John Steel Babcock, born December 9,1850 in Johnson County, Iowa. Orville recounted the following early history of his father. He worked in Iowa at the old homestead place. “He worked on the farm. His father, my grandfather, he had charge of the Indians that were there then. That’s before Iowa was a state. Yeah, and that’s where my father was brought up on the farm, river bottom. Awful good land. Now it’s a lake. They put water over all the whole thing.”
He moved west to Colorado in 1875. “He come out to Colorado. He was going to be ranching out, but like the rest of ‘em, he was going to make a fortune mining and to Leadville he landed. He made one good sale and made some money. That’s when he built his nice two-story brick home. But he couldn’t leave money alone. He had to keep on prospecting.” O.G.B.
Most likely he was married at that time. His wife was Florence ‘Flora’ Wray was also from Iowa. It was rumored she had breathing problems, probably tuberculosis and so moving west to the mountain air would have been good for her health. Unfortunately, she died December 26,1880. Their only son, Little John, died at the age of one on June 4, 1878.
The move to Colorado was also done in hopes of John making his fortune in mining. He first went to Leadville, and then got a job contracting to help build the High Line Ditch Canal. It was an irrigation ditch from the Platte River Canyon running northeast to Denver. It covered a distance of seventy-one miles. The High Line Ditch Canal was completed in 1883.
Orville was born in Denver, Colorado on July 21,1885 (just fifteen years after the completion of the Denver Pacific Railroad) to Eva Boughton Babcock and John Steel Babcock. Denver was still somewhat of a pioneer town.
The High Line Canal was built in the late 1800s to deliver South Platte River Water to farmers and ranchers on the plains. John S. Babcock later moved to Denver. John’s profession was listed as “farmer.”
Dedicated on Independence Day, July 4, 1906, the arch was “to stand for the ages as an expression of the love, good wishes, and kind feeling of the citizens to the stranger who enters our gates,” according to Mayor Robert Speer.
Orville’s mother Eva Ann (Boughton) Babcock was born July 22,1861 in Lee County, Iowa. Her family moved to Colorado, and she married John Steel Babcock on October 15th, 1884. “Her occupation is listed as student and housewife. She was a very energetic woman and very levelheaded. At sixty-two inches, she weighed 125 pounds. Her hair was black and eyes a yellow blue. Her voice was excellent, her mechanical skill and remembering were good to excellent. She was right-handed.
When she was a child of 14 she had a severe accident caused from slipping on a step while helping to carry a wash boiler full of water. Her back was injured. “O.G.B.
Eva Boughton’s maternal grandparents, Chauncey and Anna Case
Chauncey Case was born on December 23, 1797, in Connecticut to Elizabeth Wilkie and Hosea Case. Chauncey and Elizabeth were Eva Boughton’s maternal grandparents.
Records reveal that Chauncey Case enlisted in the military on September 14, 1813, in New York when he was 15 years old. He died at the age of 76 in Lee County, Iowa on July 15, 1874.
Anna Vanheinning Case was born on July 1, 1803, in Ohio. She and Chauncey married on January 6, 1820, Cuyahoga County, Ohio. She was 16 years old, and Chauncey was 22 years old. They lived in Independence, Ohio. Anna had her first child, Rosanna Case, in 1819 at the age of 16. She birthed eight children. Her third child, Louisa Case, born September 23, 1823, in Cuyahoga County, Ohio would eventually become Eva’s mother/Orville’s grandmother. They moved to Iowa sometime after 1843. Anna Vanheinning Case died on September 17, 1882, in Washington County, Kansas.
George Stone Boughton (1821 – 1887)
Louisa Case Boughton (1823 – 1909)
Orville’s grandparents: Louisa Case married George Stone Boughton (b. October 4, 1821, d. May 15, 1887) on November 15, 1842, in Summit County, Ohio. Louisa Case Boughton birthed six children. Orville’s mother, Eva Boughton, was her fifth child, born about 1861 in Lee County, Iowa. Louisa died on April 8, 1909, in Arapahoe County, Colorado. They are buried in Littleton Cemetery, Arapahoe County, Colorado.
Family photo with Orville and Viola
Orville reflects on his mother’s kindness. “While I was sick, mother held me on her lap and read to me and gave me my favorite drink, hot chocolate. Mother was tall, slender, good looking and attractive.”
Years later Orville said, “in many respects my daughter Gertrude reminds me of my mother.”
Prior to her death, Eva and John had 3 children together, Orville, Viola May (born Sept 10th, 1887) and Frank Willard (born Nov 1st, 1891.) When Eva died, Orville was seven years old, Viola was five years old, and Frank just one year old.
While Orville and Frank lived long lives, their sister, Viola May, died February 27,1893 when she was five years old. Shortly before she became ill, both she and Orville had attended Sunday School, running, and playing on the way home. A few days later she became ill. Her intestines were badly inflamed, and Orville well remembers when the doctor was about to leave “Viola vomited a green fluid and soon after died.” Her death devastated and haunted Orville well into his later years of life. Orville remembered her as a strong, healthy, and kind child.
Viola May Babcock was born September 10, 1887. At University Park, Denver, Colorado. Had scarlet fever as a child. Died at age 5 years, 5 months, 27 days on February 27, 1893. Was strong, healthy, and kind. Before she was taken sick, she and Orville attended Sunday school. We run and played on the way home. She was taken sick a few days later. Intestines were badly inflamed. I well remember when the doctor was about to leave, Viola vomited a green fluid. Soon after she died. – O.G.B.
At the age of 31 in 1892, while running in the mountains, Eva slipped and hurt her back again. When she was in bed as a result of her injury, she was operated on and her ovaries were removed, but they were found to be healthy. This surgery cost $500.
Her death certificate reads Salpingitis as the cause of her death; an inflammation of the fallopian tubes which could have been treatable with penicillin; however, it had not been discovered at that time.
Orville writes “During all the time from her last sick spell she would double-backwards and could almost touch her head and heels together. Mother wished to be in this position all the time. After the operation Mother came to her normal senses and lived a few days before death called. Her last wish was that her boys should receive a good education.”
Eva Babcock’s death record
Orville and Frank
Orville also describes Frank:
Frank Willard Babcock. Brother of Orville. Born November 1, 1891, at University Park, Denver, Colorado. He graduated from the University Park grammar school and high school. Entered Denver University. Was traveling salesman until the first world’s war when he enlisted as a soldier in the Air Force from July 2, 1918, to March 20, 1919. Was in the 12th Balloon Company, USA. His company was in the St. Mihiel Salient Offensive and the Meuse Argonne Offensive. He carries a small piece of shell fragment in his skull or close by. He also run a confectionary store for two months, then sold out. He later studied acetylene welding and did welding for pipeline companies. He became an expert welder. Also did welding on the big dam across the river, the Coulee Dam, not far from Portland, Oregon. He continued his work as a welder until he became sick with Hodgkin’s Disease, when he was retired by the Government after entering the army hospital, in Seattle, Washington. He was one of the first patients to ever have recovered from the so-called incurable virus disease He was also the owner of a small tract of land on Vashon, Island in bay from Seattle, Washington. Was married to Miss Cleo (Kay). Had no children. The family kept a few children (orphans). Still living, February 1963. As a child he suffered from chickenpox, mumps, measles. As a student he also had a case of lockjaw. At age 28 he was 5 ft. 10-inch, weight 160 lbs. Hair medium brown, complexation intermediate, calculating good, hearing excellent. Played the piano quite well. Studied piano under Miss Hide, daughter of Dr Hide of the Theological School, teacher of Latin, Greek and Sanskrit. Was right-handed.
Similar to the assignments Frank had in WWI, this photograph shows a pilot in the basket of a grounded observation balloon surrounded by smiling American soldiers. The pilot views a large document, possibly a map. (1918) A 1918 Denver newspaper clipping recounts Frank Babcock bravery:
“Bravery displayed in holding to a captive observation balloon after his comrades, one by one, had been killed by German shell fire, won a citation for Private F.W. Babcock of University Park. Private Babcock, a member of the crew of balloon No. 12, returned to his home Friday morning after being discharged from the service.
“We had sent up the balloon in a field near Cheppy, during the battle of the Argonne,” said Babcock. “German aviators sighted the balloon and reported it to their batteries. Instead of firing at the balloon itself, the Germans shelled the area beneath it, where they knew the crew in charge of its anchor would be stationed. In this manner they hoped to destroy the anchoring apparatus and set the balloon afloat in the air, so that it would have drifted over into the German lines. Several of the members of the anchor crew were killed by the shell fire, but we managed to keep the balloon safely anchored, and finally to draw it back to the earth.”
This article of Frank’s accounts as a balloonist appeared in February 1919.
Pictured is Frank’s wife Cleo, who went by the name Kay, showing the skills of their three dogs. Frank and Kay loved dogs. Kay was born in New York. They were married in 1910. Frank was 18 years her senior.
Maggie Petzoltd
In 1895, three years after the death of Eva, John remarried. Maggie, who had been their housekeeper, become his third wife.
John and Maggie Babcock
John Babcock and family
Maggie, Orville and Frank
Eventually, John Steel Babcock got involved in mining and as Orville put it, “came out on top with $20,000” and built a two-story, four-bedroom brick house (3 bricks in thickness) in University Park situated in the southeast corner of Denver. The University of Denver is now located here. Later it was said that he made $25,000 - $35,000.
After John made a success of mining, he built their new home on five acres on the north side of the 160-acre farm (prairieland) which was all under irrigation. He did not develop or indulge in agriculture except to raise 15 to 20 acres of alfalfa. He also had two cows and kept horses. The home had a high-pitched painted roof. Inside there was a bathroom, a kitchen, dining room, living room, parlor and library with the basement consisting of a large room for a furnace and a coal bin.
Babcock Residence, University Park, Colorado
Photograph by Orville Babcock 1906
Katherine Babcock with her cow
About three years following Viola’s death (1896) the old home residence caught fire in the middle of the night. The fire started in the dining room and the smoke billowed up to Orville’s bedroom, located just above the dining room. Orville’s loud coughing awakened his father, John Steel, who then grabbed Orville and Frank by the arms and escaped down the stairs. Once outside he re-entered the home and got his wife Maggie out of bed. “She became quickly excited, running in her stocking feet to turn on the fire alarm,” wrote Orville. It would be some time before their home was rebuilt. Orville recalled that one carpenter carried his beard beneath his shirt. The carpenter told Orville that it measured twenty-eight inches!
Katherine Babcock
Born May 29, 1903
Orville G. Babcock
Katherine Babcock
Frank Babcock