WILLOUGHBY BABCOCK:
An Inventory of His Family Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society
Manuscripts Collection
OVERVIEW
| Creator: | Babcock, Willoughby, 1832-1864, creator. | |
| Title: | Willoughby Babcock and family papers. | |
| Dates: | 1836-1963. | |
| Language: | Materials in English. | |
| Abstract: | Correspondence, diaries, subject files, and research files of three generations of the Babcock family. | |
| Quantity: | 6.0 cubic feet (12 boxes) | |
| Location: | P488 : See Detailed Description for shelf locations. |
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Willoughby Babcock (1832-1864)
Willoughby Babcock was born in Scott, Cortland County, New York. His father was Samuel Babcock, who died in June 1895, his mother was Louisa (Atwater), who died on January 17, 1850. Samuel Babcock was a farmer of modest means, and his sons Willoughby, Willis G., and. Lucius A. had to make their own way and face financial difficulties as they went into professional life. Willoughby was educated at New York Central College, Albany, from which he was graduated in 1858. After that, he opened a lawyer's office in Homer, New York, but soon changed his plans and became a partner in a lawyer's office in Owego, New York. On October 14, 1858, he married Helen E. Maynard of Williamson, New York. When the Civil War broke out, he volunteered immediately as lieutenant of the Third New York Volunteers. He gradually rose in rank to lieutenant colonel, and was brevetted to colonel and brigadier general after his death.
Willoughby took part in the early Virginia Campaign and the Battle of Great Bethel, served as provost marshal of Pensacola, Florida (May-September 1862) and then was sent to New Orleans, from where his regiment participated in the campaign into the Teche country and the siege of Port Hudson. In June 1863, he was incapacitated for some time by a wound. In August of the same year, he was relieved from his command by a court martial for public criticism of the Generals Banks and Grover. Reinstated in January 1864, he became chief of staff of a cavalry division in New Orleans. In the summer of 1864, his regiment was incorporated into the Army of the Potomac. Willoughby died on October 6, 1864, from the effects of a wound received in the Battle of Winchester, Virginia.
Willoughby Maynard Babcock (1864-1925)
Willoughby M. Babcock, son of Willoughby Babcock and Helen E. Maynard, of Owego, New York, was born in 1864. He traveled with his mother to Europe and attended a German gymnasium in Braunschweig (1875-1876). He completed his education at Yale College (until 1887) and Yale Law School, from which he was graduated in 1889. He moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, soon after that and was there a member of the firm Jones and Babcock, Attorneys at Law. He was also secretary of the Draymen's Protective Association of Minneapolis.
In the summer of 1892 he was married to Emily Atwater. Their son, Willoughby M. Babcock Jr., was born July 23, 1893. Willoughby M. died on June 13, 1925.
Willoughby Maynard Babcock Jr. (1893-1967)
Willoughby M. Babcock Jr., son of Willoughby M. Babcock, was born on July 23, 1893, in Minneapolis. He was educated at the University of Minnesota, from which he graduated with a B.A. in 1914 and a M.A. in 1915. He received a second master's degree from Harvard in 1917. After that he taught at Evans School in Mesa, Arizona. From 1918 until 1960 he worked with the Minnesota Historical Society as curator of the museum and then as curator of newspapers. He was the editor of Selections from the Letters and Diaries of Brevet-Brigadier General Willoughby Babcock of the Seventy-Fifth New York Volunteers (New York 1922) and of many articles published in Minnesota History and other journals. He was a specialist in the study of the Dakota and Ojibwa, Lawrence Taliaferro, and early travel in Minnesota. On November 25, 1945, he married Grace Henshaw of Ashland, Missouri. He died in March 1967.
SCOPE AND CONTENTS
The letters and diaries of Willoughby Babcock (1832-1864), a lawyer of Owego, New York, include more than 200 letters written to his wife while he served in the Civil War. Many were published by his grandson, Willoughby M. Babcock Jr., as Selections from the Letters and Diaries of Brevet-Brigadier General Willoughby Babcock of the Seventy-Fifth New York Volunteers (Albany, New York, 1922). The diaries of his wife, Helen E. Maynard Babcock are also included.
Willoughby Maynard Babcock (1864-1925), also a lawyer, moved to Minneapolis in 1889. His papers include correspondence; a scrapbook (1885-1887), kept while a student at Yale College; files of the Draymen’s Protective Association of Minneapolis (1899-1920), of which he was secretary; and pamphlets relating to World War I.
The papers of Willoughby Maynard Babcock Jr. (1893-1967), who held various positions on the Minnesota Historical Society’s staff (1918-1960), contain research papers, subject matter materials, articles, speeches, radio scripts, and correspondence on a variety of topics concerning Minnesota history and historical preservation. Articles by his wife, Grace Henshaw Babcock are also included.
ARRANGEMENT
Collection is arranged and described by topical series:
| Correspondence and Miscellaneous Papers | ||
| Articles and Speeches | ||
| Volumes | ||
| Subject Files |
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
Availability:
The collection is open for research use.
Preferred Citation:
[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Babcock, Willoughby, Willoughby Babcock and Family Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.
See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.
Accession Information:
Accession number: 5630, 5633, 5635, 5636, 5640, 7109, 7441, 7716, 7879, 7990, 10477, 10570, 10984, 110303, 11111, 980-15
Processing Information:
Catalog ID number: 990017174070104294
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
CORRESPONDENCE AND MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS
Series includes materials from all three generations of Babcock family. Miscellaneous papers includes but is not limited to photographs, newspaper clippings, pamphlets, receipts, lists, office files, articles and legal documents.
1836-1864
The first section of the correspondence and miscellaneous papers covers the years 1836-1898, the bulk of which consists of letters by Willoughby Babcock to his wife written between 1857 and 1864. It includes a letter by Louisa Babcock to her husband, Samuel, in 1836 and five letters by Horace E. Maynard, Willoughby Babcock's brother-in-law, to his mother between 1840 and 1849.
A series of letters by Willoughby Babcock (1857-1861), describes his life at Albany, Homer, and Owego, New York. He frequently includes personal views on religion and mentions many trials and legal actions in which he was involved as a lawyer. The letters often deal with his wife's and his own numerous acquaintances, including Leonard C. Calkins, president of New York Central College. His religious, national, pro-Republican, and antislavery opinions are reflected in his college essays, a few speeches, and several clippings from a Republican newspaper.
In 1861, he joined the Union Army as a lieutenant of the Third New York Volunteers (later he became captain and lieutenant colonel of the Seventy-Fifth New York Volunteers). Numbering around two hundred, his letters from the field are an exceptionally rich source on the Union Army in the Civil War. After his enlistment, Babcock wrote from Albany and New York, where the Third New York Volunteers were drilled for the front. He then participated in the early campaign in Virginia, during which his regiment was involved in the Battle of Great Bethel. After an assignment at Fort McHenry, Baltimore, which he describes in detail, he left the regiment to become captain in the Seventy-Fifth New York Volunteers (December 2, 1861). With his regiment, he was sent to Santa Rosa Island Florida, where he stayed until Pensacola was occupied (May 11, 1862). In Pensacola, he was appointed provost marshal and continued to report on his duties and notes. Additionally, Babcock had letters published in the newspapers regarding slavery, the Fugitive Slave Law, and the enlistment and arming of former slaves. In September, 1862, the regiment moved to New Orleans. For the rest of the year there are a few letters, because his wife visited him there.
General Butler is repeatedly mentioned in the letters (1861-1863). Exceptionally detailed information is given about General Banks' Campaign into the Teche Country (spring of 1863) in letters, diaries, manuscripts, and a commentary (see Volumes series), because the writer was court-martialed for having criticized Generals Banks and Grover in this campaign. Further description is given of the siege and occupation of Port Hudson. After that, Babcock's letters and papers as a chief of staff of a cavalry division show something of his life and duties in New Orleans, the equipment of the troops, and some political measures in the Union-occupied part of Louisiana.
Finally the 75th New York Volunteers were assigned to the Army of the Potomac under General Sheridan. There is some information about the campaign in the Shenandoah Valley up to the Battle of Winchester, in which Willoughby Babcock was mortally wounded and then died on October 6, 1864.
Often when the succession of letters is interrupted, the diaries (see Volumes series) fill the gap with brief information. Newspaper articles that are included in the correspondence and miscellaneous papers report Babcock's visits home and give general information about battles and campaigns.
1864-1920
Materials dated 1864-1898 cover a visit to Europe by Helen E. M. Babcock and her son, Willoughby M. Babcock, as well as his youth and college years. It includes a few letters to Helen E. M. Babcock from German and American friends, letters by Samuel Babcock, a certificate from a German school for Willoughby M. Babcock, and a letter by him to his mother from Yale college.
Soon after 1889 Willoughby M. Babcock moved to Minneapolis where he became a lawyer. This period of papers are those of his office, largely the files which he kept as secretary of the Draymen's Protective Association of Minneapolis (1899-1920). These consist of correspondence, association papers, bylaws, legal documents, receipts, notes, and a few bills of the Minnesota Legislature. They contain information about the hauling and draying business in Minneapolis, the National Association of Team Owners and their aims and meetings, and actions and legal status of labor unions. In addition, Babcock took an interest in the employers' indemnity insurance business. Some additional printed materials include bylaws of Team Owners' Associations, city ordinances for traffic, announcements of the Minneapolis Citizens Alliance and Voters League, a treatise on the criminal procedure in England, and a program of the Lyndale Reading Circle. Babcock also corresponded with the Sigma Nu Fraternity, of which he seemed to be a member. The folders also contain a number of legal documents like mortgages, deeds, and wills, seemingly unconnected.
Also included are a series of articles and pamphlets (1914-1915) collected by Willoughby M. Babcock in defense of Germany's entry into World War I and her justification for the war.
1920-1963
Materials dated 1920-1963 include correspondence relating to articles written by Willoughby M. Babcock Jr. and others, an account of the Minnesota Indians written by Beverly Mindrum for the Governor's Human Rights Commission (1962), Carver's Cave, and research questions answered by the Minnesota Historical Society staff. There are lists of slides for some of Willoughby M. Babcock Jr.'s lectures; his reports on trips to examine manuscripts in Des Moines, Topeka, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C. (1927-1928); a partial list of his published writings (1961); and memos on early Minnesota cemeteries, archaeological work, military sites in Minnesota, and a Twin Cities tour.
Arranged generally in chronological order with photographs and undated materials at the beginning of the series.
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P488 | 1 | Photographs: Port Hudson, Louisiana, approximately 1863-1865. | |||||||||||
| Nine stereographs attributed to McPherson & Oliver (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) by the Library of Congress with similar views in their collection. | |||||||||||||
| Correspondence and miscellaneous papers, undated. | |||||||||||||
| Correspondence and miscellaneous papers 1836-February 1858. | |||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P488 | 2 | Correspondence and miscellaneous papers March 1858-December 1861. | |||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P488 | 2 | Correspondence and miscellaneous papers January 1862-July 1864. | |||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P488 | 4 | Correspondence and miscellaneous papers August 1864-1909. | |||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P488 | 5 | Correspondence and miscellaneous papers 1910-1914. | |||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P488 | 6 | Correspondence and miscellaneous papers 1915-1920. | |||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P488 | 10 | Correspondence and miscellaneous papers undated and 1920-1963. | |||||||||||
ARTICLES AND SPEECHES
1930-1963
Forty-six articles, speeches, and manuscripts written mainly between 1930 and 1963 by Willoughby M. Babcock Jr., most of which have been published, focus on nineteenth century Minnesota history, American Indians in Minnesota, problems of museum and archives administration, and the Minnesota Historical Society. Among these are research papers on the Red River trails and the life at Nininger, Minnesota. In addition, there are typewritten copies of "Minnesota Fever," "Indians of Minnesota and their Lands," and the thesis, "Camp Life in the Union Army," all by Willoughby M. Babcock Jr.
1925-1950
Typescripts of articles, speeches, and radio broadcasts written by Willoughby Babcock Jr., mainly between 1925 and 1950, focusing on nineteenth century Minnesota history, Minnesota Indian affairs and cultures, the fur trade, the pioneer press in Minnesota, the Minnesota Historical Society, the preservation of local history, museum work, picture collections, historic sites in Minnesota, Fort Snelling, Grand Portage, Fort St. Charles, the Pond brothers, Joseph Renshaw Brown, Lawrence Taliaferro, Louis Provençalle, and William Whipple Warren.
Also included are three typescript articles on Minnesota frontier and pioneer life, written by Grace Henshaw Babcock, wife of Willoughby M. Babcock Jr. They consist of two copies of an article entitled "Social Life on the Frontier" and one copy of an article entitled "Dancing in Early Minnesota."
Arranged generally alphabetically by article title and there is overlap in dates between boxes.
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P488 | 6 | Willoughby M. Babcock Jr. fragment of unidentified article, undated. | |||||||||||
| Willoughby M. Babcock Jr. articles and speeches, C-L, 1930-1963. | |||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P488 | 7 | Willoughby M. Babcock Jr. articles and speeches, N-W, 1930-1963. | |||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P488 | 11 | Miscellaneous | |||||||||||
| Includes very brief narratives or reports, and several items not clearly identified as being of Willoughby M. Babcock Jr.'s authorship. | |||||||||||||
| Willoughby M. Babcock Jr. articles and speeches, A-I, bulk 1925-1950. | |||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P488 | 12 | Willoughby M. Babcock Jr. articles and speeches, J-W, bulk 1925-1950. | |||||||||||
| Grace Henshaw Babcock articles, undated. | |||||||||||||
VOLUMES
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P488 | 8 | Volume 1. The Christian Minister's Affectionate Advice to a Married Couple approximately 1858. | |||||||||||
| Contains a certificate of marriage for Helen E. Maynard and Willoughby Babcock adhered in first few pages. | |||||||||||||
| Volume 2. Diary, Willoughby Babcock, 1858. | |||||||||||||
| Volume 3. Diary, Willoughby Babcock, 1859. | |||||||||||||
| Volume 4. Diary, Willoughby Babcock, 1860. | |||||||||||||
| Volume 5. Diary, Willoughby Babcock, 1861. | |||||||||||||
| Volume 6. War Record (diary), Willoughby Babcock, 1862. | |||||||||||||
| Volume 7. Diary, Helen E. Maynard Babcock, 1863. | |||||||||||||
| Volume 8. Diary, Willoughby Babcock, 1863. | |||||||||||||
| Volume 9. War Commentary, Willoughby Babcock, 1863. | |||||||||||||
| Volume 10. Diary, Helen E. Maynard Babcock, 1864. | |||||||||||||
| Volume 11. Diary, Willoughby Babcock, 1864. | |||||||||||||
| Volume 11a. Diary (and accounts), European Trip, Willoughby M. Babcock, 1883. | |||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P488 | 9 | Volume 12. Scrapbook, Willoughby M. Babcock, 1885-1887. | |||||||||||
| Material on student life, social events, and the curriculum at Yale College. | |||||||||||||
| Volume 12a. Expense Book, European Trip, Willoughby M. Babcock, approximately 1890. | |||||||||||||
| Volume 13. Life in the Union Armies During the Civil War, Willoughby M. Babcock Jr., (M.A. thesis), 1915. | |||||||||||||
| Volume 14. Indians of Minnesota and Their Lands, Willoughby M. Babcock Jr., undated. | |||||||||||||
| Volume 15. The Minnesota Fever Pioneer Newspaper Editors Book, Willoughby M. Babcock Jr., undated. | |||||||||||||
SUBJECT FILES
Materials are attributed to research done by Willoughby M. Babcock Jr.
Arranged in alphabetical order of subject.
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P488 | 10 | Babcock, Lucius A. and Samuel letters, August 1862-October 1863, and January 1865. | |||||||||||
| Transcripts of portions of letters written by Lucius A. Babcock to his wife (August 1862-October 1863), and of a letter by Samuel Babcock (January 1865). | |||||||||||||
| Delta Queen trips, 1960-1961. | |||||||||||||
| Brochures and other memorabilia of two Mississippi River boat tours that Willoughby M. Babcock Jr. and his wife took, and about which he subsequently wrote an article for the Gopher Historian. | |||||||||||||
| Fort Snelling, 1819-1871 and August 1883. | |||||||||||||
| A few miscellaneous items, including a list of incidents at the Fort (1819-1871), notes on life at the post, two memos by Willoughby M. Babcock Jr. regarding archaeological and restorative work, and photocopies of two maps, a portion of an unidentified description of the post, and a newspaper article (August 1883). | |||||||||||||
| Grand Portage Stockade Restoration Project, 1935-1955. | |||||||||||||
| In 1936 the Minnesota Historical Society, the U.S. Indian Service, the Cook County Historical Society, and the Works Progress Administration began a cooperative project for the archaeological investigation and reconstruction of the Northwest Company's Grand Portage post, with Willoughby M. Babcock Jr. in general charge. The folder includes memos, descriptions of the site, progress reports, reports by field representative Ralph D. Brown (1936-1937), clippings, a brief bibliography and a paper by Babcock (1940) on rebuilding of the stockade. | |||||||||||||
| Indians, undated and 1918-1932, 1963. | |||||||||||||
| Miscellaneous notes, reports, correspondence, statements, clippings and printed items relating to the political, social, economic, health and educational condition of the American Indians, particularly the Minnesota Ojibwe, and to existing and proposed welfare programs. Among these materials are notes by Brigadier General L.W. Cooke interpreting pictographs on an elk skin representing events in the life of Piegan chief Big Nose; letters from Indian-rights advocate Joseph W. Latimer; and a map showing activities of bureaus of the U.S. Interior Department (1927). | |||||||||||||
| Lecture notes, undated. | |||||||||||||
| Notes for a series of lectures by Willoughby M. Babcock Jr. on Minnesota history through the Civil War. | |||||||||||||
| Olmsted County Historical Society inventory, undated. | |||||||||||||
| Upham, Warren, Historic Memorials in Minnesota, April 1920. | |||||||||||||
| A report presented at the Mississippi Valley Historical Association Annual Meeting, April 1920, giving background information on some of Minnesota's historic sites. | |||||||||||||
| Van Loon, Henry, A Program to Help the Indians of Minnesota Improve their Economic Well-Being, approximately 1960s. | |||||||||||||
| An undated report (approximately early 1960s) making recommendations concerning the organization and operation of projects to assist Indians in establishing local industries; prepared for the Minnesota Governor's Human Rights Commission. | |||||||||||||
CATALOG HEADINGS
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.
- Topics:
- Dance -- Minnesota.
- Frontier and pioneer life -- Minnesota.
- Fur trade -- Minnesota.
- Historic sites -- Minnesota.
- History -- Societies, etc.
- Indians of North America -- Minnesota.
- Museums -- Minnesota.
- Trails -- Red River Valley (Minn. and N.D.-Man.).
- World War, 1914-1918 -- Public opinion.
- Persons:
- Babcock, Grace Henshaw, author.
- Babcock, Helen E. Maynard, 1838- , author.
- Babcock, Lucius A., 1838-1864, author.
- Babcock, Samuel, 1807-1895, author.
- Babcock, Willoughby M. (Willoughby Maynard), 1893-1967, creator.
- Babcock, Willoughby Maynard, 1864-1925, creator.
- Banks, Nathaniel Prentiss, 1816-1894.
- Brown, Joseph Renshaw, 1805-1870.
- Brown, Ralph D.
- Butler, Benjamin F. (Benjamin Franklin), 1818-1893.
- Calkins, Leonard G.
- Grover, Cuvier, 1828-1885.
- Latimer, Joseph W. (Joseph William), 1871-
- Pond, Gideon H. (Gideon Hollister), 1810-1878.
- Pond, Samuel W. (Samuel William), 1808-1891.
- Provençalle, Louis, -1850.
- Steenerson, Halvor, 1852-1926.
- Taliaferro, Lawrence, 1794-1871.
- Upham, Warren, 1850-1934.
- Van Loon, Henry.
- Warren, William W. (William Whipple), 1825-1853.
- Organizations:
- Draymen's Protective Association (Minneapolis, Minn.).
- Minnesota Historical Society.
- Minnesota. Governor's Human Rights Commission.
- National Association of Team Owners.
- United States. Army. New York Infantry Regiment, 3rd (1861-1865).
- United States. Army. New York Infantry Regiment, 75th (1861-1865).
- United States. Army -- Military life.
- Yale University.
- Places:
- Fort McHenry (Baltimore, Md.)
- Fort Saint Charles (Minn.).
- Fort Snelling (Minn.)
- Grand Portage (Minn.)
- Minnesota -- History.
- Minnesota -- Newspapers.
- Nininger (Minn.)
- Olmsted County (Minn.)
- Owego (N.Y.)
- Port Hudson (La.) -- History -- Siege, 1863.
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- African Americans.
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Campaigns.
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives.
- Document Types:
- Diaries.
- Essays.
- Photographs.
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