The time has come to reveal the next generation of the Lions of the Sea! Let me introduce you to Phillip Babb’s (1) Grampa, who in addition to Phillip’s father Thomas (1577-1620), is also named Thomas Babb (1544-1608).
It turns out that Gramps was also a mariner and a landowner in Newton Abbot, Devon. He is seen there witnessing a court document in 1571.
In addition, he is mentioned in two Deed Records for a piece of property that was in his tenure and owned by Thomas Collcot. In this instance the word “tenure” likely means that he leased the property from Thomas Collcot. At the time land was owned by the ruling class and the average person could only rent/lease property.
The estimated date of Thomas Babb, Mariner’s birthdate that was used by my predecessors (Ian and Jean) was just an approximation given the lack of explanatory evidence. That evidence has come to light, and we can reveal that Thomas was christened on 31 Aug 1577. His date of birth is likely within days of the christening.
Thomas married Johanna Coyell and together they had 3 daughters and two sons: Erith (1567/8), Robert (1570), Mariona (1571/2), Anna (1575) & Thomas (1577). Other than the christening records not much is known about Thomas’ siblings at this time. Robert is found in court documents in 1602 as a 1/3 owner of the land of the Manor of Wolborough. Newton Abbot is located in the Parish of Wolborough.
We last see Thomas (aka Gramps) in 1584 when he sailed to Newfoundland as Captain of the “Jonas”. He died by 28 Aug 1592 when Johanna remarries Hugh Babb (not a typo). Hugh and Johanna proceed to have 5 more children between 1593-1608. What a fertile womb!
We haven’t connected Hugh into a particular tree at this time, so he currently heads the tree known as Devon Pedigree (Newton Abbot 1592). He is clearly of some relation to Thomas, but the nature of the connection is unknown.
This also happens to be the same parish where we found the memorial plaques for Thomas Babb (1754-1810) who served as the fief of Wolborough Parish and his son’s Samuel and John whose ship foundered off the coast of Tuscany, Italy in 1817. Additionally, Thomas (1754-1810) is the same Thomas who gave land for a Cemetery in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada in 1798.
I’ve written extensively on this specific parish church/family and am providing links to the articles for your convenience. While we haven’t yet unlocked the exact connection between Thomas of 1798 and Thomas of 1544, they are undoubtedly related.
Newfoundland
This also happens to be the same Thomas who was recorded as the captain of the ship “Jonas” which sailed from Exeter in Devon, England to the Island of Newfoundland in October 1584. I’ve discussed this record before in a previous post. To refresh your memory, I’m including a link to the article below.
This is the earliest known record of a Babb in Newfoundland, Canada. We know through Y-DNA research that the Newfoundland Babbs are a little more distantly related to the descendants of Phillip Babb (1) than Phillip’s descendants are to each other. It was the discovery of this record that made me take a closer look at the connection between the families in these locations.
Phillip’s grampa Thomas Babb (1544-1608), like the rest of this lineage of Babbs was connected to the sea. Back in 2015 when I was drafting the modern Coats of Arms for the various Babb lineages I had no idea of the magnitude of my choice for the name of Phillip’s lineage when I named this tree, the Lions of the Sea! I had no idea at how prophetic the name would turn out to be.
Phillip was a Mariner and has come from a long line of Mariners. The business was very profitable, but also fraught with danger. Many of the members of the family died while “overseas”. As an example, in Phillip’s immediate family all but one of the 5 brothers died overseas, which includes Phillip himself. I dare say that the fate of the others who died overseas was less fortunate than Phillip’s.
3 responses to “Meet Phillip’s (1) Grampa: Thomas Babb (bef 1544-aft 1584) of Newton Abbot, Newfoundland and Points Unknown”
I believe the Thomas who visited Newfoundland on “Jonas” was the Thomas who married Mary Wilde on April 2, 1581. His son Thomas 1602 was on the Hopewell. I think the family mentioned above are not the same family but maybe connected.
Let’s talk about this more. There are 3 Thomas’ in a row, so we need to be extremely specific here.
Thomas Babb (Bef. 1547-Aft. 21 Oct 1584) is the captain of the ship “Jonas”. He married Johanna Coyell in 1568. She remarried after his death in 1592. So, this is not the Thomas of which you are referring to.
His son, Thomas Babb (Abt. 31 Aug 1577-15 Sep 1620) is a Mariner, but we have very little documentary evidence of his existence. He did marry a Mary (no pun intended) and her last name is unknown in our tree. From the births of their children their wedding date would approximately be in 1592/3. They had a steady string of children between 1593-1614.
The last Thomas, as if that could actually happen, is the Captain/Master of the ship “Hopewell”. He was born about 1599 and died on or about 1646 in Virginia. His estate wasn’t settled until about 1655 with, what I believe is the death of his wife Eleanor.
I’ve seen a reference or two to Mary Wild, but haven’t researched it just yet. Please let me know your thoughts on this info and we can move it to the next step.
Daniel
I came across the record of Wild that I was thinking about. But it appears to be a different person. I have an Elizabeth Wild who married William Babb in South Harting, Sussex on 24 Nov 1611.
I don’t have Mary Wild listed in my database. Could you please point me in the right direction?
Thanks!