U.S. Civil War Nurse “Grace Babcock”

Question

Hi Wikitreers,

I’m very curious about this U.S. Civil War nurse. She has a wonderful photo at Wikimedia Commons see Grace Babcock, Civil War nurse, sitting atop Lookout Mountain she was also briefly featured on YouTube see Here. Also Library of Congress

I can’t seem to find her Wikitree profile or her FindAGrave memorial. Is she on our shared family tree and where is she buried?

Also see Babcock Name Study and free space page Nurses' Profiles: US Civil War Era

Is there any further genealogy research for her? 

Thank you

Edit: see link https://www.findagrave.com/virtual-cemetery/468260?page=1#sr-88208200

Edit; see Category: Nurses, United States Civil War

Comments

Hi Andrew I was hoping she was on this space page, but I don't see her: Nurses: United States Civil War Era (wikitree.com) 

There's a couple of Babcock's on this page, but not a Grace: Nurses' Profiles: US Civil War Era (wikitree.com)

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This might be her as “R” mentioned in his research 

See::Susan M. (Getchell) Babcock (1812 - 1901)

And her husband is attached

So it appears she is on Wikitree if indeed same person?

Edited: fixed typos 

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Glad you found her.

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Another way to ID the person in photo is do they look similar?

The photo of her in the Babcock genealogy and the woman on Lookout mountain as the YouTube gives a nice color photo.

It seems very likely they are the same if not then there is a 2nd Babcock nurse.

Answer 1

Andrew,

I don't have any information about Harriet. If I find something, I'll add it.

Thanks for the information about the space page tracking Civil War nurses. That comes in handy. Someone had asked me about research on Harriet Broad, a Civil War nurse. I passed your information along to him as he creates her bio. I would guess another Civil War nurse's name will be added to the space page thanks to you.

Comments

She is a mystery no dates location etc…she will be a challenge but maybe the Babcock Name Study has resources to uncover the mystery of the Civil War nurse in the Photo at Lookout Mountain see  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lookout_Mountain

I get a feeling she was involved in the battle as a nurse

However can not find her birth or death dates or anything about her

The best part is how she made it to that spot in her dress to pose for that beautiful photo and I wonder what year it was taken maybe after the battle. She appears to be wearing all black?

Thank you Norman always appreciate the collaboration 

Edit: back of photo has her name as Mrs. Grace Babcock. She was married to a Babcock doesn’t appear she was a Miss? So her maiden name is unknown 

Answer 2

FOUND HER MAYBE! A LETTER BY SUSAN M. BABCOCK....maybe that is Grace and she's mislabled? 

Our Army nurses : stories from women in the Civil War : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

By Mary Gardner Holland

You can borrow this for one hour at a time from Internet Archives if you register your email with them. It's really a great compilation. 

Summary from page 13 of a letter from 

Susan M. Babcock of Smithville, New York:

She enlisted Oct 1 1861 under Miss Dix who was under general superintendent.

Sent to front at Belle Plain.

Returned to Washington assigned to Georgetown Hospital.

Went to Fort Monroe, Virginia, under order of Miss Dix for 3 months.

Returned to Washington to Stone Hospital for 6 months.

Then went to Columbia Hospital for one year.

Then went to Harwood Hospital 8 months.

First year worked without compensation..

Worked about 4 years total.

Then was married January 1864.

(Letter written when she was 84 from Smithville, New York

Signed Yours Truly Susan M, Babcock) See Internet Archives for exact wording. 

SHE WAS AT LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN!

On page 142 a letter from Mrs LH Hoisington (Previously Nurse Cutler)

describes work on a typhoid fever ward where she colabored with Miss Babcock and that they were allowed to spend a few weeks on Lookout Mountain after Nurse Cutler caught the fever. 

p.s. Thanks for posting. I love a mystery. 

p.s.s. Susan married Daniel Babcock, they share a gravestone ay Smithville which mentions she was a nurse. 

83322242_5f070a0c-9308-43af-a4d3-cdae4aeb6b80.jpeg (2109×3444) (findagrave.com)

Still insure if there is a second nurse named Grace Babcock though. What if there were two Babcock nurses? I will keep my eyes out.

Comments

What an amazing find!!!

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Hi R,

Awesome research! 

The part I love is her gravestone literally says in the bottom “Nurse” and that is I think rare? How many of their stones from this era actually have this inscription?

Still reading about her in your find!!! 

This is great! I wonder if her husband was in the War? Edit: his stone says veteran.

Wow!!! 

There is so much to her and the work she did during her lifetime 

FindAGrave link Here

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I wonder if she has an obit?

I don’t create nurse profiles on Wikitree as I think it’s the project that handles this part?

I’d like to link this g2g to her profile

Edit: Here is Daniel Babcock obit Watertown Re-Union, 25 March 1911 — Page 5 and Watertown Daily Times, 21 March 1911 — Page 9

Again at The Watertown Herald, 25 March 1911 — Page 4 death entry showing date as March 20, 1911 

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This link shows Mrs. Daniel Babcock “very ill” 

Watertown Daily Times, 25 October 1901 — Page 2

Found her obit it’s short maybe there is another but here is the link Watertown Daily Times, 28 October 1901 — Page 7

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I am trying to find the "Hospital Muster Roll"  cards for any Nurse Babcock at the National Archives and just can't seem to get into the right area of the online National Archives. But from Susan M. Smiley/Babcock's wikitree profile (Hospital Muster Roll Card (wikitree.com))  I see one example of what it should look like. I bet there are a pile of similar cards somewhere. If you see a free public link to that area of the Archives please post. 

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I’ll keep researching see what pops up but the two photos of the women to me seem similar.

The Babcock photo and the color photo of Mrs. Grace Babcock on the YouTube side by side maybe others can see the comparison?

Answer 3

I think that R. Adams has the right person, but I did find a mention of another Grace Babcock involved in Civil War relief efforts.  In Women's Work in the Civil War (1867), L.P. Brockett and Mary C. Vaughn mention a Miss Grace Babcock, who was one of the Recording Secretaries of the General Aid Society for the Army of Buffalo.  https://www.gutenberg.org/files/21853/21853-h/21853-h.htm.  Look at page 590 and the index.  There's nothing about any work outside Buffalo.

Comments

Hi Roger,

I think it’s the same person too. The name on back of photo being “Grace” Babcock I’m sure has a reason. I thought she would of had a longer or more detailed obituary but not always the case. 

The Grace Babcock you found might be very interesting to research and connect a good post for the Babcock ONS 

Answer 4

What a great mystery! So much great research into nurse Babcock. It does seem reasonable that Grace and Susan are the same person, but there still seem to be a few questions unanswered. I've added a research note to Susan Getchell Smiley Babcock's profile (Getchell-1146) with a link to this G2G posting.

We'll all keep digging.

Comments

Hi Sue,

Thank you. I think another direction and angle into her genealogy might well lie within her two children she appears to have had with Pvt Theodore B. Smiley that being the daughter Mary Carrie Smiley Tarbox and her son Pvt Charles Edward Smiley who was Killed during the battle of Spotsylvania Court House, May 19, 1864. 

It doesn’t appear her and Daniel Babcock had children although only 2 children is a bit unusually maybe she had more children?

The two marriages seem complex.

Edit: did her marriage with Theodore end over his views and being in the CSA? 

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Susan's enlistment details on the NPS Soldiers database was for the same regiment as her son, so I looked up the 11th Maine Infantry and she is mentioned in that book on page 435; 

The story of one regiment; the Eleventh Maine infantry volunteers in the war of the rebellion : United States. Army. Maine Infantry Regiment, 11th (1861-1866) : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

When I compare where Susan worked from that source to where she worked from her own letter and her wikitee profile,  I am seeing assignments in D.C., Virginia and Maryland......but no assignments in Tennessee or anywhere near Chattanooga where that Nurse Hoisington worked and had her rest time with a Miss Babcock at Look Out Mountain (Tennessee). ....so this is sort of raising some doubts about Susan and Grace being the same person. I do think the photos look quite similar, though one has curly hair and one's hair looks straight. I'm going to keep looking for a Grace maybe in the states near Chattanooga. 

I have tried unsuccessfully to trace that Miss Grace Babcock of Buffalo who was a secretary in a big war effort to collect and send supplies.  I wonder if there is a list somewhere of the persons working at the Chatanooga Hospital? Seems that at National Archives some of those hospital muster rosters are not yet digitized.