{"id":104722,"date":"2025-10-15T08:47:35","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T12:47:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/?p=104722"},"modified":"2025-11-25T13:38:16","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T18:38:16","slug":"mayflower-descendants-whos-who-part-51-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/mayflower-descendants-whos-who-part-51-part-1.html","title":{"rendered":"Mayflower Descendants: Who\u2019s Who, Part 51 (part 1)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><em>Introduction:<\/em><\/strong><em> In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry continues her series on Mayflower descendants, focusing on philanthropist, entrepreneur, economist, business theorist, historian, and founder of Babson College, Roger Ward Babson. Melissa is a genealogist who has a website, <a href=\"http:\/\/americana-archives.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">americana-archives.com<\/a>, and a Facebook group, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/HistoryGenNEFamilies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New England Family Genealogy and History<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Today I continue my series on \u201cMayflower Descendants: Who\u2019s Who,\u201d featuring millionaire philanthropist, entrepreneur, economist, business theorist, historian, and founder of Babson College, Roger Ward Babson (1875-1967). He was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts, to prosperous merchant Nathaniel Babson and Ellen (Stearns) Babson.<\/p>\n<p>This photo collage shows: (top) Roger Ward Babson during three phases of his life; (bottom) one of the inspirational messages Babson had carved on boulders at Dogtown in Cape Ann, Massachusetts, during the era of the Great Depression.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_104724\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-104724\" style=\"width: 718px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-104724\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/collage-1015-2025-roger-babson.jpg\" alt=\"Photos: (top) three phases of Roger Babson\u2019s life; (bottom) message on a boulder in Dogtown, Massachusetts. Credit: Babson Historical Association.\" width=\"718\" height=\"718\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/collage-1015-2025-roger-babson.jpg 718w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/collage-1015-2025-roger-babson-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/collage-1015-2025-roger-babson-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 718px) 100vw, 718px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-104724\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photos: (top) three phases of Roger Babson\u2019s life; (bottom) message on a boulder in Dogtown, Massachusetts. Credit: Babson Historical Association.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Roger has a double line connecting to <em>Mayflower<\/em> passengers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/mayflower-descendants-whos-who-part-31-part-2.html\">John Howland and his wife Elizabeth (Tilley) Howland<\/a>, who sailed over with her parents John and Joan (Hurst) Tilley.<\/p>\n<p>Here is a photo of the replacement John Howland gravestone which includes the correction that Howland \u201cmarried Elizabeth, daughter of John Tilley.\u201d Leon H. Abdalian, photographer. Credit: Boston Public Library, courtesy of Digital Commonwealth.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_104727\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-104727\" style=\"width: 590px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-104727\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/photo-0117-2023-john-howland-gravestone.jpg\" alt=\"Photo: the replacement John Howland gravestone. Leon H. Abdalian, photographer. Credit: Boston Public Library, courtesy of Digital Commonwealth. \" width=\"590\" height=\"648\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/photo-0117-2023-john-howland-gravestone.jpg 590w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/photo-0117-2023-john-howland-gravestone-273x300.jpg 273w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 590px) 100vw, 590px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-104727\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: the replacement John Howland gravestone. Leon H. Abdalian, photographer. Credit: Boston Public Library, courtesy of Digital Commonwealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Roger Ward Babson\u2019s Lineage:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>John Howland and Elizabeth Tilley<\/li>\n<li>Desire Howland and John Gorham<\/li>\n<li>John Gorham and Mary Otis, daughter of John Otis and Mary Jacob<\/li>\n<li>Shubael Gorham and Mary Thatcher, daughter of John Thather and Lydia Gorham, daughter of John Gorham and Desire Howland, daughter of John Howland and Elizabeth Tilley<\/li>\n<li>John Gorham and Elizabeth Allyn, daughter of James Allyn and Susanna Lewes<\/li>\n<li>Elizabeth Gorham and Daniel Rogers, son of John Rogers and Susannah Whipple<\/li>\n<li>Lucy Rogers and John Low, son of John Low and Sarah Gee<\/li>\n<li>Elizabeth Gorham Low and Nathaniel Babson, son of William Babson and Ann \u201cNancy\u201d Rogers<\/li>\n<li>Gustavus Babson and Susanna Stanwood \u201cSusan\u201d Low, daughter of Capt. David Low and Lucy Bennett<\/li>\n<li>Nathaniel Babson and Ellen Frances Stearns, daughter of Granville A. Stearns and Frances Maria Wise, and a direct descendant of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newburyportnews.com\/news\/local_news\/amesbury-family-diaries-recall-trials-tribulations-of-mill-city-life\/article_4f7c5cce-c212-573b-bfc2-e471eaafbaaf.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Isaac Stearns<\/a> (1596-1671) and Mary Barker (1604-1677), passengers on the <em>Arabella<\/em>, who settled Watertown, Mass.; her grandmother was Mary Putnam (1799-1839), a descendent of Thomas Putnam, notorious figure of the Salem Witch Trials, who married Hiram Stearns (1802-1892)<\/li>\n<li>Roger Ward Babson married on 29 March 1900 Grace Margaret Knight, daughter of Rev. Richard Knight and Jane Cummings. He married 2nd on 1 June 1957 Nona Margaret Dougherty, daughter of Daniel Dougherty and Ellen Kellecher<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here are photos of the cenotaph placed at Burial Hill in Plymouth, Massachusetts, erected by the Pilgrim John Howland Society in 1958, memorializing the children of <em>Mayflower<\/em> passengers John and Elizabeth (Tilley) Howland.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_104731\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-104731\" style=\"width: 1189px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-104731\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/collage-0502-2025-howland-children-cenotaph.jpg\" alt=\"Photos: back and front views of the cenotaph erected for the Howland children at Burial Hill in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Credit: Walter Perro. \" width=\"1189\" height=\"717\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/collage-0502-2025-howland-children-cenotaph.jpg 1189w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/collage-0502-2025-howland-children-cenotaph-300x181.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/collage-0502-2025-howland-children-cenotaph-1024x618.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/collage-0502-2025-howland-children-cenotaph-768x463.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1189px) 100vw, 1189px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-104731\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photos: back and front views of the cenotaph erected for the Howland children at Burial Hill in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Credit: Walter Perro.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Like his ingenious ancestors, Roger Babson found ways to make his own coin. In January 1956 an article entitled \u201cWhat I See for 1956,\u201d written by the 80-year-old economic genie, ran in many newspapers in the country.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_104734\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-104734\" style=\"width: 627px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/doc\/newspapers\/image\/v2%3A14C830FD699E7429%40GB3NEWS-17938BB504D685A9%402435474-17930A2CF1B7ACAA%4021-17930A2CF1B7ACAA\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-104734\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sarasota-herald-tribune-newspaper-0101-1956-roger-babson.jpg\" alt=\"An article about Roger Babson, Sarasota Herald-Tribune newspaper 1 January 1956\" width=\"627\" height=\"632\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sarasota-herald-tribune-newspaper-0101-1956-roger-babson.jpg 627w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sarasota-herald-tribune-newspaper-0101-1956-roger-babson-298x300.jpg 298w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sarasota-herald-tribune-newspaper-0101-1956-roger-babson-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 627px) 100vw, 627px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-104734\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sarasota Herald-Tribune (Sarasota, Florida), 1 January 1956, page 22<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Roger Ward Babson, aka \u201cThe Seer of Wellesley Hills,\u201d a true Yankee genius, made more money out of statistics than anyone else in the United States. He pioneered the field of investment guidance, and predicted the 1929 stock market crash.<\/p>\n<p>He tells readers he preferred pedaling vegetables over playing as a young child, and when tuberculous struck him he never let that interfere with his budding enterprise.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_104736\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-104736\" style=\"width: 447px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-104736\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/photo-1015-2025-a-young-roger-babson.jpg\" alt=\"Photo: Roger W. Babson in his youth. Credit: Friends of Dogtown Facebook Group.\" width=\"447\" height=\"719\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/photo-1015-2025-a-young-roger-babson.jpg 447w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/photo-1015-2025-a-young-roger-babson-187x300.jpg 187w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 447px) 100vw, 447px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-104736\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: Roger W. Babson in his youth. Credit: Friends of Dogtown Facebook Group.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In the <em>Sarasota Herald-Tribune<\/em> article, Babson talks about his business models and how he incorporated Newton\u2019s law of action and reaction into many of his personal and business endeavors. This article reports:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>With his wife, the indomitable Yankee went on to found Babson\u2019s Reports and the non-profit Babson Institute in Wellesley, Mass. These organizations preach their founders\u2019 view that prosperity inevitably gives way to depression, that patience is the key in both financial and family affairs, and that there is no substitute for thrift. Indeed, one of Babson\u2019s books is titled, \u201cTwenty Ways to Save Money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The accompanying article presents Babson\u2019s outlook on America\u2019s economic situation; but he maintains extraordinary interests in other subjects, too. For example, he founded the <a href=\"https:\/\/nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com\/2013\/11\/anti-gravity-history-rocks-finance-and.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gravity Research Foundation<\/a> at New Boston, N.H., in the belief that gravity can be overcome and its powers harnessed in public utilities.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>(Read more from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newbostonhistoricalsociety.com\/gravity.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New Boston Historical Society<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p>In 2019 Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, unveiled a life-size statue of Roger W. Babson that welcomes everyone entering the new Centennial Park located on the campus.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_104739\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-104739\" style=\"width: 1392px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-104739\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/collage-1015-2025-babson-statue.jpg\" alt=\"Photos: Roger W. Babson statue, Babson College, Wellesley, Massachusetts. Credit: Babson Historical Association.\" width=\"1392\" height=\"717\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/collage-1015-2025-babson-statue.jpg 1392w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/collage-1015-2025-babson-statue-300x155.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/collage-1015-2025-babson-statue-1024x527.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/collage-1015-2025-babson-statue-768x396.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1392px) 100vw, 1392px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-104739\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photos: Roger W. Babson statue, Babson College, Wellesley, Massachusetts. Credit: Babson Historical Association.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Babson was a notable figure in Cape Ann, Massachusetts, for his preservation of the abandoned village of Dogtown. He commissioned Finnish stonemasons to carve words of inspiration and advice into the boulders dotting the area during the Great Depression.<\/p>\n<p>Also, numbers were inscribed on rocks near some of the old Dogtown cellars with an accompanying map to identify the families that once lived there. However, Babson found himself in a drama battle from one Yankee lady still residing in the area\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Stay tuned!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/sign-up?destination=%2Fcampaign%2Fpurchase%3Fsession%255Bexit_point%255D%3DLz9zX3JlZmVycmVyPSZzX3NpdGVsb2M9JnNfdHJhY2t2YWw9JmtiaWQ9Njk5MTk%253D\">Create a free account<\/a> at GenealogyBank for 7 days to start your journey and discover the stories your ancestors left behind.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Note on the header image:<\/em><\/strong> \u201cMayflower in Plymouth Harbor,\u201d by William Halsall, 1882. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Related Articles:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/mystery-of-abandoned-village-dogtown-part-1.html\">Mystery of Abandoned Village Dogtown (part 1)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/mystery-of-abandoned-village-dogtown-part-2.html\">Mystery of Abandoned Village Dogtown (part 2)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Melissa Berry continues her series on Mayflower descendants, focusing on philanthropist, entrepreneur, and founder of Babson College, Roger Babson.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":104220,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12557],"tags":[59167,12,18761,59175],"class_list":["post-104722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-genealogy-stories","tag-dogtown","tag-genealogy","tag-mayflower-and-pilgrims","tag-roger-ward-babson"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/illustration-0720-2016-mayflower.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104722"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104722\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":105019,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104722\/revisions\/105019"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}