Category: DNA-01: Lions of the Sea (Descendants of Phillip Babb of the Isles of Shoals)
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A Watershed Moment!
I’ve been reviewing a self-published work by an Elizabeth A. S. Babb. She was in contact with Ian Henry Babb, my predecessor in the UK. He had several drafts of her work in his collected papers, culminating in a 63-page document that outlines the findings and records she reviewed in her journey. It was self-published…
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Cod, Money and Power: How the Devon Babbs found their way to Newfoundland
Today, I focus on the motivation behind Devon’s connection to the island of Newfoundland in Canada. Today Newfoundland and the peninsula of Labrador have been merged into a single province aptly named Newfoundland and Labrador (NL). The history Newfoundland was discovered by John Cabot in 1497, who had set out to find Asia on a…
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It’s official: Captain Thomas Babb of the ship “Hopewell” is NOT the father of Phillip Babb (1) of the Isles of Shoals
I’ve often wondered about this mythical man, Captain Thomas Babb of the Hopewell. I had long pinned my hopes that something might arise to prove a connection between him and Phillip (1). I finally stumbled upon some documentation for him in Jean Sargent’s book notes (please remember that there are 40K+ pages of documentation). Why…
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Doctor When? – Phillip’s ancestors in Newfoundland – 1584!
While reviewing Jean’s papers I’ve found a few references to Newfoundland Babbs that take the Newfoundland story back further than I ever imagined. There is a Thomas Babb (of Newton Abbot) that was doing business in Newfoundland as far back as 1584! Because of Y-DNA research, this means that an ancestor of Phillip Babb (1)…
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Thomas Babb of Newton Abbot – The Missing Link?
Proving Phillip Babb’s (1) connection to England may come about through something we call collateral relatives. The idea behind it is that when you can’t find proof of a connection using your ancestor’s paper trail, you extend your search to their relatives, thus opening up your nets to catch more fish. I must admit I’ve…
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The Passing of a Legendary Honorary Babb – Julia Older
It is with great sadness that I announce the death of Julia Older. Many will remember her from her recitation, at the 2011 Babb Family Reunion, of a chapter of her book “This Desired Place: The Isles of Shoals”. I first came across her work while researching that next Babb Family Reunion in 2010. I…
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The American Revolution, Newfoundland, Pirates in Portugal, Waterford, Phillip Babb (1) & Me On My Ear!
It is hard to imagine how all of these stories could convene, but they have! I’ve always assumed that the Newfoundland Babbs were loyal to the Crown and as the American Revolution began, they left America for safer territory in Canada. There is just a single family in Newfoundland, Thomas & Esther Babb who gave…
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Newfoundland Babb – The Origin Story, the Lions of the Sea & Newton Abbot
Continuing my work on the Newfoundland Babbs I perused Archive.org further to see if any additional information was available on Thomas (NL1) & Esther Babb and couldn’t believe my eyes. Thomas was NOT the first Babb in Newfoundland! John Babb was recorded on the Island a full 97 years before Thomas’ earliest record. In 1681…
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Babb hosts first-ever Christmas Parade
This headline was confusing to me when I first saw it too. The Town of Babb, Montana, which is named for Cyrus Cates Babb (1867-1937). Cyrus’ number in the Babb Tree is 1-5-3-2-3-1-5-2, which means his trail back up the tree reads as follows: Cyrus Cates, Cyrus Knapp, Henry Cates, Joseph, Peter, James, Peter, Phillip…
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A Family Bible provides more than 1 Dozen Points of Proof
Family Bibles have long been used to record births, marriages and deaths of family members. Arene J. (Leggins, Babb) Gorton’s Family Bible is no different. The book was retrieved by one of her descendants while cleaning out her father’s house after his death. Before I get into the details of what this amazing find revealed,…