Many of New Haven's native sons have come into prominence in connection with her public affairs and have proven most loyal to the city of their birth, promoting its interests in every possible way. To this number belongs Edmund L. Babcock, who was born February 22, 1873. His father, who also bore the name of Edmund Babcock, was a native of Lebanon, Connecticut, and traced his ancestry back through several generations in this state to the time when an English Babcock became the founder of the family in the new world. Crossing the Atlantic in the Mayflower, he settled at Plymouth, Massachusetts, and since then the family has been represented on this side the water. The paternal grandfather, Charles Babcock, was born in Lebanon, Connecticut, and was an ax maker by trade. He wedded Mary Wilcox, of Westerly, Rhode Island. Edmund Babcock, Sr., was a wholesale fruit dealer who conducted a profitable business to the time of his death, which occurred June 19, 1913, in New Haven, when he was sixty-nine years of age. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Hattie E. Sherman, was a daughter of Lewis S. and Esther E. (Meloy) Sherman, who were also descended from old Connecticut families, the Shermans being of English lineage, while the Meloys were from the north of Ireland. Both families were established in New Haven at an early period in its settlement, coming here in the first half of the seventeenth century. The maternal grandfather was a bootmaker and followed that business throughout his entire life. He served in the Civil war, becoming a private of Company D, Fifteenth Connecticut Infantry, with which he remained until the close of hostilities. His death occurred in 1876, when he was fifty-nine years of age. The maternal grandmother of Edmund L. Babcock was born in 1824 and is still hale and hearty at the age of ninety-three years. Her daughter, Mrs. Babcock, is still living and by her marriage she became the mother of two children. Rev. Harry L. Babcock, the younger, is a resident of New Haven and is the editor of the Herald of Life, a religious publication of the Adventist church.

In the acquirement of his education Edmund L. Babcock attended the graded and high schools of New Haven and when a youth of fifteen started out to make his own living in the world, being no longer content to attend school although necessity did not force him into business at that time. He was first employed by the North American Mercantile Agency as office boy and later he took up mercantile lines, becoming a traveling salesman for a wholesale beef and poultry business. He continued in that line of work for eighteen years and is still connected with the business in a financial way. He also served for four years as steward of the old New Haven House. In October, 1915, he was elected to his present position, that of collector of the city of New Haven, for a two years' term and was the first republican chosen to the position in a half century. He is the secretary and treasurer of the E. L. Babcock Company, Inc. He has never stopped short of successful accomplishment in anything that he has undertaken and unfaltering diligence and determination have brought good results in all of his business activities.

In New York city, Mr. Babcock was married to Miss Daisy Deane Swan, a native of East Haddam, Connecticut, and a daughter of George W. and Lorena (Burnham) Swan. They, too, were representatives of old Connecticut families here represented since the early part of the seventeenth century and among the ancestors of Mrs. Babcock were those who served in the Revolutionary war. Mr. Babcock is a member of the Church of the Second Advent. He belongs to the Union League Club and also to the Sons of Veterans. His political allegiance has always been given to the republican party, of which he is an active supporter. He served for two terms as alderman and was filling the position at the time of his election to his present office. His excellent record as an alderman led to his strong endorsement for the position of collector, bringing him the unique but well merited honor of being the first republican in the office in a half century