Tracing the Path of James Webb, 1737-1808

From Pennsylvania To Virginia And Kentucky


Prepared by Emrick A. Webb - May, 1994


Revised December, 2004 In Collaboration With Robert Keyes


James Webb, born 3 March 1737 in Exeter Township, Berks County, PA, was one of the nine children of John Webb and Mary Boone. The Webbs and Boones were Quakers from England and were among the original founders of the Exeter Friends Church. The Webb-Boone family record is documented in various Boone family histories and in the Quaker meeting records for Exeter Township. James Webb and Daniel Boone [born 2 November 1734] were first cousins and neighbors through childhood, with visits between the families documented in Daniel Boone's remembrances.


James Webb was raised in the Quaker faith, as were all his brothers and sisters. His name first appears at age 18 as a witness to the marriage of their brother-in-law Samuel Hughes and Margaret [Gethin] May on 10 December, 1755, along with older siblings Sarah, Benjamin and Joseph, as reported in Berks County Marriages. The Index to Quaker Meeting Records-Exeter Monthly Meetings by William Wade Hinshaw shows that James Webb, on 28 July 1757, was "disowned" by the church for disunity. This could have to do with non-compliance of any number of rules of conduct enforced by the Quakers, including marrying persons outside of the church, consorting with the military or carrying a sword. The Quakers were strict pacifists, forbidding any kind of weapons, even in self defense, although Indian raids were not uncommon throughout the territory. Jamess case was documented in the Exeter Monthly Meeting Record of 25 August, 1757, p. 227-228:

Whereas James Webb was brought up amongst Friends and instructed in the Principles of Truth, but by not taking heed thereto as he ought, hath sufford himself to be lead astray so far as to shooting match contrary to the rules and good order established amongst Friends, and altho he has sondry times been spoken to and treated with to condemn his fault which he still refuses to do, but rather justifies himself therein; Therefore for the clearing of truth and the professon thereof, we hereby testify against him as a disorderly person, and not a member of our Society until he shall condemn the same by repentance, which is our desire.

Signed in and on behalf of this Meeting by Benjamin Lightfoot, Clk

He did not repent and the Hinshaw record also shows six other children of John and Mary being disassociated with the church for various reasons between 1747 and 1780. Unfortunately, disassociation with the Friends Church, which carefully documented family records, eliminated a good source of information in that time and place in history.


The Berks County Tax Lists for 1760 shows James Webb as a single man at age 23 and a taxable resident of Exeter Township. But in the 1763 record he is listed as married, and he continued to appear in that record through 1775. The Berks County tax record also lists brothers John Jr., Benjamin, Joseph and Samual in Exeter and adjacent Amity Townships through 1765, while George went over the mountain to Brunswick Township, as did Joseph and Benjamin who shows there on the tax rolls for 1770 through 1778. Since many of the Webb family members were no longer affiliated with the Friends Church, their lives were not documented, and no official record has been found of the marriage in 1763 of James Webb to Mary Matthews, or of the births of their children for those years in Exeter Township. However, a lawsuit [Matthews v. Warren which will be shown later] proves conclusively that Mary Matthews is the wife of James Webb. But most significant is a recently revealed family Bible which most likely was in the possession of James Webb, and in which presumably he had written the birthdates of his 14 children. The order and format of the listing is as follows:

James Webb Jr. Born February 19 1764
Amelia Webb Born May 12 -------- 1765
John Webb Born August 1 --------- 1766
Dinah Webb Born August 1 -------- 1766
Adin Webb Born Sept. 29 ---------- 1767
Asa Webb Born May 31 ------------ 1769
Jeremiah Webb Born Dec. 26 ------ 1770
Bennajah Webb Born May 30 ------ 1772
Rachel Webb Born Nov. 13 -------- 1773
Moses Webb Born May 1 ---------- 1775
Amasa Webb Born Feb. 2 ---------- 1777
Mary Webb Born August 21 ------- 1779 departed this life Sept 19 1779
Elijah Webb Born July 26 ----------- 1781
Elisha Webb Born March 21 -------- 1783

The identification of James Webbs children comes from a 1755 edition of the Bible with the title page printed as follows:

The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments Newly Translated out of the Original Tongues and with the Former Translations Diligently Compared and Revised by His Majestys Special Command. Appointed to be read in Churches. Printed by Thomas Baskett - Printer to the University - Oxford - MDCCLV.

[It would be interesting to know when and how a copy of this Bible printed for the use of the Church of England might have found a way into the hands of former Quakers like James Webb and his descendants. This Bible is now in the hands of Shirley Powers Webb of Arkansas City, Kansas, who received it from a Leo Webb of Green County, Kentucky. Since this document is the only record known at this time to identify James Webbs children and some other family members, its preservation is critically important to all of his descendants seeking their roots.]


Although this list of birth dates in the Bible is not specifically identified as the children of James Webb, Sr. and Mary Matthews, on the bottom half of the page preceding the list, at the end of the Old Testament Prophets, is written in a significantly different hand, the following:

James Webb Sr. was born March the 3rd 1737
Mary Matthews was born October 18th 1743
James Webb Sr. Departed this Life in the year of our Lord 1808 aged 72 years old

This was obviously written after the death of James Webb in 1808, presumably inserted here by another family member, and seems to tie James Webb and Mary Matthews to their children listed on the following page, and since no death date is recorded for Mary Matthews, it is assumed that she is still alive in 1808. Also, at the very bottom of this page is written the following in what appears to be in the same style and format of the listing of their children on the following page:

Mary Cherrington Born February 2 ----- 1713
Departed this life August 5 -- 1792 -- Aged ______ 79 Years

As shown below, Mary Cherrington is the mother of Mary Matthews, who might reasonably have wished this entry to be in the family record. The exact date of her death might indicate that she was either living with or nearby the James Webb family at that time and widowed from her second husband Clement Cherrington whom she married 10 April 1750.


A lawsuit [Matthews vs. Warren] filed 2 August 1803 in Augusta County, Virginia is very significant in piecing together the life of James Webb. This suit was brought by the heirs of Robert Mathews, for a division of his estate. A brief of the suit appears in Chronicles of the Scotch-lrish Settlement in Virginia, Vol. 2, by Lyman Chalkley, pages 82-3. The suit is also outlined in "Settlers By The Long Grey Trail" by John Houston, pages 336-7. The suit states that Robert Mathews, a weaver, died in Exeter Township in 1745, Berks County, PA, and his wife, Mary Coles, by 1754 had married again, to a Cherrington. The children and heirs are listed as "sons Solomon, Townsend, John and Robert Mathews, and daughters Amelia, wife of Robert Dickey, Rebecca, wife of Benjamin Webb, and Mary, wife of James Webb. On 26 July 1764, Benjamin Webb of Exeter Township, yeoman, gave power of attorney to his loving brother-in-law, Robert Mathews of Augusta County, cordwainer."


The record of the lawsuit is important in identifying the wife and in-laws of James Webb, and when taken together with a power of attorney found in the Jessamine County, Kentucky court house, a trail of his travels begins to unfold. One year after the suit was filed in Augusta County, Virginia, James Webb signed and recorded a document that states in part:

Know all men by these presents that I, James Webb of the State of Kentucky and the County of Jessamine -- hereby appoint Jeremiah Webb of the County of Augusta, State of Virginia my true and lawful agent or attorney -- for the purpose of recovering any personal property I may be entitled to because of my intermarriage with Mary Mathews, daughter of the late Robert Mathews of Berks County, Pennsylvania I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 20th day of August 1804.

The September 1805 Court Minute Book of Jessamine County also states on page 189:

Letter of Attorney from James Webb to Benejah Webb of Rockingham County, Virginia acknowledged and ordered to be recorded and certified to the aformentioned County of Rockingham.

The information presented above shows that this James Webb from Exeter Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania married Mary Matthews probably about 1763, was the father of 14 children, possibly had family members residing in Virginia during 1804-05, at age 68, was living in Jessamine County, Kentucky; and by 1808, he had died, probably somewhere in Kentucky. His journey to that place and time has left few markers along the way to define the man and his motives. What has been discovered so far is presented in the following pages.


The story of James Webb thus far raises a number of questions. What did he do to support a family of 10 children in Exeter Township, Pennsylvania, why did he leave there and where did he go after 1775? Besides producing and caring for a new child almost each year, including a set of twins in 1766, James Webb shows up as a guest at other family members weddings. According to Berks County Marriages:


The Berks County tax records and the marriage records listed above seem to be the only documentation of James Webb in Berks County, Pennsylvania. No record of his owning property has been found which would seem to eliminate James as a farmer, unless he worked as a "share cropper" for others, which seems unlikely as providing enough to support a large family. It is more likely that he was a tradesman or merchant of some kind, since he was literate and possessed a fine hand for writing, if the assumptions regarding the writing in the Bible are correct.


The last record of James Webb in Pennsylvania is the Berks County Tax Rolls for 1775, and it is assumed he and his family moved from there after that tax year. If that happened, James and Mary and 10 children, the oldest, James Jr., at 11 years old and the youngest, Moses, less than a year, packed their belongings in some sort of wagon and traveled the few muddy roads to somewhere, not to be recorded anyplace for six years until August, 1781, where James Webbs name appears in the Rockingham County, Virginia, Minute Book. He and his family obviously were doing something someplace, but the record has yet to be found.


In the meantime, the Colonial government had declared its independence from England, and the Revolutionary War was being fought throughout the Colonies, with significant battles taking place within 20 to 40 miles of Exeter Township. Perhaps the James Webb family was not far from Berks County during the war years, or they may have traveled along the long gray trail to Virginia, retreating from view, then surfacing again as the war was ending, which it did in October, 1781. By that time, James family had both grown and grown up; James Jr. was 17, three more children had been born, but one, Mary, lived for only one month, leaving 12 hungry mouths to feed. It can be assumed that James Webb was engaged in some activity that produced a reasonable income at that time in Rockingham County, Virginia.


At some time between 1775 and 1781, James and his family were part of a migration south through the Shenandoah Valley that had been occurring for a number of years since land was more available for the growing population within the Colonies. His uncle, Squire Boone, father of Daniel Boone, moved his family from Pennsylvania about 1750 and stayed a year in the Linville Creek area of Rockingham County, Virginia [then part of Augusta County] on their way to settle in North Carolina. As recorded in a biography in Settlers By The Long Grey Trail James Webb's brother-in-law, Solomon Matthews was a large landowner and head of one of the first business firms in Rockingham. Solomon owned an iron works around 1780 called Mount Ery Furnace, located between Linville and Smith Creeks in Rockingham County. He also owned Spring Forge on land along Smiths Creek to the north of present Lacy Spring. Another brother-in-law, Robert Matthews, was a cordwainer in Augusta County in 1764. George Webb, Esq., who in 1762 was listed as an official in Berks County Pennsylvania court records, and in 1780 was identified as the Rockingham County Treasurer, could be the brother of James Webb. It can be concluded from this that sufficient reason existed for James Webb to move his family to that part of Virginia.


The first record found of James Webb in Virginia is in the Rockingham County Minute Book, page 99, for 27 August 1781, where he affirmed the sale of property to Solomon Matthews, his brother-in-law. Also, a court record for 28 February 1785, page 399, shows James Webb proving a will for which Solomon Matthews, Michael Warren and Jacob Lincoln are appointed appraisers. A generation earlier, the Matthews, Lincolns, Warrens and Webbs were all part of the families of Quakers living in and establishing Exeter Township, Pennsylvania, and it is reasonable to assume that these families could now be engaged in some enterprises together in Rockingham County, Virginia. There are also numerous entries in the Rockingham County Minute Book between 1787 and 1792 where James Webb is mentioned as both plaintiff and defendant, indicating that he was an active resident of the county.


In addition to the court records, the tax and marriage records of Rockingham County provide information about the James Webb family coming of age and getting married, as shown in the following chronological summary:

Tax and marriage records for the James Webb family
Date Tax/Tithable Records Marriage Records
19 May 1785   [1] Amelia Webb daughter of James Webb to John Smith.
4 April 1787 [2] James Webb Edin Webb [under 21]  
21 May 1788 [3] James Webb [sons Asa and Jeremiah] Adin Webb  
3 Jan. 1789   Rachel Webb dau. of James Webb to Connal Odonal. [1]
20 Mar. 1789 [4] James Webb
Edin Webb
James Webb,Jr.		  
21 May 1789   [1] James Webb,Jr. to Ann Scothern
13 Nov. 1789   [1] Adin Webb to Elizabeth Riggs
7 May 1790 [4] James Webb, Sr.
Eden Webb		  
19 Mar. 1791 [4] James Webb
James Webb,Jr.
Eden Webb [Last record in Virginia. Adin marries again on May 8, 1793 in Fayette Co., KY to Mary Robertson, niece of Silas Hart.*]		 data
21 Aug. 1792 [4] James Webb data
16 Mar. 1793 [4] James Webb
James Webb,Jr.
Jeremiah Webb
Asa Webb		  
16 May 1793   [1] Asa Webb to Mary Shanklin.
13 Aug. 1794 [4] James Webb James Webb,Jr. Jeremiah Webb  
25 Mar. 1795 [4]James Webb James Webb, Jr. [Last record in Virginia]  
18 May 1796 [4] James Webb Benejah Webb  
2 Aug. 1796   [1] Benejah Webb to Sarah Hamilton
22 May 1797 [4]James Webb [Last record in Virginia] Benejah Webb, Jeremiah Webb  
22 July 1798 [4] Jeremiah Webb [Last record in Rockingham Co., Virginia] Benejah Webb [Continues in tax and land records]  
27 Mar. 1804   [5] Jeremiah Webb to Catherine Alshire, Augusta Co., VA
[This Jeremiah has been proven to be the nephew of James Webb and the son of Moses Webb and Hannah Matthews.]



Sources for the preceding table:

  1. A copy of the actual marriage bond has been made from the original found in the Rockingham County Clerks Office. The sons are also listed in "Old Tenth Legion Marriages of Rockingham Co."
  2. The 1787 Census of Virginia - Rockingham County Personal Property Tax List "A". Adin Webb, listed as "Edin or Eden" in various records, was on the rolls as "under 21" because he would become of age and taxable during that year.
  3. Virginia Valley Records by John Wayland, "Vochers" in The Several Militia Companies Of Rockingham County In 1788, page 110.
  4. Rockingham County Personal Property Record-Tax Lists, from the Virginia State Library, Richmond, Virginia.
  5. Augusta County Marriages by John Vogt and William Kethley, Jr.

* Silas Hart was Sheriff of Augusta County and appointed first justice and Sheriff of Rockingham County when it was formed in 1778. He had large acreage bordering the two counties, near where the James Webb family lived, and sold some property to his brother-in-law, John Robertson, the father of Mary Robertson. Adin Webb served on many juries from 1788 through 1791 and would have had contacts with Silas Hart and would probably have known Mary Robertson while they lived in Virginia. Silas Hart was an active member of the Linville Creek Baptist Church where records show a Mary Webb being received on 10 March 1792, and baptized the following day. This probably is James Webbs wife. As reported in Settlers By The Long Grey Trail,pages 332-333, on 10 August 1793, a letter of transfer was requested for Mary Webb along with Amelia Smith, who could be her daughter-in-law. [See Marriage Records, above for 19 May 1785.]


The recently revealed Bible records add to the above public information to provide a little vitality and promote some speculation as to the history of the James Webb family. The writings from this Bible presented here are based on photocopies of certain pages where inscriptions have been written on blank spaces next to the printed words, and from a handwritten transcription of these entries. Assumptions as to the origin and timing of these inscriptions have been made by this writer based on the appearance and location of the writing shown on the photocopies.


It can be assumed from the location and dates of what appears to be the earliest writings in the Bible that it was acquired by James Webb in Rockingham County between the late 1780s and the early 1790s. The Bible could have come from the familys association with the Linville Creek Baptist Church where records show Mary Webb was baptized March 11, 1792, and Jamess daughter Amilia Smith was also an active member and might have been married there in 1785. As shown on page 2 of this document, all 14 children of James Webb are listed on one page opposite the beginning of the Apocrypha, appearing at the end of the Old Testament which may have been the first blank page in the Bible. The listing appears to have been entered by one person during one writing of the entries. The handwriting is very distinct, stylish and orderly, characteristic of someone who was accustomed to writing in the late 18th century. The birth dates are in chronological order with the last entry being for Elisha Webb, born March 21, 1783, indicating that the list could not have been created prior to that date. The first name, James Webb Jr., is written with the flourish of a signature, which could be assumed to be his, however, it does not match his signature on his marriage bond written in 1789. Or the listing could be the work of James Webb, Sr., who obviously has the same name and would seem to have more reason to list the birth dates of his children than would his son James. The handwriting also seems to match that on a document prepared by James Webb, Sr. in 1785 containing a consent to marry his daughter Amelia granted to John Smith.


It is likely that the listing of James Webbs children was intended to begin a record of the marriages and children of his offspring since the next entry below the birth dates of his children and what appears to be a line drawn on the page is the following record:

Thomas Smith Born January 19 1786
James Smith Born December 1786
Mary Smith Born June 11 1788

These are the children of Amelia and John Smith and the first grandchildren of James Webb.


The next entry at the bottom of the page is the name "James ODonnel" followed by a torn section of the page, and ending with "the 17th - 1790." This might have recorded the birth of a child of James daughter Rachel, who married Connal ODonnel January 3, 1789, and would be James Webbs fourth grandchild.


The next chronological event appears at the top of the page above the list of names of James Webbs children, above which a line has been drawn to separate the entries. It seems to have been placed here because it relates to the Smith family children listed on this page and states:

Mary Smith the Daughter of Jn" and Amelia Smith
Departed this life September 17, 1791 and Buryed the
18th day of said month

The death of his first granddaughter must have been a sad event, and this was followed a year later by the death of James mother-in-law, Mary Cherrington, on August 5, 1792, as mentioned on page 3 of this document. Since the family record page of the Bible, presumably started by James Webb, was now filled with his children and grandchildren, he seemed to decide that this next event would best be recorded on the previous page where there was space on the bottom at the end of the Old Testament Prophets. Besides, Mary Charrington was a grandparent and reasonably should be listed on the prior page to follow a chronicalogical order. So, in the Fall of 1792 the status of the James Webb family was:


The following Spring, on May 16, 1793, Asa Webb married Mary Shanklin in Rockingham County. However, it appears that plans were being made to move from there because records from the Linville Creek Baptist Church, as noted in Virginia Valley Records By John W. Wayland, state:

Aug. 10, 1793 --- Letters of dismission written for Sister Webb and Sister Smith, upon application, but held for until another application is made.

Saturday Sept, 7th, 1793, ---- 1st. The Letters for our two Sisters as mentioned last Meeting was applied for and delivered to them, as also a particular Recommendation for Sister Amelia Smith was applied for wrote signed and delivered for her.

A "letter of dismission" would be carried by a person to prove their membership and status in a prior church when they would move to a new location. This raises the question - who is this Sister Webb that is planning to move along with her relative, Amelia Smith? According to the Rockingham County Personal Property Tax Records, the only Webbs listed there during the 1790s were in the James Webb family. Therefore, in the Fall of 1793, the only Webb women living there were Mary, wife of James, Sr., Ann, wife of James, Jr. and Mary, the recent bride of Asa. It is known from the tax records shown in the previous summary that James Webb, Sr. did not leave Rockingham County until after May 1797, so his wife, Mary was not the one planning to transfer her membership somewhere else. Also, James Webb, Jr. was in Rockingham County through March, 1795, presumably with his wife, Ann. That leaves Mary, planning to go with her new husband, Asa, probably along with her sister-in-law, Amelia Smith and family, to Kentucky where her brother-in-law, Adin was living. Mary Shanklin Webb was probably a member of the church before she married Asa, and might have had an association with his sister, Amelia Smith, which could have brought Asa and Mary together.


But sadly, Mary Shanklin Webb did not move, for within three weeks after receiving the letter of dismission, she was dead, only four months after marrying Asa. This event was recorded, presumably, by James Webb in his Bible on the next blank page, which occurred at the end of the New Testament and before a 1752 Concordance that was bound with the Bible. At the top of the page is written:


"Mary Shanklin was Born" -- and then the rest of the line is obscured and worn away. There appears to have been two or three lines written below this that are also obscured, which may have recorded her marriage to Asa Webb. Following that space is written very clearly in the neat hand of the previous records:

Mary Webb Departed this life the 23rd day of Sepr 1793
and was Buryed the 24 Sepr

Just under this statement, a grand circular flourish had been made with the pen, signaling a tribute and finale to her life, and an end to what must have been a sad and sudden event.


There is no record of either Asa Webb or the John and Amilia Smith family in Rockingham County after 1793, so it can be assumed that they did move on to Kentucky. James Webb, Jr. left Rockingham County after March, 1795 and is later recorded in Kentucky, and Asa Webb and his brother-in-law, Connel ODonnel, are mentioned in an April 6, 1795 notice in the Kentucky Gazette. Adin Webb has been recorded on the Fayette County Tax Rolls since 1792, so all of James Webbs married children, were in Kentucky by the end of 1795. By that time, no family events had been recorded in the Bible since the death of Mary Shanklin Webb in September, 1793, however, life did go on. Bennajah Webb, at age 24, married Sarah Hamilton on August 2, 1796, and seemed to have made his permanent home in Rockingham County. But that was not the plan for James Webb. After May, 1797, he apparently decided to move on to Kentucky, taking his Bible and his wife and boys; Moses, age 22, Amasa, 20, Elijah, 16 and Elisha, 14. His son Jeremiah apparently did not make the trip, since he was last recorded on July 22, 1798 at age 28 in the Rockingham County Tax List.


Moving on to Kentucky from Rockingham County Virginia was no easy task in 1797. As described by Robert Kincaid in The Wilderness Road, the trip was over 500 miles along the Wilderness Road, where the last 200 miles snaked through the Cumberland Gap and followed the path that in 1775 Daniel Boone [James Webbs cousin and childhood playmate] and his axemen had cut through the wild territory to establish Boonesborough, near Winchester, Kentucky. Initially, the route was rocky, steep, winding and crossed many waterways, which made it available only by horseback and pack animals, or by walking. In addition to the physical discomforts, Indians were constantly attacking and raiding travelers, with massacres occurring into the 1790s, at the time when Adin Webb had moved with his first wife, Elizabeth Riggs, from Virginia to Fayette County, Kentucky. However, with Kentuckys statehood in 1792, and many more settlers coming into the territory, improvements were made to the road, and in 1795, the legislature approved two thousand pounds to build a good wagon road to Virginia. Even Daniel Boone, at age 62, penniless and landless and living in his sons cabin near Blue Licks, made a pitch to Governor Shelby to build the road some 21 years after blazing the first path through the wilderness. The Governor chose others to do the job during the summer of 1796, and an announcement of its completion was spread across the front page of the October 15, 1796 edition of the Kentucky Gazette stating:

THE WILDERNESS ROAD from the Cumberland Gap to the settlements of Kentucky is now completed. Waggons loaded with a ton of weight, may pass with ease, with four good horses, -- Travellers will find no difficulty in procuring such necessaries as they stand in need of on the road; and the abundant crop now growing in Kentucky, will afford the emigrants a certainty of being supplied with every necessary of life on the most convenient terms.

Thus were the conditions that confronted James Webb and his family as they set out on the Wilderness Road with a wagon-load of their belongings.


It is not clear exactly when the James Webb family left Rockingham County, how long they were on the road or when they arrived in Kentucky and who was there to greet them. There was a mail service that operated sporadically to and from Kentucky from 1792 to 1795 when Governor Shelby urged the United States Government to improve the routes. James Webb may have corresponded with some of his children who were in Kentucky during that time, and as a result, could have been encouraged to seek new opportunities there. In any event, sometime after the Rockingham County tax records were posted on May 22, 1797, he left that area and next appeared in May 1798 in Fayette County Kentucky where his son Adin was living at the time. The name "James Webb, Sen." appears with others in the May 9, 1798 edition of the Kentucky Gazette as a witness to an announcement of a public apology to Adin Webb who had been falsely accused of theft and perjury by the road commissioner, William T. Taylor. The details of the event were not stated, but an identical apology was also printed for a Phillip Webber with James Webb being the witness also, along with James Brackenridge, Abner Jackson and James Owens. It would appear that James Webb would have been in the area long enough to be acquainted with the situation and with other individuals, as well as having a close association with his son Adin.


James Webb had not seen Adin since 1791 and may have known through correspondence with Adin that his first wife, Elizabeth Riggs, had died sometime after the birth of their son, James, born February 3, 1792, and that he was remarried on May 8, 1793 to Mary Robertson, an acquaintance from Rockingham County, Virginia, and that they now had two daughters, Elizabeth, born May 19, 1794, and Charlotte, born April 19, 1797. It is reasonable to assume that James Webb knew where he was traveling to in Kentucky, and the area where Adin lived seemed to be a logical choice. Adin had an established residence in Fayette County according to the county tax records of 1792 to 1798, he was also listed as a member of the Kentucky militia, and was identified as a house carpenter in some court records, and he might have had enough room for his spinster sister-in-law, Isabella Robertson, to be living with his family. One branch of the Wilderness Road ended near enough to Adins residence to be a good place to begin James Webbs life in Kentucky.


Jessamine County was formed in 1799 from a portion of Fayette County, and its county seat, Nicholasville, is 12 miles south of Lexington, the seat of Fayette County, which is about 15 miles west of Winchester, the seat of Clark County. Winchester is the end of the Wilderness Road that the James Webb family traveled to get to Kentucky, and somewhere within the triangle formed by the three towns is the place that James Webb was recorded on the tax rolls for Jessamine County in 1799. In that year, Adin Webb was also recorded on the Jessamine County tax rolls, as was James Webb, Jr., so it can be assumed that the area where they were living became part of the new county. Jessamine County was the home of James Webb for seven years, as it was for some of his children during that time period, as shown in the following list from the county tax records.


The Webb names "William, Jr. and Sr.," "Robert" and "Walter" listed above for 1799 and 1800, are probably not part of the family from which James Webb descended, however, the name "Amos is most certainly Jamess son Amasa, who with his brother Moses, was old enough to appear on the tax rolls. After 1800, the James Webb family were the only Webbs recorded in Jessamine County, but by 1806, all the family members who were there had moved elsewhere.


Where James Webb, Sr. went after 1805 and where he died in 1808 is still the subject of much speculation, but while he lived in Jessamine County he did leave a few records of his activities. In the record for the November 1799 court, James Webb lost an appeal to John Thompson that cost him 4 pounds 9 shillings and 8 pence plus over 10 shillings to his witnesses. The June 1800 County Court ordered that he pay his son Adin 4 shillings and 2 pennies for being a witness for him and Sarah Howard. Another document filed with the County Clerk on 25 October 1801 is a bill of sale where James Webb, Sr. purchased a large amount of furniture, household goods and sheep valued at 63 pounds 5 shillings, which he paid by trading land he had purchased at a sheriff's sale, plus four head of cattle. The document was witnessed by his sons Moses, Elijah and Elisha Webb. This was no small amount of money in those days, so it can be assumed that James Webb was involved in significant business activities.


The most important records left by James Webb in Jessamine County are those that were previously related on pages 3 and 4 of this document. The power of attorney that he granted to Jerremiah Webb in August 1804 to recover what may be due him from the estate of the father of his wife, Robert Matthews, because of his "intermarriage with Mary Matthews" is both revealing and puzzling. While it firmly established his marriage and family ties, it raises the question as to why he was filing the claim at that point in time and in that place, since the estate was originally settled after the sale of Robert Matthewss property in 1754. [See Matthews v Warren Case File] Mary Matthews apparently received her portion of the settlement in May, 1768 from her brother-in-law, Robert Dickey, to whom she had granted her power of attorney in 1762. However, a suit was filed on August 2, 1803 in Augusta County, Virginia against the executors of the estate, most likely by Solomon Matthews, for the Matthews heirs, including Mary Matthews Webb. But James Webb would not have known about this latest suit unless he read a publication of it somewhere, or he was informed by someone coming from Virginia to Jessamine County who knew about his family. That someone could have been either Jeremiah his son, or Jeremiah his nephew, and when James found out about the new suit, could have asked him to be his representative in Augusta County, Virginia. Since the whereabouts of his son was not known after 1798, and his nephew was married in Augusta County, Virginia, and had been recorded in Kentucky in 1804, James may have selected his nephew Jeremiah to follow the case when he returned to Virginia. However, after a year had past, James again gave a power of attorney, this time to his son Benejah in Rockingham County, Virginia, as was recorded in the Jessamine County Order Book for September, 1805. It appears as though James Webb was anxious to receive something of value from the case even though the claims were over forty years old and probably had very little merit, which as it turned out, was the case. Perhaps by the end of 1805, James and his wife had fallen on hard times or ill health, and with none of their children living in Jessamine County, needed some assistance. At that time, Amasa and his family in Fayette County was the closest relative they could look to for help. Whatever the circumstances, the power of attorney granted in 1805 was the last known record of James Webb, except for his Bible, where his death was recorded as 1808.


Nothing new had been recorded in the Bible since the death of Asas wife in 1793, but just below that entry described earlier on page 10, is written the following, apparently in the same hand:

The Births and Ages of Asa and Mary Webbs Children ___________

Jane Webb Was Born in January 11 day -----
1796 James Webb Was Born the 11 day of April 1797

This appears to be the last record made by James Webb in the Bible, and it raises many questions about when and why the entry was written. Several possible scenarios can be imagined to answer the questions. The name "Mary" is obviously not Asas first wife, Mary Shanklin, mentioned in the death notice above this entry, but is Mary Black, whom Asa is believed to have married in Kentucky. James Webb could have been informed of that event, and about the births of Asas children, by letters from Asa which he might have received before leaving Virginia. Or James Webb could have learned of these events after he arrived in Kentucky, either directly from Asa or from other family members. Since the dates of birth are precise, it would seem that either Asa or his wife would have in some way communicated the information. However, there is no record of Asa being in or around Jessamine County while James was living there. Asa appears on the 1799 Henderson County, Kentucky tax rolls where he is recorded until 1813. Asa and Mary had another daughter, Prudence, born about 1799, but since this was not added to the list in the Bible, James Webb was not aware of it, or chose to not record the event, as he apparently did regarding the events of his other children in the area.


Although the first three children of Amelia and John Smith are also listed in the Bible, nothing more is recorded about them after they left Virginia in 1793. The fact that James Webb did not record any other families of his children in the Bible would strongly indicate that the Bible remained in Jamess possession until his death. The notice of his death, noted earlier on page 3 of this document, appears below the record of the birth dates of both James Webb and his wife Mary Matthews. All three entries seems to have been written by the same person, but not with the care and sure hand demonstrated by the previous entries in the Bible up to that time. Since no death date is mentioned for Mary Matthews, she probably was alive at that time and could have maintained possession of the Bible until her death.


In fact, it could be argued that the Bible was really Marys, and she directed what would be entered into it by her husband, if she did not perform the writing herself. It was Mary Webb who was baptized in 1792 by the Linville Creek Baptist Church, and it was her daughter Amelia and her son Asas wife, Mary Shanklin, who were also active in the church, that were her only offspring to have their children listed in the Bible. Being a church member may have been the criteria for entry into the Bible, and could explain why none of Mary and Jamess other family members are listed. Such a decision could have come from their strict Quaker upbringing. Mary Webb could have also urged James to twice file his power of attorney in the Matthews vs. Warren case, since it was her family that was involved. Mary Webb was responsible for raising 14 children in pioneer conditions, providing for their care, education and moral values based upon her religious beliefs, and must have been a tower of strength for her family and those around her. Her Bible was perhaps her strength, and it probably went with her to her death, then to the family member with whom she was living at the time.


It appears that the most likely family member to have received the Bible was Amasa, since the birth date of Amasas wife Elizabeth and the births of their 9 children are recorded on the next blank page of the Bible. This listing is written in a form and style quite different from the earlier entries and appears on the page preceding the Concordance, which is the next page after the record of Asas children. The first record is the birth date of Amasas wife Elizabeth, born October 17, 1781, followed by a list of their children, the first born in 1802, and the last in 1824, and it appears that most of the list was recorded at the same time as a single entry. Assuming that he received the Bible after the death of his mother, he then entered the birth dates of his existing children at that time. The birth date of the last child at that point could indicate the time of his mothers death. From an examination of the writing, that date could have been as early as the birth of his son Amasa D. in 1819, or after the birth of Eliza Jane in 1824. If either were the case, Mary Webb would have died at age 76 or 81, and based on where Amasa was living at the time, the location would have been in Green County, Kentucky.


This is all speculation, but it can be imagined that James and Mary joined their son Amasa and his family upon leaving Jessamine County after 1805, and eventually arrived in Green County where Amasa was first recorded in 1808. Whether James Webb died in Green County or somewhere else is not known, and a Webb graveyard that might have revealed the information is now lost. The Bible is the only known personal link to the lives and times of James and Mary Webb.


However, the few handwritten entries on the pages of the Bible, combined with the various public records they left behind, and a little imagination, provide an insight to some of their experiences. Their real legacy, of course, is their children that are listed in the Bible, and their childrens children, some of which are also listed. [Amasa and Elizabeths children are included in the following addendum to this document.] Of the 14 children born to John and Mary Webb, nine have been identified in this document as being married and having children. Seven of the nine were boys who carried the Webb surname into the next generation. These statistics may not be unusual, but it would seem that under the conditions at that time in the history of the nation, while living in early Pennsylvania, Virginia and Kentucky, and raising families in pioneer settings, provide a testimony to the physical strength and moral character that John Webb and Mary Matthews possessed, and perhaps, passed on to the many generations that followed them.

ADDENDUM


The following entries appear on what was the last full blank page in the Bible, and lists the children born to James Webbs son Amasa and his wife Elizabeth Springer:

Demarquiz Webb was born August the 15th 1802
Elijah Webb was born October the 20th 1804
Calvin Webb was born March the 2nd 1807
Harvey Webb was born May the 12th 1809
Polina Webb was born November the 1st 1811
Lucinda Webb was born October the 22nd 1814
Amasa D. Webb was born January the 13th 1819
Alexander S. Webb was born August the 20th 1821
Eliza Jane Webb was born November the 23rd 1824

AUTHORS NOTE


As a genealogy novice in the Spring of 1988, I thought I could easily trace my Webb family history through the local librarys excellent genealogical collection. The Carlsbad, California Cole Library is also the home of the North San Diego County Genealogical Society which provides many classes in all levels of research, and whose members are capable helpers willing to hook another addict into this later-life pastime. Trips began modestly to other facilities in the area, then expanded to Kentucky, Virginia and Pennsylvania to visit relatives, actual sites, county and state records, LDS and Quaker libraries, and the National Archives. By 1992, the Webb-Boone connection to my family was confirmed through the discovery of James Webbs adventures in Virginia and Kentucky. Then it was off to Merry Old England to find our roots in past nobility and heraldry. But alas, after several trips to the British Isles, and much misinformation on both sides of the Atlantic, it appeared that the John Webb who married Mary Boone was just a commoner with unclear heritage who was fortunate enough to link up with the Boone group that settled Exeter Township, Pennsylvania, then somehow got himself into position to marry the bosss daughter. Ah! - the pioneering spirit is born of opportunism.


I suspect that what has been said here may upset a few Webb family researchers who seem to hold that John Webb was related to the English Quakers Richard and John Webb who arrived in Philadelphia from Gloustershire in 1699. Some genealogists seem to have found royal connections, and others have even claimed lineage to William Shakespeare. Our John Webb signed his name with an "X", but he and Mary Boone lived to be responsible citizens and parents of nine children in this new land, starting a line of descendants that now covers over seven generations, beginning with one of their sons, James, my great-great-great grandfather.


In my attempts to locate James Webb after he left Jessamine County, I reviewed other genealogies that claim him as an ancestor and the son of John Webb and Mary Boone. A Webb Family Newsletter issued by Donald Webb in the Summer of 1969, mentions a James Webb who married Mary Matthews as settling in what is now Letcher County, Kentucky with sons William and James Jr. However, that James Jr. was born 15 May 1787, married Elizabeth Pennington, and in 1830 settled Webbville in Lawrence County, Kentucky. Another writer in the newsletter claims that James Webb, son of John Webb and Mary Boone, married first Elizabeth Nelson, and second, Martha Sturgill, and that he served with the North Carolina Lines in the Revolutionary War, then took a land grant in Letcher County and had sons William and James Jr. Another writing states that James Webb Sr. lived in Yadkin County North Carolina; and so on to blind alleys that just did not fit what I had discovered.


So, in 1994, I prepared the first version of this article to document what I had found up to that time about the life of James Webb, then put aside all the books, binders and papers I had gathered, and concentrated on my golf game. Then recently, Robert Keyes called to tell me about a Webb family Bible. That is all it took to get me off the golf course and back to shuffling papers and pounding out this revision. My hope is that this document will firmly establish this James Webb as the link between his children and their descendants, and John Webb and Marry Boone.


© Emrick A. Webb, Oceanside, California December, 2004.




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