WEBB, Thomas, Methodist pioneer, b. in England in 1724; d. in Bristol, England, 20 Dec., 1796. He was a British officer, served in the royal American army, and was wounded at Louisburg and Quebec. He was converted to Methodism in 1765 by the preaching of John Wesley at Bristol, England, united with a Methodist society, was licensed to preach, and gave freely of his means to found societies, attending conferences, and preaching frequently with great fervor. Being ordered again to this country, he was stationed at first at Albany, N. Y., as barrack-master, and there conducted religious services in his house. When Barbara Heck established a society in New York city, he went thither, making his first appearance in the congregation about February, 1767. He preached in alternation with Philip Embury, always wearing regimentals, with his sword on the pulpit before him. He was the most active worker and the largest contributor for the erection of a meeting-house. On being placed on the retired list, with the rank of captain, he thenceforth travelled much as a missionary, preaching in Trenton, Burlington, and other New Jersey towns, where he founded societies, and holding regular services in Jamaica, L. I., which was his home. He began to visit Philadelphia as early as 1767, and there founded the first Methodist society, to which he ministered until the arrival of Wesley's itinerants in 1769. In that year he introduced Methodism into Delaware, preaching in Newcastle and Wilmington, and later he labored in Baltimore, Md. In 1772 he went to England, preached in Dublin, London, and other places, made appeals for missionaries and pecuniary aid at the conference in Leeds and elsewhere, and returned in the following year with two of the preachers that were sent in response to his solicitations. Repeating his visit, he gained other recruits for the itinerancy. Returning to England at the beginning of the Revolution, he spent the remainder of his life at Bristol, preaching there and in the neighborhood, visiting Winchester during the war, where he preached to the French prisoners in their own language, and addressing large congregations of soldiers and sailors at Portsmouth.
WEBB, Thomas Smith, Masonic author, b. in
Boston, Mass., 30 Oct., 1771; d. in Cleveland, Ohio,
6 July, 1819. At the age of sixteen he was
apprenticed to a printer in Boston, and he afterward
removed to Keene, N. H., where he worked for
some time at his trade. Here the three degrees of
ancient craft Masonry were conferred upon him by
Rising Sun lodge. In 1793 he removed to Albany
and established a paper-staining factory. On
14 Sept., 1797, as appears from the copyright, he
published “The Freemason's Monitor, or Illustrations
of Masonry,” and thus secured for himself
fame as a Masonic ritualist and author. This small
volume, which is now exceedingly rare, consisted of
two parts, the second part containing an account
of the “Ineffable Degrees of Masonry,” together
with several Masonic songs by the author. The
publication of this work was followed by
successively enlarged and improved editions in 1802,
1805, 1808, 1816, 1818, and by numerous editions
after the author's decease. It is still regarded as
a standard work. Mr. Webb has long been known
as the founder of the American system of chapter
and encampment Masonry. He presided over
a convention of committees in Boston in October,
1797, for the formation of a general grand chapter
of royal arch Masons, and at a meeting in Providence
in January, 1799, he presented, as chairman
of a committee, a constitution which was adopted.
The formation of the grand encampment of the
United States was the result of his Masonic work.
The original draft of the constitution, with all the
changes, additions, and interlineations in his own
handwriting, is now on file among the archives
of St. John's commandery, Providence. In 1799 he
removed with his family to Providence, where he
spent the greater part of his remaining years. His
musical attainments were considerable, and he was
the first president of the Psallonian society, an
organization for the improvement of its members in
sacred melody. In 1815, having changed his residence
to Boston, he instituted, in connection with
others, the Handel and Haydn society, of which
he was the first president.
WEBB, Thomas T., naval .officer, b. in Vir-
ginia about 1806; d. in Norfolk, Va., 11 April,
1853. He entered the navy as a midshipman, 1
Jan., 1808, and was promoted to lieutenant, 19
Dec., 1814. He served in the navy during the war
of 1812, cruised in the frigate " Macedonian " of
the Mediterranean station in 1815-'18 during the
Algerine war, was attached to the Norfolk navy-
yard in 1818-'21, cruised in the sloop "John
Adams "in the West Indies in 182 1-'4, served in
the receiving-ship " Alert " at Norfolk in 1825-'6,
and at the navy-yard, Pensacola, 1828-'9. He com-
manded the schooner fo Shark " in the West Indies
in 1830-'2, was promoted to master-commandant,
8 March, 1831, and commanded the sloop " Van-
dalia " on the coast of Florida in 1833-'6. In 1837
he was on leave, and in 1838-'41 he commanded
the receiving-ship at Norfolk. He was promoted
to captain, 8 March, 1841, and was on waiting or-
ders until his death.
WEBB, William Benning, lawyer, b. in Wash-
ington, D. C, 17 Sept., 1825. He was graduated
at Columbian college in 1844, studied law, was ad-
mitted to the bar in 1847, and entered upon active
practice, in which he was soon successful. When
the civil war opened in 1861 he became captain of
a company of District of Columbia volunteers, and
when the district police force was reorganized
about that time, Mr. Webb was appointed its su-
perintendent. After holding the office for three
years, and doing much good in the way of organi-
zation, he resigned his commission and resumed
the practice of his profession. He subsequently be-
came counsel for the Washington gas-light com-
pany, for Adams express company, and the 1st na-
tional bank of Washington ; was also a director in
the first-named company, and was chosen president
of the Washington bar association. In 1885 he be-
came president of the board of district commis-
sioners. He is the author of a codification of the
laws of the Corporation of Washington, which is
accepted as a standard authority (Washington, 1868).
WEBB, William Henry, ship-builder, b. in
New York city, 19 June. 1816. He was educated
f>rivately and at Columbia college grammar-school,
earned the ship-building trade in the yard of his
father, Isaac, and after 1843 carried on the business
alone. He has constructed many vessels of great
speed and capacity, upon original plans, among
them " The General Admiral," a steam frigate for
the Russian navy, two steam screw-frigates for the
Italian navy, and the iron-clad ram " Dunderberg "
for the U. S. navy. He has declined all offers of
?ublic office. Mr. Webb purposes to erect in New
'ork a building to be known as " Webb's free
academy and home for ship-builders," and has in
preparation a work on M Practical Ship-Building."
WEBBER, Charles Wilkins, author, b. in Russellville, Ky., 29 May, 1819; d. in Nicaragua, Central America, 11 April, 1856. He was the son of Dr. Augustine Webber, a well-known physician in
