Maltbie Davenport Babcock

Maltbie Davenport Babcock
Born	August 3, 1858 Syracuse, New York, U.S.
Died	May 18, 1901 Naples, Italy
Nationality	American
Occupation	Clergy
Spouse(s)	Katherine Tallman 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.

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 descendents 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 Upslion 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. He married Katherine Eliot Tallman youngest daughter of John Peck Higgins Tallman a prominent lawyer of Poughkeepsie, New York, on October 4, 1882. They had two children, both of whom died in infancy. Edward Anderson d. August 21, 1883 and John Tallman d. February 11, 1890.

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. Babcock was honored by a Doctor of Divinity degree from Syracuse University in 1896.

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