52 Ancestors #44 - Butcher Pirate and Ghost or Respected Fisherman

The Isle of Shoals is a group of very small islands between Maine and New Hampshire. It is rumored that they were a hangout of pirates including the infamous Blackbeard. During this time southern New Hampshire and Maine were under the control of Massachusetts Bay colony. Appledore (formerly known as Hog Island) is the largest of the islands that make up Isle of Shoals. It is here that the ghost of Philip Babb was said to have haunted. Here is the legend of my alleged pirate ancestor. 

Philip Babb is "supposed to have been so desperately wicked when alive, that there is no rest for him in his grave. His dress is coarse, a striped butcher's frock, with a leather belt, to which is attached a sheath containing a ghostly knife, sharp and glittering, which is his delight to brandish in the face of terrified humanity." ~ Celia Thaxter, local historian





Philip Babb made his fortune from dunfish, cod that has been thinly sliced, salted, and dried. His house was on the south side of the island, near a cove. It is generally agreed upon by historians that he and his friend, Ambrose Gibbons (another ancestor) dug a large pit. Legend has it that it is where he found a treasure chest but it was too heavy to lift. "Smoke came from its lid when they tried to beak the lock." ~ Oscar Laighton, local historian. 

Some even name Philip Babb as the pirate in the legend of Ocean-Born Mary. Heather Wilkinson Rojo has written two excellent posts about the true story of Ocean-Born Mary and her haunted house (the one she didn't live in...but hey, who cares about the truth when there's money to be made). See links below for Heather's posts. 

On the other hand, I found these sources...
Pioneers of Maine and New Hampshire says:
Philip Babb took the oath of allegiance to the Massachusetts government on November 16, 1652 and served as constable for Isle of Shoals (except for Starr Island) also in 1652. He was one of the commissioners for settling minor cases. He died on April 24, 1671 and his wife died not long after his death. 

This hardly makes him sound like a notorious criminal. 

Genealogical Dictionary of Maine & New Hampshire
Babb, Philip, prominent fishing master at Isles of Shoals (Hog) from 1652 or earlier until his death. Local magistrate. In 1668 Roger Kelly was bonded for abusive carriages toward Mr. Babb and his wife; in 1671 Lawrence Carpenter for cruel usage of Mary Babb's servant. 

And of his son
Babb, Sampson (2), Portsmouth. Lists 334a, 335a. 339. Will 1736-1739. Perh. m. 3 wives: 1st "Elizabeth," in list of church [p.72] members bef. 1708, likelier the minister's error for Sarah (wife of (2); Sarah, named as mother of Esther; Grace, named as mother of Benjamin and in will, prob. Grace (Taprill), widow of Israel Hoit, dau. of Robert and Abishag (Walton) Taprill. Ch. Sampson, m. Dorothy Hoit, dau. of Israel and Grace (Taprill).

This line needs a lot more work to solidify the documentation. Still, I think it's safe to say that Philip Babb was more likely a respected member of the Isle of Shoals community than a blood-thirsty pirate turned ghost. 

Philip Babb
Sampson Babb & Elizabeth? or perhaps Sarah? 
Sampson & Dorothy (Hoyt) Babb
John & Alice (Babb) Waterhouse
Richard & Lydia (Waterhouse) Garland
Isaac & Alice (Garland) Hayes
Richard & Rebecca (Greenwood) Hayes
Sydney & Apphia (Cole) Hayes
George & Anna (Rowe) Hayes
Estes & Eva (Hayes) Yates
Linona Alice Yates - my grandmother

Sources:
http://www.shoals.org/history-myth-lore-and-legend/secrets-of-the-shoals/
http://www.founderspatriots.org/articles/babb.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isles_of_Shoals
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/10/ocean-born-mary-londonderry-character.html
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/10/ocean-born-mary-born-on-her-way-to.html

One Lovely Blog

I am excited to be included in this award. I was nominated by Heather Wilkinson Rojo, author of Nutfield Genealogy, one of my favorite bloggers. Thank you for thinking of me, Heather! 

The rules for the "One Lovely Blog Award":

1. Thank the person who nominated you and link to that blog. 
2. Share seven things about yourself
3. Nominate 15 bloggers you admire (or as many as you can think of!)
4. Let your bloggers know that you've tagged them for the One Lovely Blog Award

Seven things about myself:

1. I credit my Carter and Cotton family lines for helping me grow up with a sense of history. The farm settled by my 4th great-grandfather, Dr. Timothy Carter, has been in my family for seven generations. I grew up surrounded by my family's history. I could wander around the house and meetinghouse he built and see the names of my ancestors on stones in the cemetery behind the meetinghouse. My Cotton line is linked into the Ellingwood surname. There was a book about the genealogy of the Ellingwoods that was updated after I was born so I could peruse a book of ancestors while visiting my grandparents. I thought it was fascinating. 
2. I teach U.S. History and psychology at Windham High School and this is my twenty-first year of teaching. I love the teaching part but could do without the work that comes before and after my classes. I've even found some cousins amongst my students as they work on family history projects. 
3. I have four sons from my first marriage and my husband has two daughters from his first marriage. Together we have children spanning the ages of 22 to 32 - one every two years. Nick 22, Katie 24, Rachel 26, Ben 28, Josh 30, and Steve 32. The middle names of my sons are all in honor of family members: Stephen (for my favorite uncle), Thomas (for my father and grandfather), John (for my only male Carter cousin and my former brother-in-law), and Carter (my maiden name). 
4. I was lucky enough to know three of my great-grandparents and many great-aunts and great-uncles. 
5. I love horses and learned to ride using the saddle that my 2nd great-grandfather, Augustus Carter, used in the Civil War. My family still has his uniform, spurs, and sword too. 
6. I love to travel. I'd love to be able to go more often. England is my favorite and I'd like to see more of Scotland. I've never been to Ireland or Wales and I'd love to go there too. 
7. I really like to cook and I credit my grandmothers. My dad's mom made the best rolls, biscuits, baked beans, and molasses cookies! My mom's mom worked as a pastry chef at resorts in Florida and New Hampshire. Her cakes were amazing! 

Many of my favorite bloggers have already been tagged but figuring that some of my readers may not have seen them, I will list some of them again. Here are a baker's dozen to check out. 

1. Shakespeare's Mom by Kate Parlin is not a genealogy blog but a parenting blog written by a good friend and amazing writer! She has three girls under the age of 5, including a set of twins! She's starting to gain national attention for her writing and I have no doubt that someday she will write a great American novel. 
2. Some Pig by my friend Caroline is another parenting/teaching/modern woman blog written by one of the best writer's I've ever met. If you like snarky, wise-cracking, wit, this is a blog for you. 
3. Life from the Roots by Barbara Poole is a great blog with awesome photography. 
4. Digging Down East by Pam Schaffner
5. Boston 1775 by J. L. Bell is a great place to dig around and learn more about the American Revolution. I've found several ancestor stories here. 
6. Jana's Genealogy and Family History Blog by Jana Last in awesome in many ways but it's one of my favorite sites to check out for her Fab Finds posted every Friday with great topics I might have missed. 
7. Acadian Ancestral Home by Lucie Constantino is not only and interesting blogger but a great speaker. Check out her blog to see if she is speaking in your area. 
8. Granite In My Blood by Midge Frazel is a great collection of all things genealogy and Midge is a great inspiration to always keep learning. Some day I might be half as organized as she is! 
9. One Rhode Island Family by Diane Boumenot. I especially enjoy the posts where she elaborates on her process as she searches for information about her ancestors. 
10. Of Loons and Lady Slippers by T. K. Eldridge is a blog I discovered through the 52 ancestors challenge. I love the name too! 
11. Maine Genealogy by Chris Dunham has been a great resource for me. Not only the blog but the entire site with many features. 
12. West in New England by Bill West has already been nominated but Bill is my inspiration and the person most responsible for starting my blog so I can't leave him out. 
13. Genea-Musings by Randy Seaver is a blog I always check out and a previous nominee. 

I will be contacting the bloggers above but don't expect those who have already done the challenge once to do it again. 

A Sense of Community

This morning, as I was checking Facebook, I noticed a post by one of my favorite bloggers and promptly clicked on it to read. It was a follow-up story about an award she had received and I was surprised to see my name listed as one of the blogs she was recognizing. My first award! 

YAY! 

I am coming up on my one year anniversary of blogging and it has been the best thing I've ever done in the realm of genealogy.  I love genealogy and like most I am self-taught. I'd been plugging away on gathering names and dates without focus or clear purpose for almost 10 years. Blogging has given me a community of like-minded people who are interesting, fun, and most of all helpful! I learn research techniques which greatly enhance my skill level. I'm inspired and get ideas that take the names and dates to the next level. I now study my ancestors in the context of history and find out the stories of their lives. Most of all, I've made new friends who are as passionate about genealogy and history as I am. They are supportive and incredibly helpful. If you love working on genealogy, I cannot encourage you strongly enough to start blogging. I was so worried that I couldn't do it...I'd run out of ideas....I didn't have the time...No one would want to read what I wrote...

But once you start, it will just blossom. Come join the community! 

Apparently, there is a bit of controversy right now regarding the chain letter aspect of a blog award and the new Google algorithms, including the possibility of negative consequences when linking blogs together. All of this is covered in the links on Heather's post. However, everyone acknowledges the excitement and sincere appreciation felt when your blog is promoted. It is in this spirit that I nominate the following blogs - with the hope they appreciate the recognition and feel no obligation to participate. 


1. Bill West's - West in New England - Bill is my inspiration. He is a cousin I met through the Ellingwood Reunion Facebook group and the Maine Genealogy Network. We were fortunate to meet in person at the reunion in 2011. His support and encouragement got me started and he continues to lead in sharing my posts on social networks. 

2. Heather Wilkinson Rojo's - Nutfield Genalogy - Heather is another cousin and we keep finding more connections as we write about our ancestors. Her blog is a favorite because her posts are so varied - from Weathervane Wednesdays and upcoming genealogy events to the connections of her New England ancestors to Hawaii. She frequently comments on my posts and has been very generous and helpful - most recently sharing a letter, written to Queen Liliuokalani, that I can use in my classroom when teaching about Hawaiian annexation. 

3. Pam Seavey Schaffner's - Digging Down East - Pam is a new friend who has similar research interests in Maine. She makes great use of pictures on her posts and I like the way her posts describe her research so I can learn how she found out about the topic. I am especially grateful for her 'Where I Dig' page that lists wonderful resources. 

4. Chris Dunham's - The Genealogue and Maine Genealogy Network - Chris has been a great help to me on several occasions this year. He doesn't blog often but I really enjoy his wit. His 2012 posts on using DNA were great reads. He invests a lot of time and energy on the Maine Genealogy Network. It is an important site for those with Maine ancestry. 

5. Cindy Freed's - Genealogy Circle - Cindy is another one who makes great use of visuals with descriptions of her research. Her site has fresh, clean look and her posts are interesting and easy to read. She is a contributing author to the In-Depth Genealogist, a twice-monthly publication that is invaluable to genealogists of all skill levels. 

6. Jill Ball's - Geniaus - I haven't discovered any common relatives with Jill but that doesn't make her Australian genealogy blog any less interesting. She writes about doing genealogy and much of it applies to everyone. I am most grateful for stumbling across her New Year's post about accentuating the positive. I took her challenge and sent her a link to my post. She sent a very nice reply that exemplifies the sense of community and the warm welcome to the world of blogging that I spoke of at the start of this post. 


If my beneficiaries choose to participate, here are the rules and a link to the original post.
The originator of the award and the rules
1. Select the blogs you think deserve the Blog of the Year 2012 Award
2. Write a blog post and tell us about the blogs you have chosen - no minimum or maximum number
3. Please include a link back to this page at http://thethoughtpalette.co.uk/our-awards/blog-of-the-year-2012-award/ and include the rules in your post (please don't alter the rules or the badges!)
4. Let the blogs you have chosen know that you have given them this award and share the rules with them.
5. You can now join the Facebook group - click 'like' on this page 'Blog of the Year 2012' Award Facebook group and you can share your blog with an even wider audience.
6. As a winner of the award - please add a link back to the blog that presented you with the award - and then proudly display the award on your blog and sidebar - and start collecting stars.