Bradley Family Tree - Reuben Babcock, Northborough Minuteman

 Reuben Babcock - Northborough Minuteman

Family Connection - 4th great-grandfather of Ruth Ann Bradley

Reuben Babcock was born in 1755 to William and Lydia (Bush) Badcock in Marlborough, Massachusetts. He was the youngest of six children. 

First, let's deal with the name. William and his ancestors used the name Badcock, and that was Reuben's birth name, but at the time of the American Revolution, many colonists with the name Badcock or Badcocke began using Babcock instead, rejecting the "British" spelling. So, technically Reuben was born a Badcock, but after the Revolution, he changed it to Babcock. So, to minimize confusion, I'm using a shortcut - Reuben and his family are referred to as Babcock in this blog. 

Little is documented of Reuben's early life, but in 1775 in Northborough (North Marlborough), Reuben became a Minuteman. 

In the spring of 1775, Northborough, along with many other tows in Massachusetts, began training a local militia to be ready to defend their town on short notice - the Minutemen - under the command of Capt. Samuel Wood and Col. Jonanthan Ward. Reuben Babcock was in training with the rest of the Minutemen when word came of the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775. At that time, the militia was pressed into duty. 

After an initial service period of seven days in training, Reuben re-enlisted on April 26, 1775. His regiment was sent first to Cambridge, then to Dorchester. 

In 1775, Boston looked very different than it does today. It was almost an island, connected to the land mass only by a causeway into Dorchester, as shown in this map. 

The British Troops were quartered in Boston, so the job of the Colonial troops in places like Dorchester and Cambridge were to insure they stayed there. After a little over a year, his enlistment ended and he went home to Northborough.

According to pension records, Reuben Babcock served as a Private for 11 months and 11 days, and as a Corporal for one month and twelve days. 

On June 5, 1779, Reuben married Hannah Goddard. They had thirteen children

                Lydia               b. 1780            d. 1868

                Hannah            b. 1781            d. 1860

                James               b. 1783            d. 1868

                Julia                 b. 1785            d. 1876

                Reuben Jr.        b. 1787            d. 1870

                Abel                 b. 1789             d. 1810

                Silas                 b. 1791             d. 1829

                Rebecca           b. 1793             d. 1839

                Mary                b. 1795             d. 1885

                Patty                b. 1797             d. 1800

                Anna                b. 1800             d. 1867

                Sophia              b. 1803            d. 1891

                William            b. 1805            d. 1864

There is little information about Reuben and Hannah's daily life. 

In March of 1834, he was granted a military pension of $43.05 per year. 

Reuben Babcock died on January 19, 1844 in Northborough. His wife Hannah died on March 28, 1857. Both were buried in the Howard Street Cemetery in Northborough. 

Reuben Babcock > James Babcock > John Babcock > Charles Sydney Babcock > Jessie Louise Babcock > Charles Stuart Bradley > Ruth Ann Bradley

Reuben Babcock is in the outermost ring of the fan chart below, on the lower edge of the blue section