My Genealogy Hound

ALPHEUS BABCOCK, the pioneer of the smut machine in modern milling machinery and the inventor of the celebrated Eureka Combined Smutter and Separator, of which Simeon Howes is now proprietor, was born in Pike, Allegany county, New York, October 27, 1827, and the oldest son of Samuel and Polly (Cleveland) Babcock. According to family tradition five Babcock brothers came from England in the “Mayflower” and Samuel Babcock was descended from one of these brothers. Samuel Babcock was born at Mansfield, Connecticut, October 31, 1793, was reared and educated at Bridgewater, Vermont, and became one of the pioneer teachers of this county. He resided at Ellington and Forestville and in 1841came to Silver Creek where he followed cabinet making for some years and where he was accidentally struck and killed by a railway train on Sunday, June 11, 1882. He was a great reader and an exemplary member of the Presbyterian church and married Polly Cleveland, a native of Vermont, who died in 1867. They reared a family of five children: Pamelia, Alpheus, Martha, Laura and Norman, in whose sketch a more extended history of the family is given.

Alpheus Babcock received a common school education and learned the trade of mill-wright which he followed for some years. Being of an ingenious turn of mind and possessing good inventive ability, he gave some thought to the subject of improving mill machinery while he was busily engaged in erecting flouring mills in different parts of western New York. In 1854 he bought of G. E. Throop the right of the Rutter & Rouzer smut cleaning and separating machine for nine counties in Pennsylvania. It was very imperfect and after some time spent in studying its defects he was enabled to get up a far superior machine for which he obtained a patent in 1861 and after several years of successful manufacturing he sold his interest, and the machine was afterwards made by Huntley, Holcomb & Howes. In January, 1864, he associated his brother Norman with him in the manufacture of his machine, and in the following year Simeon Howes became a partner with them and the firm name was changed to Howes, Babcock & Co. During 1865 they manufactured and sold two hundred machines. On January 1, 1866, they took possession of the Montgomery machine works which they had purchased the preceding fall for twenty thousand dollars. They refitted this wooden establishment and used it until 1873, when, to fill their increase of orders, larger buildings were demanded and a three-story brick building, 80x110 feet in dimensions, was erected at a cost of twenty thousand dollars, besides a large and carefully planned foundry. The entire plant was now christened “The Eureka Works” by which name it has become known wherever improved milling machinery is used in the civilized world. In the fall of 1865 Albert Horton became a partner, but in 1868 sold his interest to Carlos Ewell who died in 1887, when Mr. Howes purchased the interest of his heirs and already having the interests of Alpheus and Norman Babcock, became, in 1888, the sole proprietor of the Eureka works. In 1870 a suit for infringement of patent was brought against Howes, Babcock & Co., which they successfully contested and won at a cost of eight thousand dollars. The result of this suit was in the interest of millers and purchasers as the Babcocks could have saved all this cost by paying a royalty to the prosecuting sharpers and then adding it to the price of their machines. Another fact deserving of notice in the business career of Alpheus Babcock is that the foundation of Silver Creek’s present prosperity was laid by the establishment of the Eureka works, which is the pioneer of the numerous plants that send out thousands of smut and separating machines to all parts of the world. During Mr. Babcock’s connection with these works, the force of hands was increased from fourteen to sixty-six, the pay-roll went up from eighteen to nearly fifty thousand dollars per year, and the annual output of machines ran up from hundreds to thousands.

In 1867 Alpheus Babcock married Sarah Pierce who died some years afterwards and left no children.

The labors of his active and useful life came to a close on December 11, 1878. His death was caused by softening of the brain from over-work. His remains were entombed in Glenwood cemetery amid a vast and silent throng who gathered to witness the last sad rites of one who had been deservedly popular in the community in which he had resided. Alpheus Babcock has aided largely in developing Silver Creek from a quiet village into a great manufacturing center, where many years of his active life were spent in perfecting the machine which will preserve his name from oblivion throughout the world as long as improved milling machinery is used by the human race.