Samuel Babcock

BABCOCK, Samuel. b. Milton, Massachusetts, 18 February 1760; d. French Mills (now Fort Covington), New York, 23 November 1813. He was a composer, singing master, and compiler of The Middlesex Harmony, in two editions, consisting entirely of his own compositions. He was the fourth of nine children born to John Badcock (1731- nda) and Rachael Adams Badcock (ca. 1731- nda). The spelling of the surname was changed to Babcock during Samuel’s early years (Collected Works, p. xxi).  Samuel married Elizabeth Swift on 20 October 1783 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the first of their four children, also named Samuel, was born there in 1785. About two years later, the family moved to Watertown,...