An additional document has been located that sheds light on the life of James Babbs (3-3) (1735-1803) top-level member of the Green Men of Maryland Babbs. It is the Inventory and Sale of his property after his death. It was a bear to find!
It is also of interest to me that the Newspaper Accounts do not reflect the dates given in the Court Documents. They proceed it by about 7 months. I can’t account for the difference. Maybe he said, “I’m not dead yet! I’m feeling much better!”
Key Takeaways
- James’ actual death date is listed as 02 Jul 1803.
- The inventory was conducted 1 month after his death on 02 Aug 1803. But Newspaper Accounts place it well before that.
- His debts were $108.58 and the sale of his household goods totaled $45.15. However, this was not the full extent of his estate. The sales continued and eventually totaled more than his debts.
- He left no Will. His children were grown, and his wife appears to have pre-deceased him.
- His eldest son Thomas Bab[b]s bought a Gun and a Horn from the estate. The nature of the relationship is called into question further down in this article.
- James seemed to own no land as that would have tilted the balance of his estate.
- I previously covered the final administration of James’ estate (see below) and his sole beneficiary was son Eli, despite the fact that 2 other sons were still living.
- While not insolvent, he was clearly not rich, which might explain why the remainder of his kin moved west in search of more fertile lands to farm.
- While James has been considered a potential father of fellow top-level member John Babb’s, it does not seem as though this would be the case.
- In fact, it calls into question the associations made with James’ two other sons Thomas (3-3-2) & James (3-3-1). My predecessor, Jean A. Sargent notes that both are assumed sons of James. There could be other potential fathers yet, undiscovered.