinks in those brick walls.

One such clue is found in the 1850 census of Cortlandt, Westchester, New York where John J. Babcock was enumerated with the family of Daniel S. and Eliza Babcock.

Family relationships are unstated in 1850, but John J. Babcock, just 18 years old and born c1832, was a shoemaker, as was Daniel S. Babcock, born c1815.

Daniel’s age was consistent in the 1850, 1855 and 1860 censuses, so it seems he was too young to be the father of John J. Babcock. He might have been a cousin or uncle to John, but let’s assume he was a younger brother. That makes a lot of sense and it gives a starting point to develop a hypothesis as to who might be the parents of Daniel and John Babcock since neither left birth or death records and their marriage records don’t name parents.

So, today, let’s review the life sketch of John J. Babcock. John’s exact date of birth doesn’t appear in any records, so we’ll have to be content with c1832, estimated from the census record.

New York state census records indicate that John was actually born in Rockland County, where Daniel and his family lived in 1855. In that census, the enumerator recorded that everyone in Daniel’s household was native to Rockland County. For now, let’s assume that is true, too.

While Daniel moved on to New Jersey, John J. Babcock appears to have spent all his life in New York.

John married (1) Emeline Wiley, c1853, probably Rockland County, New York. Emeline was born c1833 and died c1863. They had three children:

1. Laura A., born c1856, Rockland County, New York; died after 1880; no further record
2. Frank, born c1856, Rockland County, New York; died 1908; married Jane E. Nickerson, 26 January 1878, Nyack, Rockland, New York
3. Jennie A., born c1858, Rockland County, New York; died 14 March 1921, Monmouth County, New Jersey; married Nathan B. Gray, 29 March 1883, Rockland County, New York

About 1863, John married (2) Margaret Gainer. She was born about 30 March 1845 in Ireland. They likely married in New York and possibly in Rockland County.

John and Margaret had three children:

1. George C., born 1 October 1864; died c1931; married Julia F. St. John, 25 June 1902, Poughkeepsie, Dutchess, New York
2. Mary, born 24 July 1868, Rockland County, New York; married Clarence Irving Smith, 1893, Rockland County, New York
3. Sarah Catherine, born 27 December 1869, Rockland County, New York; died 2 December 1950, Mahwah, Bergen, New Jersey; married Thomas H. Tatham, 17 January 1900, Hillburn, Rockland, New York

One thing I’ve noticed in my cousin’s Babcock families is that children’s names seem to be chosen from popular names of the day, rather than by following a family naming pattern. I guess that is a pattern, but it isn’t very helpful when most of the given names aren’t repeated.

Here are records in which John J. Babcock and family appear:

John J. Babcock has a memorial on Find-a-Grave with a photo of his tombstone and also a picture of him. A descendant calls him John Jacob Babcock, but I’ve seen no records that state his middle name, just his initial, so have no idea if that detail is accurate.

I wonder if my cousin knows anyone who has a photo of his Charles G. Babcock. It would be interesting to note any family resemblance.

Like Daniel S. Babcock, I’ve found no evidence that John owned real estate, nor have I found any extant tax records or probate files, etc. that might shed more light on their family origins.

Both appear to have been simple men who worked hard to support their families. John stated in 1880 that his parents were both born in New York and a quick check shows that Rockland County was formed in 1798 from Orange County, New York.

Next up, I will examine the census and other records of Rockland County to look for more clues. For the moment, my hypothesis is that both Daniel and John were born in Rockland County, which gives a span of residence from c1815 to c1832 at the minimum for their parents, assuming they stayed put and didn’t go state-hopping back and forth into New Jersey.