Elisha Babcock
ID # 2998, (-1840)
| Death | Elisha Babcock died in December 1840. |
| Marriage | He married Ann Lawrason, daughter of Miller Lawrason and Elizabeth Purvis. |
| Note | Elisha Babcock's will appears on microfilm MS638 Reel 12, number 839 and which is for the Hamilton Wentworth Surrogate Court. One of the papers peripheral to the will states that he died in December of 1840. The will locates him in Dumfries Township and he probably died there, though the will does not say so. No place of burial has been found for Elisha. His wife Ann and two of his sons are buried in Culver Cemetery in Townsend Township, Norfolk County, but, probably, they located in Norfolk County after his death. (Associated with the Babcock graves in Culver Cemetery is that of Samuel S. Doud who died in 1853. The next grave is shown as that of Ira Doud, son of Samuel S. and Eleanor J. Doud, who died in 1870. And next is that of Florence, daughter of Hiram and Eleanor J. Shaw who died in 1873. From documentation to do with the transfer of ownership of C7-L4 in Beverly, we know that Eleanor Doud was the daughter of Elisha Babcock. Where Eleanor Babcock and Hiram Shaw are buried has not been found. When Elisha died, Dumfries was located in the Gore District, which was headquartered in Hamilton. When the county system came in, wills filed for probate in old district venues remained there. It appears that Elisha's property was in what was later South Dumfries Township, Brant County. Elisha's will was not filed for probate until December of 1851, some 11 years after his death. We may be certain that Elisha's death occurred in 1840, for the year is written out in full in the documentation. We may also note that the will itself is dated 6 October, 1840. Just why his will was not probated in Brant County isn't clear, but it may be simply that his remaining executor, John A. Cornell, resided in Beverly Township of Wentworth County and so the will was filed for probate with the Surrogate Court in Hamilton, Wentworth County. There were originally two executors of the will, John A. Cornell of Sheffield in Beverly Township, and David Main. Part of the paperwork is a resignation by David Main of his executorship in the estate. Elisha's will, along with leaving bequests to his wife Ann (Lawrason), mentions sons John, Nelson K., and William. He also mentions daughters Ann, Elin and Mary. Ann will be Ann Eliza who married Benson Sterling. Nelson K. and William are buried in Culver Cemetery, Townsend Twp., Norfolk Co.. Nothing has been thus far found for Mary, but we may reasonably identify Elin as Elinor, or Eleanor. What we may say of the will is that he mentions that his property, which was the south half of lot 3 in the 5th concession of Dumfries, was to be sold. In the 1842 census, however, the property is shown as owned by John L. Babcock. We must believe him to be the son of Elisha as mentioned in his will. (Images of the 1842 census for Dumfries Township may by found at Familysearch. The file is headed St. David's Ward, Toronto. Familysearch follows this indexing, for it is so described by Archives Canada. This is wrong as even a cursory examination of the names of landholders in the township will show. Add to that, the census pages include residents of Paris and Galt, named under the heading of these towns, which are located in old Dumfries Township. A unique feature of the 1842 census is that it shows the name of the householder in one column and then the name of the property owner - mortgage holder? - in the next.) In 1851, in what was by then South Dumfries, John Babcock is still present. He is shown as married with a wife and children. The only change here is that it shows him on lot 4 on the 5th concession. As mentioned, we do not know where Elisha is buried, however there is probably a son buried in the Presbyterian Pioneer Cemetery at St. George. The Brant County Branch of the OGS provides us with this transcription: Row 9 stone 1, In Memory of Robert Babcock who departed this life January the 3rd 1830 aged 7 years 11 months, Smiting angels now surround me, troops resplendent fill the skies, Glory shining all around me, While my towering spirit flies. We can't be sure, but, agewise, Robert is likely the son of Elisha and Ann. It may be that Elisha is buried here as well. Many of the stones in this cemetery are not in good shape, however, and child Robert's stone in a transcription done years later was not seen. For the following, refer to Men of Upper Canada, Militia Nominal Rolls, 1828-1829, Elliott, Walker, and Stratford-Devai, Toronto, Ontario Genealogical Society, 1995. The book in turn refers to rolls in the National Archives of Canada, not microfilmed, but found in RG9 IB2, Vols. 29-31. The material was transcribed by the authors for purposes of their publication. They list the rolls of, among others, the Gore District Militia regiments. The actual military service performed does not appear to have amounted to much, militia members being required to turn out but once a year for a military exercise on the king's birthday. Since families came along and with picnic hampers, diary entries from the era suggest more of a holiday atmosphere than one of military practice. There are reports that, as the day wore on, there'd be drinking and the occasional brawl. Still, Elisha Babcock appears on the rolls for the 4th Regiment of Gore Militia. Among the worthies noted, Aaron (Arents) D. Vrooman, who appears elsewhere in this tree, was a lieutenant and Elisha's name is recorded with James Laurason (so spelled), Joseph N. Keefer, Robert Keefer, and Robert Laurason. A Reuben and John Babcock are also on the rolls. Robert Keefer was married to Lavinia Lawrason and Elisha's sister Harriet would later be married to Robert Lawrason. (This is a very subjective interpretation of the above, but since Elisha Babcock is clearly listed with the Laurasons and Keefers, it probably indicates that they arrived together at the assigned location and enrolled in a group. If this was indeed on 12th August, the birthday of King George IV, then their wives and children probably tagged along with horses and wagons giving the occasion the atmosphere of a social event.) With nothing more than age to go on, it at first seemed possible that the three Babcock militiamen were the sons of Henry Babcock who died 30 December, 1867, age 84 years and 4 months, and who is buried in Sheffield Cemetery. The difficulty with this theory is that Henry Babcock makes no mention of Elisha, or Wilder, or Reuben, or other possible children that we might reasonably identify as siblings in his will. Henry does mention daughter Hannah, the wife of Andrew Malcolm (of Galt), and son Martin who evidently went to Michigan. Finally, definitive documentation is to be found on microfilm GS1423 Vol. B. nbr. 524, page 543, at the bottom of the page, wherein Henry Babcock, husband of Orinda, declares himself to be a brother as well as heir at law of Wilder Babcock. Just who the parents are of a rather long litany of siblings associated with the documentation around Concession 7, lot 4 of Beverly Township, remains a mystery. Without the names of the parents, and for further research purposes, the brothers of Wilder Babcock, such as we are led to by the Abstract Index for C7-L4 of Beverly, may be named as: James (deceased by the time of the transactions); Henry; Reuben; William (deceased). Also having an interest in the transactions were: Nelson K. Babcock, son of Elisha; Henry Babcock of Blenheim Township, son of James. The sisters: Mary (Polly), wife of Henry Erb; Harriet, first married to Morgan Hermance, then to William Main, then to Robert Lawrason. The female principals also included Eleanor, daughter of Elisha - she had been married to Samuel S. Doud, who died in 1853, and then to Hiram Shaw; Elizabeth, daughter of William Babcock and wife of William Wedge; Jane Babcock, daughter of William Babcock and wife of Ignatz Massel; Hannah, daughter of James Babcock and wife of Richard Springer. A final comment: A Rachel Babcock appears in early assessments of Beverly Township. She may be the matriarch of the Babcock family though this is disputed. There is also a Rachel Babcock, maiden name unknown, who was the wife of a Samuel Babcock who served with the British during the American Revolution and who died in the U.S. This Rachel came to Canada and, while living at Adolphustown in 1797, and in Camden in 1808, petitioned for land. Her petitions and their resulting grants have yet to be researched. She may be the same Rachel that appeared in the early Beverly assessments. The difficulty with this is that some of her children - certainly Harriet - are too young to be the children of Samuel Babcock. These remain avenues for research. |
Children of Elisha Babcock and Ann Lawrason |
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| Last Edited | 10 Jan 2019 |