Getting back to Elizabeth A.S. Babb’s work titled Babb Families Come to America this entry for Phillip Babb turned my head.

Elizabeth would have had no way of knowing how important this testimony of Mary Babbe would prove to be. That is because the record of our Phillip who married Marie Plumlie wasn’t discovered for a decade after she wrote these words.

The testimony of Mary Babbe regarding a John Plumbley leaves out the point that Plumlie is her maiden name. Her father is named John Plumlie. Remember that there were no standard spellings at the time, so read the names phonetically. If they sound the same, they are the same.

Additionally, Mary & Phillip named their first child John. Both families are heavily involved in shipping and Devon and London have a centuries-old shipping connection.

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Two Phillips or Two Marys

There are several things that are wrong with Elizabeth’s assessment here. But before I begin, I want to refer back to a theory I was floating around at the 2009 Babb Reunion when I mentioned my concept that there might have been either Two Phillips or Two Marys. Her hair turned bright red all over again and she asked if I could prove that. I told her plainly that I could not. It was simply a theory. For years I showed a Father for our Phillip (1) as Phillip (0). I later thought better of it and removed the supposition entirely from the tree. Next is a link to an article I wrote in 2015 that discusses the 2009 incident and the surrounding theory. Note that we have learned much and filled in some of the blanks since then.

When was Phillip Babb of the Isles of Shoals (1) really born?

There are two Phillips in play and their records have been often confused my scores of researchers. There is Phillip the father, whom we know as Phillip (1) of the Isles of Shoals. Then there is his son Philip born in 1634 and who died in 1640.

The key error Elizabeth made here is that she believed Phillip the father to be dead by 1642, when her own statements about the timing of the testimony and Phillip being alive in 1645 disprove that concept. Thomas of the Hopewell died the following year stating that he had no living male descendants. This precludes him from being Phillip’s father, but not his brother.

The Tipping Point

In fact our Phillip (1) appears to be Phillip Babb the son of Thomas Babb, Mariner (1575). Which would make him and Thomas of the Hopewell brothers, not father and son. So, my statement in the article below still stands.

It’s official: Captain Thomas Babb of the ship “Hopewell” is NOT the father of Phillip Babb (1) of the Isles of Shoals

Points of evidence in favor of this connection are:

1. Birth and burial records indicate that Phillip’s son Philip was born in 1634. This son died in 1640 as it evidenced by the note at the bottom of the page.
2. The same thing occurred to his first-born son John. The father of Mary (Plumlie) Babb(e) is John Plumlie.

This is the watershed moment I’ve been waiting for. Dozens of items are pointing in this direction and the preponderance of the body of evidence has grown too strong to ignore. I’ve been covering those points as I came across them leaving a breadcrumb trail for those who wish to revisit all the points.

More on Phillip’s London family coming soon. Stay tuned!