The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-08-15
RUINED BY DRINK.
The Inventor of the BaboOck Fire Ex.
tinguisher a Pauper.

tinguisher Pauper.
San Francisco Call.
Since last Saturday the Aims House has MIN,
bered among its inmates an old gray headed man
OF about sixty -eight years of age, apparently in
the last stages of chronic alcoholism and nra
senting in every respect the appearance of com
pete physical if not mental, decrepitude Vet
if the story told by the aged pauper be true he
has in times past occupied a far different no.
sition, his name being familiar throughout the
length and breadth of the United States as that
of the inventor of the Babcock fire extingusher.
To an interviewer who visited him at the aims
house he gave a sketch of his life
history beginning with his birth at
Rochester. n. H., in 1917. from which place. at
the age of five, he removed with his parents to
Mount Vernon, Ia, and later to Mansfield in
the same State. At the age of twenty one he
graduated from the Pennsylvania University Of
Medicine, but he did not practice, entering
instead into the mercantile business, at first in
partnership with his father at Indianapolis, Ind,
later on his own account at Dayton, o. He was
very successful for eight years but in 1854 his good
fortune deserted him, and after suffering num-
Der OF reverses. he went into liquidation Goingto
New York, he secured position as dry goods
clerk and remained there two years during
which time he married Going back to Indian
apols he purchased with his savings an interest
in his fathers business, and for six years was
quite successful AT the end of this time reverses
again assaulted him, and he retired from business
with but s.. 900.
While in Indianapolis, however in 1860, he
had patented the fire eXtinguisher which grew
out of his experiments in chemistry, for which
he always had a taste, and after his failure he
endeavored to DO something in the way of dis
posing of it. while acting as travelling agent for
some Cincinnati tobacco and liquor firm, but met
at first with but poor success. However about
year later, he leased the right to manufacture
and sell the eXtinguisher to Peabody & Co, of
chicago, for five years at So, 900 year. and i'm
medlately thereafter came to San Francisco. He
ran the old Buckeye Hotel on Market street for
while, practicing medicine also but being
burned out removed first to Oakland and after
ward to Petaluma where he kept a store for a
while, finally failing. He retrieved himself by
successfully specializing in Monterey lands with
his annuity, and about this time lost his
wife, which bereavement Immediately pre-
coded the first step of his downward
career. since it led him to try and drown his sor.
rows in drink. Having once entered upon the
path of vice, he pursued it to the end, spending
the proceeds of his annuites in drink Before
entering upon the downward course. however
with the money derived from his land specula-
tons, he purchased farms in Yamhill county.
Ore, for his daughter and each of his three
sons, where, he believes, they are all now living
in prosperous circumstances, though shame has
prevented him from applying to them of late for
assistance. He was first sent to the aims house
three years agC, remaining for six months and
being again sent out in July of last year Be-
tween times he has wandered about the country.
and the writer remembers seeing him in 1883
wandering about the streets of Santa Rosa So.
noma county, in the lowest stages of drunken
pauperism his arrest for vagrancy, etc, being
IA regular weekly occurrence for some months.