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Ebenezer Webb
Full name : Ebenezer Webb
Alternate spellings, aliases : Ebenezer Webb, Sr.
Notes : He was named for an elder brother who was born 26 April 1712 and died 8
January 1713.
Parents :
Father : Samuel Webb
Mother : Hannah Ripley
note : His mother was a daughter of Joshua Ripley, town clerk of Windham, and
great-granddaughter of Gov. William Bradford of the Plymouth Colony.
Vital stats :
Date of Birth : 12 January 1718/9
Place of Birth : Windham, Windham County, Connecticut
Date of Death : 11 February 1803
Place of Death : Scotland Society, (East) Windham County, Connecticut
Burial Information : He is supposedly buried in the old burial ground in the
Scotland Society in Windham County, but on 24 November 2001, the author of this
webpage was unable to locate any headstone or footstone, after several hours of
searching. I blame Al-Qaeda.
Spouse :
Name : Ruth Crane
Date of Marriage : 3 December 1740 (Windham Vitals v1, p210)
Place of Marriage : Windham, Windham County, Connecticut
Died : 28 February 1796
Notes : Ruth was Ebenezer’s cousin.
Their grandmothers were siblings; Ebenezer’s grandmother, Mary Adams
Webb was sister to Rebecca Adams Waldo, who was Ruth Crane’s grandmother. Ruth Crane Webb was admitted as a
Communicant to the First Church of Windham on 23 May 1742, two months before
the birth of her first son.
Military Service : Ebenezer Webb, Senior of Windham may have rendered
some military service in the Revolutionary War, but it is very unlikely that he
did. All of his sons, Darius,
Jonathan, Christopher, including his youngest son Ebenezer Webb Jr. served as
soldiers in the Revolution, from which much confusion stems. At the time of the Revolution Ebenezer
Sr. was 56 years old, his sons Christopher and Ebenezer were still single;
Ebenezer Jr. still lived in his father’s home. When the Lexington Alarm was announced, Ebenezer Jr. left
from his father’s home in Scotland Society, Windham County and went towards
Boston with Major Obadiah Johnson, occupying Cambridge, Massachusetts during
the time of the battle at Breed’s Hill.
He returned in December 1775 accompanied by his brother Christopher.
A great deal of searching for a similar record to attach to Ebenezer Webb Sr.
has resulted in nothing of the sort being uncovered. In fact, Ebenezer Webb Sr.’s name is conspicuously absent
from any Connecticut records made during the war. He did not loan any moneys to the Connecticut Continental
Loan office from circa 1777-1780, participate in any lotteries or otherwise
loan or give any cash to the United States by the purchase of certificates,
bonds or notes. He paid taxes to
the town and County of Windham, and the town offered bounties and prizes to
soldiers that enlisted from the town.
It appears that he only participated in this small fashion.
Some descendants of Ebenezer Webb Sr. of Windham, anxious to have multiple
patriotic ancestors on their application forms to lineage organizations such as
the National Society Sons of the American Revolution and the National Society
Daughters of the American Revolution, jumped to conclusions about Ebenezer Webb
Jr’s service. They assigned his
citation of service to his father without performing the due diligence
necessary to ensure that the correct individual had been identified. It appears that the cause of the
confusion about Ebenezer Sr. of Windham began about 1897 (and perhaps much
earlier) with the DAR application of Mrs. Amelia Stone Quinton of Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania (Natl # 19525) and the SAR application of her brother, Mr. Seymour
Henry Stone of Syracuse, New York, (National # 10638). In their respective applications they
both stated the same basic facts (and the same falsehoods) about their ancestor
– that he had served in the Lexington Alarm.
Seymour H. Stone’s entry in a SAR yearbook states, “Retired. Born, Homer, N.Y.,
July 27, 1831. Lieutenant in Co. A, 51st Regt. N.G.N.Y., over 30 years ago.
Member of all Masonic bodies, York and Scottish rites; Society of Mayflower
Descendants and the Onondaga County Historical Society. Son of Jacob Thompson
Stone and Mary Bennett; grandson of Thomas Stone, Jr., and Mary Webb, and of
Asa Bennett, Jr., and Chloe Grow; great-grandson of Thomas Stone, Sr., and
Rachel Marsh, and of Darius Webb and Deborah Palmer; gt-gt-grandson of Ebenezer
Webb and Ruth Crane.”
It appears that Mrs. A. S. Quinton & Mr. S. H. Stone were confused about
the service of their great-great grandfather, Ebenezer Webb Sr. of Windham, and
obviously unaware of the service of his great grandfather, Darius Webb. They claimed that Ebenezer Webb Sr. of
Windham served in Captain Obadiah Johnson’s Company, Colonel Israel Putnam’s
3rd Regiment Connecticut Troops during Lexington Alarm. It was further claimed (by some
descendants) that he was at Bunker Hill, but absolutely no evidence has come
forth to support this claim (but it was convincing enough to have gained them
entry to the SAR & DAR).
In the mid-twentieth century, the mistake was further spread by Mr. Webb Hester
of Norwalk, Huron County, Ohio, also one of Ebenezer Webb’s ancestors. He was an assertive and well schooled
genealogist, but he did not live long enough to complete his research and was
also unaware of the service of his great-great-great-grandfather Darius Webb. Based upon his research, his cousin,
Mrs. Lulu Viola Webb Brown of Chicago, Cook County, Illinois queried the War
Department in December 1933 about which Ebenezer was which. It appeared that the government didn’t
know either, as they sent her copies of Ebenezer Jr.’s record and she was
accepted into the DAR on the erroneous service of Ebenezer Webb Sr. of
Windham. Mrs. Brown was the
great-great-granddaughter of Darius Webb, and also unaware of his service.
The official citation from the War Department for the service of Ebenezer Webb
Jr is as follows :
“Ebenezer Webb appears with the rank of … on a Pay
Roll of Major Obadiah Johnson’s Company in the 3d Reg’t of Foot, raised by the
Colony of Connecticut, 1775 (Revolutionary War), …Time of enlistment May 19,
1775. Discharged Dec 16,
1775. Months and days in the service
6 mos 28 days. Premium for
enlisting £2 s12. Whole of pay £16
s8.”
The 3rd Regiment was commanded by Colonel Israel
Putnam, and the Company by Captain Obadiah Johnson, 1st Lieutenant Ephraim
Lyon, 2nd Lieutenant Willis Clift and Ensign Abner Robinson. This service clearly belongs to
Ebenezer Jr., (the son of Ebenezer Sr.) as is clearly stated in the pension
application of Ebenezer Webb Jr.
In the service stated, Captain Johnson’s sergeant was Adam Stevens, who
testified that it was the younger Ebenezer who served with him, even stating
that Ebenezer served an extra month “…faithfully.”
The unfortunate mistake was repeated again, this time in print by another of
Ebenezer Webb Sr.’s descendants, Commander Dewitt Clinton Webb, USN, in his
1958 work entitled Ancestors and family histories of Lucius Webb, Jr. and
Emogene Fuller Webb. He seems
to have accepted without any reservations, the assertions of Stone and others
that Ebenezer Webb Sr. of Windham had served. Commander Webb was descended from Ebenezer Sr.’s son
Jonathan Webb. Jonathan did serve
in the Revolution and was at Valley Forge under command of Ebenezer’s first
cousin, Captain Nathaniel Webb, 4th Regiment Connecticut Militia.
Confused yet? Hold on. Due diligence and careful scrutiny is
necessary in this situation as there are at least four or five individuals
named Ebenezer Webb living in the Colony of Connecticut on the outset of the
Revolution in 1775. Three of the
men named Ebenezer Webb have been identified as coming from the Stamford and
Long island branch of the Webb line, so far shown to be completely unrelated to
the Windham group. The Stamford
group claims descent from a Richard Webb of Cambridge, Connecticut and the
Windham group is a sept of the Webb’s of Braintree, Massachusetts who claim
descent through a Christopher Webb.
How all of these men may or may not be related is not clear, but their
interactions and proximity to one another in place & time seem to indicate
that they were aware of each other’s existence. It is entirely possible that these men may have even thought
they were related when in fact they were not. Once they, or some of their descendants moved to upstate New
York, their paths became inter-tangled like pretzels.
(1) Ebenezer Webb (of Stamford, Fairfield
County, Connecticut) was born 14 September 1756 in Stamford, Connecticut to
Benjamin Webb and Mary Cross, his wife.
Benjamin Webb & Mary Cross were married on 5 October 1732. On 8 September 1785 Ebenezer Webb
married to Hannah Todd.
Notes : “Ebenezer Webb, Private,
Captain Jonathan Mill’s Company of 2nd Connecticut Regiment, Charles Webb,
Colonel, appears in a book, copied from rolls of the organization named
above. Date of appointment or
enlistment } March 1, 1777. Term –
war. Casualties – discharged March
1, 1780.” He is also listed at
White Plains 4 August 1778 and 1 September 1778 (which would place him with
troops under Washington’s command), at Fredericksburg 3 October 1778, and
Second (sic) Hill 4 November 1778.
On 2 December 1778 he was transferred to Captain Parson’s Company at
Hartford as a Taylor (sic). He was
later working in Norwalk, Connecticut as a Taylor before being discharged in
1780. He served at Valley
Forge. His widow may have claimed
a pension.
(2) Ebenezer Webb (of Stamford, Fairfield County, Connecticut) was born 27 May
1764 in Stamford, Connecticut to Epenetus Webb and Sarah Judson, his wife. Epenetus Webb & Sarah Judson were
married 30 May 1762. On 30 August
1786 he married Phoebe Todd. He
died in 4 September 1834 in Stamford, Fairfield County, Connecticut.
Notes : Sergeant Epenetus Webb (the subject’s grandfather) served in Captain
Nathaniel Webb’s Company, Lt. Col. John Medley’s 9th Regiment Connecticut
Militia, marched on 12 August 1776, discharged 27 September 1776. It has been surmised by some that
Ebenezer served in the same unit during the same tour of duty. It is known that Sergeant Epenetus Webb
of Stamford and his son Ebenezer Webb of Stamford served at Valley Forge, under
command of Colonel Charles Webb’s 2nd Regiment Connecticut Militia. Epenetus had another son named Judson,
who moved to Onondaga County, New York after the revolutionary period. Coincidently, Judson lived in Onondaga
County, New York during the War of 1812, the same county where David Webb, the
grandson of Ebenezer Webb Sr. of Windham, son of Sergeant Darius Webb &
Deborah Palmer, also lived. Both
men served as officers in the Onondaga County militia.
(3) Ebenezer Webb (of Southold, Long Island,
New York) was born 20 November 1697 to Henry Webb and May Hurlburt, his
wife. Ebenezer Webb & Mary
Turrell were married.. ? They had
a son named Ebenezer, born before 1750.
Notes : His descendants claim that he was an Associator of Southold, Suffolk
County, New York from 1775.
There is no doubt that Ebenezer Webb Sr. of Windham
manifested the American ideals of liberty, fairness and equality. In April 1773 he and others also
feeling repressed, protested against an unfair levy of ecclesiastical tax on
members of his church in Scotland Society, Windham County, Connecticut. There were several churches in the
community, but one of these was the ‘state church’ and colony taxes went
towards supported the parsonage.
The church they did not want to attend or pay for was the church run by
the Rev. Devotion and Rev. Cogswell.
Some members had previously left and followed Rev. John Palmer to the
so-called ‘Brunswick’ church. A
plea to the government of the Colony of Connecticut resulted in the tax being
lifted and order was restored to the members of the society. This is hardly a martial action, but it
represents the spirit of liberty; in fact the ideal of ‘no taxation without representation’
and ‘separation of church & state’ has never been more directly
interpreted into reality by a member of this family. It must have set a precedent for his offspring to live by.
It is likely that Ebenezer served in some capacity as a militiaman for Windham
County in the years before the Revolutionary War, and he would have been the
right age for service in the Seven Years War against the French &
Indians. No evidence has surfaced
which indicates he did either, or had any military motives in any way. What is also likely is that during the
Revolutionary War, he rendered what has been termed as ‘Patriotic Service’ and
may have produced supplies, loaned money or in other ways aided and assisted
the cause of liberty.
Residences, property : He was
born in Windham County and lived near Windham Centre in the First Society
(parish), until about 1750 when he removed to the Third Society, Scotland
Parish (same county) where he lived the rest of his life.
1790 Federal Census. Windham, Windham County,
Connecticut.
Head of Family, Free White Males 16>, <16, Free White Females, Others,
Slaves
Ebenezer Webb, 1, 0, 2, 0, 0
1800 Federal Census. Town of Windham, Windham County,
Connecticut
Page, Head, Free Males <10, 10-16, 16-26, 26-45
>45, Free Females <10, 10-16, 16-26, 26-45 >45, Others, Slaves
872, Ebenezer Webb,
0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 0, 0
872, Stephen Webb, 1, 1, 2, 0,
1, 0, 1, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0
872, Jared Webb, 2, 1, 0, 1, 0,
2, 0, 1, 1, 2, 0, 0
Occupation(s) : farmer, father,
Church member
Religious participation : Christian; Congregational; United with the First Church of Windham
on 2 May 1736, by Rev. Thomas Clap; in 1749 joined with others to separate and
form another church in Scotland Society, under Rev. Ebenezer Devotion &
Rev. Cogswell; soon after the ‘Separates’ broke off from Devotion’s church, and
followed Rev. John palmer, a fiery preacher, to services at Brunswick meeting
house, also in Scotland Society; in 1773 formalized the separation by
protesting the ecclesiastical tax of the society he resided in, refusing to pay
for the upkeep of the Scotland Society church.
In Connecticut Public Records, Volume 14, May 1773, page 155; listed on docket
as Zacha. Waldo &c. :
”That in 1749, believing that in good
conscience that the principles and articles and some of the doctrines adhered
to by the Scotland church and people, were not agreeable to the gospel, and as
they or most of them hoped they were enlightened by the light of God’s
countenance, and found by repeated trials that they could not profit by the
ministrations of Mr. Devotion, and in 1749, confederated together separate from
said minister and people, and set up a religious worship according to the
dictates of the own consciences, and called Mr. John Palmer as elder or
teacher, who was ordained over them and has continued preaching the gospel and
administering the sacraments to your memorialists, and they have freely
contributed to his support, and built a comfortable house to accommodate those
who join with them in divine service, and all this time have been forced to pay
for the support of Mr. Devotion and Mr. Cogswell, and repairing the meeting
house, and other society charges, although they have earnestly requested relief
in vain. – wherein they beg you to consider if it is agreeable to the laws of
Christ or consonant to the rules of equity for your memorialists and their
children, to have their effects by force of law taken from them to support a
minister with whom they never did nor can join in worship, and support their
own minister too, and pray you to take their distressing case into your
consideration and enact that they be made a distinct society. (among others named below, Ebenezer
Webb signed this). Windham, April
5, 1773.”
From Connecticut Public Records, Volume
14, January 1774, page 246 :
“Upon the memorial of Zacheus Waldo,
Zebulon Hibbard, Benjamin Cleaveland, Joseph Allen, Lemuel Bingham, Ebenezer
Webb, John Palmer, John Walden, Israel Hale, Stephen Webb, William Perkins,
Joseph Allen junr, Jonathan Brewster, Ebenezer Bass, John Silsberry, Timothy
Allen, Samuel Baker junr, Jebediah Bingham, Zebulon Hibbard junr, Henry Bass,
and Moses Cleaveland, inhabitants of the third society at Windham, shewing
(sic) that they, the memorialists, and their families, have for a long time
attended on the ministry of Mr. John Palmer of said Windham, and do conscientiously
dissent from the ministry established in said society, and that said society
has assessed the memorialists for building a meeting-house and supporting their
minister : praying to be made a distinct ecclesiastical society and be exempted
from paying said rates &c., as per memorial on file : Resolved by this
Assembly, that the memorialists and their families be and they are hereby
constituted a distinct ecclesiastical society, and shall be called and known by
the name Brunswick, and that they, their families and descendants, shall have
and enjoy all the privileges, advantages and exemptions which other
ecclesiastical societies by law and entitles unto, so long as they attend
publick worship and support the ministry among themselves, and shall not be taxed
to the support of the ministry or for building meeting-houses by said third
society; and the taxes already laid by said third society upon the memorialists
for building a meeting-house and supporting the minister which are not
collected shall not be collected, and they are hereby discharged therefrom.”
Family :
Son : Darius Webb
Date of Birth : 28 July 1742 (Windham Vitals v1, p210)
Place of Birth : Windham, Connecticut
Married1 : Deborah Palmer, 9
October 1767, Windham, Windham County, Connecticut (Windham Vitals v2, p203)
Married2 : … nee : Lawrence
Died : 1828, Homer, Cortland County, New York
Notes : Perhaps he was baptized in the First Church of Windham because his
mother joined the church on 23 May 1742.
John Adams Vinton wrote, “…he removed ‘West’, as it was then called and
lived in several places in the State of New York.” He was a soldier and a Patriot in the Revolutionary War.
Son : Jerusha Webb
Date of Birth : 17 April 1744 (Windham Vitals v1, p210)
Place of Birth : Windham,
Connecticut
Married : never married as far
as anyone knows for sure
Died : 25 November 1827
Notes : The following record may be for
Jerusha… from New London Vital Statistics from the Collated Copy from the
Original Records, Volume 1, page 70, “Thomas Rarstock & (?) Webb - dau.
Ebenezer Webb - October 30- 1776.”
Daughter : Ann Webb
Date of Birth : 13 March 1745-6 (Windham Vitals v1, p210)
Place of Birth : Windham,
Connecticut
Married : Samuel Coburn, 31 May
1778
Died :
Notes : He may be the same
Samuel Coburn of Canterbury, Connecticut that served in Abner Bacon’s Company,
4th Regiment Connecticut Infantry.
He originally enlisted for a term of eight months was listed as sick at
Canterbury, Connecticut in 1778.
Son : Jonathan Webb
Date of Birth : 2 October 1747 (Windham Vitals v1, p210)
Place of Birth : Windham,
Connecticut
Married : Abigail Curtiss
Died : 14 July 1830, Lisbon, New
London, Connecticut
Notes : He served in
Revolutionary War in Captain Nathaniel Webb’s Company, 4th Regiment Connecticut
Infantry (Militia); was at Valley Forge.
They sired eleven children; his son Ariel Webb may have served in War of
1812, in Atchison’s Reg’t New York Militia as Fife Major.
Daughter : Allice Webb
Date of Birth : 3 August 1749 (Windham Vitals v1, p210)
Place of Birth : Windham,
Connecticut
Married : Ezekiel Perigo, 29
October 1772
Died :
Notes : Allice spelled with two
L’s. They lived in Hanover
Society, Lisbon, Connecticut; had nine children including Eleanor Perigo, born
April 1778; Azel Perigo, born 29 April 1780; Bottum Perigo, born 2 May 1782;
Susanna Perigo, born 15 September 1784; Olive Perigo, born September 1786;
Samuel Perigo, born 18 January 1789; Abigail Perigo, born 11 May 1791; Roswell
Perigo, born 6 July 1793; Ruby Perigo, born 6 July 1796.
Daughter : Ruth Webb
Date of Birth : 22 February 1750/1 (Windham Vitals v1, p210)
Place of Birth : Windham,
Connecticut
Married : Nathan Rood (sister of
Abigail Rood who married Ebenezer Webb Jr)
Died :
Notes : They removed to
Pennsylvania. Nathan Rood was a
Baptist Preacher, later becoming a Restorationist. They had four children – Persis, Nathan, Reuben, Simeon.
Daughter : Elizabeth Webb
Date of Birth : 19 February 1753 (Windham Vitals v1, p210)
Place of Birth : Windham,
Connecticut
Married : John Wentworth, 25 November
1773 (Canterbury Vitals v1, p236)
Died :
Notes : Lived in Canterbury,
Windham, Connecticut in 1790; thereafter in Hanover Society, near Sprague,
Connecticut. John Wentworth
served very briefly as a soldier and was a Patriot in the Revolutionary War.
Son : Christopher Webb
Date of Birth : 14 June 1755 (Windham Vitals v1, p210)
Place of Birth : Windham,
Connecticut
Married1 : Olive Brown, 8
January 1778, Windham County, Connecticut (Windham Vitals v2, p220) (she died
21 march 1786)
Married2 : …nee: Davenport,
after 1786
Married3 : Sally Branch
Died : 1837, Cazenovia, New York
Notes : Christopher was a
soldier and true Patriot of the Revolutionary
war, he actually ‘fought’ at Saratoga and witnessed the Capture of
Burgoyne. Four of his children by
first wife include Reverend Daniel Webb,
a Methodist Minister; also Adin, a teacher in Homer, New York; Abijah, a
farmer; Martin Luther, a farmer.
Son : Ebenezer Webb, Jr.
Date of Birth : 28 May 1757
(Windham Vitals v1, p210)
Place of Birth : Windham, Connecticut
Married : Abigail Rood (Rude), 28 August 1777, Windham County, Connecticut
(Windham Vitals v2, p246)
Died :
Notes : He was a soldier and a Patriot of the Revolutionary War. They had two children in Windham (Sarah
b.1778, Reuben b.1780) and more children in Norwich, Massachusetts.
Daughter : Hannah Webb
Date of Birth : 31 August 1759 (Windham Vitals v1, p210)
Place of Birth : Windham,
Connecticut
Married : Jonas Wright …or…
Baldwin
Died : 23 January 1829 (?)
Notes :
Comments, sources, various additional :
Vinton, John
Adams. The Giles Memorial –
Genealogical Memoirs of the Families Bearing the Names Giles, Gould, Holmes,
Jennison, Leonard, Lindall, Curwen, Marshall, Robinson, Sampson, and Webb; also
Genealogical Sketches of the Pool, Very, Carr and other Families with a history
of Pemaquid, ancient and modern; some account of early settlements in Maine;
and some details of Indian warfare.
Printed for the author, by Henry W. Dutton & Son, Washington Street,
Boston. 1864. pp 496 – 532, 556.
Crane, Ellery Bicknell. Genealogy
of the Crane Family Volume II. Descendants of Benjamin Crane, of Wethersfield,
Conn., and John Crane, of Coventry, Conn., also of Jasper Crane, of New Haven,
Conn., and Newark, N. J. and Stephen Crane, of Elizabethtown, N. J. with
families of the name in New Hampshire, Maryland and Virginia. Press of Charles Hamilton. Worcester, Massachusetts, 1900.
Lincoln, Waldo. Genealogy of
the Waldo Family. A record of the
descendants of Cornelius Waldo of Ipswich, Massachusetts from 1647 to 1900. Volume 1. Press of Charles Hamilton. Worchester, Massachusetts, 1902.
M637. 1790 Federal Census of Windham, Windham County, Connecticut. Roll1. National Archives and Records Administration. Washington, DC. Viewed 2001.
Connecticut Public Records, Volume 14, January 1774, page 246
Records of the Congregational Church in Windham, Conn. 1700-1851. Connecticut Historical Society. Hartford, 1943.
Windham Town Records, Vital Records
Means, F. H., Rev., editor. The
Two-hundredth Anniversary of the Organization of the Congreagational Church in
Windham, Conn. Dec. 10, 1900. Hall & Bill Printing Company,
Willimantic, Connecticut. 1901.
M1005. Department of the Treasury
Records of Bureau of Public Debt.
Records of Connecticut Continental Loan Office 1777-1779. Rg53 (two reels)
Copyright Jonathan Webb Deiss
http://www.webbdeiss.com/
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