- WILLIAM WEBB. From tillers of the soil have arisen some of
the most influential and
- celebrated men of this and other lands, and even cursory
reading will demonstrate the truth of the assertion that agriculture
is the surest path to affluence. Among the substantially farmer-citizens
of Albany, Green county, is William WEBB, who was born in Oneida
county, N.Y., May 16, 1819, a son of James and Anna (SCOTT) WEBB,
both of whom were natives of New York. They had born to them
a family of eight sons and five daughters, but time has made
sad inroads, and but three of that large number still survive:
William, who is our subject; Louis, who married Harrison CHASE,
resides near Utica, N.Y.; and Anna, who married a gentleman of
Vernon, New York.
- The paternal grandfather of our subject was James WEBB, a
native of New York, of English
- descent, who followed a sea-faring life and at death left
one son and one daughter. The maternal grandfather was Enos SCOTT,
a native of New York, born in the neighborhood of Black River,
where he engaged in farming, lived to an advanced age, and was
the father of three sons and two daughters.
- William WEBB, the subject of this sketch, was reared on a
farm in Oneida county, N.Y., and
- was early taught lessons of industry and honesty, which have
been of advantage to him in later life. The educational advantages
were those of a settled locality, and in his youth our subject
was well grounded in the primary principles. At the age of fifteen
he accompanied his father to Ohio, where the latter settled on
a good farm in Geauga county, where he died in 1841, aged sixty-one
years. The mother of our subject survived him some ten years,
being seventy-two years old at the time of his death. She had
all her life been a devoted member of the Methodist Church, while
Mr. WEBB had accepted the Universalist faith. During the war
of 1812 he had been a teamster, and during his residence in Oneida
county served a long time as supervisor of his town, and was
a well-known and respected citizen.
- About 1860 William WEBB removed to Wisconsin, taking up 160
acres of government land,
- which he improved and lived upon for some years, but advantageously
sold and then located in Green county, where he bought 312 acres,
which he improved, this farm being in Section 25, Albany township.
In 1882 his two sons, Charles and William, bought this farm,
and our subject retired to the village of Albany, where he built
a substantial and comfortable residence, with twelve acres of
land, and now resides there, enjoying the fruits of a well-spent
life.
- Mr. WEBB was married April 26, 1842, to Miss Fannie RICE,
a daughter of Roswell and Sarah
- RICE, six children being born of this union: Albert, who
married Mary KIBBIE lives in Evansville, with four children,
Arthur, Frank, Nellie and May; Jane, who married Hiram BROWN,
who died a number of years ago, leaving six children, Clara,
Myrtie, William, Helen, and a pair of twins (who died in Nebraska),
and Mrs. BROWN then married O. C. HEALY, and resides at Mapleton,
Minn.; Mary E., who married Samuel HARN, is deceased, leaving
one daughter, Emma, who is now the wife of F. L. HOLIDAY, of
Janesville; William R., who married Dell BUMP, and resides in
Albany, with five children, William, Rufus, Homer, Fern, and
Hazel; Charles E., who married Eva HARTE, and resides in Evansville,
with one son, Mark; and Emma, who married Benjamin SUTHERLAND,
but is now deceased, leaving one daughter, Jessie. The mother
of these children died on May 26, 1889, aged sixty-nine years,
having been a devoted member of the United Brethren Church. On
June 5, 1890, Mr. WEBB wedded Mrs. Sarah A. HUBBARD, the widow
of Henry HUBBARD, and her death occurred in March, 1897.
- An active and prominent member of the Democratic party, Mr.
WEBB has been called upon to
- serve in many of the local offices for some years, being
supervisor and a justice of the peace for many terms, displaying
judgment and discretion in managing the township affairs that
made him a valuable officer. Ever since locating in Green county,
he has engaged in farming and stockraising, but has found time
to be interested in all progressive movements in his neighborhood,
and willingly assisting when he was convinced they were for the
best interests of all concerned. Much respected, he is one of
the representative citizens of Albany.
-
- Taken from "Commemorative Biographical Record of
the Counties of Rock, Green, Grant, Iowa and Lafayette Wisconsin,"
(c)1901 Union Publishing; pp. 812-813.
-
- Courtesy of Carol.
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