Volume 2, Issue 7 July 2011 WEBB SURNAME DNA PROJECT
THE WEBB BULLETIN NEWS, PROJECT UPDATES & RECORDS
IN THIS ISSUE:
Webb Sea Captains 1 Webb SeaCaptains From the Administrator 1 from Salem Massachusetts WEBB Records Repository By Kathy McHale - Delaware 12
- Florida 14 Introduction - Kentucky 15 Webb sea captains - Maine 15 spanned three centuries of - Mississippi 18 life at sea and on the land - South Carolina 19 in Salem, Massachusetts.
- Great Britain 20 The first recorded voyages by Webbs of Salem were
in fishing ketches with small crews in the late 1600’s. In the American Revolution, privateer brigantines commanded by Webb sea captains captured English ships and sold the cargo and ships as prizes. By the mid to late 19th century, Webb sea captains were negotiating contracts in Arabic for trade with Zanzibar and bringing home silks from Canton.
This article combines information about the careers of Webb sea captains and information about their lives at home, including their families, their descendants and ancestors. From the 1600’s through the late 19th century there were about 25 sea captains named Webb in Salem. There were many, many other Webbs from Salem who were not sea captains, but were mariners, coopers, supercargoes, first lieutenants, or seamen. Too many of
Continued on page 2
From the Administrator
Dear Project Members, I would like to introduce our new contributing writer, Kathy McHale! Kathy has done a phenomenal job researching and writing this issue’s comprehensive and informative three-part article on Webb Sea Captains of Massachusetts. Part two and three will be featured in upcoming newsletters. Please join me in thanking Kathy for her contributions to the project! If you have any comments or questions, please send them to me and I will pass them along to Kathy. - Eileen
THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 2
Webb Sea Captains from Salem, Massachusetts [cont.]
these individuals died young, either in accidents or violence at sea or from disease, and never had the chance to advance to captain. Some tried life at sea and chose to work on land instead.
Knowing something about the careers of these seafaring Webbs can help with “Knowing something genealogical research. For example, the fact that many sea captains retired from the sea at an early age due to the physical demands of seafaring helps explain why a man listed as about the careers of these a sea captain in his children’s birth records may be listed as a cordwainer in his probate seafaring Webbs can help records: he was one and the same person, but the disease consumption sapped the with genealogical physical strength he needed to work at sea. Still having a family to support, he worked at research. For example, the less strenuous task of making shoes. This is the actual story of Capt. William Webb, the fact that many sea whose story will be in Part 2 of this article. captains retired from the Likewise, knowing that a cooper, or barrel maker, can have a career onboard ship helps sea at an early age due to explain the transition made by my ancestor John Webb from Salem barrel maker to the physical demands of shipping merchant. seafaring helps explain Knowing about the decline of seafaring in Salem in the late 19th century as bigger ships why a man listed as a demanded bigger harbors can prompt a genealogist to look elsewhere, such as Boston, for sea captain in his the descendants of one’s Salem ancestors. children’s birth records For Y-DNA research, knowing about the lives of seafarers helps to explain some of the may be listed as a difficulty in finding Webb Y-DNA descendants living today. Many potential Y-DNA cordwainer in his probate ancestors died at sea before they ever married and had children. records: he was one and the same person, but the Daniel Vickers and Vincent Walsh have written the book Young Men and the Sea: Yankee Seafaring in the Age of Sail. This is a wonderful resource for anyone wishing to learn more disease consumption about the lives of seafarers and their families in Salem. Vincent Walsh generously shared sapped the physical notes and databases about Webb mariners used in writing this book. For Part 1 of this strength he needed to article, focusing on the colonial days, his information about voyages and personnel were work at sea.” invaluable. Part 2 of this article will focus on Webb sea captains from the time of the American Revolution to the War of 1812. Part 3 will focus on Webb sea captains involved in the expansion of trade around the world in the mid to late 1800’s.
In deciding whom to consider as a “sea captain” in this article, fairly broad criteria were used. An individual was included as a “sea captain” under any one of the following circumstances:
The Vital Records of Salem listed an individual as Captain or Capt. in the listing of his marriage, death of himself, his wife or children, the birth or baptism of any of his children, or his own baptism.
Essex County Probate Records listed his occupation as Capt., Captain or master mariner.
Newspaper accounts referred to him as Captain or Capt. in connection with a ship or life event.
The records of the Young Men and the Sea database identified him as a master or captain on a voyage.
Genealogical books consulted mentioned in their text that the individual was a “sea captain” or “master mariner”.
[continued on page 3] THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 3
Part 1: Colonial Days
Captain Daniel Webb Sr. Mariner, Shipwright, Tavern Keeper & Teacher
Captain Daniel Webb was born about 1651 or 1652 based on a deposition he gave in 1716 stating that his age was 64 at the time. His parents and place of birth are not known for certain, but he may have been the son of an early John Webb of Salem. There was a John Webb who purchased property in 1669 from John Mason. At least one descendant of Daniel Webb believes that this particular John Webb is his earliest ancestor.
Daniel Webb, Sr. married Mary Becket in Salem, Massachusetts on 20 July 1675. She was the daughter of John Becket, shipwright, and his wife Margaret. Though no record of death for either Daniel or his wife Mary has been found, they must have died by 1721 or 1722, since their property descended to their heirs in 1722, as recorded in Essex County Deeds from 1742.
Daniel served as master of the ketch Tryall of Salem in 1678 and again in 1679 on voyages from Ireland to Salem.
Here is how the 1678 and 1679 voyages of Daniel Webb appear in the Essex County Notarial Records:
[1716] “Depositions of Daniel Webb of Salem, mariner, aged 64 years,… Daniel Webb further testified that he was master of the afore ketch Tryall of Salem and brought over the said Elizabeth Comer whose maiden name was then Elizabeth Dynn about 1679 and that the year before he took the son of said John Dynn, William Dunn, as an apprentice and brought him to New England.”
In 1684, Daniel Webb Sr. was the master of the ketch Blossom on a voyage from New England to Barbados. According to custom records, this ship entered Barbados on 15 Mar. 1684.
These are the only three known voyages that Daniel Webb made as master or captain, but Daniel Webb Sr. continued to identify himself as a mariner as late as the age of 64 when he gave the above mentioned deposition.
Beginning in the late 1680’s, however, Daniel did pursue other occupations as well.
According to the Essex County Quarterly Court Records, in 1688 Daniel was fined 5 pounds for selling liquor without a license, but by 1689, the selectmen of Salem approved of Daniel Webb as a keeper of a house of entertainment.
Evidence that Daniel Webb Sr. also worked as a shipwright and a teacher is cited by Vincent Walsh in a database developed for the Young Men and the Sea project. According to the William Pickering account books, in 1707 Daniel Webb Sr. had been paid for work done on the construction of a Lillie vessel in Salem: “Since he had been one of the top paid employees, it indicates he was a shipwright.” (Walsh). Further, in 1713 in William Pickering’s account book, Daniel Sr. is credited a sum of money for teaching John Webber the art of navigation.
In his older years, Daniel Webb’s son paid some of his father’s debts, as was the custom of the time. Walsh’s database contains the information that in 1712 Daniel Jr.’s account was debited for money Pickering had given to Daniel Sr., and in 1713, his son Daniel Jr. paid the remaining 6s. of his debts.
In 1682-3 Daniel Webb of Salem, mariner, for fifty pounds purchased a house and lot of Elizabeth Turner, widow of John Turner. In 1683 Daniel paid 3s. in Salem country taxes, and lived in the ward of Phillip English, constable.
Daniel Webb, Sr. and Mary Beckett had the following children, the births of their first five children being found in the Salem Vital Records to the end of 1849, citing court records, and the baptisms of the last two being found in the Records of the First Church of Salem. THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 4
John Webb, b. 17 April 1676
Margaret Webb, b. 20 February 1677, d. 1682.
Perez Webb, b. 1 April 1680
Mary Webb, b. 14 August 1682
Daniel Webb Jr., b. 5 September 1688 – a sea captain
Elizabeth Webb, b. June 1692
Margaret Webb, b. before 24 May 1696
The Captains John Webb
It appears that there were at least two captains named John Webb who lived in the time frame of 1650 to about 1770. In fact, there may have been three Captain John Webbs in that time frame, but it is certain that there must have been at least two. Sorting out which man identified as Captain John corresponds with the John who was ship master or captain on a particular voyage is difficult.
In the colonial period in Salem, the following voyages are known to have had a captain named John Webb: (Most of this information is from the voyage database used in writing Young Men and the Sea.)
John Webb was master of the ketch Swallow sailing from Salem on fishing voyages from 1684 to at least 1687. Jonathan Corwin was the owner of this ship. These voyages are found in the Jonathan Corwin papers at the Peabody Essex Museum.
John Webb was master of the Ketch Speedwell of Salem, a ship of 16 tons, on a voyage made in 1698. Phillip English and Daniel King owned this ship.
John Webb was master of the sloop Mary on a fishing voyage in 1699 from Salem to Cape Sable with a crew of 6, on a ship of 36 tons.
John Webb was master of an unnamed ship that made a fishing voyage from Salem to the North Atlantic in 1700. This may be the same voyage that is mentioned in the Essex County Notarial Records for 17 Aug. 1700, where there is a lengthy description of a voyage in which Capt. Jno. Webb, commander of an English fishing sloop from Salem, rescued two individuals whose ship capsized.
John Webb was the master on a trip from the Leeward Islands to Barbados in 1716 on the ship John Bon Adventure, a ship of 35 tons,
John Webb was the master on a voyage in 1718 from Antigua to Barbados on the ship Samuel of Barbados, carrying rum. This ship was owned by Joseph Young.
Those are the voyages on which a John Webb is known to have been the master.
The following are references found to a “Capt. John Webb”, not specifically connected to a voyage:
ES Waters states that a decision was made on 30 Mar. 1741 that an action at Court between an (Episcopal) Church and Capt. John Webb was to be continued at Ipswich.
The Essex Journal of 4 Dec. 1773 reported the death of Mrs. Webb, widow of Capt. John Webb, aged 90 years. No record of the death of a John Webb prior to 1773 has been found, nor is there a probate record for him in Essex County. THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 5
Here are some thoughts about the identities of these John Webbs:
The John Webb who made the journey in 1684 above would have been a contemporary of Daniel Webb Sr. Both made voyages in 1684 as listed in the Young Men and the Sea database. It would seem likely, then, that John might have been born about the same time as Daniel, that is, about 1650 or so. Thus he could be the father of Jonathan Webb1, b. about 1690, as suggested in the Driver genealogy.
It seems likely that this Captain John Webb is the one who made the voyages listed above at least through 1700.
The Capt. John Webb whose widow died aged 90 in Dec. 1773 above was likely born about the same time as she was, that is, born about 1680 or so. He could be the John Webb who married Elizabeth Phippen on 18 Oct. 1705. This John Webb was probably the son of William Webb and Charity Littlefield who lived in Salem, Boston and Wells, Maine.
It may be that this second Capt. John Webb is the one who made the voyages listed above from 1716 onward and also was involved in the court action with the Episcopal Church.
The children of John Webb and Elizabeth Phippen mentioned above are:
Elizabeth Webb, b. 27 Dec. 1709
John Webb, b. 6. Aug. 1712
William Webb, b. 6 July 1717
Abigail Webb, bp. 17 Mar. 1723
Further research into Essex County Probate Records and Essex County Deeds may help to sort out the correct identities of the Captains John Webb of Salem.
Captain Daniel Webb Jr. Mariner & Shipwright
Captain Daniel Webb Jr. was born in Salem, Massachusetts on 5 September 1688. He was the fifth child and third son of Captain Daniel Webb Sr. and Mary Becket.
Daniel Webb Jr. married Elizabeth Ropes in Salem on 5 June 1719. She was the daughter of John Ropes and Lydia Wells. Elizabeth probably died before 1727 when Daniel Jr. married again, but the Salem Vital Records make no mention of her death.
Daniel Webb Jr. married secondly Mary (Mascoll) Becket in Salem on 27 July 1727. She was the daughter of Thomas and Mary Mascoll and the widow of William Becket. William Becket was the son of William Becket whose sister Mary Becket was Daniel’s mother.
The records of the Young Men and the Sea project database provide information about three voyages that Daniel Webb Jr. undertook, the first in 1713 as a seaman age 25 and the next two as master at ages 28 and 29 in 1716 and 1717.
As master in 1716, Daniel oversaw a crew of four men on the voyage of the Schooner Eagle Galley of Gloucester from Virginia to Salem. This ship weighed 28 tons. In January of 1717, Daniel Webb Jr. was master of the schooner THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 6
Flying Horse of Cape Ann for a trip from Salem to the West Indies. The Flying Horse weighed 30 tons and also had a crew of 4 men.
Even before Daniel Webb Jr. undertook his voyages as a master mariner, he evidently worked as a shipwright as well. In 1707 at the age of 19, he was paid for helping to construct a vessel in Salem, and “since he was one of the highest paid employees it indicates he was a shipwright”. (Walsh)
As was the custom at the time, on at least two occasions money that Daniel Jr. earned was used to pay his father’s debts. In 1712 when he was 24 and again in 1713, money was debited from his account with William Pickering to repay money that Pickering had given to Daniel Sr., according to Vincent Walsh’s database.
Daniel Webb Jr. is likely the Daniel Webb who petitioned for an Episcopal Church in Salem in 1736 as there is no other Daniel Webb living in Salem at that time.
Essex County Deeds show that Daniel Webb bought out the shares of the estate of his parents from his siblings about 1742.
It appears that Daniel Webb Jr. and his first wife Elizabeth Ropes had no children, as no children are listed for them in the Salem Vital Records.
Daniel Webb Jr. and his second wife Mary Becket had at least one child:
Elizabeth Webb, bp. Sept. 6, 1730
It is possible that they may also have had a daughter Abigail Webb. In 1793, Abigail (Webb) Masury sold property she received from her father, Daniel Webb. Abigail Webb married William Masury Jr. in Salem, 17 Apr. 1757. Abigail Masury died 11 April 1794 at 65, a widow, leaving a daughter, infirm, according to the Diary of William Bentley.
Captain Jonathan Webb Coaster & Deacon of the East Church
Captain Jonathan Webb was born about 1690 to parents whose identities are unknown at this time. There were Webbs living in Salem as early as 1659, based on Essex County Deeds of that time, and one of those early Webbs may be the father of Jonathan born about 1690. There was even an early Webb named Jonathan as recorded in a deed of 1675.
In the Driver Genealogy, Cooke suggests that Captain Jonathan may have been a son of John Webb. There was a John Webb in Salem in 1669, fisherman, who bought land with Robert Bray and John Tapley and who would have been of an age to be Jonathan Webb’s father, but it cannot be said with certainty that he was in fact Jonathan’s father.
Jonathan Webb married Priscilla Bray in Salem on 23 Mar 1713/1714. Priscilla was the daughter of Robert Bray and Christian Collins, born 11 Mar. 1689/90, and died after 4 Feb. 1767. Jonathan died before 9 Sept. 1765 when the first document of his estate was recorded. (Essex County Probate records, docket number 29059)
For 1720, 1721 and 1722, Jonathan Webb is listed as the Master of the Sloop Eagle in the Account Books of Joseph Orne, as cited by Vickers and Walsh. These were all fishing voyages. It is difficult to be completely certain that this Jonathan Webb is the same person as Deacon Jonathan Webb, born about 1690, but it seems very likely that he is. There is no other Jonathan Webb of the right age in Salem at that time. THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 7
Jonathan is identified as a coaster by Cooke. Vickers and Walsh define “coasters” as follows: “professional seamen who had mastered the handling of smaller sailing vessels and now made their business freighting cargo up and down the coast where they lived.”
Jonathan Webb’s mansion house was at the corner of Derby and Hardy Streets in Salem. His son Jonathan, also a sea captain, purchased his father’s homestead, which abutted his own land, from the other heirs.
Jonathan and Priscilla had at least nine children, as follows:
Priscilla Webb, bp. 4 Mar. 1715/16
Jonathan Webb, b. 22 Dec. 1716
John Webb, bp. 19 Oct. 1718
Stephen Webb, b. 13 Feb. 1722
Mary Webb, b. about 1724
Susanna Webb, b. about 1726
Hannah Webb, bp. 24 Sept. 1727
Samuel Webb, b. 18 Feb. 1732
John Webb, b. 10 Aug. 1733
Captain Jonathan Webb Jr. Captain, Coaster & Innkeeper
Captain Jonathan Webb was born in Salem, Massachusetts on 22 Dec. 1716, the eldest son of Jonathan Webb and Priscilla Bray. His earliest known ancestor is his father, Deacon Jonathan Webb born about 1690. Jonathan died in Salem 29 Feb. 1792. His probate record is found in the Essex County Probate Records, docket number 29061.
Jonathan Webb Jr. married Elizabeth Sa[u]nders in Salem on 22 June 1740. Elizabeth was the daughter of Philemon and Sarah (Skerry) Saunders. Her last name is spelled both Sanders and Saunders in the records. Born in 1717, she died 14 Nov. 1788.
Jonathan Webb is called captain in the vital records of his death in 1792, and is listed as the master of two ships in the Young Men and the Sea database. His probate record lists his occupation as captain. The genealogy of the Driver family lists his occupation as coaster.
In 1745 at the age of 29, Jonathan was the master of the schooner Endeavor, owned by the Orne family, on a voyage from Salem to the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean. The voyage took a little over three months.
In 1746, Jonathan was the “late master” on the sloop Lynn which was taken by a French privateer to Martinique and to St. Bartholomew. This ship, also owned by the Orne family, had been bound for St. Eustatius in the Caribbean.
Jonathan kept the Ship Tavern on Washington Street in Salem. His home was at the corner of Derby and Hardy Street, on property he bought from Samuel Collyer, Robert Stone, and from his siblings as heirs to their father’s estate. THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 8
Jonathan and Elizabeth had at least eight children, all listed in the Salem Vital Records, citing the private Bible record of Miss Sally Shepard:
Priscilla Webb, b. 21 Apr. 1741
Jonathan Webb, b. 8 Oct. 1744
Elizabeth Webb, b. 15 Sept. 1747
Sarah Webb, b. 9 Apr. 1750
Benjamin Webb, b. 2 Mar. 1754 – a sea captain
Stephen Webb, b. 21 Sept. 1756 – a sea captain
Samuel Webb, b. 19 July 1759
Micha(e)l Webb, b. 19 July 1762
Captain Stephen Webb Captain, Cordwainer, & Commander of The Guards at The Fort
Captain Stephen Webb was born in Salem, Massachusetts on 13 Feb. 1722, a son of Jonathan Webb and Priscilla Bray. His earliest known ancestor is his father, Deacon Jonathan Webb born about 1690. Stephen died in Salem 24 Mar. 1796 at the age of 74.
Stephen married three times, all in Salem. He married first on 27 Nov. 1746 Elizabeth Best, who died within a year of their marriage. He married secondly on 7 Jun. 1750 the widow Mary (Tyler) Manning, daughter of Joshua Tyler and Margaret Lambert, and widow of Jacob Manning. Little is known about his third wife whom he married about 1775. She was a daughter of a Beans and widow of a Masury.
It is very likely that this Stephen Webb is the Captain referred to in a newspaper notice in the Salem Gazette, 13 Jun. 1782: “Notice is hereby given, that proper Guards are established at the Forts in this Town, and that Capt. Stephen Webb is appointed to the Command of them. All Masters of Vessels and others whom it may concern are to give proper Answers when hailed from either of the said Forts, as, on their Refusal, they must suffer the Consequences of being fired upon.” This is the only place where this Stephen Webb is referred to as captain. In 1880, ES Waters wrote that Stephen Webb, son of Jonathan and Priscilla, lived near Neck Gate, and “I have heard that he lived at the Fort and used to signalize vessels, and keep their owner’s colors.”
No record of voyages made by this Captain Stephen Webb has been found to date.
In later life, in addition to guarding the Forts, Stephen worked as a cordwainer.
Stephen and his second wife, Mary, had at least 10 children. None of the births of their children appear in the Salem Vital Records to the end of 1849. All of the information on the children of Stephen and Mary is from ES Waters, Genealogical Notes of the Webb Family.
Margaret Webb, b. about 1751
Mary Webb, b. about 1753 THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 9
Joshua Webb, b. about 1755
Elizabeth Webb, b. about 1756
Priscilla Webb, b. about 1758
Hannah Webb, b. about 1760
Susannah Webb, bp. About 1764
Deborah Webb, b. about 1766
Stephen Webb, b. about 1769, d. 29 Dec. 1812. He was killed on board the Constitution in action with the Java.
Joseph Webb, b. about 1771, who married Mercy Devereaux and was a sea captain
Captain Samuel Webb Captain, Coaster & Merchant
Captain Samuel Webb was born in Salem, Massachusetts on 18 Feb. 1732. He was the eighth child of Deacon Jonathan Webb and Priscilla Bray. His father Jonathan, born about 1690, is his earliest known ancestor.
Samuel Webb married first Deborah Prince in Salem, Massachusetts on 14 Oct. 1755. He married secondly Hannah Ward in Salem on 9 Nov. 1758. She was a daughter of John and Hannah (Higginson) Ward and was born 31 Dec. 1735. Hannah died 4 Apr. 1808 or 11 April 1808 at the age of 72 of a fever, “much esteemed”, according to the Rev. William Bentley’s Diary.
Samuel Webb died in 1780. It is very likely that his burial is the one recorded in the Salem Vital Records on 2 Apr.1780, citing the records of St. Peter’s (Episcopal) Parish as recorded by Gibson Clough. His probate record is found in the Essex County Probate Records, docket number 29074, where his occupation is listed as merchant.
Samuel Webb was called a captain in the baptismal records of his son Samuel in 1762, of his son Nathaniel in 1765, and of his son Jonathan in 1767, citing records of the North Church; in the death record of his wife Hannah, citing records of the East Church; in his own burial record; and by ES Waters in Genealogical Notes of the Webb Family.
One of Captain Samuel Webb’s voyages is included in the tabular database of the Young Men and the Sea project: At the age of 31 in 1763, Samuel Webb served as the master on a schooner of 48 tons that made the voyage from St. Martin’s to Salem. The notes database created by this project lists Samuel as a coaster, fisherman and merchant.
The Essex Antiquarian includes a vivid account of a storm in December 1770 during which the schooner of Capt. Samuel Webb was blown across the harbor.
Samuel Webb lived on the corner of Pleasant and East Sts. in Salem where his descendants still lived in 1880.
Samuel and his first wife, Deborah Prince, had no children. Samuel and his second wife, Hannah Ward, had at least six children. It appears from the information below that Samuel Webb has no Y-DNA descendants.
Samuel Webb, bp. 13 April 1760, d. young
Samuel Webb, b. 9 November 1762, bp. 28 November 1762, d. an elderly man, unmarried.
Nathaniel Webb, bp. 25 August 1765, d. before April 1794 unmarried
Jonathan Webb, bp. 26 July 1767 (2). He is likely the Jonathan “mate of Capt. Martin” who died at the age of 27 at Hispaniola of fever, news received 10 December 1795. THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 10
Hannah Webb, b. about 1769
Priscilla Webb, b. about 1776, d. 8 Mar. 1856, a singlewoman (Essex County Probate Record, Docket number 56483.)
Captain Stephen Webb Mystery Man
If you like logic puzzles, you will enjoy the mystery of this Captain Stephen Webb!
The Salem Vital Records to the end of 1849 list the burial of Capt. Stephen Webb on 13 Jan. 1780, citing the records of St. Peter’s (Episcopal) Parish in Salem as kept by Gibson Clough. That is all the information that is thus far available about this Captain Stephen Webb. It is possible to say quite a bit about who he is not, however.
He is not Captain Stephen Webb, son of Jonathan Webb and Priscilla Bray, who was born in 1722 and died in 1796.
He is not Captain Stephen Webb, son of Jonathan Webb and Elizabeth Saunders, born 21 Sept. 1756, died 11 Feb. 1831.
He is not mariner Stephen Webb, born in 1769, son of Stephen Webb and Mary (Tyler) Manning, who died of wounds received in the action between the Constitution and the Java on 29 Dec. 1812.
He is not mariner Stephen Webb, born about 1773, son of John Webb and Judith Phelps, who died 6 Aug. 1796 on a ship with his brother Benjamin on the passage home from Batavia to Salem.
And he is not the Capt. Stephen Webb about whom it was written in 1782 that Capt. Stephen Webb is appointed to the command of the Guards at the Forts in the town.
No other record of births, marriages or deaths for a Stephen Webb in the Salem Vital Records seems likely to be this Capt. Stephen Webb.
It is possible that he came from another town, died and was buried in Salem.
One possible clue to his identity is in the burial record of Capt. Samuel Webb in Salem on 2 Apr. 1780. In the Salem Vital Records, Samuel’s burial is the only other Webb death record that cites PR 655 (the records of St. Peter’s Church as kept by Gibson Clough). Since Samuel was the son of Jonathan Webb and Priscilla Bray, perhaps this Captain Stephen is related to Jonathan and Priscilla.
It is also possible that there is an error somewhere in either the vital records or in the sources consulted. At any rate, right now the identity of this Captain Stephen Webb will remain a mystery.
THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 11
Sources For Part 1
(Sources are listed in the order that they appear in this article)
Daniel Vickers and Vincent Walsh, Young Men and the Sea: Yankee Seafarers in the Age of Sail, Yale University Press, 2005. (Introduction)
Vital Records of Salem, Massachusetts to the end of the year 1849. (Daniel, John, Jonathan, Stephen, Samuel)
Edward Stanley Waters, Genealogical Notes of the Webb Family, Essex Institute Historical Collections, Vol. 16, p. 213-234, 1879. (Daniel, John, Jonathan, Stephen, Samuel)
Harriet Ruth Waters Cooke, The Driver Family: A Genealogical Memoir of the Descendants of Robert and Phebe Driver of Lynn, Mass. With an Appendix containing Twenty-three Allied Families, 1592-1887. 1889. ((Daniel, John, Jonathan, Stephen, Samuel)
Vincent Walsh, database compiled for Young Men and the Sea project, Memorial University, Newfoundland (Daniel, John, Jonathan, Samuel)
Sidney Perley, History of Salem, Vol. 3, p. 85 (Daniel)
Essex Antiquarian, Vol. X, p. 1906, p. 28, Essex County Notarial Records, June 18, 1716 (Daniel)
Essex Institute Historical Collections, Vol. 85, p. 384. (Daniel, John) Vol. 43, p. 59 (Daniel) Vol. 41, p. 385 (John)
William Bentley, The Diary of William Bentley. (Daniel, Samuel)
Essex Journal (newspaper), 4 Dec. 1773 online at NEHGS Early American Newspapers Series 1, 1690 - 1876. (John)
Essex Society of Genealogists, Essex County Deeds, 1639-1678, Abstracts of Volumes 1-4 Copy Books. 2003. (John, Jonathan)
Noyes-Libby-Davis, Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire, p. 728 (John)
Essex County Probate Records Index to 1840 (Jonathan, Samuel, Stephen,)
Essex Antiquarian, Vol. 8 p. 80 (Samuel)
Salem Gazette, 13 Jun. 1782, Vol I, Issue 35, p. 3 (Samuel)
Artwork: http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/
THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 12
WEBB Records Repository:
Delaware
Miscellaneous Webbs in Delaware Records
Benjamin and Magdalane Webb Witnesses to the Will of Stephen Bennett, written August 23, 1751 and probated January 19, 1753. [Will Book B2, 43.] “The will of “Stephen Bennett of the County of Sussex in the province of Pennsylvania on Delaware being very sick and weak but of perfect mind and memory” gives to “Jemima Ponder my Dearly beloved Daughter the Sum of One Shilling…to Rhoday Warrin my Dearly beloved Daughter the Sum of One Shilling…to John Bennett my Dearly beloved Son my Dwelling House Barn and plantation and half of my Land that is Adjoining the Same and my Gun and One Cow… to Jehu Bennett my Dearly beloved Son the other half of my Land and all the remainder part of my Estate Equally to be Divided between my Dearly beloved Son Jehu Bennett and my Two youngest Daughters Mary Bennett and Sarah Bennett after my debts is paid Equally to be Divided among them Three… to Margaret my well beloved wife whom I likewise Constitute make and Ordain my Sole Executrix of this my Last will and Testament the Third of my House and plantation During her Life Time and the Third of my Estate by her freely to be possessed and Enjoyed…”. Witnesses: John Johnson, Benj. Webb, Magdalane Webb.”
Sylvester Webb m. widow Miriam Lofland Bennett “Miriam [Lofland Bennett] remarried, her husband being Sylvester Webb, with whom she settled Purnal’s estate 6 May 1789. In the subsequent years Sylvester Webb appears as guardian of Purnal’s children Miriam and Joshua, and possibly others. Miriam Webb was still living on 14 November 1798 when Sylvester as her husband petitioned the Orphans Court for division of the lands of Miriam’s mother Elizabeth Lofland who had died land intestate. Miriam apparently died before Sylvester, for in 1810 “Sarah Webb, Administrator of Sylvester Webb, dec’d” submitted a final accounting of Sylvester’s guardianship of “Joshua Bennett minor of Purnal Bennett,” showing that Joshua had been overpaid by $2.50.”
“Purnal Bennett [Purnal, John, John, John] was born probably about 1776, the second son of 9. Purnal Bennett and Miriam Lofland. He was only about ten years old when his father died and after his mother’s remarriage, he came under the guardianship of his new step-father, Sylvester Webb. The relationship must have been a happy one, for Purnal named one of his own children Sylvester.”
[Source: The Bennett Family of Sussex Co., Delaware: 1680-1860, Bennett J. Hill, 1970]
Webbs in the 1860 Kent Co. Delaware Census
Charles Webb, farmer, age 56, white, b. DE m. Nancy, age 63, white, b. DE Neighbors: Eli R. Wadkins, age 47 b. DE; Ann Wyatt, age 30, spinster, b. DE
Elias Webb, Hod carrier?, age 45, black, b. DE m. Rebecca, age 40, black, b. DE Neighbors: Daniel Thompson, age 45, b. DE; Andrew Winsmore, age 45, b. DE Eliza Webb, servant, age 20, black, b. DE, living in the household of William Whiteside, age 25, farmer, b. PA
THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 13
Eliza Webb, age 48, b. DE Also in household: John Calhoun, age 6, b. DE Neighbors: Charles Horsey, age 50, black, b. DE; Eran Morgan, age 75, farmer, b. DE
Emry Webb, day laborer, age 31, white, b. DE m. Mary A., age 24, b. DE Also in household: Caroline Webb, age 6, b. DE; John H. Webb, age 4, b. DE; Emma Webb, age 1, b. DE
Henry Webb, farmhand, age 25 white, b. DE living in household of Robb B. Jump, farmer, age 50, b. DE
James H. Webb, farmer, age 25, white, b. DE m. Anne, age 25, b. DE Also in household: James H. Webb, age 1, b. DE Neighbors: Charles Horsey, age 50, black, b. DE; George S. Grier, age 40, b. England.
John B. Webb, miller, age 22, white, b. NJ m. Sarah G., age 18, b. DE Neighbors: James R. Holding, age 54, b. DE; Wm Meredith, age 30, b. MD.
John W. Webb, farmer, age 49, white, b. DE m. Sarah A., age 43, b. DE Also in household: John M. Webb, age 19, b. DE; Rachel C. Webb, age 15, b. DE; Charles A. Webb, age 12, b. DE; Mary M. Webb, age 7, b. DE; Amanda Webb, age 4, b. DE; Frances A. Webb, age 7 mo., b. DE; Natha Wooten, age 19, b. DE; Jehue Davis, age 83, b. DE Neighbors: James H. Davis, age 39, b. DE; James Thomson, age 50, b. DE.
John W. Webb, farm laborer, age 18, white, b. DE living in household of John W. Harnmon, age 28, b. DE
Joseph Webb, age 48, black, b. DE m. Sarah, age 45, b. DE Also in household: James Webb, age 19, b. DE; Hester Webb, age 16, b. DE; Emma Webb, age 14, b. DE; Sam’l Webb, age 10, b. DE; Frank Webb, age 9, b. DE; Charles Webb, age 6, b. DE; Ida Webb, age 2, b. DE. Neighbors: Joshua A. Wharn, age 34, b. DE; William Sowber, age 28, b. DE.
Malinda Webb, age 11, white, b. DE, living in household of James W. Loregroro, Hotel Proprietor, age 40, b. DE.
Mary Webb, age 18, black, b. DE, living in household of Henry N. Marvil, farmer, age 53, b. DE.
Nancy Webb, housekeeper, age 65, b. DE, living in household of Philip Marvil, farmer, age 67, b. DE. Also in household: James H. Marvil, age 23, b. DE.
Obediah Webb, laborer, age 60, white, b. DE, living in household of Jordan Argo, age 30, b. DE.
Susan Webb, widow, age 60, white, b. MD, living in the household of Willamina Hamilton, widow, age 31, b. DE. Also in household are Hamilton children.
Sylvester Webb, farmer, age 45, white, b. DE m. Mary, age 40, b. DE Also in household: Sarah A. Webb, age 18, b. DE; John W. Webb, age 17, b. DE; Margaretta Webb, age 12, b. DE; Rachael C. Webb, age 6, b. DE; Wilmina Webb, age 4, b. DE. Neighbors: Mary D. Martin, housekeeper, age 47, b. DE; Daniel Milten, master carpenter, age 42, b. DE.
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Thomas A. Webb, farmer, age 26, white, b. DE Also in household: George P. Webb, farmer, age 24, b. DE; Amelia Webb, age 20, b. DE; Mary E. Webb, age 19, b. DE; Jacob R. Webb, age 11 mo., b. DE; Jessey Webb, age 65, b. DE; James Evans, farm labor, age 18, b. DE; Georganna Collins, age 2, b. DE. Neighbors: unoccupied home; William A. Polk, farmer, age 44, b. DE.
William Webb, age 41, white, b. DE m. Sarah, age 36, b. DE Also in household: Harriet Webb, age 9, b. DE; Margaret Webb, age 7, b. DE; Sallie Webb, age 5, b. DE; James W. Webb, age 4, b. DE; Mary E. Webb, age 2, b. DE; John H. Webb, 5 mo., b. DE; Mary Webb, age 57, b. DE; Robert Fesher, laborer, age 19, b. DE; James Johnson, laborer, age 16, b. DE; Eben Pennevill, laborer, age 14, b. DE. Neighbors: Henry Bratton, age 35, b. DE; William Garten, age 44, b. NJ.
William H. Webb, farm laborer, age 21, white, b. DE, living in household of James R. Duniphen, farmer, age 37, b. DE.
Wm R. Webb, farmer, age 25, white, b. DE Also in household: Wm H. Richards, farm hand, age 24, b. DE; Hannah White, housekeeper, age 50, b. DE, Henry Stewart, age 9, b. DE. Neighbors: Samuel Elsbury, laborer, age 25, b. DE; Jacob Snow, laborer, age 48, b. DE.
Florida
Ponce de Leon land and Florida war record George M. Brown, 1902
2d Regiment of Dragoons: James Webb, Farrier Co. “A,” died at St. Augustine May 29, 1838; disease unknown.
Volunteer Webb Soldiers during the Florida War serving from Alabama
David Webb – Price Co., Cawlfield Battalion, private Henry Webb – Lamar Co., Alabama Militia, private Henry Webb – Dent Co., Chisolm Battalion, private John Webb – Campbell, Chisolm Battalion, private John Webb – Lamar Co., Alabama Militia, private John Webb – Stringer Co., Arrington Battalion, private Thomas Webb – Stringer Co., Arrington Battalion, private
[Source: Index for Compiled Service Records, Alabama Units, Florida War, Benjamin Achee, 1971]
THETHE WEBBWEBB BULLETINBULLETIN Page 15
Kentucky
Misc. Webbs in Early Kentucky Wills
Bourbon Co., Book A
Adam Webb, inventory, June 4, 1791. Appraisers were John Strode and James Strode.
James Webb was “killed on last expedition against the Maume Indians” November 20, 1790 December C. C. 1790. “Will was written at the house of Stephen Boyle where he resided. To Thomas Allen, an orphan child, a horse and bridle, to brother Benjamin, his clothes, to Stephen Ogden his crop. Wit: Master Ogden, Stephen Boyle, Robert Ellison.
Muhlenberg County, Book A 1799-1814
Robert Anderson, April 28, 1812. May 1821. Son: Thomas. Daughters: Ann Dobyn, Martha Morris, Franky. Grandson: Robert Littlepage. Executor: Son Thomas, Amos Jenkins. Wit: Robert Elder Sr., Robert Elder, Jon Web.
[Source: Abstract of Early Kentucky Wills and Inventories: Copied from Original and Recorded Wills and Inventories, Junie Estelle Stewart King, 2005]
Maine
…Baptisms and Admission from the records of First Church in Falmouth, now Portland Maine Marquis F. King, 1898
Adults Baptized Edward and Sarah Webb c. Aug, 11, 1792 Joanna Webb, c. Dec 4, 1796
Marriages John Webb & Elizabeth Larraby, 1753
Baptisms Webb, Ami, of _____, June 3, 1758 Webb, of Edward, Betsey, Aug. 19, 1792. Abigail and Sarah, twins, June 23, 1793. Webb, Henry, of Henry, Dec. 25, 1796.
Richmonds Island Settlement – Trelawny Patent, 1637 Robert Webb
Training soldiers in Falmouth, 1757 – Capt James Milk’s Co., Falmouth Neck John Webb Jonathan Webb THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 16
Capt. Samuel Skillings’ Stroudwater Company, 1757 William Webb, private
Tax List, Falmouth, 1766 Jonathan Webb
The Probate records of Lincoln County, Maine; 1760 to 1800 William Davis Patterson, 1895
Nathaniel Webb, late of Woolwich, Jane Webb, of Woolwich, widow, Adm’s, 2 Sep., 1772. [I, 237.] Joseph Wade and Joshua Bailey, sureties. Inventory by Joseph Wade, Samuel Harnden and David Gilmore, Jr., all of Woo’wich, 13 Oct., 1772. [II, 29-30.] Account files 15 Jan., 1777. [II, 72.] Israel Smith, guardian of Sarah and Lydia, minor daughters, and Luther, minor son. [II, 72 to 74.] Widow’s dower set off18 June, 1781, by Joseph Wade, Jonathan Fuller and Thomas Snell, all of Woolrich. [III, 231.]
In the Name of God. Amen, -- I Samuel Webb, of Woolwich in the County of Lincoln, Tailer, being very sick & weak in body but of perfect Mind & Memory, calling to mind mortality of my body, knowning it is appointed for man once to die, do make this my last Will & Testament; reockng all former Wills & Testaments whenever or howsomever made by me.
I give & commit my Soul into the hands of God, who gave it. And for my Body, I recommend it to the Earth, to be buried in a deasent & a Christian-like manner. And as for my Worldly Estate, I give, devise and dispose of in the following manner. Imprimis. It is my will & I do order that all my just debts & funeral charges be paid & Satisfied, in the first place. Itim. I give & bequeath unto Sarah my dearly beloved Wife, my whole Estate, real & personal, to be intirely at her dispose, wheresovever, & in whose hands-somever it may be found. Itim. I also appoint & constitute Sarah my dearly beloved Wife my only & Sole Executrix, of this my last Will & Testament, which I declare to be my last, revocking all former Wills &c: And as for my well beloved Children, I pray God to be their portion; I think it proper & prudent not to give them any of my Estate, because I have so little, their Mother being old, Stands in need of the Whole I leave in Witness Whereof, I hereunto Set my hand & Seal this twenty third day of August one thousand seven hundred & seventy three.
Sam’l Webb [seal] Signed and Sealed, by the Above named Samuel Webb, In the presence of us the Subscribers, Joseph Lankaster Elihu Lanceester John Carlton [Unrecorded] Sarah Webb, widow, Adm’x, 27 Nov., 1778 [II, 116.] John Carlton and Joel Reed, both of Woolwich, sureties. Inventory by Joseph Wade, Samuel Harnden and John Carlton, all of Woolwich, 4 Jan., 1774. [II, 87.] Account filed 31 May, 1779. [II, 88.] Nathaniel Thwing and Joseph Wade, both of Woolwich, commissioners to examine claims. Dividend from estate 31 May, 1779. [II, 89.] Widow’s dower set off by Samuel Ford, John Carlton and David Gilmore, Jr., all of Woolwich, 1779. [III, 232.]
Seth Webb, late of a place called Holt’s Island. Solomon Kimball, of Bigwaduce, trader, Adm’r, 10 Jan., 1787. [II, 214.] Nathan Jones, of Frenchman’s Bay, and Oliver Mann, of Bigwaduce, sureties. Inventory by Richard Hunnewell, Jr., Jonathan Loweder and Thomas Phillips, all of a place called MajaBigwaduce, 28 Mar., 1787, L73 : 9 : 0. [III, 239-40.] Thomas Phillips and Richard Hunnewell, commissioners to examine claims.[II, 261.] THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 17
Ebenezer Webb, late of Woolwich. Joel Reed, of Woolwich, Adm’r, 14 Ap., 1790. Heirs: Sarah, John, Benjamin, Nathan, Bersheba Gahan, Anne Reed, Sarah Bayley. [IV, 113.] Jonathan Reed and Samuel Reed, both of Woolwich, sureties. Inventory and account filed by Adm’r, 30 May, 1793. [VI, 120]
In the Name of God, Amen. I Katharine Gragg of Thomaston in the County of Lincoln and Commonwealth of Missachusetts Spinster being Sick and Weak in Body, but of perfect Mind and Memory, Thanks be given unto God; calling unto mind the Mortality of my Body and knowing that it is appointed for all Men once to die, do make and ordain this my last Will and Testament, That is to say, principally and first of all, I give and recommend to the Earth, to be buried in decent Christian Burial, at the Discretion of my Executors; nothing douting, but at the general Resurrection, I shall received the same again by the mighty Power of God. And as touching such worldly Estate wherewith it has pleased God to bless me in this Life, I give, demise and dispose of the same in the following Manner and Form:
Imprimis. I give and bequeath unto my well beloved Son William, commonly called and known by the Name of William Farnsworth, a Bible which with what I have already done for him, & he has already had is his full Part or Share out of my Estate.
Item. I give and bequeath unto my well beloved Daughter Sarah, commonly called and known by the Name of Sarah Farnsworth, my dark coloured callico Gown, black callimanco Skirt and Stone Sleeve Buttons to be delivered to her when she arrives at the Age of Eighteen years or in one Year after my decease, which with what She has already had is in full of her part or Share out of my Estate.
Item. I give and bequeath to my well beloved Daughter Mehitabel commonly called and known by the Name of Mehitabel Dodge, my Silver Shoe-Buckles.
Item. I give and bequeath unto my well beloved Son and Daughter, to wit, Barnabas, commonly called and known by the Name of Barnabas Webb, Mary commonly called and known by the Name of Mary Webb, and the above named Mehitabel Dodge the whole remainder of my Estate of what Name or Nature soever [Except what is herein otherwise particularly disposed of] to be equally divided to and amonst them, and each of them, or their or either of their legal Representatives in equal Shares, and Proportion.
Item. I give unto my trusty Friend Ezekiel Goddard Dodge of Thomaston aforesaid Physician [in consideration of his Trouble and Care of me, and Expenses laid out for me in my Present Sickness] The one half part of a certain Note of Hand for the Sum of twenty Seven Pounds with Interest due to me from him the said Ezekiel G. Dodge. Which is now lodged in the Hands of Moses Copeland. And I do also constitute make and ordain him the said Ezekiel Goddard Dodge the Sole Executor of this my last Will and Testament. And I do hereby utterly disallow, revoke and disannul all and every other former Wills, Testaments, Legacies, Bequests, and Executors whatsoever in any ways before by me named, willed and bequeathed ratifying and confirming this and no other to be my last Will and Testament.
In Witness whereof I the said Katherine Gragg do hereunto set my Hand and Seal, this twenty first Day of September in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Ninety. Signed, Sealed, published pronounced and Declared her by the said Katherine Gragg as her last Will and Katherine X Gragg [seal] Testament in presence of us, who in her presence, Mark and in the Presence of each other have hereunto subscribed our Names, [The Words “and the above-named Mehitabel Dodge” were interlined before signing and Sealing] Deidamia Preist Isaac Bernard David Fales
THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 18
Stephen Sewall, late of Bath, merchant. Moses Sewall, of Hallowell, merchant, Adm’r, 23 Ap., 1796. [VI, 139.] Thomas Fillebrown and David Sewall, both of Hallowell, sureties. Inventory by William Webb, Joshua Shaw and Edward H. Page, all of Bath, 24 June, 1796, $4,337.94. [VII, 182 to 184.] David Sewall, of Hallowell, Adm’r de bonis non, 18 July, 1798. [IX, 24.] Christopher Cushing, of Bath, guardian unto Dorcas, William, Meriam and Stephen, minor children, 11 Feb., 1799. [IX, 181.]
The Maine Historical Magazine, Vol. VII July, 1891 to June 1892
Intentions of Marriage in Pownalborough, 1780-1802 John Carnes and Barshebe Webb, Jan. 8, 1787
Taxpayers in Winslow, Me, 1780-81 David Webb
Address on the Incorporation of the Town of Orrington – Brewer Part Percy Webb, 1773; sold John Holyoke
Mississippi
Some Mississippi Webbs of Note
W. S. Webb “Webb, W. S., was born in LeRoy, New York, November 14, 1855 [date appears to be incorrect], son of Benoni and Betsy [Phillips] Webb, of Welsh and German descent, and natives of Massachusetts. He graduated at Colgate University, in 1840; taught school near Murfreesboro, Tennessee for a brief period, and was then chosen president of a female school in Grenada, Miss., in 1851. In this school he was very successful. The attendance more than doubled, and the large brick building now occupied by the Grenada Female College was built under his direction. He was pastor of the Baptist church at West Point. In1864, he took a prominent part in establishing the Confederate Orphan’s Home, and was corresponding secretary for the board of trustees. In 1872 he accepted a call from Clinton to be pastor of the Baptist church and deliver lectures to the theological students; was chosen president of Mississippi college, 1873. Under his chart the institution grew and flourished, and he continued his arduous duties until 1891,when he resigned and accepted appointment as emeritus professor of psychology and ethics. There are said to be but four such professorships in the world, and this was the first time such an honor had ever been bestowed by a Baptist institution of learning. The title of D. D. was conferred upon him in 1882 by the University of Oxford.
Mississippi College had no endowment when Dr. Webb became president. Besides, the country was impoverished and at times scourged by pestilence. In meeting these conditions and overcoming them was shown a courage and ability of a high order. His able and efficient management not only made the school a success, but gave it a national reputation and secured an endowment of about $60,000. Dr. Webb has been married three times, and is the father of a number of children, some of whom are prominent in this and other States. He is spending his declining years at the home of his son-in-law, Dr. R. A. Venable, pastor of the First Baptist church at Meridian.”
William H. Webb Webb, William H., the efficient and popular county clerk of Amite county, residing in Liberty, is also a member of the bar of the state, though not engaged in active practice, and he is an honored veteran of the Confederate service in the Civil war. He was born in Liberty, this county, Feb. 25, 1843, and is the son of George F. and Louisa M. T. [Harrell] Webb, the former of whom was also born in Amite county and the latter of whom was born in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 19
paternal great-grandfather of Mr. Webb, James Rhodes, was a soldier in the Continental line in the War of the Revolution ad he settled in Amite county, Miss., in the early territorial days. His wife was a cousin of Pres. Andrew Jackson. George F. Webb was a prominent and influential citizen of Amite county, having been a lawyer by profession and having wielded much influence in political affairs. He entered the Confederate service at the time of the Civil war, enlisting in the Thirty-third Mississippi infantry and later being promoted brigade commissary, with the rank of major. Both he and his wife continued to reside in Amite county until their death. William H. Webb duly availed himself of the advantages of the schools of his native town and he was a youth of eighteen years at the inception of the war between the States. He forthwith tendered his aid in support of the Confederate cause, enlisting as a private in Company C, Seventh Mississippi infantry, and later becoming a member of Company E, Twenty-second Mississippi infantry. He took part in the battles of Shiloh, Franklin and Murfreesboro, and thereafter continued with his command in active service until the close of the war, participating in many of the important engagements which marked the progress of the great internecine conflict. He was wounded at Shiloh, but was not long incapacitated for duty. He retains a deep interest in his old comrades in arms and signifies the same by his membership in the United Confederate Veterans. After the war Mr. Webb was admitted to the bar, but impaired health soon rendered it necessary for him to retire from the active work of his profession. He turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, in which he continued until 1891, when he was elected county assessor, serving one term. In 1899 he was elected county clerk, being chosen as his own successor in 1902 and still remaining incumbent of the office, in which his services have been most effective and satisfactory. He pays allegiance to the Democratic party, is identified with the Masonic fraternity and is a member of the Baptist church. On Dec. 12, 1867, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Webb to Miss Mattie L. Griffin, daughter of John C. Griffin, of Amite county, and she was summoned to the life eternal July 8, 1902, being survived by two sons and three daughters; they are: Minnie L., now the wife of Hamilton H. Havis, of Vicksburg, Miss.; W. McClung, who resides in Amite county; Mary A., now the wife of Dr. R. M. Butler, of Liberty, Miss.; Cornelia R., now the wife of George H. McMillan, of Liberty, Miss., and Q. Lamar, a lumberman of Vicksburg, Miss.
[Source: Mississippi, Dunbar Rowland, 1907]
South Carolina
The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Volume X-XI 1909
Records Kept by Colonel Isaac Hayne [the Republican Martyr who was executed in Charlestown, SC on August 4, 1781]
Births William, son of William and Sarah Webb, April 13, 1753 Deborah, daughter of William and Sarah Webb, Jan18, 1755 Benjamin, son of William and Sarah Webb, May 2, 1756 Edward, son of William and Sarah Webb, 1758 Joseph Miles, son of William and Sarah Webb, April 16, 1759 Sarah Webb, daughter of William and Deborah Webb, Feb 14, 1764 Benjamin, son of Benjamin and Rebeccah Webb, August 5, 1766 Susan Miles, daughter of William and Sarah Webb, Oct 3, 1767
Ages John Webb, October 3, 1744 William Webb, December, 1745 THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 20
Deaths April 17, 1773, William Webb, planter December, 4, 1774, Rebecca [Ben] Webb
Marriages David Ferguson, planter to Mary Webb, Spinster, St. Bart, May 26, 1752 John Webb, Charleston to Mary Doughty, Charleston, Jan 1769 Benjamin Webb, St. Bart to Ann Doyley, Charlston, March 14, 1775 Capt. Joseph Glover Jr., St. Bart to Ann Webb, widow of late Benjamin Webb, Esq. St. Bart, May 1, 1777
Edmundsbury “In November, 1744, two lots, No. 3 and 13, in Edmondsbury, were conveyed by Elizabeth Bellinger, widow and executrix of Landrave Edmund Bellinger, to William Buchanan of St. Helena Parish Merchant, one of these lots, No. 13, had been previously sold to Richard Webb, who transferred his interest to William Buchanan. From the description of the lots in this deed it appears that one street, fronting on the river, was known as the “Bay.”
Misc. South Carolina Webb Records
Death Notices, City Gazette, Charleston Died, on board the brig John, captain Webb, on his passage from New York [Sat, January 30, 1796.]
St. Helena’s Parish Register Daniel Webb, a Soldier, buried Sept 23, 1731 Jacob Webb, a Carpenter, buried Aug 18, 1754, aged 58, drowned Esther Webb, daughter of Thomas and Jane Webb, born Oct, 13, 1772, baptized
[Source: The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Vol. XXIII, 1922-1923]
Cumberland Settlements, Washington Co. NC [Davidson Co. NC] and now TN
Moses Webb, signer of the Cumberland Compact, 1780 Hugh Webb was killed by Indians in 1789 on the Kentucky Trace near Barren River as he and a group of others were carrying salt back to the Cumberland Settlements from Kentucky.
[Source: 1770-1790 Census of the Cumberland Settlements, Fulcher]
Great Britain
Erasmus Webb, brother-in-law of William Wilson of St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle “William Wilson, Canon of St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, 23 August 1613, proved 27 May, 1615. To be buried in the chapel near the place where the body of my dear father lies. If I die at Rochester or Cliff, in the County of Kent, then to be buried in the cathedral church of Rochester, near the bodies of wives Isabel and Anne. To my cousin Collins, prebendary at Rochester. To the Fellows and Scholars of Martin College, Oxford. My three sons Edmond, John and Thomas Wilson, daughter Isabel Guibs and daughter Margaret Rawson. My goddaughter Margaret Somers which my son Somers had by my daughter Elizabeth, his late wife. To my god-son William THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 21
Sheafe, at the age of twenty one years. Son Edmond, a fellow of King’s College, Cambridge, eldest son of me, the said William. To son John the lease of the Rectory and Parsonage of Caxton in the county of Cambridge, which I have taken in his name. To Thomas Wilson, my third son. Son Edmond to be executor and Mr. Erasmus Webb, my brother-in-law, being one of the Canons of St. George’s Chapel, and my brother, Mr. Thomas Woodward, being steward of the town of New Windsor, to be overseers.
The witnesses were Thomas Woodwarde, Joh. Woodward, Robert Lowe & Thomas Holl.
In a codicil, dated 9 May, 1615, wherein he is styled William Wilson Doctor of Divinity, he directs his son Edmond to give to his son John forty pounds and to his wife forty marks, he give to Lincoln College Oxford ten pounds towards a Library, and mentions son-in-law Mr. Doctor Sheafe and daughter Gibbes. To this Thomas Sheafe was a witness, amongst others…
…[William Wilson’s] second son, Rev. John Wilson, of Christ’s College, Cambridge, married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Mansfield and sister of the wife of Mr. Robert Keayne, the first commander of the Artillery Company of Massachusetts, and in 1630 accompanied Winthrop’s company to New England, and became the first minister of the First Church in Boston, dying in office in 1667…”
Giles Webb of Virginia, brother of Margery Cox of Kent. “Margery Cox of Debtford in County of Kent, widow, 30 May 1656 proved 11 June 1656. To my well beloved brother Giles Webb living now in Virginia, twenty pounds. To my brother William Lews of Titbury in the County of Gloucester ten pounds. To my sister Elizabeth Waight wife of Giles Waight, of Titbury aforesaid, twenty pounds. To William Stone and John Rooper, both of Debtford, five pounds apiece, they being overseers. To the poor of the parish of Debtford twenty shillings. Mary and Elizabeth Waight, daughters of the abovesaid Giles Waight, to be executrixes.
The witnesses were William Huggun, Joane Phillips [by mark] & George Martin. Berkley, 224”
Margaret Webb, wife of William Webb of London “William Taylor citizen & Haberdasher of London 29 March 1650 proved 19 July 1651…to my two daughters Margaret Webb, wife of William Webb, grocer, & Hanna Claxton, wife of Robert Claxton, mercer, forty shillings each for rings.”
Brice Webb, Kinsman of Thomas Callowhill of Bristol “Thomas Callowhill of the city of Bristol, linen draper, 29 November 1711, proved 24 December 1712. My now dwelling house in St. James within the suburbs of the city. I stand possessed of a remainder of a certain term of one thousand years granted to me by Edward Baugh, white tawer, since deceased, interested also in the remainder of another term of one thousand years lately granted to me by Edward Baugh junr, and in the residue of another term of a thousand years lately granted to me by my daughter Hann,___ the last described as three several messuages &c. on the South side of a certain messuage called the Quaker Meeting House, in or near a certain place called the Fryers, and now or late in the several tenures &c. of Simon Barnes Daniel Kindall and William Timbrell. Do gave the same parcels of groud, messuages &c. to my kinsman Brice Webb of the said city linen draper and Charles Harford of the city aforesaid merchant upon trust, to permit the same premisses to be held and enjoyed and the rents, issues and profits thereof to be had, received and taken by my wife Hanna als Anna, for and during so much of my said several terms respectively to come as she shall live, and, after her decease, by my granddaughter Margaret Penn, daughter of Hannah Penn my daughter by William Penn, Esqr, her husband, as long as she shall live, next by my grandson John Penn for all the rest of the several terms to come. By deed indented bearing date the seven and twentieth day of this instant month have conveyed to Brice Webb and Charles Harford, linen drapers, and Richard Champion, merchant, divers messuages, lands &c. within the said city, the Co. of Somerset and other places in England and in Pennsylvania to divers uses, limitations and appointments therein mentioned and contained, with power of revocation. I hereby ratify, confirm and allow the same deed. Provision for granting to grand daughter Margaret Penn certain premisses in Broade Meade, in the parish of St. James, parish of St. James, part of my wife jointure, with remainder to grandson John Penn. I have an interest in the Province of Pennsylvania as a security for THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 22
one thousand pounds sterling due to me from the said William Penn, interested also in a messuage & in Caldecott, Monmouth, as a security for one hundred sixty pounds due from Mary Herbert, spinster, sole heir of Francis Herbert Esqr. Deceased. Other investments also described. And I am also interested in one sixteenth part of certain Packett Boats now sailing or trading for Port of Bristol to New York and other places in America, in partnership with Brice Webb, Richard Champion and others. All these interests I give to Brice Webb and James Peters upon trust, to pay to the said William Penn and Hanna his wife, and the survivor of them, the yearly sum of twenty and six pounds, clear of all taxes and charges, during their natural lives [and for other purposes described]. Provision for Thomas Penn, another son of Hanna Penn. My brother Walter Duffield is bound to me by two several obligations, one of 12 January, 1694, for payment of fourteen pounds ten shillings. He to be freed from the payment of all but twenty five pounds. My sister Elizabeth Javeling to be conditionally discharged of certain bonds. I give and bequeath unto my nieces Elizabeth Javelin, Duffield Javelin, Sara Gurnay and Mary Gurnay one piece of gold apiece of the value of twenty three shillings six pence. My wife Hanna als Anna to be sole executris and the said Brice Webb and Charles Harford overseers.
On the 19th of October 1738 issued forth a Comn to John Penn Esqr the natural and lawful son and admr with the Will annexed of the goods of Hannah Penn widow decd. [whilst living] the natural and lawful daughter and only child and admr with the will annexed of Thomas Callowhill late of the City of Bristol widower decd. To administer the goods &c. Barnes, 231.”
[Source: Genealogical Gleanings in England, Henry F. Waters, 1901]
The Webb Bulletin is a monthly newsletter for members of the Webb Surname DNA Project and is NOT produced for mass circulation or for profit. If there are questions about any of the transcriptions, please refer to the original source[s]. Records provided in this publication should be used for research purposes only. The Webb Bulletin should NOT be cited as a source in any publication or website. For publication purposes and for documentation, always go to and consult the original source. The editor of this publication cannot be responsible for errors in transcription. In most cases, but not all, the original spelling was adhered to.
I welcome any suggestions or requests for future issues!
Eileen Sturner [nee Webb] Webb Surname DNA Project Administrator
WEBB SURNAME DNA PROJECT www.webbdnaproject.org Volume 2, Issue 9 WEBB SURNAME DNA PROJECT September 2011
THE WEBB BULLETIN NEWS, PROJECT UPDATES & RECORDS
IN THIS ISSUE:
Webb Sea Captains 1 Webb SeaCaptains From the Administrator 1 from Salem, Massachusetts – Part 2 WEBB Records Repository By Kathy McHale - Connecticut 15
- Indiana 18 Introduction
- Kentucky 19 This is Part 2 of an article on Webb Sea Captains from - Missouri 20 Salem, Massachusetts. - New York 21 Part 1 appeared in The - Virginia 23 Webb Bulletin in July 2011, Volume 2, issue 7. Part 2
features captains who served from the time of the American Revolution to the War of 1812. “The Schooner Fame” by Jeff Eldridge
For each captain, the article includes information about his career at sea and also about his life at home, his family, and his descendants and ancestors where known.
Captain Nathaniel Coit Webb Sea Captain & Ship Owner
Captain Nathaniel Coit Webb was born about 1748, according to the DAR Patriot Index. No other record of his birth or reference to the identity of his parents has been found. However, he may have been a son of William Webb and Abigail Riggs, who married at Gloucester, Massachusetts on 23 March 1741. Abigail Riggs’ mother was Abigail Coit, whose father was Nathaniel Coit.
Continued on page 2 From the Administrator
Dear Project Members, I would like to thank Kathy McHale for “part two” of her series on Webb Sea Captains of Massachusetts in this issue. I enjoyed it so much and know that you will too. She has provided an incredible amount of historical and genealogical information and done an extraordinary job of bringing to life the lives of these accomplished Webb men. Also, I would like to announce that the Charles Webb of VA Group is now the Robert Webb of Surry Co. VA Group.
Eileen
THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 2
Webb Sea Captains from Salem, Massachusetts [cont.]
Thus Nathaniel Coit Webb could have been named for his maternal grandfather. The births of several of the children of William Webb and Abigail Riggs are listed in the Gloucester Vital Records, including the birth of Oliver Webb in 1758. Captains Oliver Webb and Nathaniel Webb served together on some privateer ships and had business “When he was about dealings together related to the sea. For example, they shared ownership of the Cape Romain inlet, privateer Rainbow, and held bonds together with John McMellan for the Rainbow. In being at night, the wind addition, William Bentley’s Diary states that in July 1788 Oliver Webb reported to him the death at sea of “Brother N. C. Webb and Brother at sea.” Newspaper accounts that blowing fresh, said appeared in May and June of 1788 corroborate that Capt. Nathaniel C. Webb was William Cain being murdered at sea. Thus it appears that Nathaniel and Oliver may have been brothers. forward at the jib sheet, Richard Williams Nathaniel married the widow Martha (Needham) Archer in Salem, Massachusetts, certif., 1 July 1773. Martha was the daughter of Isaac Needham and Margaret Sheldon knocked Capt. Webb and was baptized 6 January 1744/5. She married first George Archer on 16 December overboard with the but[t] 1764 and had George born 1765, died 1799; John born 1768, a mariner in South end of a musket, and Carolina in 1792-3; and Nathaniel born 1771, died 1833. Her husband George Archer immediately after was a mariner. By 1772 “he had been long absent, and was not supposed to be living. knocked overboard Mr. Martha was appointed administrator of his estate on 7 September 1772.” (Essex Antiquarian, Vol. IV, p. 36) Clode or McClode with the tiller and leads that Nathaniel Webb died about 20 May 1788 onboard the schooner Two Friends near hang to the lead line, Charleston, South Carolina, murdered by two English pirates. (see newspaper account that after the same was below). done, the said Richard Nathaniel is referred to as captain, commander, or master in numerous records of his Williams told him to voyages on privateer ships as detailed below. He is also referred to as “captain” in a keep it secret and not let description attached to a portrait of his daughter Martha (Patty) Webb Brewer. She is it be known, that being described there as the daughter of Captain Nathaniel C. Webb and the mother of Mrs. Newell Harding. Mrs. Newell Harding was Eliza Brewer, daughter of James Brewer and in want of provisions and Patty Webb. the boat leaky, he got Mr. James Mouzon to The first reference to Nathaniel Coit Webb’s seafaring career identifies him as the bring the schooner up to prizemaster of a privateer during the American Revolution. He served as the prize master on the brigantine Tyrannicide from 25 February 1777 to 29 August 1777. this landing.” Captain Jonathan Haraden was the commander. Oliver Webb, possibly Nathaniel’s brother, served as a seaman on this ship starting in October 1777.
On 4 September 1777, Nathaniel was appointed commander of the sloop Revenge, a privateer, for three months. Then, on 4 December, 1777 he was appointed commander of the sloop America, also a privateer. Nathaniel was commissioned as First Lieutenant on the brigantine Saratoga, a privateer, on 29 April 1780.
He was commissioned as commander of the sloop Hazzard, privateer, on 10 July 1781 at the age of 33. A newspaper advertisement in the New England Chronicle, published as the Independent Chronicle and Universal Advertiser, for 6 September 1781, announces the sale of the good ship Commerce, burthen 70 tons, prize to the sloop Hazzard, Nathaniel Coit Webb, Commander.
Nathaniel was also the captain of the Rainbow, a Massachusetts privateer sloop, with 10 guns, and a crew of 40 men on 5 Apr 1782, according to Granville Hough’s records. THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 3
No records have yet been found of Nathaniel Coit Webb’s voyages from 1782 to 1787.
In the spring of 1788, according to newspaper accounts from Charleston, SC, Capt. Webb came as ship captain from London to North Carolina on a brig owned by a Mr. McClode. The brig was loaded with items that Mr. McClode was seeking to sell for a good price. At Edenton, North Carolina, Mr. McClode bought a schooner, loaded it with the goods he had on the brig, and named the schooner the Two Friends. They set sail, bound for Georgia. When they reached Newbern, William Cain, an English sailor, came on board as a ship hand. At the next stop in Beaufort, Richard Williams, an English horse racer, came on board. William Cain gave a vivid description in his confession of what happened next:
“When he was about Cape Romain inlet, being at night, the wind blowing fresh, said William Cain being forward at the jib sheet, Richard Williams knocked Capt. Webb overboard with the but[t] end of a musket, and immediately after knocked overboard Mr. Clode or McClode with the tiller and leads that hang to the lead line, that after the same was done, the said Richard Williams told him to keep it secret and not let it be known, that being in want of provisions and the boat leaky, he got Mr. James Mouzon to bring the schooner up to this landing.” Taken and acknowledged before me, this 29th day of May, 1788. John Buchanan, J.Q., State of South-Carolina, Charleston District”
Both Oliver Webb and Emme Kimball reported this incident to Rev. William Bentley of Salem, who wrote about it in his diary as follows on July 13, 1788: “Emme Kimball, Murder of B. N. C. Webb by Pirates, May 20. Pirates executed at Charlestown [SC].” and on July 20, 1788: “Oliver Webb, death of Brother N.C. Webb & Brother at sea”
Nathaniel Coit Webb and Martha Needham Archer had at least five children whose baptisms are recorded in Salem Vital Records, citing records of the North Church. Nathaniel’s name is spelled in various ways in the Salem Vital Records: Nathaniel Goyet Webb, Nathaniel Gaiset Webb, and Nathaniel Gaiser Webb. However, matching the dates and events from these records shows that these are all variations on the name Nathaniel Coit Webb. Records of his descendants in the DAR also give the spelling of his middle name as Coit.
William Webb bp. Salem, Massachusetts 28 Nov. 1773 d. after 1798 (see note below)
Nathaniel Coit Webb bp. Salem, Massachusetts 10 September 1775, d. after 1798 (see note below)
Martha (Patty) Webb bp. Salem, Massachusetts 7 September 1777, d. about 1807 (see note below)
Polly Webb bp. Salem, Massachusetts 12 August 1780
Kabby Webb (probably s/b Nabby for Abigail) bp. Salem, Massachusetts 12 August 1780
In Essex County (MA) Deeds Vol. 165, Leaf 102, the following transaction is recorded and provides information about Nathaniel’s descendants as of 17 February 1798.
17 Feb. 1798: Webb to Archer: Know all men by these presents that we, William Webb, cooper, Nathaniel Coit Webb of Baltimore in the state of Maryland, mariner, and James Brewer of Boston in the county of Suffolk, blacksmith, and Martha his wife, in consideration of the sum of fifty-nine pounds eight shillings, paid unto us by George Archer of Salem aforesaid, mariner,…. all right and interest in the estate of his brothers John Archer and Nathaniel Archer, being related to them as half-brothers and half-sister.” (Polly Webb and Nabby Webb probably had died by that date since they are not mentioned.)
THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 4
Captain Benjamin Webb Sea Captain, Tavern Keeper & Farmer
Captain Benjamin Webb was born in Salem, Massachusetts on 2 Mar. 1753 and baptized on 3 Mar. 1754, a son of Jonathan Webb and Elizabeth Sa[u]nders. His earliest known ancestor is his father’s father, Deacon Jonathan Webb of Salem, born about 1690. His mother Elizabeth was the daughter of Philomen Saunders and Sarah Skerry. Benjamin died on 13 October 1815. His probate record is found in the Essex County Probate Records, docket number 29051.
In Salem on 23 Sept. 1779, Benjamin married Mary King, daughter of William and Mary (Andrew) King. Mary was born 6 Jan. 1753 and died 19 Oct. 1830.
Benjamin is called Captain in his death record in the Salem Vital Records, which cite the Salem Gazette of 17 Oct. 1815 and the Diary of Deacon Stone; in an article in the Salem News of 25 May 2009; and in the Holyoke Diaries, 1709-1856.
During the Revolutionary War, Benjamin was a private and a quarter gunner in Capt. John Symonds’ company, enlisting on 2 Aug. 1776 and serving one month and 29 days.
Benjamin worked as a captain of coasting vessels, although no record of specific voyages undertaken by him has been found. Retiring from the sea at the age of 40 in 1793, he then ran the Sun Tavern at 1761-2 Essex Street in Salem. According to an account in the Essex Antiquarian, this was the most noted tavern in Salem. In 1799 twenty-two Salem shipmasters met at Webb’s tavern to establish the East India Marine Society. The articles collected abroad by members of this society ultimately became part of the present day Peabody Essex Museum in Salem.
Later in life, Benjamin lived on his farm at the foot of Conant Street in Salem. After Benjamin’s death, his son Samuel carried on the cultivation of his father’s farm.
Benjamin and Mary had at least nine children as listed below. All baptisms listed are found in the Salem Vital Records, citing the records of the Tabernacle Church. Samuel’s birth or baptism is not found in the Salem Vital Records, but Samuel is included as a child of Benjamin and Mary in ES Waters’ Genealogical Notes of the Webb Family.
Mary Webb bp. 9 July 1780.
Priscilla Webb bp. 5 Sept. 1783
Samuel Webb b. 8 Jan. 1785 d. 5 Apr. 1865 unmarried
Elisabeth Webb bp. 24 Dec. 1786, died young
Benjamin Webb bp. 24 Aug. 1788, died young
Elisabeth Webb bp. 18 Oct. 1789, died young
Elisabeth Webb bp. 30 Oct. 1791
Benjamin Webb bp. 25 Jan. 1795
Jonathan Webb bp. 25 Jan. 1795 THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 5
Captain Stephen Webb Sea Captain & Ropemaker
Captain Stephen Webb was born in Salem, Massachusetts on 21 Sept. 1756, a son of Jonathan Webb and Elizabeth Sa[u]nders. His earliest known ancestor is his father’s father, Deacon Jonathan Webb of Salem, born about 1690. His mother Elizabeth was the daughter of Philomen Saunders and Sarah Skerry. Captain Stephen died 11 Feb. 1831. His probate record is found in the Essex County Probate Records, Docket Number 29083.
Stephen married twice, first in Salem on 3 Oct. 1779 to Sarah Allen, daughter of Edward Allen and Ruth Hodges. Sarah Allen died 23 Sept. 1780. Stephen then married in Salem on 2 Sept. 1784 Sarah (Putnam) Palfrey, daughter of Bartholomew Putnam and Sarah Hodges, and widow of Thomas Palfrey. Sarah (Putnam) Palfrey Webb, widow of Stephen, died at the age of 85 on 27 Apr. 1848.
Stephen is called Captain in the record of the August 1784 intention of his marriage to Sarah (Putnam) Palfrey and in the record of his death. In the Driver genealogy, he is referred to as a master mariner. ES Waters writes that Stephen was “a sea captain.” The newspaper announcement of his daughter Sarah’s marriage refers to Stephen as “Capt.” The list of subscribers to the leveling and grading of the Common in Salem in the Essex Antiquarian includes the following information about Stephen: “He was a shipmaster …”. Lastly, in the book Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Revolution, Stephen Webb is identified as the commander of the privateer brig Saratoga, of the privateer ship Commerce, and of the privateer ship Resolution.
Stephen Webb’s career as an officer began with his appointment as First Lieutenant of the sloop Patty in 1778. He went on to be commissioned as the commander of the Saratoga in 1779, of the ship Commerce in 1781, and of the ship Resolution in 1782. Granville W. Hough writes that the ship “Commerce” was under the command of Capt. Stephen Webb in 1781 when it was captured a few days out of port. The Commerce was a ship of 200 tons, 14 guns and 50 men.
In 1798, Stephen was a subscriber to the loan that financed the frigate Essex, built in Salem to serve in the American Navy. Stephen’s siblings Michael Webb and Benjamin Webb, Jr. were also subscribers.
After retiring from his work as a sea captain, Stephen Webb was the owner and coordinator of a ropewalk in Salem. William Bentley noted in his diary in 1803 that “W. Gray, Merchant, has sold the Ropewalk in Brown Street to Captain Stephen Webb”. An advertisement in the Salem Gazette, 6 May 1803 reads: “Cables & Cordage for sale by Stephen Webb, at his Ropewalk in Brown Street, Salem.” The ropewalk was located on what is now Howard Street in Salem and was evidently also known as the Haraden Ropewalk.
Captain Stephen Webb and his first wife, Sarah Allen, had one child:
Sarah Webb, who married a Capt. Benjamin Swett
Captain Stephen Webb and his second wife, Sarah (Putnam) Palfrey, had at least four children, as follows:
Elizabeth Webb – She is mentioned only by ES Waters. She does not appear in the Salem Vital Records.
Ruth Webb, bp. 10 Mar. 1787. The baptisms of Ruth and her two younger siblings below are in the Salem Vital Records to the end of 1849, citing the records of the North Church.
Ruth Putnam Webb, bp. 1794
Stephen Palfrey Webb, b. 20 March 1804, bp. 25 Mar. 1804. He was the 3rd and 12th Mayor of Salem and also Mayor of San Francisco from 1854 to 1855. He died in Brookline, MA on 29 Sept. 1879. THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 6
Captain Stephen Webb’s son, Stephen Palfrey Webb, had only one child, a daughter Caroline, so there are no known Y-DNA descendants of the line of his line.
Captain Thomas Webb Sea Captain & Captain of a Prison Ship
Information currently available makes it difficult to say for certain whether there was only one Captain Thomas Webb in Salem who was both a sea captain sailing to and from Sumatra in the 1790’s and early 1800’s and also the keeper of a prison ship in Salem Harbor during the War of 1812. There may have been two Captain Thomas Webbs living at the same time, one an active sea captain and the other the captain of the prison ship. However, it seems most likely that there was just one Captain Thomas Webb, an active sea captain in his young and middle adult years and a prison ship captain in his older years.
In the Essex Institute Historical Collections, Vol. IV, p. 7, there is mention of a Thomas Webb, shipmaster and the keeper of the prison ship at Rust’s wharf during 1812-1815, who died in 1825 at the age of 69 years, giving a birth date of about 1756. There is a Thomas Webb in the Salem Vital Records who died on 15 Dec. 1825 at 68 yrs. Probably this is the same person, with one age being incorrect. The notes in the list of Common Subscribers from the Essex Institute Historical Collections, Vol. IV, p. 77, state that Thomas Webb, shipmaster, etc., was twice married, and died on Oct. 14, 1825 aged 69.
None of these sources mention anything about the parents of Thomas Webb.
However, it is possible, based on deed records, that he may have been a son of a Benjamin Webb. On 30 Nov. 1796 Thomas Webb, trader, married to Mary, sells with Mary Brookhouse, widow, land that “descended to us from our father Benj. Webb, decd.”
If Benjamin is Thomas’ father, there is no mention of an appropriate birth, death or marriage for this Benjamin Webb in the Salem Vital Records. It is likely that Thomas is not a descendant of Deacon Jonathan Webb since he is not included in any of the major sources that delineate those descendants
There are a few records of Captain Thomas Webb’s voyages to Sumatra in search of pepper. He was the shipmaster of the brig George Washington which, with Thomas Webb as captain, was cleared from Salem on 10 Dec. 1801 and returned from Sumatra under the command of Capt. Thomas Bowditch in Nov 1802.
George Nichols in his autobiography entitled “A Salem Shipmaster and Merchant” describes meeting Captain Thomas Webb of the brig George Washington as Webb came in to port for a cargo of pepper. Evidently Captain Webb feared being left alone in the port after Nichols finished loading his cargo of pepper, so Captain Webb left the port after a day or two.
There is additional information on Capt. Thomas Webb’s duties as the keeper of the prison ship. In his Diary, Rev. William Bentley writes that “At present all prisoners returned are provided with a home in the guard ship under Capt. Thomas Webb. They are at liberty to act at their own pleasure as to the time of their stay among us. They are chiefly soldiers from Canada.”
In his book The Marine Room of the Peabody Library of Salem, John Robinson relates an interesting story about Capt. Webb and the prison ship. The Peabody Library Marine Room is home to a 5 feet long fully rigged model of the US Constitution. The Library itself has in its files a bill from May 1814 acknowledging receipt by Thomas Webb of $12. on behalf of the English prisoners of war. The prisoners evidently were paid for their work repairing the model of the US Constitution which had been damaged by salutes from miniature guns at a banquet!
Scant information is available about Captain Thomas Webb’s family. He was reportedly married twice. Since the deed records above mention that Thomas Webb’s wife in 1796 was Mary, one of his marriages may have been to Mary Smethurst, whose intention to marry Thomas Webb was filed in Salem Aug. 5, 1780 THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 7
In the probate record of Thomas Webb from Jan., 1826, which is most likely the probate record of Captain Thomas Webb, he mentions his wife Sally, who is probably the second wife of Captain Webb. He appears to have had no children from either of these two marriages, as his will leaves all his estate to his wife, Sally, and, if she is deceased, to his nieces and nephews. Further examination of those probate records may yield more information about the family to which Thomas Webb belongs.
Captain Oliver Webb Sea Captain
Captain Oliver Webb was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts in July, 1758, a son of William Webb and Abigail Riggs. His father William Webb, born 1717, was a son of John Webb and Elizabeth Phippen of Salem. His mother Abigail Riggs was a daughter of John Riggs and Abigail Coit. Oliver may have been a sibling of Nathaniel Coit Webb, also a sea captain. More information about this possible connection can be found in the section on Nathaniel Coit Webb in this article.
Oliver married Sarah Elkins in Salem, Massachusetts on 8 June 1783. Sarah was born in Salem in April 1766, the daughter of Capt. John Elkins and Sarah Putnam. She died of a fever 21 February 1801 at the age of 35. Oliver died of a fever at Gonaives, Hispaniola (now Haiti) August 14, 1798 at the age of 39. His probate records are found in the Essex County Probate Records, docket number 29071.
Oliver Webb is called Captain in his death record in the Salem Vital Records; in his wife’s death record in the Salem Vital Records; in advertisements and articles in the Salem Gazette for 1798, 1799, and 1801; in the book Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the War of the Revolution; and in the Naval Records of the American Revolution. He is also called captain in several newspaper articles about his voyages published between 1793 to 1798.
Oliver began his maritime career as a seaman, serving on the brigantine Massachusetts from 22 Feb. 1777 to 31 Jul. 1777. He would have been about 19 years old at the time. This marks the beginning of his service as a sailor in the Revolutionary War.
In early October, 1777 Oliver began serving on the brigantine Tyrannicide, commanded by Jonathan Haraden. He served on this ship a total 7 mos. 24 days and was discharged on June 26, 1778.
In November 1780, Oliver is listed as a sailor on the brigantine Murr, with John Burchmore, Master. Then in December of 1780, Oliver is on the list of officers and crew of the privateer Thomas, Francis Boardman commander.
Oliver’s first commission as commander of a ship came on 9 Oct. 1782 when he was appointed commander of the schooner Rainbow. The Rainbow was a Massachusetts privateer, equipped with 6 guns and a crew of 25 men. At the time that Oliver was master of the Rainbow, the owner of the ship was Nathaniel C. Webb of Salem and the bonders were Oliver Webb, Salem, Nathaniel C. Webb, Salem, and John McMellan, Salem. This John McMellan is likely the John McMellan who was appointed guardian of Oliver’s children in 1802 and who also listed the family home for sale in 1802.
No records of voyages for Oliver have been found from 1782 when he commanded the Rainbow until 1792.
In 1793, however, Oliver Webb is mentioned as the master of the schooner Betsey, sailing from Baltimore, bound to Leogane [Haiti], via Cape Henry. This appeared in a news article July 13, 1793 in the Dunlap’s American Daily Advertiser.
On April 14, 1794 the American Mercury of Hartford, under a headline of “Baltimore”, reported that Captain Oliver Webb arrived in Baltimore on the brig Dolphin after traveling 36 days from Leogane. This article reports that five days after leaving Leogane, the Dolphin was boarded by the Charlotte, a pirate sloop from Liverpool. The commander of the THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 8
Charlotte put a pirate’s prize master and seven men in the place of most of Captain Webb’s staff, and ordered the ship to Bermuda on the 17th of March. As the American Mercury put it, “in the latitude of Bermuda, Capt. Webb with the assistance of his passengers, re-took his brig and brought her safe into this port [Baltimore] accompanied by eight pirates, who, it is to be hoped, will meet their desert.”
The Newport (RI) Mercury reported on February 27, 1798 that Capt. Oliver Webb in the schooner Polina, arrived in Newport from Baltimore. He had sailed from Hampton Roads the 12th of January in company with the schooners Federal George and Theodore and was bound for Boston.
The Salem Gazette reported on July 20, 1798, that “Capt. Oliver Webb, of this town, in the Sch’r Paulina, is carried into the Mole.” This most likely is a reference to Mole St. Nicholas, a port in Hispaniola, according to Daniel Vickers and Vince Walsh, authors of the book Young Men and the Sea.
Not long after that, Captain Oliver Webb died of a fever in Gonaives, Hispaniola about August 14, 1798. In the midst of the prolonged settlement of Oliver’s estate, his wife Sarah died of a fever at the age of 35 on 21 Feb. 1801.
Their deaths left several minor children as orphans of Oliver and Sarah. John McMellan, guardian of the minor children, advertised on December 19, 1802 in the Salem Gazette for the sale on January 13, 1803 of “All the real estate of Samuel Webb, Sally Webb, Oliver Webb, and William Webb, minors and children of Oliver Webb, deceased consisting of one fourth part of a Dwelling House and of a small piece of land, under and adjoining the same, situated at the corner of Derby and Turner Streets, in Salem, in the County of Essex.” The appointment of a guardian for Samuel, Sally, Oliver and William is in the Essex County Probate Records, docket number 29076.
From information in the probate records and from the Salem Vital Records, it appears that Oliver and Sarah had at least six children, as follows:
Samuel Webb, b. about 1784 based on his age of 18 in 1802 guardianship papers, bp. 12 August 1787
Sally Webb, b. about 1785-1787 based on her age of 15 in 1802 guardianship papers, her baptism on 12 Aug. 1787, and her age at death (85 in 1870)
Oliver Webb, bp. 23 May 1790 d. 10 Feb. 1816 at 26 of consumption
______son Webb, died of convulsions d. Nov. 4, 1792 at 48 hrs.
William Webb, b. about 1795. William’s birth does not appear in the Salem Vital Records, but his existence is known through the appointment of a guardian for him at age 7 in 1802; the mention of him in the will of his sister Sally Webb in 1863; and a newspaper advertisement listing him as a minor child of Oliver Webb in 1802.
Ruth Webb, b. about Jan 1795 based on age at date of death, bp. 22 Feb. 1795, d. Salem, Massachusetts on 23 Sept.1795 of a fever at the age of 8 months
THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 9
Captain Jonathan Webb of L’Orient, France
The identity of this Captain Jonathan Webb is another mystery to be solved, like the mysterious Captain Stephen Webb in Part One of this article on Salem Webb Sea Captains. This Jonathan Webb is identified as a Captain in the report of his baptism in Salem at the age of 30 on 13 Feb. 1788. This baptism is found in only one place, the Genealogical Notes of the Webb Family by ES Waters, but Waters does not mention the source of his information. The Vital Records of Salem to 1849 do not include the baptism of Captain Jonathan Webb.
No other Jonathan in the Salem Vital Records list of births, baptisms, marriages or deaths appears to be related to this Jonathan. Newspaper reports of the time do not mention a Captain Jonathan Webb. Shipping notes of the time do mention L’Orient, France, however.
For now, Captain Jonathan Webb remains a mystery man!
Captain Benjamin Webb Sea Captain
Captain Benjamin Webb was born, probably in Salem, Massachusetts, either 3 or 5 Nov. 1759, a son of John Webb and Judith Phelps. His earliest known ancestor is his paternal grandfather, Deacon Jonathan Webb born about 1690. Benjamin’s birth and baptism are not recorded in the Salem Vital Records, but ES Waters in Genealogical Notes of the Webb Family gives a birthdate of 3 Nov. 1759. Benjamin’s gravestone in the Howard Street Burial Ground in Salem gives a birthdate of 5 Nov. 1759.
Benjamin married Hannah Bray, daughter of John Bray and Elizabeth Driver. According to the Driver genealogy, Benjamin and Hannah were married on 25 Jun. 1783.
Their marriage does not appear in the Salem Vital Records. However, it is possible that the year recorded there for a marriage intention of Benjamin Webb and Hannah Bray on 24 May 1683 is in error, and in fact their marriage intention was filed on 24 May 1783.
Hannah was born 23 Jan. 1759. She died on 25 Sep. 1838 at the age of 78.
Benjamin and Hannah (Bray) Webb lived on the Bray homestead in Salem.
Benjamin died in Salem on either 6 or 10 Sep. 1827 of apoplexy at the age of 68. Salem Vital Records give his death date as 6 Sept.; the Driver genealogy gives his death date as 10 Sept. 1827. His probate records are found in the Essex County Probate Records, docket number 29052. The probate records are lengthy, extending from 1827 through 1841.
Benjamin Webb is called Captain in the Driver genealogy; in his death record in 1827 in the Salem Vital Records; in his wife Hannah’s death record in 1838 in the Salem Vital Records; on his gravestone in the Howard Street Cemetery; and in numerous records of his voyages.
The first record found of a voyage commanded by Captain Benjamin Webb is in 1788 when he was captain of the Three Sisters. According to Robert Peabody in Merchant Venturers of Old Salem, the Three Sisters was the first of two vessels “to start on the long voyage from America to China. On December 4, 1788, she sailed for Batavia [now Jakarta, Indonesia] under the command of Captain Benjamin Webb, with Mr. Samuel Blanchard as supercargo and young Nathaniel Silsbee, who later became united States Senator, as clerk.” The log book of the brig Three Sisters, Benjamin Webb, master, 1788-1789 is in the Phillips Library of the Peabody Essex Museum. THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 10
Samuel Eliot Morison in his book The Maritime History of Massachusetts, 1783 – 1860 wrote that the “brig Three Sisters, Captain Benjamin Webb, disposed of a mixed cargo at Batavia, where she was chartered by a Dutch merchant to carry Java products to Canton. She and the Atlantic were there sold, and the entire proceeds invested in silks, chinaware, and three-quarters of a million pounds of tea, which were loaded on the two larger vessels.”
On 5 Jun. 1790, Benjamin Webb was master of the ship Astrea, sailing with a Three Sisters crew, when it arrived back in Salem.
The Phillips Library also contains the manifest of the sloop Salem Packet from a voyage in August of 1791, Benjamin Webb, master. Though the handwriting is difficult to read, it appears that this ship was bound for Barbados with a cargo that included wine and 1000 planks.
In the first issue of the first volume of the Essex Antiquarian, Captain Benjamin Webb is noted for commanding the brig Sally of Salem which, in 1796, was “the first American vessel to open trade with Batavia. Benjamin Webb purchased pepper and sugar from the people of Batavia.”
On 6 Aug. 1796 on the brig Three Sisters’ trip home from Batavia, Captain Benjamin Webb’s younger brother Stephen Webb died at the age of 23 of a fever.
The last record found of a voyage by Captain Benjamin Webb is in the logbook of the ship Adventure when it sailed from Salem to Calcutta and back to Salem from 10 Dec. 1801 to 20 Dec. 1802. Benjamin Webb was the master and Hardy Phippen was the keeper of the logbook. This logbook is also in the Phillips Library.
Captain Benjamin Webb was one of the 22 founding members of the East India Marine Society in Salem in 1799. Sea captains and supercargoes who had sailed around the Cape of Good Horn were eligible to join this society. The Smithsonian Magazine’s website describes the East India Marine Society like this: “In 1799, Salem’s globe-traveling sea captains and traders established the city’s East India Marine Society, whose bylaws charged members to bring home natural and artificial curiosities. The giant clamshells, poisoned arrows, silver hookahs and more than 4,000 other curios they collected formed the nucleus of what is now the Peabody Essex Museum, the oldest continuously operated museum in the country.” The Society also provided aid to families of sailors.
Benjamin and Hannah Webb had at least eleven children. Birthdates below are all from the Driver genealogy. Baptismal dates are all from the Salem Vital Records, citing records of the East Church or the Howard Street Cemetery.
Benjamin Webb, b. 23 Apr. 1784, bapt. 1 Jul. 1787
Elizabeth Webb, b. 10 Apr. 1786, bapt. 1 Jul. 1787
Jonathan Webb, bapt. 22 Mar. 1790
John Webb, b. 1 May 1788, bapt. 25 May 1788
Thomas Bray Webb, b. 7 May 1791, bapt. 22 May 1791
William Webb, b. 26 Sep. 1793, bapt. 6 Oct. 1793
______son Webb, b. and d. 21 Apr. 1796
Hannah Webb, b. 4 Jun. 1797, bapt. 18 Jun. 1797
Jonathan Webb, b. about 1798, based on his death a 28 y. of apoplexy on 30 Oct. or 23 Nov. 1826; bapt. 14 Apr. 1799
Stephen Webb, bapt. 1801 m. Martha Luscomb, bank officer, IRS clerk.
Charlotte Ives Webb, bapt. 1804
THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 11
Captain William Webb Sea Captain & Ship Owner
Captain William Webb was born, probably in Salem, Massachusetts, about 1765, a son of John Webb and Judith Phelps. His oldest known ancestor was his father’s father, Deacon Jonathan Webb of Salem born about 1690. William received adult baptism on 8 December 1793. His birth does not appear in the Salem Vital Records.
William married Hannah Allen in Salem, Massachusetts on 12 Dec. 1790. Hannah was the daughter of a Marblehead family, born about 1765, and was brought up in the family of Colonel Pickman. Hannah died on 16 Nov. 1813 at 48. Nothing further has been found about her parents.
William died in Salem, Massachusetts at the age of 83 years on 3 Jan. 1848.
The record of the administration of his estate is found in Essex County Probate Records, docket number 56490 where he is listed as a mariner. He is buried in the Howard Street Cemetery, Salem, MA.
William Webb is called “Captain” in the book FAME: The Salem Privateer by Capt. Michael Rutstein; in the Essex Institute Historical Collections, Vol. XXI, 1884, p. 61; in the record of his wife Hannah’s death in 1813; and in the record of his son Thomas’ death in 1802. He is called “shipmaster” in his own death record.
Though William Webb was known as Captain as early as 1802 at the time of his son Thomas’ death as noted above, William Webb is perhaps best known as an owner and the first captain of the Schooner Fame. The Fame was commissioned as a privateer during the War of 1812. Captain Rutstein summarizes this event: “At the outbreak of war in 1812, 25 Salem shipmasters risked their fortunes and their lives by fitting out a small ‘Chebacco’ fishing schooner as a privateer and manning it themselves. The risk paid off. Fame was the first American privateer to bring back a prize, and before she was through, she captured some 22 vessels.” The shipmasters chose William Webb as their captain.
At the age of 47 at the time, he was the oldest of the group.
William Webb’s two voyages on the Fame were quite successful. The plan was for the FAME to sail down the Maine Coast toward New Brunswick, aiming to find British vessels in the small ports along the way. Off Grand Manan, the FAME took not one but two vessels without a single shot being fired. One ship taken was the Concord of England, the other was the Elbe from Scotland. At auction, the Concord brought proceeds of over $4600, making the 25 captains’ investment in FAME a truly wise one.
Captain Michael Rutstein, captain of the present day Schooner FAME, a replica of the original, has identified from various sources several other voyages on which William Webb was the captain, as follows. This list is abbreviated. The original list and sources can be obtained upon request.
1802 Master of snow MARY
1805 Master of ship AURORA, entering from Sumatra with pepper for Joseph Ropes after a journey of 131 days.
1805 Master of brig AURORA, to Nantz
1810 “Webb” given as master of the Salem brig LITTLE JAMES
7/1/1812 Named as master of FAME
7/1/1812 Named as master on Salem & Beverly Ship Registers
2/9/1813 Voted captain of privateer schooner, GRUMBLER
4/15/1813 Master of the privateer schooner GROWLER THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 12
7/17/1813 Listed as one of 21 owners of CASTIGATOR on her commission
1813 Master of privateer schooner FROLIC
3/12/1814 Sold 1/25 of Fame to Timothy Wellman Jr. for $55. This Bill of Sale can be found in the Peabody Essex Museum.
Captain William Webb was something of a folk hero. The Golden Hind Company published a traditional folk song, “The Fame of Salem,” that mentioned Captain Webb in one verse:
Captain Webb had not sailed many leagues before he did espy Two lofty ships a-windward, they came bearing down so nigh, And both of them were British ships full loaded with supplies, Webb made them haul their colors down and took them as his prize.
After retiring from his career as a mariner, William Webb worked as an inspector at the Salem Custom House. He was ultimately removed for alleged incompetence. This incident is related in the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, who had a hand in the firing of William Webb.
William and Hannah had at least eight children, as follows. All except the first child are from the Salem Vital Records to the end of 1849, citing the records of the East Church:
______son Webb, b. and d.17 Sept.1791, mentioned in William Bentley’s diary.
Hannah Webb, bp. 3 Dec. 1793
Elizabeth Webb, bp. 19 Apr. 1795, d. 17 Aug. 1814 of a fever
William Webb, bp. 23 Jul. 1797, d. 21 Apr. 1803 of convulsions
Stephen Webb, bp. 18 Nov. 1798, d. 16 Aug. 1801 of obstructed breathing
Thomas Webb, bp. 14 Jun. 1801, d. 24 Sept. 1802 of dysentery
William Webb, bp. 11 Nov. 1805
Mary Webb, bp. 16 Oct. 1808
Captain Joseph Webb Sea Captain & Boat Builder
Captain Joseph Webb was born about 1771, the youngest of ten children of Stephen Webb and his second wife, Mary (Tyler) Manning, widow of Jacob Manning. Joseph’s earliest known ancestor is his father’s father, Deacon Jonathan Webb of Salem, born about 1690. Joseph’s birth does not appear in the Salem Vital Records or in the Driver Genealogy. ES Waters’ Genealogical Notes of the Webb family is the only source found to date that lists a birthdate for Joseph.
On 26 Nov. 1795, Joseph married Mercy Dever(e)aux of the Marblehead Devereaux family. She had been brought up by a Mrs. Palfray, widow of Benjamin Gale. Mercy Webb died of typhus fever on 27 Dec. 1812 at the age of 41, and is buried in the Howard Street Cemetery in Salem. THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 13
No record of the death of Capt. Joseph Webb has been found. Despite having descendants who lived as recently as the early 1900’s, he appears to have no living Webb Y-DNA descendants.
Joseph Webb is called Captain in the Salem Vital Records in the record of the death of his wife Mercy and also by ES Waters.
No record of his voyages has been found so far.
In addition to being a sea captain, Joseph Webb also worked as a boat builder. The record of his infant son Joseph’s death on 5 Oct. 1801 states that Joseph, the father, was a boat builder.
Joseph and Mercy had at least eight children as listed below, all from the Salem Vital Records to 1849 citing the records of the East Church of Salem, except for the last child listed. Her birth is noted by ES Waters with no additional information provided.
Sarah Webb, bp. 12 Jun. 1796
Eliza Webb, bp. 1 Oct, 1797
Joseph Webb, bp. 18 Aug. 1799, d. 5 Oct. 1801
Joseph Webb, b. 20 Mar., bp. 11 Apr. 1802 – a sea captain
_____ son Webb, b. 11 Sept. 1804, d. 29 Sept. 1804
Stephen Webb, bp. Dec. 1805
William Webb, bp. 8 Nov. 1807
______daughter Webb – no further information
Sources for Part 2
DAR Patriot Index (Nathaniel, Benjamin b. 1753, Stephen)
Vital Records of Salem, Massachusetts to the end of the year 1849. (All)
Vital Records of Gloucester, Massachusetts to the end of the year 1849. (Nathaniel, Oliver)
MA Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Revolution (Nathaniel, Benjamin b. 1753, Stephen, Oliver)
William Bentley, The Diary of William Bentley, (Nathaniel, Stephen, Thomas, Oliver, Benjamin b. 1759, William)
City Gazette and Daily Advertiser, Charleston, SC, June 12, 1788 Vol. VI: Issue: 970, p. 2 (Nathaniel)
City Gazette and Daily Advertiser, Charleston, SC, May 31, 1788 Vol. VI: Issue: 960, p. 2 (Nathaniel)
Essex Antiquarian, Vol. IV, p. 36, (Nathaniel)
jamesdjulia.com (Nathaniel)
THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 14
Granville Hough. American Maritime Units and Vessels and Their Supporters
During the Revolutionary War, 1775-1783 online (Nathaniel, Stephen)
Edward Stanley Waters, Genealogical Notes of the Webb Family, Essex Institute Historical Collections, Vol. 16, p. 213-234, 1879 (Benjamin b. 1753, Stephen, Thomas, Jonathan, Joseph)
Harriet Ruth Waters Cooke, The Driver Family: A Genealogical Memoir of the Descendants of Robert and Phebe Driver of Lynn, Mass. With an Appendix containing Twenty-three Allied Families, 1592-1887. 1889. (Benjamin b. 1753, Stephen, Benjamin b. 1759, Joseph)
Essex County Probate Records Index to 1840 (Benjamin b. 1753, Stephen, Thomas, Oliver, Benjamin b. 1759, William)
Salem News, Salem, MA, 25 May 2009 (Benjamin b. 1753)
The Holyoke Diaries, 1709-1856. (Benjamin b. 1753)
Essex Antiquarian (Stephen)
Salem Gazette, 13 Sept. 1803, Vol XVII, p. 3 online at NEHGS Early American Newspapers Series 1, 1690 - 1876 (Stephen)
Salem Gazette, 6 May 1803 (Stephen)
Massachusetts Vital Records, 1840 – 1910 online at americanancestors.org (Stephen)
Essex Institute Historical Collections (Stephen, Thomas)
George Nichols. A Salem Shipmaster and Merchant. p. 70-71 (Thomas)
John Robinson. The Marine Room of the Peabody Library of Salem. (Thomas)
Naval Records of the American Revolution, Library of Congress Manuscript, 1775-1788, Vol. 12, p. 50 (Oliver)
email from Vince Walsh, citing Danny Vickers, authors of Young Men and the Sea (Oliver)
Samuel Eliot Morrison. Maritime History of Massachusetts. (Benjamin b. 1759)
Vincent Walsh, database compiled for Young Men and the Sea project, Memorial University, Newfoundland (Benjamin b. 1759)
Robert Ephraim Peabody. Merchant venturers of old Salem. (Benjamin b. 1759)
Capt. Michael Rutstein. FAME: The Salem Privateer (William)
Essex Institute Historical Collections, Vol. XXI, 1884, p. 61 (William)
Artwork:
“The Schooner Fame” painting by Jeff Eldridge, used with permission: Captain Michael Rutstein, www.schoonerfame.com.
THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 15
WEBB Records Repository:
Connecticut
Nathaniel Webb b. 1770, m. Charlotte Cleveland
“…. Catherine Harrington was the child of Abraham Harrington, born March 5, 1816, died Oct 31, 1886, and his wife, Catherine Webb, born Dec 22, 1819, died Feb 2, 1896, married Dec 31, 1835.
The said Catherine Webb was the child of Frederick Cleveland Webb, born Oct 3, 1794, died 1857, and his wife Catherine Kimmell, married Jan 29, 1815.
The said Frederick Cleveland Webb was the child of Nathaniel Webb, born 1770, died 1823, and his wife, Charlotte Cleveland, born 1768.
The said Charlotte Cleveland was the child of Jabez Cleveland, born 1737, died June 17, 1775, and his wife, Jane Trumbell, married 1760.”
[Source: Lafayette, Indiana, Tippecanoe County, 1825-1925, J. C. Burkle, 1926]
Stephen Clason of Stamford, Connecticut, in 1654: and some of his descendants William Berry Lapham, 1892
Jonathan Clason [Jonathan, Samuel, Stephen] married Oct 10, 1746, Mary, daughter of Charles and Mary [Smith] Webb, who was born Dec. 26, 1727.
Children: Jonathan b. June 17, 1747; m. Ruth Rude or Rood Hannah b. Dec 1, 1749; m. Ezra Lockwood Mary b. Jan 27, 1752; d. Nov 8, 1754 Ezra b. Feb 15, 1754 Noah b. May 19, 1756 Jacob b. July 6, 1758 Josiah b. January 2, 1762 Philip b. May 27, 1765
Samuel Clason [Samuel, Stephen, Stephen, Jonathan, Stephen] married Feb 9, 1792, Mary Webb. He died June 14, 1819. [Stamford]
Children: Mary, b. Oct 7, 1792; m. James Horton Thirza, b. March 5, 1795; m. Timothy Clisby Henry, b. July 11, 1798 Rebecca, b. March 26, 1800; m. John Howell Lettie, b. Jane 7, 1802 Catherine, b. May 5, 1804; m. George Canfield Samuel W., b. Feb 19, 1806; m. Mary Jane Ellis Alanson, b. May 4, 1808; m. Charlotte Blair THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 16
Eliza, b. April 30, 1810; m. John L. Hopping. George W. b. Feb 6, 1812 Annie F., b. Jan 29, 1814; m. Dec 20, 1837, Nathaniel Davis. She died at Syracuse, NY, in 1842, at the home of her mother.
Ye Historie of Ye Town of Greenwich, county of Fairfield and state of Connecticut Spencer Percival Mead, 1911
Webb Family
Richard Webb, born in County Dorset, England, May 5, 1580; came to Cambridge, Mass., in 1626; removed to Boston, where he was made a freeman in 1632; removed to Hartford, Conn., in 1635; removed to Stratford, Conn., and from thence to Norwalk, Conn., where he died July, 1665; m. 1st, May, 1610, Grace, dau. of John Wilson, m. 2d, at Norwalk, Conn., Elizabeth Gregory, who survived him, and died in 1680; his children according to best authorities were: Daughter, who m. Thomas Butler Richard, b. in 1623, settled in Stamford, Conn., in 1654, d. there March 15, 1678, m. Margery ___, and had: Richard, b. about 1648 Sarah, b. about 1650, m. John Marshall John, b. about 1652, d. Jan 1, 1656 Joseph, b. about 1654, d. in 1684, m. Nov. 8, 1672, Hannah Scofield, and had: Joseph, Lieut., b. Jan 5, 1674, d. Nov 15, 1743, m. Feb 23, 1698, Mary Hait, b. in 1673, d. Feb 24, 1750, and had: Joseph, b. Jan 26, 1701 Ebenezer, b. March 7, 1704, d. April 16, 1704 Benjamin, b. Aug, 24, 1705 John, b. July 28, 1707 Sarah, b. May 9, 1709, m. Hezekiah Reynolds Abigail, b. July 16, 1713 Epenetus, b. July 16, 1713 Mary, b. July 28, 1715, m. Nathaniel Mead Mary, b. April 1677 Hannah, b. July 9, 1679 Sarah, b. Oct 16, 1681 Margery, b. Oct 4, 1683 Mary, b. about 1656, d. young Caleb, b. about 1658, d. May 24, 1704, m. and had Child, b.___, d. May 14, 1704, and perhaps others Joshua, b. about 1660, d. at Bedford, N. Y., in 1694, m. Elizabeth___, after he d. she m. ____ Simkins, and had: Richard Eben John Susannah Samuel, b. March 30, 1662, m. ____ and had: Waitstill, b. Jan 6, 1690 Samuel, b. Nov 6, 1692 Mercy, b. April 11, 1694 Charles, b. March 12, 1697, d. April 19, 1730, m. May 23, 1723, Mary Smith, after his d. she m. Daniel Lockwood, and had: Charles, b. Feb 13, 1724 Hannah, b. Nov 30, 1725 Mary, b. Dec 26, 1727 THETHE WEBB WEBB BULLETIN BULLETIN Page 17
Samuel, b. June 5, 1730 Mary, b. Jan 7, 1699 Nathaniel, b. Nov 6, 1700, d. in 1777, m. 1st, April 20, 1724, Sarah Webster, d. Dec. 19, 1725, m. 2d, June 23, 1726, Sarah Weed, d. June 30, 1731, m. 3d, Nov 24, 1731, Deborah Lockwood, and had by 1st wife: Sarah, b. Dec 12, 1725, m. ___ Lounsbury By 2d wife: Deborah, b. July 7, 1727, m. ____ Smith Rachel, b. Nov 8, 1729, d. June 10, 1736. By 3d wife: Hannah, b. June 17, 1733, m. ____Brown Nathaniel, b. Feb 3, 1735 Rachel, b. Nov 11, 1740, m. ____Waring Waitstill, b. Jan 6, 1743, d. Nov 17, 1743 Samuel b. Feb 20, 1745, d. Before 1777, unm.
A Catalogue of the Names of the First Puritan Settlers of the Colony of Connecticut Royal Ralph Hinman, 1846
Ferris, Peter, Fairfield, 1662 – was made a freeman with Richard Hardy, John Green, Joseph Meade, Richard Webb and Joseph Weed.
Webb, Richard, Hartford, 1639 – on the first grand at the General Court in the colony in 1643- also juror in ’43-4- selectman in ’48—surveyor of highways in ’49. He soon after moved to Stamford, was made free there in ’62, and he was sworn by Judge Gold, at Fairfield court. He was an original proprietor of Hartford in ’39, and was a gentleman of standing in the colony. Henry Webb, ’42. John Hartford, ’48 and ’63. William, Hartford, in ’40. Richard was the ancestor of John Webb, Esq., of Hartford.
Inscription on the Monument erected by the Ancient Burying Ground Association of Harford, in Memory of the First Settlers of Hartford: Richard Webb
The following named were also in Hartford as early as 1640: William Webb
The Proprietors of the Undivided Lands of the Town of Hartford, in 1639, who were probably all settlers in the town at that time- I give a list of their names viz: Richard Webb
The following person who first came to Hartford from Massachusetts, were from the county of Essex, in England, and probably from Braintree, in 1632, viz: Richard Webb [These men, with others, went to Newton before Mr. Hooker; Mr. Hooker arrived and was settled there in October, 1633.]
Deane, Hon. Silas, deceased, of Wethersfield, in Connecticut, came from the town of Groton to Wethersfield, about 1762. Oct. 8, 1763, he was married to Mrs. Mahitabel Webb, of Wethersfield, the grandmother of J. Webb, of Hartford…
Births: Mary, dau. of John Webb, b. Feb 5, 1647 THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 18
Indiana
Portrait and Biographical Record of Madison and Hamilton Counties, Indiana. 1893
Minor Webb, who is now living a retired life in Frankton, has the honor of being a native of the Hoosier State. His birth occurred in Fayette County on the 29th of June, 1821. The family was founded in America by Jesse Webb, the grandfather of our subject, who was born on the Emerald Isle and cam to America at an early age. He became one of the pioneers of Franklin County. His death occurred at the advanced age of ninety-three.
Jesse Webb, Jr., the father of our subject was born in Kentucky and was a farmer by occupation. For many years he resided in Fayette County, and then came to Madison County, where he spend his remaining days. He voted the Republican ticket, was a member of the Baptist Church, and was a highly respected citizen. His wife, who bore the maiden name Fannie Ackleman, was born in North Carolina, but her parents were natives of Germany and in childhood came to this country.
Our subject is the fourth in order of birth in a family of eleven children, but he and his brother Edward, who resides in Fountain county, are now the only survivors. Under the parental roof Minor remained until twenty-two years of age, when he commenced learning the carpenter’s trade, which he successfully followed for twelve years. In 1855 he began farming, and after a year he engaged in the sawmill business in connection with agricultural pursuits and for seventeen years continued the dual occupation. In 1875 he sold the mill and purchased the flouring mill of Frankton, which he operation for ten years and then sold to Venwell & Urmston. Since that time he has practically lived a retired life, although he has occasionally been employed as engineer in a mill.
Mr. Webb has been twice married. In 1849 he was joined in wedlock with Mary Smeltzer, a daughter of Adam and Sarah [Banks] Smeltzer. Three children were born unto them: Elmer, who resides in Lafayette County, Ind.; Marshall, now living in Nebraska; and Ella, wife of Isaac Neece, a resident of Kansas. The mother of this family died in 1855, and in 1861 Mr. Webb was again married, his second union being with Sarah Ann Moore, daughter of William and Anna Moore, early settlers of Madison County. Four children graced this marriage: Lewis, at home; Jesse, deceased; William and Myrtie, who are still with their parents.
Mr. Webb exercises his right of franchise in support of the Republican party, but has never been an office-seeker, preferring to devote his time and attention to his business interests, in which he has met with signal success. He is a member of the Christian Church, and is a highly esteemed citizen. Mr. Webb is genial and pleasant in manner and a popular gentleman. He delights in fishing, and, as his in now living retired, has ample time to indulge his taste in that direction.
James C. Webb is one of Hamilton County’s most extensive land owners, his possessions now aggregating thirteen hundred and forty-five acres. He resides on section 33, White River Township, where in a pleasant home he is surrounded by all the comforts of life. He was born August 31, 1818, in Pickaway County, Ohio, and is one of a family of ten children. His parents, William and Nancy Webb, were both natives of Delaware and came to Indiana about 1845, locating upon the farm where the son now resides. Here the father died at the age of sixty, and his wife at the age of fifty-five. Of their family, three sons and three daughters are yet living.
Our subject remained upon the home farm until his marriage. The year 1844 witnessed his arrival in Indiana, and he purchased one hundred and sixty-four acres of wild land. Building a log cabin, he then began clearing and developing a farm. He also worked by the month as a farm hand and with the money thus obtained made the improvements upon his own land.
On the 14th of March, 1850, Mr. Webb married Elizabeth Carey, who was born in White River Township and is a daughter of Jonathan and Rebecca [Timmons] Carey, natives of Maryland. In 1828 they emigrated to Indiana and THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 19
began the development of a farm. Both are now deceased. They had three children, two of whom are yet living. Fourteen children have been born of the union of our subject and his wife, nine of whom are still living: Marcus, who is married and has five children; Lafayette, who is married and has four children; Virginia, who is married and has three children; Samuel, who is married and has three children; Rebecca, at home; Grant, who is married and has one child; and Martha and Mary, both of whom are married and have one child.
When Mr. Webb began life for himself his cash capital consisted of only $19. His first purchase of land comprised only one hundred and sixty acres, but from time to time, as his financial resources have increased, he has made additional purchases and now has thirteen hundred and forty-five acres. After his marriage he went to Tippecanoe County, Ind., where he engaged in cradling grain for about two years, and then returned, locating on the old homestead. He began dealing in stock, which he still follows on a small scale. He is a man of excellent business and executive ability, pays careful attention to all the details of his business and is honorable and upright in all dealings. His well directed efforts have brought him success, and he is now numbered among the wealthy citizens of the county. In politics, he was in early life an old line Whig, and on the dissolution of that party he joined the new Republican party, with which he has since affiliated.
Kentucky
Year Book of the Society, Sons of the Revolution, in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, 1894-1913 Samuel M. Wilson, 1913
Land Bounty Warrants Name acres rank Dept. term date wrnt Webb, John 6,000 Lieut. Col. Va Cont. Line 3 years Feb. 8, 1783 116 Webb, Richd 200 Private Va St. Line war Apr 25, 1783 399 Webb, Thos 100 Private Va. St. Line 3 years Sept 11, 1783 1743 Webb, Isaac 2,000 Lieut. Va Cont. Line 3 years Jan 13, 1784 2246 Webb, Jos. 100 Sailor Va St. Navy 3 years Aug 12, 1785 3955 [Wm Reynolds, assignee of Joseph Webb]
Testimony of William Webb of Long Run – Abraham Lincoln, the Pioneer of Jefferson Co.
“Although we still greatly desire some actual record of the residence of Abraham Lincoln in Jefferson County, we have quite a body of evidence that indicates that the pioneer Abraham Lincoln met his death on Long Run, in Jefferson County, very near to the edge of Shelby.
This was as much as we had expected to learn, and quite all that we could have anticipated; but we were surprised to find local tradition concerning the grave of the pioneer Abraham Lincoln. This tradition affirmed that the Long Run Baptist Church, which stands on the Lincoln farm and is surrounded by graves, some of them very old, has within its yard and perhaps under the very building as it now stands, the grave of Abraham Lincoln. This tradition came down to us through S. M. Talbott and Oscar T. Proctor. Mr. Talbott is 75 years of age and conveyed to us the testimony of William Webb, who was born on Long Run in 1797 and who returned to visit the place of his birth about 1880, and at that time told to Mr. Talbott much he had learned from his father, the older William Webb.
The original Long Run Church building was of logs, and erected in about 1797 on land hat had belonged to Abraham Lincoln. But according to Mr. Talbott, it was the common burying place of the neighborhood before there was a building there. The first settlers did not bury their dead on individual farms, for they had their community life in Hughes Station. The oldest graves, therefore, were in this place.”
[Source: The Lincolns in their Old Kentucky Home, William Eleazer Barton, 1923]
THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 20
Missouri
Some Marriage Records of Polk Co. Missouri
Polk County, Missouri - Marriage Book “A” 1836-1859 30 June 1836 – William Webb – Elizabeth Gillehan 20, Aug, 1840 – James Webb – Eliza Jordon 21, Jan, 1858 – William Wood – Elizabeth Webb
[Source: Marriage records, Polk County, Missouri: Book "A," 1836-1859, Howard W. Woodruff]
Some Marriage Records of Marion Co. Missouri
Oct 28, 1846, Edward Webb – Martha Rollens Mar 28, 1849, G. Washington Webb – Mary McDaniel [both of city of Hannibal] Jan 20, 1850, Anderson Brazee – Mariann Webb Aug 12, 1852, William M. Jamison – Margaret M. Webb Aug 31, 1854, William F. Willis – Lucy Webb Sept 17, 1855, George W. Smith – Ann Webb
[Source: Marriage records, Marion County, Missouri: Books “A” & “B,” 1827-1856, Howard W. Woodruff, 1970]
Some Marriage Records of Caldwell Co. Missouri
Hannah E. Webb to Joseph S. Lamer, Sept 15, 1867 Hulbert C. Webb to Mary C. Zimmerman, July 29, 1866 Isaac W. Webb to Eliza Jane Booker, Jan 27, 1868 Lucinda J. Webb to L. L. Majors, Dec 7, 1871
[Source: Marriage Records of Caldwell County, Missouri, Elizabeth Prather Ellsberry, 1969]
Some Marriage Records of Sullivan Co. Missouri
May 23, 1855 – Margaret Webb & Solomon Poole Feb 19, 1865 – John Webb & Rebecca Holliday April 8, 1866 – Dr. James C. Webb to Matilda J. Watson May 8, 1870 – James W. Webb to Sibie McCully March 9, 1871 – Hulett Webb to Sarah E. Compton March 5, 1876 – Harmon Briggs to Mary O. Webb, in the presence of William Webb and wife and George Briggs. Feb 6, 1877 – Nathaniel J. Webb to Margaret Barkley Dec 31, 1876 – William Barkley to Martha M. Webb
[Source: Marriage Records of Sullivan County, Missouri, Elizabeth Prather Ellsberry, 1961]
THETHE WEBBWEBB BULLETINBULLETIN Page 21
Misc. Wills of Dade Co. Missouri
Salling, Henry, Will dated March 8, 1849 Wife, Salina Louisa Salling. “If my son, Sterling comes home next fall”. My four children” Sterling, oldest son; James Riley, my 2nd son; John Marion, my youngest son, and my dau., Elizabeth Emaline. Exr., Joshua Ragsdale. Wit: Jonathan Paris, G. W. Webb & Lucy D. L. Rutledge. Proved 21 Mar 1849. [W 56-8] Exr., Joshua Ragsdale was approved, 23 March 1849. Probate Judge. H. Allison. [A-70]
Webb, Simeon, - Will dated 21 July 1859. Brother, Benjamin Moses Webb, Washington Webb, and John Webb. Sisters, Jane Paris, Sarah Hays, sister Brazell, formerly Hannah Sevier. Sister, Nelly Daugherty; niece, Jane Parish, dau. of sister, Jane Paris, because of their service and faithfulness to the testator and his wife. Slaves are to be free after his death. Provisions made for slave Mary Wilmoth and her children. Exr., Jacob B. Paris, friend. Wit: Robert L. McGuire & Andrew J. Stumbaugh, on 10 Sept 1859. Leonidas Morris stated that Simeon Webb died on or about 25 Aug 1859. Proved 30 Sept 1859. [W 151- 155]
[Source: Marriage Records, Dade County, Missouri: Books A & B, 1863-1972, and abstracts of Wills and Admrs. A 1841-1867, Howard W. Woodruff, 1971]
New York
Burying grounds of Sharon, Connecticut, Amenia and North East, New York: being and abstract of inscriptions from thirty places of burial in the above named towns. L. Van Alystyne, 1903
Burying Ground at the “Steel Works.” This is a small enclosure on the hillside above the “Steel Works,” on the old road, half way between South Amenia and Wassaic. Here was buried in 1746, Mr. Richard Sackett, the earliest settler of Amenia. The stone that marked the spot has long since disappeared. The whole place is shamefully neglected.
Daniel Webb, d. June 8, 1817, ae. 74 Mansfield Webb, d. Dec 21, 1813, ae. 26
Historical Gazetteer of Steuben County, New York Millard Fillmore Robers, 1891
Town of Addison Webb, Lee R., [Hill & Webb], h Steuben. Webb, Wallace J., emp sach factory, h. Goodhue.
Town of Avoca Webb, Hannah, widow of Robert H., bds. 23 Grant.
Corning City Webb, Charles, N., conductor, bds 72 Bridge Webb, James, saloon, also junk dealer, 287 E. Market. Webb, Polly, widow, Josiah, h 72, Bridge
THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 22
Town of Dansville Webb, Philip [Burns], farmer.
Hornellsville City Webb, Abern M., painter, 126 Main. Webb, Adrian B., car-inspector, h 34 Jane. Webb, Alfred, hotel, 102 Canistco. Webb, Carrie, widow, George A., h 22 Front. Webb, Chastina P., widow Josiah W., h 14 High. Webb, Frank, teamster, h Madison Ave. Webb, Marion I., Mrs. Baker and fruit, h 48, Van Scoter.
Hornellsville – outside city Webb, Albetus, r 29, farmer, 50. Webb, Epenetus, r 45, resident, Served in Co. K., 86th Regt., N. Y. Vols. Webb, Foster B., r 13, farmer 70. Webb L. Joseph, r 29, farmer. Webb, Shepard, r 26, farmer 350. Webb, William, r 32, laborer.
History of Chenango and Madison Counties, New York James H. Smith, 1880
Greene, Early Settlers Eli Webb came in from Egremont, Massachusetts, where he was born July 19, 1771, I 1806, and settled on the west side of Genegantslet creek, a mile above the corners of that name, on the farm now occupied by Stephen Davis, whose father Dow Davis was an early settler in the same locality and died there, he and his second wife, Cloe, the former June 6, 1871, aged 90, and the latter July 2, 1852, aged 57. Mr. Webb died on the place May 3, 1846, and Polly, his wife, July 27, 1854, aged 72. He had three children, all of whom are living, Sarah, wife of Heman Carter, in the village of Greene; Ann, [widow of Moses B. Adams, who died March 9, 1873, aged 67,] in Smithville Flats, with her daughter, Mrs. Benjamin Brown; and Philo, [his wife, Mary E., died Oct. 4, 1875, aged 64,] near Genegantslet. Nathan Webb, brother of Eli, came in from Massachusetts, about the same time and settled on Brag Pond Brook where Harris Monk now lives. He resided there a good many years and moved to Triangle and died near there. None of his descendants are living in the town. One son, Mason died here; the rest of the children removed from the town.
Brisbin …The present merchants are Samuel Lee, who came from Smyrna in the fall of 1875; and Edward L. Webb, who came in from Utica in April, 1879.
G. W. Webb Mr. G. W. Webb of Greene, son of John William Webb, of Westchester County, N. Y., was born in 1835, and settled in Chenango county in 1869. In 1862 he married Miss Mary J. Barrett, of Otsego County. She was born in 1842 and died in 1875, leaving one son, William, who was born in 1865.
In 1876 Mr. Webb married for his second wife Miss Rosella S. Barnett who was born in Chenango county in 1854, she is the grand-daughter of Charles Felix Bo Lyne Barnett, of Chenango county, who was one of the pioneers of this county.
Mr. Webb is on of the energetic farmers of the county and has a fine farm of 160 acres, a view of which may be seen on another page of this work. His residence commands a fine view of the surrounding valleys.
THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 23
In early life, after being graduated from Gilbertsville Academy, he taught school for several years, finally preferring farming he purchased his present residence.
Virginia
Virginia Land Bounty Certificates
Martin Webb, soldier six moths in Col. Peachey’s Regt., or Frontier Bat. Buckingham Co., Nov 8, 1779.
Julius Webb, soldier in Capt. Throgmorton’s company of Regulars in old Va. Regt. till legally discharged. Botetourt Co., March 1780.
Misc. Virginia County Rosters
James City, Jan 13, 1692 Giles Webb, Lieut.
[Source: Virginia Colonial Militia, 1651-1776, 1954]
Calendar of Virginia State Papers and Other Manuscripts William Pitt Palmer, 1893
1780, October 10th Philadelphia In Congress Saml: Huntington to Gov: Jefferson, enclosing Act of Congress appointing Charles Fleming and Forster Webb Esquires, Commissioners on the part of the united States “to endorse the Bills that shall be emitted by the State of Virginia, in pursuance of the resolution of Congress of 18th March last-
November 1st, 1780 George Webb, in behalf of the Govr & Council of Va. in acct with Carter Braxton – Settlement leaving balance due Carter Braxton L23758.12.0, payable in Crop Tobacco @ L65 pr: 100wt:
Several Successive Courts were held on the 25th Sept: 1780 & on the 26th September, Present- Co: Thos: Gaskins, Col: Thos Jones, Capt: Chas: Lee, Capt: Wm Downing, Capt: John Rogers, Capt: John Harcum, John Span Webb, Capt: George Eskridge, Capt: John Digges and others.
June 18th, 1781 Account of the Capture of a schooner called the “Hero’s Revenge” by a Baltimore armed vessel, without resistance on the part of the former.
Her crew deserted the vessel, and with their arms escaped to the shore – The gentlemen of the county went in pursuit, and after a chase of twenty miles, came up with and captured the who of them- This schooner had been taken from one Hughes of Gloucester Co., b the Enemy and it appeared he had volunteered on board with them to repair his loss – The Commander is on Robert Bulfell Capre, who lately had escaped from Powhatan Co. House Jail – most of the Prisoners were Deserters from the American Army – The negroes found and taken with them, belonged to John Page Esq, Isaac Smith of Accomac, to gentlemen in Somerset Co. Md: to Mr. Tayloe of Richmond and to Mrs. Mary Webb of Essex Co. THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 24
The writer of this account requests of the Executive instructions as to how he shall dispose of the prisoners, they being composed of deserters , British and negroes.
1781, July 14th Essex Co. John Webb to the Executive In regard to claim of Mrs. Webb for her negro Slave “Robins,” carried off by Capt: Carre and his crew, who were afterwards captured by a party of volunteers under Webb’s Command – Among the prisoners were three men from the Eastern Shore of Maryland, one Stringfield “a most infamous Character” and five other negroes brought from Portsmouth by Carre by permission of Genl: Leslie, all bearing arms-
July 28th, 1781, Charlottesville Capt. A. Bohannan C. M. Stores, to Col: Davies As ordered he is about to take the shortest rout to Noland Ferry in order to secure the mil stores at the place & will return by way of Fauquier Co. House to Fredericksburg – Thinks Penn’s Tavern the best place for a magazine, on account of the umber of houses there. Encloses a list of articles need for the Laboratory – Scissors and “Culloc” knives much wanted – He had been obliged to borrow from Mr. Foster Webb L2940, for the use of his Department – Hopes a Warrant will be at once transmitted to that gentleman, for this amount.
August 17th, 1781, War Office Recommending the appointment of Mr. Foster Webb, as Paymaster, to discharge the claims of Officers and Soldiers of the State, “whose situation precludes them from being included in any pay roll”, - which is approved by the Governor-
October 11, 1781 Geo: Webb to Gov: Nelson, in regard to the case of Rev: Mr. Lyon, sentenced to five years imprisonment by the Court Martial of Accomac Co., and brought to this place by Executive Orders.
July 8th, 1782, Essex Co. Col: W. Roane to Col. Wm. Davies …I sometime ago received a letter from his Excell’y the Governeor, direct’d to Isaac Smith Esqur., In Richm’d County, Col: Thos. Gaskins & myself, desiring us to obtain a full state of the Capture of the Boston Schoon’r by the crew in the Vessel In w’ch Col: John Webb was interested, and to take depositions…”
October 22, 1782, Richmond John Webb, “Clothier & Paymaster to the Virginia Navy” to the Governor.
March 21st, 1787, Harrison County, Virginia Copy of Bond Of Wm. Haymond, Nicholas Carpenter, John Powers, Hezekiah Davison, Thos Webb, John McCally, Daniel Davisson, Benj. Coplin, John Goodwin, Edward Jackson, and John P. Duvall, in the penalty of four thousand pounds current money, for the faithful performance of their duties as Commissioners under the Act of Assembly, authorizing “the opening a wagon Road from the State Road to the mouth of the little Kenhawa,” &c.
March 26th, 1789, Richmond Nathaniel Gregory to the Governor States that the memorandum sent to him was delivered to Mr. Bernard Webb, who promised to copy the papers. On going to the office found that the principal ones were in the possession of Col. Davis, who could no spare them immediately, &c, &c.
March 29th, 1789 The Commonwealth of Virginia to Leighton Wood, Jr. 1789. Jan 1. To examining and stating sundry accounts and claims in the course of last year by the order of the Executive, of which the following were part: Thomas Webb and Rawleigh Colston’s accounts… THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 25
June 10th, 1790 Petition for pardon Armistead Russell, George B. Poindexter, Benedict Crump, Sam’l Mark, Geo Wilkinson Jr., and John Bacon to Governor Randolph. Petition for the pardon of Abraham, negro man slave, the property of William Allen Atkinson, sentenced to be hung for felony on July 3oth next. The above named persons, members of the Court of New Kent County, who tried & convicted & sentenced to be hung Jeese, a negro man slave, belonging to Mary Dickerton Webb, and Abraham, negro slave, property of the said Wm Allen Atkinson, for having on the 28th day of May last, in the night time, feloniously & burglariously broken into the smoke house of one Thomas Howle, and stolen 18 pieced of bacon & other articles. The said Abraham was found guilty as an accomplice. They are sensible that a pardon will be more effectual to attain the good intended by punishment than a rigorous Execution might be, & this his first arraignment, recommends hi to his Excellency the Governor as an object of mercy.
May 30th, 1792 Rec’d [Richmond, May 30th, 1792] of Samuel Coleman, tow large boxes said to contain six hundred and one cartridge boxes in good order, which I promise to deliver in the like good order, unavoidable accidents excepted, to Col. Willis Wilson, at Norfolk or to his order. Teste: Tapley Webb N. B. – On examining the above cases, we find no more than five hundred eighty-nine Cartouch boxes – 589.
December 31st, 1792 Disbursements from Auditor’s Office Oct 26th – N. Webb Oct 17th – Wm Webb Nov 24th – Wm Webb
Petition for the Pardon of John Crane, Jr. – Berkeley & Frederick Counties, 1792 Signer: W’mson Webb
October 13th, 1793 The Affidavit of William Webb, a boy belonging to the said vessel: When did you come on board? Ans. A Day before we sailed. Did you belong to the vessel before? Ans. Yes. How long had you been out of the vessel? Ans. About two weeks. Where was the vessel when you left her? Ans. At Wilmington Where did she sail to from Wilmington? Ans. To Milford. How long has it been since the Captain, the vessel, or any of the hands, have been in Philadelphia, or higher up the Delaware than Wilmington? Ans. I think I has been three or four months. -William Webb
April 24th, 1794, Pendleton Co. …Whereupon, the said Essex, the prisoner, being thereof arraigned, pleaded not guilty, and thereupon Frederick Noel and Thomas Butler being sworn, and Isaac and Nan, negro slaves belonging to Richard H. Corbin, being sworn, and on hearing as well the evidence of the said Frederick Noel and Thomas Butler, and Isaac & Nan, as the said Benjamin Dabney, deputy attorney, and James Webb, attorney for the said Essex, the prisoner, and the THE WEBB BULLETIN Page 26
evidence and arguments of the attornies being maturely considered, it was the opinion of the court that the Essex is guilty, as in the information is charged. Therefore it is considered by the court that the said Essex, the prisoner, be hanged on the 10th day of June next… The court do value the said negro man Essex to forty-one pounds, ten shillings, which is ordered to be certified to the Auditor of public accounts. – Larkin Smith, Teste: RO. Pollard, C. C.
Sept 25th, 1794 Capt. Tarpley Webb of the boat Venus, appointed as a lookout boat to prevent the infectious diseases prevailing in the West Indies, &c…
Feb 8th 1776 A Warrant to Griffin Fauntleroy for use of Capt. John Webb, for L72 for the recruiting service in the Essex District. James Edmondson’s letter lodged as security for proper application &c., bond given.
March 13, 1776, Williamsburg Same to John Webb for L110.3.5 for provisions furnished his company of Regulars.
Jan 5, 1804 Meriweather Jones to the Governor …It also appears that Jesse Webb took the place of Lieut. Marcheson and received pay and rations to 25th of August, 1801.
April 20, 1861, Richmond Lewis N. Webb to the Governor Asking employment in some post of danger in the service of the State.
May 27, 1861, Richmond S. Barron to the Governor Soliciting commissions for Lieut’s Edward L. Winder and Wm A. Webb, late of the U. S. Navy; also for Midshipman M. P. Goodwyn.
June 20, 1863, Wheeling Certificate of L. A. Hagans, S’c’t’y Comm’th, of the appointment of Lewis W. Webb, as Auditor of Public Accounts, is on file.
The Webb Bulletin is a monthly newsletter for members of the Webb Surname DNA Project and is NOT produced for mass circulation or for profit. If there are questions about any of the transcriptions, please refer to the original source[s]. Records provided in this publication should be used for research purposes only. The Webb Bulletin should NOT be cited as a source in any publication or website. For publication purposes and for documentation, always go to and consult the original source. The editor of this publication cannot be responsible for errors in transcription. In most cases, but not all, the original spelling was adhered to.
I welcome any suggestions or requests for future issues!
Eileen Sturner [nee Webb] Webb Surname DNA Project Administrator
WEBB SURNAME DNA PROJECT www.webbdnaproject.org