Medal of Honor

John Breckenridge BABCOCK received the Congressional Medal of Honor on 18 September 1897 for his actions 28 years earlier while a First Lieutenant in the 5th U.S. Cavalry, at Spring Creek, Nebraska, 16 May 1869:  While serving with a scouting column, this officer’s troop was attacked by a vastly superior force of Indians. Advancing to high ground, he dismounted his men, remaining mounted himself to encourage them, and there fought the Indians until relieved, his horse being wounded.  He was born in New Orleans, LA on 7 Feb 1843 and entered service at Stonington, Connecticut.  In 1880, he was a Captain, stationed in Sioux County, Nebraska, married, but without his family.  He retired as a General.  He was a fifth cousin of Jehu Babcock.

William J. BABCOCK received the Congressional Medal of Honor on 2 March 1895 for his actions 30 years earlier while a Sergeant, Company E, 2d Rhode Island Infantry, at Petersburg, VA, 2 April 1865:  He planted the flag upon the parapet while the enemy still occupied the line; was the first of his regiment to enter the works, reenacted in this clip of the 1986 mini-series North and South. He was born in Griswold, Connecticut 8 Apr 1841 and entered service at South Kingston, R.I.  In 1870 he was a fisherman living in South Kingston, RI with his wife born 1845, and their infant child, William, born Jul 1870. He has a pension file at the Archives, filed for disability on 26 Apr 1886, and died 29 Oct 1897. His widow, Phebe, filed for her pension 8 Nov 1897. In the file is a pension application, dated 20 Feb 1901, for a minor, Carrie E. BABCOCK. He was a fifth cousin of Jehu Babcock.

Thanks to Bruce, Justin, and Allan BABCOCK for discovering these two heroes.

The Babcock Clamp

William Wayne Babcock graduated in 1895 with honors from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Baltimore. After internship in Salt Lake City, he enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania where he was awarded his second MD degree. At age 31, he was appointed to the chair of surgery at Temple University, a position he held with distinction for 40 years. His textbook, Principles of Surgery was a standard reference for a generation of students and surgeons. A remarkable innovator, he was the first practitioner in the United States to use spinal anesthesia. He is perhaps best known for the non-perforating forceps or clamp used in abdominal surgery, which bears his name. He was a sixth cousin of our William Babcock.

Babcock and Wilcox

George Herman Babcock, co-founder of Babcock and Wilcox, was the son of a well-known inventor and mechanic of his time, Asher Miner Babcock, the designer of the “pin-wheel motion” in plaid looms, of a novel shoe-peg machine, and of many other ingenious and successful mechanisms.  His mother was also of a line of mechanics, her father having been distinguished as a constructor of ordnance for the Government in the War of 1812 and her uncle being a well-known manufacturer of locks and clocks.  The key to success of the Babcock and Wilcox firm was their patented invention of “sectional” boilers that prevented explosions, all too common until then.  He met Stephen Wilcox many years earlier in Westerly Rhode Island.  George Herman Babcock had four wives but only one surviving son, George Luason Babcock, who was modestly successful in politics and business.  George L. Babcock had a daughter and a son George Herman II. He was a sixth cousin of William Babcock.

Kimberly-Clark

Havilah Babcock, co-founder of Kimberly-Clark, was a first cousin once removed of Addie Roper. Who hasn’t heard of Kleenex, Cottonelle, Huggies, the Scott brand and other Kimberly-Clark products? Founded in 1872 and incorporated in 1880, the company is the producer of paper products sold and used in 175 countries. Please read more about him, his company, and his famous house in Neenah, Wisconsin. Havilah Babcock was a sixth cousin of William Babcock.

The Babcock Milk Test

Stephen Moulton Babcock studied in several of the universities of America, and in 1879 received a Ph. D. from the University of Goettingen, Germany.  He did most of his most important work at the Wisconsin Agricultural Station 1888-1913.  He is best known for his test for butterfat in milk which bears his name.  In 1895 he announced a method by which casein can be mechanically separated from the other constituents of milk.  He helped develop a process of cold curing cheese (1900) and his experiments led to studies that developed the vitamin concept.  He is known as the “father of Scientific dairying.”  In recognition of his services in inventing the Babcock Milk Test the State of Wisconsin in 1901, through its Governor and Legislators, presented him with “the largest bronze medal ever struck in England.”  Stephen M. Babcock was a sixth cousin of William Babcock, a third cousin once removed of Addie Roper, and a second cousin once removed of the Babcock Genealogy author, Stephen Babcock.

Hotel del Coronado

Elisha Spurr Babcock, Jr. moved from Evansville, Indiana to San Diego, California in 1884 for rest and recuperation from tuberculosis. He and another prosperous businessman, Hampton L. Story, purchased San Diego Peninsula, nearly 4200 acres, for $110,000. They advertised and sold lots to raise $2.2 million and build the grand Hotel del Coronado. They broke ground in 1887 and opened in 1888. There is for more web-based information on Elisha Babcock and Hotel del Coronado at wikipedia.org and sandiegohistory.org. Elisha S. Babcock was a fifth cousin of Jehu Babcock.