Richard Webb, of Norwalk

Not the son of Sir Alexander Webb, Jr., Kt. {Fictional}

Biography

Updated 30 July 2022

Richard Webb is of unknown origin, parents, and birth information.

He became a freeman of the Colony of Massachusetts 6 November 1632.[5] This implies that Richard was born by 1611. He was probably born in England.

Richard settled first in Cambridge where in 1634 he was granted upland in the West End of Cambridge and in 1635 a proportional share of two in some undivided meadow. He had three parcels in 1635 when a land inventory was made in Cambridge.

To Hartford, CT

On September 4,1633 a new minister and his family arrived in Cambridge (then called New Town) aboard the ship Griffin. Also on board the Griffin were Reverends John Cotton and Samuel Stone. The Reverend Thomas Hooker, son of Puritan parents in England, had been harassed by Church of England Archbishop William Laud because Hooker did not conform to the strict terms the Archbishop required of all ministers.

After his arrival in New Town, disagreements emerged between Hooker and John Cotton, another minister. Cotton believed only male church members should be allowed to vote in town affairs. Hooker believed all men should be allowed to vote, regardless of church affiliation. The disagreement was resolved in 1636 when Hooker led about 100 men, women and children from Cambridge through the wilderness frontier to what is now Hartford, CT. Richard Webb and his family were among the Hooker contingent.

This profile's picture is of two monuments to the founders--original proprietors--of Hartford and both include the name of Richard Webb. At the left is Adventurers' Boulder plaque at the corner of Main and Arch streets in Hartford. At the right is Founders' Monument in the Center Church Burial Ground. Richard Webb was a grand juror in 1643, townsmen in 1649, and surveyor of highways in 1650.

To Norwalk

On June 19, 1650, Richard Webb signed on as 'planter' (original proprietor) for a new community not far from Hartford, present day Norwalk. The first of settlers of Norwalk arrived from Hartford in 1649 and the town became official on September 11, 1651, when the General Court of the Connecticut Colony agreed that “Norwaukee shall bee a townee”. Connecticut probate records for Richard Webb indicate his land was inherited through his wife, Elizabeth (Unknown) Grant. Elizabeth was the widow of a Seth Grant prior to marrying Richard Webb. Prior to his move to Norwalk, he was a member of the First Church in New Haven, CT. Church records indicate he was 'dismissed' as a church member in 1650, which would have coincided with the move to Norwalk. In May of 1656, Richard Webb served as representative from Norwalk to the General Assembly of Connecticut.

No date of death, or place of burial could be found. Possibly he died on yet another 'adventure into the wilderness'. If so it is unlikely his body would have been recovered.

RICHARD1 WEBB, HARTFORD FOUNDER died 31 Jul 1665 in Norwalk, CT d. s. p..

He married ELIZABETH ______ aft. 04 Mar 1646/47 in Hartford, CT (aft. death of 1st husband Hartford Founder Seth Grant). She was born abt. 1614 in England, and died 24 Jan 1680/81 in Norwalk, CT.

He died in Norwalk in July 1665, the inventory of his estate was taken on 5 October 1665, and was presented to the court on 1 November 1665.

Genealogy: N/A, as he had no children.

Origins & Family

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Webb-158

Disputed Origins

While some of the databits are confused, erroneous information can be identified as part of a lineage described as “fraudulent” in 1947 by Harrison E. Webb in his article "Richard Webb of Stamford," TAG 25.[1]

A volume titled Norwalk published in 1896[2] makes the claim that Richard was the son of Alexander Webb and Mary (Wilson) b. May 1580 in Warwicckshire[3] Please see the profile of < Alexander Webb > explaining why this information is suspect and has been designated as incorrect.

Family

Richard's wife was Elizabeth ____, widow of Seth Grant. Elizabeth died at Norwalk, 24 Jan 1680/1 and a distribution was made to a daughter of Seth Grant in March 1681.[15]

Richard and his wife had no recorded children. Richard Webb of New Haven and Stamford was not his son.[16]

He had no children, but took Sarah, youngest dau. of the Rev. Samuel Stone and brought her up.

Thomas Butler, husband of Sarah[11] Stone, claimed a child's portion, on behalf of his wife, of the estate. Sarah was the daughter of Rev. Samuel Stone and had lived with Webb after her father's death.[12][13][14]

From the 1st book of Grants and Deeds:

In 1677 his widow, Elizabeth Webb, employed her "Beloved Brother, John Gregory, to make an agreement with Thomas Butler, of Hartford, and his wife," they "laying claime to the estate of her husband, Richard Webb, deceased." Widow Elizabeth Webb d. Jan. 24, 1680."

"Elissabeth Webb, the widow of Richard Webb, formerly of Norwalke, deceased the twenty fowreth of January, 1680."[19]

Relationships

Richard Webb, of Norwalk profile was updated 30 July 2022. Changes included:

• Detached as grandson of Alexander Webb & Margaret Cornwall
• Detached as son of Sir Alexander Webb, Jr., Kt. {Fictional} & Lady Agnes Myleward (Millward) Webb or Mary Burdett
• Detached as husband of Sarah Webb & Grace Webb, {Fictional}
• Detached as father of Richard Webb, of Stamford, Elizabeth Stone, John Webb, of Northampton
• Elizabeth Webb was connected to her first husband, Seth Grant, and their children, Elizabeth Warner & Sarah Holmes
• Sarah Butler was connected as “foster daughter.”

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Biographical Summary:

Richard Webb, Cambridge; freeman, Massachusetts, November 6, 1632; one of the original proprietors of Hartford in 163!); his home-lot was on the west side of Main St., near the present corner of Church St.; grand-juror, 1643; townsman, 1649; surveyor of highways, 1650. He was one of the signers of the agreement for planting Norwalk, June 19, 1650, and removed there soon after. He had an estate of £255 in 1655, at Norwalk; died there in 1665 (without children.). He had no children, but took Sarah, youngest daughter of the Rev. Samuel Stone, and brought her up. In 1677 his widow, Elizabeth Webb, employed her "Beloved Brother, John Gregory, to make an agreement with Thomas Butler, of Hartford, and his wife," they "laying claims to the estate of her husband, Richard Webb, deceased." Widow Elizabeth Webb died January 24, 1680.

SOURCE: James Hammond Trumbull, editor, The memorial history of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884, Volume 1 (Boston, Massachusetts: Edward L. Osgood, 1886), page 267. Retrieved: 3 May 2011 from Google Books

From The Great Migration Begins - for Richard Webb:

References

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Webb_(settler) cites
   1. https://www.foundersofhartford.org/the-founders/richard-webb/ (has errors)
   2. Norwalk. By Charles Melbourne Selleck. Page 403. < GoogleBooks > Spurious pedigree.
2. http://jimwebb.rootsweb.ancestry.com/webb/pafg11.htm#5259 (has errors )
3. Burial record: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/126939267/richard-webb (has errors)
4. Great Migration Begins, Vol 2, G-O Ancestry.com. New England, The Great Migration and The Great Migration Begins, 1620-1635 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. < AncestryImage > “ Name Seth Grant Gender Male Birth Date 1610 Emigration Year 1632 First Residence Place Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA Est Year Changed Residence 1635 Also Resided At Hartford Death Date 1646 Ship Lyon Household Members 1. Family: https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/29706097?h=511065
5. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Wilson-13560 cites
   1. Notice of a similar or additional false lineage appears as early as 1917, see Encyclopedia of Connecticut Biography, multiple volumes, cited as 9 and/or 10:53-55 entry for Frank Conrad Craw; in particular part, "The Webb Line" pp. 54-55; < Archive.Org >
   2. Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III 3 vols. (1995), 3:1956, in entry for Richard Webb.
   3. Citing "NEHGR 54:84," Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III 3 vols. (1995), 3:1956, in entry for Richard Webb. < AncestryImage > https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/29705827?h=19e435, https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/29705839?h=b4ba4e, https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/29705856?h=f03244
   4. for the underlying record, see Frank Farnsworth Starr, “Notes: Grant, Webb, Warner, Holmes,” The New England Historical and Genealogical Register 64 (1910): 83-84; < Archive.Org >
   5. Citing "NEHGR 54:84, citing Norwalk LR 1:59," Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III 3 vols. (1995), 3:1956, in entry for Richard Webb.
   6. See also Edwin Hall, The ancient historical records of Norwalk, Conn. : with a plan of the ancient settlement, and of the town in 1847 (1847), 188, for entry “Elissabeth Webb"; < Hathitrust > Entry reads, “Elissabeth Webb, the widow of Ritchard Webb, formerly of Norwalke, deceased the twenty fowreth of January 1680.” Note at p. 181 reports these entries “are taken almost entirely from the Town Records, and have been transcribed in the same form as they are recorded …”
6. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Webb-158 cites
   1. Harrison E. Webb, "Richard Webb of Stamford," ‘’The American Genealogist’’ 25 (1948), 194, 196 (in particular parts); digital images, AmericanAncestors.org (accessed 2014).
   2. Selleck, Charles Melbourne. Norwalk (The author, 1896)
   3. Norwalk says 5 May, the date is also seen as 8 May and 15 May.
   4. Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, 3 vols., (Boston: NEHGS, 1995). p. 1954 (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2010), https://www.americanancestors.org/DB393/i/12107/1954/235198345
   5. Anderson cites [MBCR 1:367]
   6. Anderson cites CaTR 9, CaTR 13, CaBOP 14-15, CaBOP 52.
   7. Anderson cites HaBOP 43-45
   8. Anderson cites Norwalk LR 1:101-03
   9. Anderson cites RPCC21, 29, 74, 83, 90; CCCR 1:93, 100, 203
   10. Anderson cites Fairfield PR 2:8
   11. Anderson calls her Elizabeth
   12. Anderson cites Fairfield PR 2:8; Manwaring 1:249
   13. Manwaring, Charles William. A Digest of the Early Connecticut Probate Records.Volume 1. Hartford District 1635-1700. Hartford, Conn., R.S. Peck & Co., Printers, 1904.) [https://archive.org/details/digestofearlycon00manw/page/248 p. 249
   14. Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England Showing Three Generations of Those Who Came Before May, 1692. Vol. I-IV. (Boston, MA, USA: 1860-1862). 4:446
   15. Anderson cites NEHGR 64:82-84, Fairfield PR 3:86.
   16. Harrison E. Webb, "Richard Webb of Stamford," ‘’The American Genealogist’’ 25 (1948), 194, 196 (in particular parts); digital images, AmericanAncestors.org (accessed 2014).
   17. Trumbull, James Hammond. "The memorial history of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884, Volume 1", (1886) page 267. Google Books Text" Richard Webb, Cambridge; freeman, Mass, Nov. 6, 1632; one of the original proprietors of Hartford in 1639; his home-lot was on the west side of Main St., near the present corner of Church St.; grand-juror, 1643; townsman, 1649; surveyor of highways, 1650. He was one of the signers of the agreement for planting Norwalk, June 19, 1650, and removed there soon after. He had an estate of £255 in 1655, at Norwalk; d. there in 1665 (s.p.) He had no children, but took Sarah, youngest dau. of the Rev. Samuel Stone and brought her up. In 1677 his widow, Elizabeth Webb, employed her "Beloved Brother, John Gregory, to make an agreement with Thomas Butler, of Hartford, and his wife," they "laying claime to the estate of her husband, Richard Webb, deceased." Widow Elizabeth Webb d. Jan. 24, 1680."
   18. Hall, Edwin. The Ancient Historical Records of Norwalk, Conn: With a Plan of the Ancient Settlement, and of the Town in 1847 (J. Mallory & Company, 1847) p. 20
   19. p. 188 Hall. Ancient Hist. Records. See also
7. Stiles, Henry R. The History of Ancient Wethersfield, Connecticut. Volume II - Genealogies and Biographies. 1904. p. 753. Link to page at hathitrust.org.
8. Death Source: "Genealogies of Connecticut Families: From the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 1", page 80, by Genealogical Publishing Com, 1983. Google Books Connecticut-date of death
9. Death source: Connecticut State Library: Connecticut Archives: Private controversies, 1642-1717, page 399 CT State Library Carrying out of Richard Webb's Estate and Will, 1665 (Documenting his year of death) This is the index. Which says the information is at I-21 1st series.
10. Barbour, Lucius Barnes Families of Early Hartford, Connecticut Genealogical Publishing Com, 1977 - p. 645, repeats verbatim the information in Trumbull's Memorial History of Hartford County.
11. Wikipedia Entry For Richard Webb (Settler)
12. Isaac William Stuart and W. M. B. Hartley. "Hartford in the olden time: its first thirty years", page 206. Google Books leaves Hartford County to go to Stamford, Connecticut
13. The Society of the Descendants of the Founders of Hartford
14. AGBI-American Geneological Biographical Index, Volume 43, page 450 [1] Documents being one of the founders of Hartford.
15. James Hammond Trumbull, ed. "The memorial history of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884, Volume 1", page 267. Google Books Documentation of Richard, not having any children except for his adoption of Sarah Stone, daughter of Reverend Samuel Stone. This documents also lists his death year as being 1665
16. Starr, Frank Farnsworth. Grant, Webb, Warner, Holmes.NEHGR 64:82-83 (1910)p. 83
17. pages 677-678 in The History of the Town of Greenwich, by Spencer P. Mead (1911). < PDF > < Archive.Org > (has errors)
18. Richard Webb probate Info

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