Maltbie Davenport Babcock

Maltbie Davenport Babcock (August 3, 1858 – May 18, 1901) was a noted American clergyman and writer of the 19th century. He authored the familiar hymn, This is My Father's World, among others.

Early life

Babcock was born at Syracuse, New York, eldest son of Henry and Emily Maria (Maltbie) Babcock. His first American ancestor was James Babcock (1612–1679), a native of England, who emigrated in 1642, settling first at Portsmouth, Rhode Island and then in Westerly, where his descendants became prominent. Maltbie Davenport Babcock's great-grandfather, Henry Davis, was second president of Hamilton College, and his grandfather, Rev. Ebenezer Davenport Maltbie, was also a Presbyterian minister of note. As a young man, Babcock was described as "tall and broad-shouldered" and a muscular swimmer and baseball player.

Maltbie Babcock was educated in the public schools of Syracuse and graduated in 1879 from Syracuse University with highest honors. He played Baseball on the University's ball team and was a member of the Psi Upsilon Fraternity. He was selected to give the Alumni Address in 1895. He studied theology at the Auburn Theological Seminary, receiving his degree there in 1882.

Ministry Upon receiving his degree in theology in 1882, Babcock became pastor of a church at Lockport, New York. He was described as having "an unusually brilliant intellect and stirring oratorical powers that commanded admiration, [that] won for him a foremost place among the favorites of his denomination".

From 1887 to 1900, Babcock was senior minister of the prestigious Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church in Baltimore, Maryland. While pastoring Brown Memorial, he was acclaimed for his oratory and use of colorful metaphors in his sermons. He also led a fund-raising effort to assist Jewish refugees from Russia who were victims of an anti-Jewish pogrom in the 1880s. So popular was he that many prominent Baltimoreans, including the faculty of Johns Hopkins University, unsuccessfully implored Babcock to remain at Brown instead of accepting the call to Brick Presbyterian Church. A 1910 biography said of him,

A large stained glass window was installed in 1905 at Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church in Babcock's memory. The Holy City, by Louis Comfort Tiffany, depicts St. John's vision of the "New Jerusalem" described in . It has brilliant red, orange, and yellow glass etched for the sunrise, with textured glass used to create the effect of moving water. It is said to be one of the two largest windows crafted by Tiffany.

One of the most popular references to his legacy is the Babcock Road in San Antonio, Texas.

Select works Thoughts for every-day living from the spoken and written words of Maltbie Davenport Babcock (1901), posthumously, Letters from Egypt and Palestine (1902), posthumously,