Mrs. Ellen Babington Dead.
Early Friday morning, October 20, 1922, at the old Babington home, the gentle spirit of “Grandmother Babington” took its flight into the great Beyond after the frail body had for many weeks just feebly housed the spark of life.
Ellen Ellis was born in 1830, her father being Rev. Stephen Ellis, local Methodist preacher, who was also a teacher of note and a prominent business man who dominated this section intellectually and morally thru his days of activity.
In 1852, at the age of 22, Miss Ellen Ellis married Robert Babington, a young Irishman of wealth and refinement, who had wandered out here from New Orleans in the interest of his health.
These young people went to housekeeping in the spot that is now occupied by the old Babington home, though the original building was destroyed by fire many years ago. The young people worked together and amassed a considerable fortune and thru the early Christian training of preacher Ellis, they were benevolent a [sic] generous with their means, spending much of their wealth in church building and Missionary extension. The first big gift for the Methodist college in China was $1000 donated by Mr. and Mrs. Robert Babington.
Mr. Babington died in 1906 at the age of 86, and since that time the frail little woman has been a complete “shut in,” never leaving her home except when carefully transplanted to the home of her daughter, Mrs. L. L. Lampton at Magnolia, for the winter then back to the old home again with the opening of spring where she always delighted to watch the blooming out of her old-fashioned flower garden which is one of the marked places of the town.
With her youngest son, C.S.E. Babington, grandmother lived at the old home surrounded by her children and a host of grandchildren who made daily visits to the old home to cheer the aged one and minister to her simple needs.
Of the nine children born in [next line cut from photocopy] this home three died in childhood; Robert Babington died in 1908 and five survive the aged mother, W. W. Babington with 13 living children; Mrs. Mary Lampton and three children; T. M. Babington and five children; Mrs. Victoria Lampton and nine children; C.S.E. Babington and one child. There are 32 grandchildren now most of whom have at various times thru the past three months of her feeble health, visited their grandmother’s bedside.
On the day of her death Mrs. Babington was 92 years, seven months and ten days old, being the oldest inhabitant of the town and also of the parish so far as is known.
After a quiet home service conducted by Rev. L. W. Cain, her beloved pastor, assisted by Rev. Pettus of the Baptist church, interment was made in Ellis cemetery in the family square where just a few weeks ago the youngest member of our community was laid to rest, in the person of the infant daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H.R. Babington.
A profusion of flowers made a fitting covering of the last resting place of one who in her life loved flowers with a real passion, as typifying the beautiful in life, and who thru a wealth of Bible quotations used in daily conversation, tried to point her every visitor to the real beauty of God’s Word and World. She longed to reach the “end of the road” and for her loved ones she left the assurance that all was well and that the passing over held a joy deeper than all this side of Eternity.
Members of the family who came from a distance to attend the last service for the beloved patriarch were, Mr. and Mrs. L. L. Lampton, Mr. and Mrs. E. W. Reid, Magnolia, Mr. and Mrs. Louis Holmes of McComb, Mrs. Iddo Lampton of Lake Charles; Mr. and Mrs. Robert Babington Tylertown; Richard Babington Jonesborough; Stephen Babington, Magnolia.
