Babcock, Havilah A.

1838 - 1905  (66 years)    Has 4 ancestors and 7 descendants in this family tree.

• Name	Babcock, Havilah A.
  Born	8 Sep 1838	Franklin, Franklin, Vermont, USA
  Gender	Male
  1860 Census	1860	Neenah, Winnebago, Wisconsin, USA
  Wheeler Babcock25 Priscilla Babcock23 Harilah Babcock23 Elenor Babcock20 William Peckham23 Mary West17
  Occupation	Abt 1872
  One of the Four Founding Fathers of Kimberly Clark Corp.
  1880 Census	1880	Neenah, Winnebago, Wisconsin, USA
  Habilah Babcock42 Frances E. Babcock35 Hellen E. Babcock6 Caroline M. Babcock5 Henry K. Babcock3 George W. Babcock1 Julia Farrel23 Sarah Price19
  1900 Census	1900	Neenah, Winnebago, Wisconsin, USA
  Havilah Babcock 61 Francis E Babcock56 Helen E Babcock26 Caroline M Babcock25 Henry K Babcock23 George W Babcock21 Francis E Babcock17 Eleanor E Johnson37 Mary Sexton21 Lizzie Greenwald44
  Died	19 Apr 1905	, , Illinois, USA
  News Mention	14 Oct 2015
  Appleton Post Crescent
  Those who know Havilah Babcock's life story say the 19th-century man's accomplishments with his business partners are remarkable even by today's 21st-century standards. The paper industry will honor Babcock Thursday night in its Paper Industry International Hall of Fame for his role in co-founding one of the Fox Cities' iconic businesses, Kimberly-Clark Corp., almost a century-and-a-half ago. But there's more to the story than a Neenah industrialist who worked hard with his partners to create what would eventually become a $20 billion-dollar global company. "Everyone thinks they know Kimberly-Clark, but there's an aspect no one knows," said Peter Adams, Babcock's great-grandson and last descendant remaining in Wisconsin. "They did something that was truly phenomenal in the times they lived, or in any day. It was 150 years ago, before the Green Bay Packers. They honed the idea of what it was to be a team." In 1872, Babcock and three other men - John Alfred Kimberly, Charles Clark and Frank C. Shattuck - created Kimberly, Clark & Co., which first made paper used for newspapers. "It sounds simple, but it was not. Every one of the four partners had the same say," said Adams. "They all knew everybody else's jobs. They had equal shares of the business. They even went so far as when there were community projects, like the Neenah library, they gave the exact same amount of money. They played up each other's strengths, but they had this collective identity." Clark was a strong leader, Adams said. Shattuck was a meticulous record-keeper and Kimberly had a scientific mind. Havilah Babcock, co-founder of Kimberly-Clark Corp. Havilah Babcock, co-founder of Kimberly-Clark Corp. (Photo: Courtesy of Peter Adams) Babcock was the one with charisma and salesmanship. "The thing that stands out for me was how young and progressive they were," said Susan Middleton, records analyst and lead archivist for Kimberly-Clark. "I don't think any were over the age of 35. You look at what they did as a group, and it's phenomenal. They were inexperienced men who took on something like this. "Babcock played a vital role in helping with the mills and businesses in those early years. He was successful in building those operations in the Fox Valley. He played a big role as corporate vice-president and later treasurer after Shattuck died." Babcock was also a pivotal link to the next generation of leadership, and served as mentor to Frank J. Sensenbrenner, K-C's next chief executive who helped move the company toward becoming a world leader in paper and tissue-based consumer products. A ladies' man Havilah (a Biblical name his family pronounced ha-VY-lah) Babcock was born in 1837 in Vermont and began working for his father in construction in Neenah at age 12. He had a sixth-grade education, but was an avid reader and became self-educated. He and business partner Alfred Kimberly owned a dry goods store, bank and flour mill before they created Kimberly, Clark & Co. with their partners. He sang in the church choir and led an all-female Bible study at his Presbyterian church. "He was tall and good looking, and he first established his reputation selling dress goods to women. He had a devoted following of women. He loved beauty, the arts, fashion and style," said Adams. "He also understood quality. His reputation was based entirely on the highest quality possible. The company's initial success was because of the rag content of their newsprint. It was the highest quality paper being manufactured. It was a disposable product that was almost archival quality." An American Downton Abbey Babcock's grand 1883 Queen Anne mansion at 537 E. Wisconsin Ave. in Neenah still stands as a perfectly preserved testament to his taste and love of high quality 110 years after his 1905 death. The house remains as he created it with allegorical stained glass windows, ornate woodwork, lavish furniture and oriental rugs. It has been nicknamed "An American Downton Abbey," after the TV show, because of its grandeur. Though it's not open to the public - it is still a private home where Adams lives today - it can be seen via Wisconsin Public Television's "Remarkable Homes of Wisconsin" at the 10 minute mark in http://video.wpt.org/video/2365438345/. It is also documented in the book "Wisconsin's Own: Twenty Remarkable Homes" and on Adams' 2012-2013 blog http://anamericandowntonabbey.blogspot.com/. Neenah High School students collaborated on a landmarks project with the Neenah Historical Society, and their research on the house is found at http://havilahbabcockhouse.weebly.com/. Company's early success Building was also part of the K-C company's early success. Once the four partners got into the paper business, they built or acquired seven paper mills in a little more than a decade. "Through this rapid expansion of capacity, Kimberly, Clark & Co. established the Fox River Valley as one of the leading centers of paper production in the U.S." according to Babcock's hall of fame biography. Babcock will be the third of the four K-C founders to be inducted in the Paper Industry International Hall of Fame. Kimberly and Clark were previously inducted. Maureen Wallenfang: 920-993-7116, or mwallenfang@postcrescent.com; on Twitter @wallenfang Who's who at the hall of fame dinner Thursday The Paper Industry International Hall of Fall will induct six paper notables Thursday night at a dinner and ceremony in the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel's ballroom in downtown Appleton. The annual event recognizes leaders in the paper and affiliated industries. 2015 Inductees: Havilah Babcock (deceased), co-founder of Kimberly-Clark in Neenah. David A. Bossen (deceased), founder of Measurex Corp., Cupertino, Calif. Alf de Ruvo (deceased), chemist, from Sweden. Norm Dove, founder of Devron Engineering Ltd., Vancouver, B.C., Canada. Bjarne Holmbom, chemist, from Finland. Wang Zhen (deceased), who developed a wooden-block movable type system to print the world's first mass produced book in 1313 A.D., in China's Shandong Province. Wan Jie, chairman of the Artron Culture Group and vice Wan Jie, chairman of the Artron Culture Group and vice chair of the China Printing Association. (Photo: Courtesy of Paper Industry International Hall of Fame) Notable guests: David J. Patterson, president and CEO of VERSO Corp. will be keynote speaker. Two Chinese paper industry leaders flew to Appleton to celebrate the event. Wan Jie is chairman of the Artron Culture Group and vice chair of the China Printing Association. He will accept the hall of fame award on behalf of Wang Zhen. Hu Quiaozhong, general manager of Gold East Paper in Jiangsu Province, will also attend the event. Gold East Paper is one of the world's largest paper mills and one of the largest producers globally of coated paper.
  Induction	15 Oct 2015
  Paper Industry International Hall of Fame
  Co-Founder, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Neenah, WI. USA Havilah Babcock was born in Franklin, Vermont on September 8, 1837. He attended school in Vermont and in Waukesha, Wisconsin before his family came to Neenah in 1849. There, at age twelve, he and his brothers worked for their father, a building contractor hired to construct the Neenah segment of the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway. In 1857, while still in their teens, Babcock and his friend Alfred Kimberly started their own dry goods business. The two young men also established the unusual business culture of equal ownership and shared management. In 1869 they made use of Babcock's construction background to build the Reliance Mill, the city's largest flourmill. In 1872, Kimberly and Babcock organized a joint stock paper company with four other investors. A month later the investors changed to include C. B. Clark and F. C. Shattuck and the company renamed Kimberly, Clark & Co. In 1874, by a memorandum of agreement, the equal ownership was formally established between the four partners: Kimberly, Babcock, Clark and Shattuck. In doing so they consciously avoided the dissension that plagued other businesses and experienced an unparalleled rate of growth and expansion. Beginning with the construction of the Globe Paper Mill in 1872, the company purchased the original Neenah Paper Mill in 1874; organized the Atlas Paper Company in 1878; constructed the Vulcan Paper Mill in 1881; the Tioga Paper Mill in 1883; the Badger Paper mills in 1884; the new Neenah Paper Mill in 1885; organized the Telulah Paper Company in 1887; and constructed the Kimberly mill in 1889. Through this rapid expansion of capacity, Kimberly, Clark & Co. established the Fox River Valley as one of the leading centers of paper production in the United States of America. In 1880, the company was incorporated as Kimberly & Clark Co. with Kimberly as President and his closest associate Babcock, as Vice President, working together for the next twenty years. Babcock would also take a highly visible leadership role in the organization of the Shattuck & Babcock Paper Co. in 1890, which would become the largest producer of fine writing papers in the U.S. In 1889, F.J. Sensenbrenner (1998 Hall of Fame Inductee) had joined Kimberly & Clark Co. as an accountant. As Clark died in 1890, Shattuck in 1891 and Kimberly withdrew from work in 1905; Babcock served as a pivotal link in the transition of leadership to F. J. Sensenbrenner. In 1928 when Kimberly died and Sensenbrenner became President, the name of the company was changed for the fourth time to Kimberly-Clark Corporation. Havilah Babcock died on April 21, 1905. He was survived by his wife and five children.
  Person ID	I167513	1FamilyTree
  Last Modified	1 Aug 2016

  
  

  Father	Babcock, Marvin Kinney,   b. 14 Sep 1809, Franklin, Franklin, Vermont, USA ,   d. 4 Sep 1881, Neenah, Winnebago, Wisconsin, USA  (Age 71 years)
  Mother	Wheeler, Elmira,   b. 13 Jul 1814, Berkshire, Franklin, Vermont, USA ,   d. 13 May 1851, Neenah, Winnebago, Wisconsin, USA  (Age 36 years)
  Family ID	F58755	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Kimberly, Frances,   b. 10 Jan 1845, Troy, Rensselaer, New York, USA ,   d. 20 Mar 1917, Neenah, Winnebago, Wisconsin, USA  (Age 72 years)
  Married	22 May 1872
  Children	1. Babcock, Helen,   b. 28 Oct 1873, Neenah, Winnebago, Wisconsin, USA ,   d. 25 Nov 1966, Neenah, Winnebago, Wisconsin, USA  (Age 93 years) + 2. Babcock, Caroline,   b. 26 Apr 1875, Neenah, Winnebago, Wisconsin, USA ,   d. 19 Oct 1937, Berkeley, Alameda, California, USA  (Age 62 years)   3. Babcock, Henry,   b. 31 Jan 1877, Neenah, Winnebago, Wisconsin, USA ,   d. 27 Oct 1930, Neenah, Winnebago, Wisconsin, USA  (Age 53 years)   4. Babcock, George,   b. 12 May 1879, Neenah, Winnebago, Wisconsin, USA ,   d. 21 Nov 1950, Jefferson, Kentucky, USA  (Age 71 years)   5. Babcock, Elizabeth,   b. 26 Jul 1882, Neenah, Winnebago, Wisconsin, USA ,   d. 30 Jul 1972, Neenah, Winnebago, Wisconsin, USA  (Age 90 years)
  Last Modified	27 Jun 2014
  Family ID	F59830	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map	Load the map	Born - 8 Sep 1838 - Franklin, Franklin, Vermont, USA 1860 Census - 1860 - Neenah, Winnebago, Wisconsin, USA 1880 Census - 1880 - Neenah, Winnebago, Wisconsin, USA 1900 Census - 1900 - Neenah, Winnebago, Wisconsin, USA Died - 19 Apr 1905 - , , Illinois, USA  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

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  Babcock, Havilah