Jemima Thorpe
Full name : Jemima Thorpe
Alternate spellings, aliases : Jemimah; Tharp
Parents :
Father : Benjamin Thorpe
Mother : Sydney Thorpe
Notes : Benjamin born 1805/6 in Virginia; Sydney born 1805/6 in Ohio
Date of Birth : 1832
Place of Birth : Ohio
Vital statistics :
Gender : Female
Medical condition : Jemima suffered from either tuberculosis, chronic
bronchitis or emphysema
[click here to see an image of Jemima]
Spouse :
Name : Reverend Harvey Webb
Date of Marriage : 14 April 1853
Place of Marriage : County of LaPorte, Indiana
Died : 23 March 1902
Notes : service performed by Elder John Edwards; her brothers Thomas M. Thorpe
and Daniel O. Thorpe witnessed the marriage.
[click here to see an image of Harvey]
Date of Death : (?) 7 July 1906 Los Angeles,
California
Place of Death, and or Burial : Los Angeles, California
Cause of Death :
Notes :
Military Service : none, veteran’s widow
Pension data : Harvey applied for an Invalid's Pension 26 August 1890 and filed
in Texas (Appl # 928733, Cert # 653592). Jemima, filed for a Widow's
Pension 3 April 1902 from California (Appl # 760218, Cert # 539060).
Notes :
Occupation(s) : wife, mother, Minister’s Wife
Harvey was a Methodist Minister for the Minnesota Conference of the United
Methodist Church. He is most well known as the first regular Methodist preacher
to touch the north shore of Lake Superior, delivering the first sermon on
Sunday, 7 November 1869 in Duluth, Minnesota. He founded at least one
congregation in Duluth, Minnesota, probably two. (source). Apparently, a copy of Harvey’s
journal from that period survived, this extracted quote was found in a history
of the church : “I started for Duluth from St. Anthony
on October 15, 1869 with my wife, little daughter and 1700lbs of freight. The roads were so bad it was thought
best to go via Milwaukee, Green Bay and Marquette, Michigan, where we took the
steamer Kemeren, for Superior City, at which place we arrived Sunday, October
31, 1869, and remained 7until Tuesday, November 2. The weather was cold and the bay frozen. We were taken by the tug, Keyes (or
Keges), to Rice’s Point, making the remaining three mile son foot over rough
and rugged road, arriving at Duluth at noon, November 2, 1869, making 17 days
from St. Anthony at a cost of $135.96.
After spending some time trying to find board and lodging until
arrangements for living could be made, we found no place to rest our weary
limbs. No Door was open to take us
in, no Christian hand was extended to welcome us. Late in the day, we succeeded in leasing a comfortable
little house on Third Street near West First Avenue, for which we were to pay
$15.00 per month. Just as the
plasterers left it, we found it; floors covered with lime mortar and shavings. Just as the sun was setting we took
possession of the little domicile, cleared out the mortar and dirt, put up a
cook stove, opened boxes containing beds and dishes, spread our beds o the
floor, and ate our first meal on the cover of a box, our supper consisted of
bread, coffee, and crackers. We
ate heartily and thanked god for all blessings and comforts, the plastering was
yet green and damp. At first we
had some fears about sleeping in the house, but we felt that we were here to do
God’s work and that He would protect us.”
– extracted from First Methodist Church of Duluth, Minnesota 75th Anniversary
Celebration 1869-1944 publication.
Harvey traveled the typical circuit of the
Methodist itinerant pastor with his family, later relocating to Ft. Worth,
Texas. According to his brother, Martin Luther Webb : "In all
these charges his work was successful. The health of Mrs. Webb compelled
a change of climate so he was given a superannuate relation and moved to Los
Angeles in February 1900,. He worshipped for a time with Haven Church and then
with Newmann Church where he became a stronghold to the pastor and
church. His preaching ability was excellent. Only a few weeks before his
death he preached to the delight of those who heard him. As a class
leader he was warm and wise. As counselor to the pastor and official
Board he was helpful without being officious."
Residences :
1880 Federal Census. City
of Austin, Ward Four, Travis County, Texas
Page, Dwelling/Family, Name, Color, Sex, Age, Relation, Marital Stat,
Occupation, School, Born, Father born, Mother born
Colorado St., 13/15, Harvey Webb, White, Male, 48, Head, Married, Clergyman,
Ohio, New York, Canada
Colorado St., 13/15, Jemima Webb, White, Female, 47, Wife, Married, Keeping
House, Ohio, Ohio, Ohio
Colorado St., 13/15, Nellie Webb, White, Female, 16, Daughter, Single, none, in
school, Minnesota, Ohio, Ohio
1900 Federal Census. Los
Angeles Township, Los Angeles County, California
Location, Name, Relation, Color, Sex, DOB, Age, Family Status, Nativity,
Father, Mother, Occupation, Education, Home owned
847 E. 21 St., 139/141, Harvey Webb, Head, White, Male, Oct 1831, 68, Married
47 years, Ohio, New York, Canada, Clergyman, Own mortgaged house
847 E. 21 St., 139/141, Jemima Webb, Wife, White, Female, Mar 1833, 67, Married
47 years mother of 2, Ohio, Ohio, Ohio
Family :
Son : Benjamin Oliver
Date
of Birth : 18 January 1854
Place of Birth : Michigan ?
Married : Frankie, last name unknown
Died : 1913 or 1914 Los Angeles, California
Notes : Family story states that he ‘ran away’ from home, put himself through
medical school at Rush University in Chicago, Illinois. From obituary (clipping undated…) : Dr.
B. O. Webb, sixty years old ears old, a well known practicing physician, passed
away at his home, 837 East Twenty-first Street, after an illness of four
months. He had resided in Los Angeles nineteen years, and is survived by
his widow, Mrs. Frankie Webb. Funeral services will be held Saturday
afternoon at 3 o'clock at the chapel of Evergreen cemetery under the auspices
of the Masonic fraternity.
1880 Federal Census. Denver,
Arapahoe County, Colorado
Page, Dwelling/Family, Name, Color, Sex, Age, Relation, Marital Stat,
Occupation, School, Born, Father born, Mother born
Mitler Rd, x/317, Benjamin O. Webb, White, Male, 26, Boarder, Single, Physician,
Indiana, Ohio, Ohio
Daughter : Nellie Ann
Date of Birth : c. 1865
Place of Birth : Michigan
Married : E. W. Morton, Jr., Texas
Died :
Notes : Nellie lived in Dallas, Texas in 1902.
[click here to see an image of Nellie,
circa 1870]
Sources, bibliography :
Harvey Hayes Webb family bible transcript, typed
transcript, drafted in the 1950's; courtesy Hazel Skelly Webb.
War of the Rebellion, a Compilation of the Official
Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Government Printing
Office, Washington, DC, 1880. Courtesy of Cornell University Digital Library
Project, located online http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/moa
Dyer, Frederick H. Compendium of the War of the
Rebellion, compiled and arranged from official records of the Federal and
Confederate armies, by Frederick H. Dyer, Dyer Publishing Company, Des
Moines, Iowa 1905. Courtesy of the U.S. Military History Institute, Carlisle,
Pennsylvania, located online http://carlisle-www.army.mil/usamhi/DL/
Webb, Loren. Diary of Captain Loren Webb, 1861 -
1863, Firelands Historical Society, 1995. Transcribed by Matthew L.
Burr.
Written communication with Vinton Phillips and
David L. Hester, Huron County, Ohio, January 2001.
Service record of 1st Sergeant Harvey Webb, Company
D, 11th Reg't Minnesota Infantry, National Archives and Records
Administration, Washington, DC, compiled 1891, viewed December 2000.
Pension record of 1st Sergeant Harvey Webb,
National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC. Compiled 1890 -
1902, viewed January 2001
75th Anniversary Celebration, 1869-1944 Pamphlet, First
Methodist Church of Duluth, Minnesota, 1944
First United Methodist Church Duluth, Minnesota
1871/1971 Pamphlet, by Wayne C. Olsen and Richard W. Anthony, Duluth,
Minnesota, 1971.
Correspondence with Thelma Boeder,
Minnesota Annual Conference, United Methodist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota,
2000.
RG98S-CWP 158.9, Wartime bust
view of 1st Sgt. Harvey Webb, Co. D, 11th Regt., Minn. Vol. Inf, U.S.
Army Military History Institute Image Collection, Firelands Historical Society
Collection, USMHI, Carlisle Barracks, Carlisle, Pennsylvania
