A family with members all over the country gathers on the Seacoast to trace its

17th century roots on the Isles of Shoals.

The earliest known record of Phillip Babb dates back nearly 360 years to 1652. By the following year, Babb was documented living on the Isles of Shoals, where he mostly remained until his death in 1671. He was a man of many trades―a fisherman, butcher, constable, merchant and tavern keeper―and he came to own much of what is now known as Appledore Island (it was then called Hog Island). 

By all accounts, Phillip Babb was a prominent and colorful figure. He was said to search frequently for buried treasures supposedly left on the island by pirates. And, even after he died, legends tell of his menacing ghost prowling the isles with a butcher knife. Famed poet Celia Thaxter, who grew up on the Isles of Shoals in the mid 1800s, told stories of the treasure-hunting Babb and his haunting spirit.

It should come as no surprise, then, that Babb’s descendents through the centuries have been equally colorful. 

Written by Matt Kanner

Phillip Babb b: April 6, 1634, Stepney, London, England; d: March 31, 1671, Isles of Shoals, Appledore, Maine, son of Phillip and Mary Babb; m:  Mary Baylie b: 1634, Isles of Shoals, Maine; d: 1674, Isles of Shoals, Appledore, Maine

Babb Families of New England and Beyond written by Jean A. Sargent and Ina Babb Mansur ©1987

Philip Babb - Secrets of the Isles of Shoals

Babb Family Anecdotes and 'Yarns'