This has got to be one of those, “You’ve got to be kidding me” moments.
I’ve previously established that there were indeed Green Men of MD and White Stags of VA/NC in Clay County, IL. However, I’ve run across an unexpected record that muddies the water greatly!
Enter, The Lions of the Sea
The following Land Patent is recorded for one Hiram Babb (1-2-2-1-4-2) in Clay County (Book L, pp 634) defies expectations and presents 3 of the 4 Major Lines of Babbs crossing through this sparsely populated location (there were just 4,289 people listed in the 1850 Census).
The record explains that Hiram served in Eastern, TN in the War of 1812 as a Private in Captain Hendrix’s Company, Fourth Regiment, East Tennessee Militia.
Hiram is already known to our tree and his service in this military unit is already documented. He was born in 1793 in Greene County, TN to Seth & Mary (McClellan) Babb Sr. Which means that Hiram was born in the 1787 Seth Babb Homestead in Greeneville, TN.
This is a copy of the document that broke this story (transcription follows):
Hiram Babb – Land Patent (Transcription)
Clay Co, IL,
Bk L, p 634
The United States of America: To All to Whom these presents shale come greeting. Whereas in personance entitled an act granting Bounty Land to certain Officers and Soldiers who have been engaged in the military service of the United States. Warrant No 1839 for 80 acres issues in favor of Hiram Babb Private in Captain Hendrix’s Company fourth Regiment East Tennessee Militia War 1812 has been returned to the General Land Office with evidence that the same has been duly located upon the Lot number two of the North West quarter of Section 6 in Township three North of Range six East in the District of Land subject to sale at Vandalia Illinois containing Seventy five acres and seventy-ninth hundreds of an acre, according to the Official Plat of the Survey of the said land returned to the General Land Office by the survey or general which has been assigned to Solomon B. Chamblis now know ye that there is therefore granted by the United States by the United States until the said Solomon B Chamlis. The tract of land above described, to have and to hold the said tract of land with the appurtenances there of unto the said Solomon B Chamblis with the heirs and assigns forever. In testimony where of I Franklin Pierce President of the United States of America have assigned these letters of the made Patent and the seal of the General Land Office to the hereunto affixed. Given under my hand at the City of Washington, the first day of May in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty four and of the Independence of the United States the Seventy Eighth.
By the President
Franklin Pierce
By H N Baloniris Ast Secretary
Records of Miscellaneous Military
Grants Vol 183 page 28. E. J K Greniger Recorder of
the General Land Office.
Note: I do not know what the source record that is mentioned in the lower left corner is for. I believe it is a copy of a document that was presented in the county at this time.
Hiram was born in Greene Co, TN, served in the War of 1812 and then by 1830 lived in Roane County, TN for essentially the rest of his life. No one expected to find him here, but he decided to invoke the Land Bounty resulting from his service in the War of 1812. Land had been opened up for this purpose by a law signed in 1850.
There was a problem with the Patent application in that it had already been granted to a Solomon B Chamblis[s]. That problem is the only reason we have come to this realization.
Um, hold up on that thought!
This sounds like it is all buttoned up. It would be, but upon reviewing Hiram’s entry in our Big Babb tree, I found that a picture of his headstone that shows he actually died in April 1847. Headstones are typically considered as authoritative sources for the date of death as they are typically made at the time of death when memories are fresh. So, this is more than concerning.
The tree record goes on to say that he married Malinda Griffin in October of 1847 (6 months after his death). Hiram goes on to die for the 2nd time exactly 10 years to the day after his Tombstone above, but the date was already carved in his headstone, and they must not have felt like redoing it. Not a man to be kept down three months later he marries Margaret Wright. All of these events happen in Roane Co, TN.
Clearly, something is wrong here and we need to get to the bottom of it. I turn first to review the work of my predecessor, Jean A. Sargent to see what she had to say on the topic. Hiram wasn’t mentioned in the first edition of her book series, so this is from the 2nd Edition of Babb Families of America (The Red Cover). The entry starts near the bottom of the first page of this document and has been called out with a Red Dot.
We can see that the nexus of this error. It is partially made possible by not having exact dates of death for Hiram or Polly Crabtree (his actual first bride).
The inconsistent dates are clearly incorporated and appear to have been from Correspondence with a member of The Association. So, we need to go back and start over.
Reproving everything
I see a marriage record with Polly Crabtree in Greene Co, TN in 1816.
Though Digital images are not yet available from the National Archives, Ancestry lists Index records for Hiram and his older brother Er (aka ERR/Ezra) Babb as having served in the same Company.
I’ll skip over the children as they aren’t part of this story. Just know that they all line up in the final analysis.
We have the headstone picture, so I went to findagrave.com to locate more information and find that he apparently did marry Melinda Griffin as she is on the same headstone along with Polly and Hiram.
The memorial page picks up on this discrepancy and claims that the records are incorrect and presents that the headstone is simply wrong. It presents several important pieces of evidence to support this claim. The first of which is that he was married to Malinda (2nd wife) on 28 Oct 1847. This is evidenced by the fact that she is on the headstone with him.
While I see no marriage record for Hiram and Melinda, they are listed together in the 1850 Census. She died in 1856 and Hiram then marriage Margaret Wright in 1857.
Hiram would have died between 23 Jun 1857-20 May 1858, which is after his 3rd Marriage to Margaret and before the inventory being conducted on his estate.
Hiram Babb – Estate Inventory & Sale Records – Roane Co, TN:
Margaret is listed in the inventory records as his widow, but by the time of the disbursement in 1861 she had married again herself and was shown as Margaret Dail.
Status: Confirmed
I can confirm that Hiram Babb (1-2-2-1-4-2), did in fact, apply for a Land Patent in Clay County, IL. We find no other reference to him as it was not completed due to a problem with the lot already having been assigned. The Land Patent records don’t seem to have been fully digitized yet, so I was unable to find out if he obtained another lot or if he simply gave up the quest. The record I started this post with is dated 19 Oct 1857, which is about a month after his marriage to Margaret (3rd wife). How and why it was entered is unknown to me. Perhaps time will tell?
Let’s Bring This Home
So, YES, we have seen 3 different genetic lineages of Babb(s) appear in Clay Co, IL. The small rural county has played host to the White Stags of VA/NC; the Green Men of MD and now to the Lions of the Sea!
No joke!