[This version was revised 12-7-98.]

Sorting out the Benjamin Babcocks Raymond L. Babcock

William D. Reid in The Loyalists in Ontario lists twelve children of United Empire Loyalist Benjamin Babcock of Kingston (John, William, Sarah, Samuel, Jacob, Rachel, Meriam, Elizabeth, Johnston, Catharine, David, and Hannah) and six children of U.E.L. Benjamin Babcock of Ernestown (Rachel, Sarah, Peter, James, Pamina, and Benjamin). (p.12) His list is based on the Order-in-Council documents of the official proceedings to grant land to the children of U.E.L.s.

There has been some confusion in the distinction between Benjamin of Ernestown and Benjamin of Kingston. This confusion is not new. Benjamin Babcock of Ernestown, son of the late Benjamin Babcock of Ernestown made his petition for land in 1833. One of the government officials who examined the request penned the following: "Did petitioner’s father reside in any other place than Ernestown?" (Petition 18/77) This reflects the fact that the U.E. List showed a Benjamin Babcock of Kingston, not of Ernestown. In 1834 a Benjamin Babcock, living then in Camden Twp., petitioned to have his name added to the U.E. List. When the Executive Council examined the request the following notation was made: "If Petitioner was originally of Kingston, his name is on the U.E. List. If not, he cannot be recommended." (Land Book Q, p.467) One official, upon examining Nicholas Babcock’s petition, tried to sort things out by making the following list: Rachel, 51, David, 49, Peter, 47, Sarah, 44, Jacob, 42, Jo hn, 39, Elizabeth, 37 or 38, Samuel, 30, Mary Ann, 35, Nicholas, 21. (Petition B 1/80) I hope to show that he combined members of two different families.

Before proceeding, it is perhaps worthwhile to mention that there were a number of other Benjamin Babcocks in the vicinity in addition to the two Benjamins U.E.L. and their sons of the same name. Benjamin, son of Capt. David Babcock U.E.L., was living in Kingston Twp when he made petitions in 1818 and 1839. On September 4, 1792, another Benjamin Babcock petitioned for land as a loyal subject, rather than as a U.E.L. He was granted Lot 14 of the 4th Concession of Camden Township (Archives of Ontario, RG1, MS658-59). He sold parts of this lot in 1823 and 1836. Benjamin, son of Samuel and Rachel Babcock U.E.L., was living in Camden Twp. when he made petitions in 1835 and 1840, however, he may have been one of the U.E.L. Benjamins. This possibility will be examined below. So there were at least six (and perhaps more) Benjamin Babcocks living in Kingston, Ernestown, and Camden Townships in the early 1800s.

It bears mentioning also that there was another Benjamin Babcock U.E.L. who evidently did not survive the Revolution. Elizabeth Ransier was his daughter and the following affidavit is annexed to her petition: "Thomas Smith maketh oath that Benjamin Babcock was settled in Orange County and that he joined the British Standard before 1783 and died a soldier in his Majesty's service and that Elizabeth Babcock, now Elizabeth Ransier, is the daughter of the late Benjamin Babcock." Dated October 2, 1797. (Petition R3/118, also see Land Book F, p. 180.)

Jacob Babcock's petition was made on July 10, 1833. He requested land as the son of U.E.L. Benjamin Babcock of Ernest Town. There must have been some delay in the process because there is an annexed affidavit sworn by Henry Vealy on February 20, 1835 in which he "maketh oath and sweareth that he was personally acquainted with Benjamin Babcock Senior and knows that he resided in the Township of Kingston in the Midland District which place he left and moved to Ernest Town ..." (Petition 19/2) The petition names Benjamin of Ernestown as Jacob's father, but the note regarding the move from Kingston Twp. to Ernestown Twp. calls into question the value and accuracy of distinguishing between the Benjamins by their place of residence. It may be more helpful to distinguish them by the time of their death: 1829 and winter of 1842-43.

I believe that both Benjamins lived for a time in Kingston Twp. and that Benjamin (d. 1829) later moved to Ernestown Twp and Benjamin (d. 1842/43) moved to Camden East Twp. Thus, the identity of the father of the petitioner is variously given as Benjamin of Kingston, Benjamin of Camden, Benjamin of Ernestown and even Benjamin of Loughborough! So, in their children’s petitions, when the father is named as Benjamin of Ernestown, it would be the one who died in 1829, and when the father is named as Benjamin of Camden it would be the one who died in the winter of 1842/43. When the father is named as Benjamin of Kingston, other factors must be considered to discern which Benjamin is meant. After citing various evidence from the petitions and other documents I will give what I hope may be the correct listing of each of the Benjamin’s children.

One vital piece of evidence is a list of the children of Benjamin Babcock of Kingston as sworn by his brother David on January 25, 1804: Rachel is 14 years (some copies of the list have Richard but Rachel appears to be correct), David, 12, Peter, 10, Sarah, 7, Jacob, 5, John, 3, Elizabeth, 1. (List of United Empire Loyalists, Archives of Ontario, Reel C2222, Ref: MG9 D4 Vol. 9, see also Reel 2222, Ref: RG1 L7 Vol. 52A) I believe that at least three more children were born to this Benjamin and that he later moved to Ernestown Twp before his death in 1829. I will first relate the evidence connected with this Benjamin.

Jacob Babcock’s petition has already been mentioned. Another affidavit annexed to his petition was made in 1834: "Personally appeared before me ... Cornelius Hogeboom of the Township of Ernest Town and maketh oath that the late Benjamin Babcock of the Township of Ernest Town died on or about the thirtieth day of August, 1829."

And yet another affidavit affixed to the same petition also dated 1834: "Personally appeared before me ... William Lewis of the Township of Camden and maketh oath that he was personally acquainted with Benjamin Babcock late of the Township of Ernest Town ... and knew him since he was a child and to the best of deponent's recollection Mr. B. Babcock was born some time in or near the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty four. Deponent further states that B. Babcock joined the British Standard in the city of New York in the year one thousand seven hundred and seventy seven the British army being in New York at that time."

The fact that William Lewis knew this Benjamin from the time he was a child gives a clue to where Benjamin lived before the Revolutionary War. William married Elizabeth Babcock, daughter of Samuel and Rachel. (see Land Book H, pp. 122 & 123) Samuel died in 1778 while in service as a U.E.L. (see Petition 9/50) The 1790 census of New York shows a Rachel Babcock in Warwick Twp., Orange County as a head of household. That this Rachel is Samuel’s widow is indicated by the mention of Thaddeus Scott as head of household in the near vicinity. Thaddeus married Sarah Babcock, another daughter of Samuel and Rachel. There are several Job, Benjamin, and David Babcocks listed in the neighboring township of Haverstraw. Taking together the facts that Samuel and Rachel Babcock lived in Warwick Twp., that William Lewis married one of their daughters and that he knew Benjamin (d. 1829) from childhood would seem to indicate that Benjamin was from Haverstraw or Warwick Twp., Orange Co., New York. It al so suggests that Samuel and Benjamin were probably related and perhaps were brothers.

David Babcock of Camden described himself as son of Benjamin Babcock (deceased) of Kingston in his 1839 petition. An affidavit sworn by William Lewis in March of 1840 is attached: "William Lewis of the Township of Camden in the Midland District, yeoman, a UE Loyalist, maketh oath and saith that he was personally acquainted with Benjamin Babcock of the Township of Kingston, a U.E. Loyalist, that the said Benjamin Babcock is now deceased and would have been had he lived until this time upwards of seventy-five years of age. Deponent further saith that he was also personally acquainted with the father of the aforesaid Benjamin Babcock and grandfather of David Babcock and that his Christian name was Job." (Petition B 22/74)

James Babcock’s 1831 petition doesn’t metion that his father had died but his father is named as "Bejamin Babcock of the Township of Ernest Town." (Petition B16/113) If he petitioned within a year of turning 21, he would have been born in 1809 or 1810. The James Babcock (my ggggf) who lived on Lot 4 of the 2nd Concession of Bedford at the time of the 1861 census gave his age as 62 which would indicate a birth-year of about 1809. In addition to this correspondence in birth-year, there is a marked similarity between the signature of James of Bedford on various deeds and that which appears on the 1831 petition.

Catharine Kelly of Elizabethtown, in her Nov. 17, 1837 petition, described herself as daughter of Benjamin Babcock, late of Loughborough and wife of William Kelly. In an attached affidavit, "William Graham ... maketh oath and saith that he was personally acquainted with Benjamin Babcock ... who at the time of this deponent's acquaintance with him resided in the Township of Kingston..." (Petition K 22/1) Because Catherine's father was deceased by the time of her petition and lived at one time in Kingston Twp., it seems that this would likely be the Benjamin who died in 1829. Against this is John Babcock's 1836 petition on behalf of his mentally ill sister Elizabeth in which he states that all of his father Benjamin's children except Elizabeth have received their lands. (Petition 20/78) However, David Babcock's petition (cited above) was made in 1839 and he is clearly a son of Benjamin (d. 1829). The evidence seems to be more in favor of including Catharine as a daughter of this Benjam in.

There is a difficulty created by Sarah Smith’s petition. This petition says that Sarah is recognized to be the daughter of "the late Benjamin Babcock" of Kingston Twp. But the petition was made April 27, 1820! The beginning of the petition calls her "the daughter of Benjamin Babcock of the township of Kingston." It is the last clause (the statement by the chairman and the clerk) on the second page that has "daughter of the late Benjamin Babcock." (Petition 512/354) As already mentioned, Jacob Babcock's petition (1833) includes Cornelius Hogaboom's affidavit that Jacob's father Benjamin died about August 30, 1829. If Sarah's father really did die before April 27, 1820 it means there was yet another Benjamin Babcock U.E.L. of Kingston. This seems unlikely for a number of reasons. An affidavit attached to Sarah’s petition states that she is married to Isaac Smith Jr. When Isaac Smith of Kingston Twp. died intestate in 1852, leaving Sarah a widow, Joel Smith of Ernestown Twp. and James Babco ck of Bedford Twp. were named executors. This James is almost certainly the son of Benjamin (d.1829), and had a sister Sarah. On April 26 Daniel Babcock, son of Capt. David Babcock, deceased, made a petition. Sarah's petition was made the following day with the same chairman and the same clerk signing. This suggests that the chairman or clerk may have confused the fathers of the two petitioners, one having died, the other still living, and for this reason wrote "the late Benjamin Babcock" on Sarah's petition. The page on which this appears is one to which Sarah did not contribute and did not sign. In the main body of the petition, where it would normally be mentioned if the father of the petitioner is deceased, there is not hint that Sarah's father had died. All things considered, my best guess is that the word "late" in Sarah’s petition was a clerk’s error.

It has been noted that Benjamin (d. 1829) had a brother named David. But which David Babcock was his brother? A David Babcock petitioned for land as a Loyalist settler on December 4, 1793. [Petition B Misc./2] The David Babcock who served as a Captain of the Corps of Refugee Volunteers (and participated in the defense of the Royal Block House in New Jersey under Major Thomas Ward) submitted petitions dated July 7, 1797 [Petition 4/136], October 18, 1797 [Petition 5/10], June 9, 1806 [Petition 8/87] and was granted a total of 3000 acres. There are several pieces of circumstantial evidence which seem to indicate that Capt. David Babcock was brother of Benjamin (d. 1829). As noted above, William Lewis served as deponent for several of Benjamin's (d.1829) children when they made their petitions. When William Lewis made his own petition, David Babcock, Elizabeth Ransier, and Rachel Babcock swore affidavits. [Petition L 9/18] Rachel was William's mother-in-law and, as noted above, Elizabeth was the daughter of a Benjamin Babcock U.E.L. who died during the Revolutionary War. The signature of this David Babcock matches that of Capt. David Babcock on his petitions.

From the Kingston Gazette, May 25, 1813:

Writ of Fieri Facias issued out of Kings Bench at the suit of Jacob Powley of the Town of Kingston, Yeoman , against the lands & tenements of David Babcock of the Town of Kingston, Yeoman, to me directed I have seized and taken in execution as belonging to the said David Babcock, the front part of the east half of lot 1, con 2 of the Township of Kingston containing by admeasurement thirty and ½ acres together with a dwelling . to be sold on 24 June at 10 o'clock .. Charles Stuart, Sheriff

Jacob Powley's wife Rachel was daughter of Benjamin (d. 1829) and thus niece of a David Babcock.

Gathering all the pieces together, it appears that the Benjamin who died in 1829 lived in Kingston Twp, later in Ernestown Twp., and perhaps finally in Loughborough Twp. He had a brother named David and probably had come from Haverstraw Twp., Orange Co., New York. He was born about 1754, his father’s name was Job and his children were:

Rachel Powley, b. ~1790, Order-in-Council Nov. 23, 1816, m. James Powley
David, b. ~1792, petitioned January 22, 1839
Peter, b. ~1794, petitioned April 24, 1816
Sarah Smith, b. ~1797, petitioned April, 27,1820, m. Isaac Smith
Jacob, b. ~1799, petitioned August 30, 1829 and July 10, 1833
John, b. ~1801, petitioned January 30, 1834
Elizabeth, b. ~1803, described as lunatic in John’s petition on her behalf, Oct. 11, 1836
Benjamin of Ernestown, petitioned July 10, 1833
Pamina Hogaboom, petitioned April 27, 1831, m. Cornelius Hogaboom
James of Ernestown, b. ~1809, petitioned April 27, 1831, m. Hannah Loveless
Catharine Kelly of Elizabethtown, petitioned November 17, 1837, m. William Kelly

The following is the portion of a Benjamin Babcock's will which was registered by Nicholas Babcock (it may be that the remainder of the will no longer exists):

Page No. 110 No. 2485 Registered the thirteenth day of March in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty three at half past twelve o'clock at noon - Book H Page No. 110 Memorial No. 2485 Isaac Fraser D. Reg. County of Addington

To the Register of the County of Addington in the Midland District - A memorial of so much of the last will and testament of Benjamin Babcock deceased as relates to lands situated in the counties of Lennox and Addington - in which will among other things is devised as follows viz: "I also give demise and bequeth to my four younger sons Nicholas, Jesse, David, and Elijah all the residue or remaining part of the south west half or hundred acres of Lot number 5 in the Township of Camden aforesaid first deducting all that part thirty acres with the reservation of forty feet for road extending from the river back along the south west line as particularly mentioned in deed made to my son William to be equally divided between and to my son Samuel in consideration of a portion of land I require when my son Elijah becomes of age that is to the term of twenty one years - these four before named children shall pay or cause to be payed to my son Samuel his heirs or assigns the sum of fifty dollars - I also give demis e and bequeth to my four youngest children as before named all that lot or parcel of land being lot number five in the fifth concession of the township of Richmond to be by them equally between them. They shall keep and maintain Elizabeth Lewis my wife so long as she remains a widow and in default thereof she shall have a life interest in the whole of that part of Lot No. 5 in the first concession of Camden now in my possession as also that lot or parcel of land being lot No. 5 in the fifth concession of Richmond and may let or lease the whole or any part thereof for a term of years not exceeding her natural life and her decease the children to have the full benefit as before stated"-

Which will is dated the fifteenth day of March in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty two and is witnessed by Davis Hawley the 3rd and Daniel Unger both of the township of Fredricksburgh in the Midland District yeomen - ant this memorial thereof is required by Nicholas Babcock one of the devisees therein named to be registered pursuant to law.

In testimony whereof the said Nicholas Babcock hereto sets his hand and seal the thirteenth day of March in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty three.

Signed Nicholas Babcock (his mark) [Addington Deeds, 198051]

On April 12, 1843 Jesse Babcock of Camden East petitioned for land as the son of the late Benjamin Babcock of Camden, UEL. William Babcock, Jesse’s brother, made oath saying that Jesse had not yet turned 21 at the beginning of the year. Another affidavit with illegible signature is below William’s affidavit and reads: "Benjamin Babcock the father of Jesse the petitioner and of the above deponent died during the last winter and is the person who stated that he served in Ward’s Block House during the Revolutionary War in an affidavit some time during the last year made by him. He had 4 or 5 wives. 17 May 1843." (Petition B 2/63) Taking together the evidence of the will (above) and this petition we can surmise that this Benjamin Babcock died during the winter of 1842/43 sometime before March 13. His wife at the time of his death was Elizabeth Lewis. An earlier wife was probably Susannah. Meriam Bower willed various items to Benjamin Babcock and to his wife Susannah. [Addington Deeds, Instrument 176, registered March 29, 1813] Merriam Bower also sold part of Lot 5 of the 1st Concession of Camden to Benjamin Babcock. [Addington Deeds, Instrument 178, Registered March 30, 1813] Benjamin, in turn, sold part of the same lot to William Babcock. [Addington Deeds, Instrument 1716, registered March 24, 1836] We know that Benjamin (d. 42/43) had a son William and lived in Camden so it seems likely that the Benjamin mentioned in Merriam Bower's will is the same.

It would have been Benjamin (d. 42/43) who, as mentioned earlier, petitioned in 1834 to have his name inserted in the U. E. List:

The petition of Benjamin Babcock of the Township of Camden a U. E. Loyalist humbly sheweth that your petitioner resided in the British Colonies, now the United States, before the Revolution and came in with the British Soldiers in the time of war and joined the British Standard before the year 1783 and resided in this province since long before the year 1798. As the subjoined affidavits and certificates will amply prove, your petitioner has resided in the Province since the American Rebellion and always endeavored to act as a loyal and faithful subject for his Majesty. May it therefore please your Excellency to have his name inserted in the U. E. List and your petitioner as in duty bound will ever pray, signed Benjamin Babcock (his mark). (Petition 18/238)

It must have been this Benjamin and his sons Benjamin and Samuel who made petitions in March of 1803. (Petitions 9/8, 9/9, 9/10) Benjamin the son "now being of the age of 21 years" would have to be the son of the Benjamin who died 1842/43 since none of the children of the Benjamin who died in 1829 would have been 21 by 1803. Benjamin (d. 42/43) and sons were living in Kingston Twp. at the time of the 1803 petitions. The elder Benjamin's petition was initially rejected with the following notation in the Land Book: "The prayer of this petitioner cannot be recommended until proof be produced that the petitioner is the Benjamin Babcock inserted in the U.E. List." (Land Book H, pp. 34-35) The sons' petitions were also initially rejected with a similar notation. The fact that the authorities only recognized one Benjamin Babcock in the U.E. List may have caused a number of petitions to be rejected and eventually the second Benjamin (then living in Camden) petitioned to have his name inserte d in the list (see above). Soon after, there was a flurry of petitions from his children. Most of them were granted (Land Book R, p. 417, etc.) even though Benjamin's request to be inserted in the list seems to have been denied (as noted above). Trying to reconstruct the family of this Benjamin (d. 42/43), I've come up with the following list of children:

Benjamin of Kingston, petitioned March 1803
Mary Shannon of Camden, petitioned January 23, 1833, m. John Shannon
Samuel of Kingston, petitioned March 16, 1803 and April 28, 1836
William of Camden, petitioned January 23, 1833 and January 27, 1835
John of Camden petitioned on January 27, 1835
Sarah Shannon of Camden, Order-in-Council February 28, 1835, m. Thomas Shannon
Rachel Dies of Tyendinaga, petitioned April 28, 1835, m. George Dies
Miriam Cleveland of Fredricksburg, petitioned July 14, 1835, m. Benjamin Cleveland
Hannah Case of Kingston, petitioned April 27, 1836, m. John Case
Johnston, son of Benjamin of Kingston, petitioned July 12, 1836
Nicholas, son of Benjamin of Camden, petitioned July 26, 1842, turned 21 April 8, 1842
Jesse, son of Benjamin of Camden, petitioned April 12, 1843

Benjamin (d. 42/43) may have been infirm by the time he made his 1834 petition to be inserted in the U.E. List and for this reason drew an "x" rather than signing. I believe it was this Benjamin who made an earlier signed petition which included descriptions of his service during the Revolution:

I certify that Benjamin Babcock joined the Royal Standard in America in the year 1778 and did garrison duty under Major Ward at New York in the Embodied Loyalists and drew provisions and there he was also employed in the Wood Service in the Engineer Department cutting wood for the use of his Majesty's troops and that he has been in Nova Scotia and Canada ever since the year 1782 - as witness my hand, John Everitt, Capt. Militia (signed).

The petition of Benjamin Babcock of the Township of Kingston humbly sheweth that your petitioner joined the Royal Standard in America in the year 1778 and served in the Embodied Loyalists at New York under Major Ward during the War, your petitioner having lived in Nova Scotia and Canada since the year 1782 without having drawn his lands. He most humbly prays Your Honor will be pleased to order him such a quantity of lands for himself, a wife, and four children in the Midland District as Your Honor in your wisdom deem fitting, and your petitioner as in duty bound will ever pray, Benjamin babcock (signed) Kingston, July 15th, 1797. (Petition 4/89)

The lower case "b" in the surname of this Benjamin's signature is one piece of evidence indicating that this is the same Benjamin who made the March 14, 1803 petition (Pet. 9/8) and died 1842/43; the signatures are identical, using the lower case "b" in the surname (Benjamin babcock). Another piece of evidence which suggests that it was Benjamin (d. 42/43) who served in Ward's Block House is his son Jesse's petition (cited above) which makes that claim.

As mentioned above, Benjamin son of Rachel Babcock didn't make his petition until January 27, 1835 but, as mentioned above, Rachel’s husband Samuel died in 1778. So it seems that Benjamin waited a good while after turning 21 before making his petition. His sister Elizabeth was born about 1758 so if he were born about the same time he would have been old enough to be a U.E.L. A certificate for land was granted in response to the 1835 petition but that certificate was mislaid. Benjamin petitioned for a new certificate to be issued in 1840. He named David Roblin as his power of attorney to receive the certificate. David Roblin served as witness when Nicholas and Jesse, sons of Benjamin (d.42/43) made their petitions (in 1842 and 1843). These are the only three instances where I found David Roblin's name in all the Babcock petitions. This makes it seem probable to me that Benjamin of Camden son of Rachel and Benjamin of Camden U.E.L. (d. 42/43) were one and the same. Another factor is that three o t her Babcock petitions were made on January 27, 1835: John, Samuel, and William, sons of Benjamin Babcock of Kingston. (I assume they called their father Benjamin of Kingston because that is how the name appeared in the U.E. List, though he was now living in Camden.) It looks like Benjamin went with three of his sons to make their petitions that day, all as sons of U.E.L.s.

Another interesting observation regards three petitions made on January 3, 1833. John Hawley served as witness for all three: William son of Benjamin of Camden, Mary Shannon daughter of Benjamin of Camden, and Sarah daughter of Jesse Babcock of Camden. This suggests to me that perhaps these were brother, sister, and cousin who went together to make their petitions and asked the same mutual acquaintance to serve as witness. If so, Jesse and Benjamin were brothers and possibly sons of Rachel Babcock. Rachel's 1808 petition mentions seven children, but not by name. Reid lists five children of Rachel (Mary Kelly, Elizabeth Lewis, Keziah Cook, Sarah Scott, and Benjamin Babcock). Jesse could have been one of the children whose names we don't know. Jesse's children listed in his son David's petition were: David, 44, Keziah, 49, John, 45, Rachel, 47, and Sarah, 37. If the names he gave his children are any indication, there certainly appears to be a connection.

The lists I've made of the descendents of each Benjamin are substantially different from those of Mr. William D. Reid. However, it was his work that got me started and was of great help, as far as it went. I expect a number or errors may be found in my work and hope to be able to correct and improve it in the future.

In the process of researching this subject I've received substantial help from Linda Corupe, Eric Bowler, and Vera Currie. I thank also the many persons who have corresponded with me on this subject over the last several years.

e-mail: raynpam@ibm.net