George Webb

6 May 1839 — 18 December 1917

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GEORGE WEBB Birth: 6 May 1839 in Studham, Bedfordshire, England Death: 18 December 1917, Lehi, Utah – 78 years old Buried: Lehi City Cemetery, Lehi, Utah Parents: William and Emma Stokes Webb Life Highlights: Baptized at age 14 on 15 January 1853 Called as Missionary at age 22 serving 3 years and 3 months in Norich Conference 3 June 1864 sailed on ship “Hudson” from Shadwell Docks, London for America 13 August 1864 left Florence, Nebraska with ox team to walk the 1,000 miles to Salt Lake City, Utah. He was in Captain Warren S. Snow’s Company. They arrived in SLC on 2 November 1864 He was one of the organizers and eventually owner and editor of the Lehi Publishing Company He was one of the organizers of the Lehi Flour Mill, a Director of the Lehi Banking Company, President of the Lehi Irrigation Company, and Vice President of the People's Cooperative Institution. He was also influential in locating the Utah Sugar Company Factory in Lehi in 1891 He was the attorney for Lehi City for two terms, Alderman for two terms, Precinct Justice, and the 11th Mayor of Lehi. He was a member of the Territorial Legislature 1884-1886, was a delegate to two constitutional conventions, a school trustee for 19 years, Utah County Commissioner 1902-1904, and Justice of the Peace for 11 years Member of the ward choir for 48 years, Assistant Superintendent of the Lehi Ward Sunday School for 7 years, Assistant Superintendent of the Utah Stake Sunday Schools for three years, and President of the 127th Quorum of Seventy for seven years

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Spouse: Mary Ann Ward Webb Birth: 24 October 1840 in Walpole, St. Peter, Norfolk, England Death: 30 July 1929, Salt Lake City, Utah – 88 years old Married: 17 May 1865, Lehi, Utah Sealed: 15 December 1868, Endowment House, SLC, UT. Children of George and Mary Ann Ward Webb 1) Thomas, born 20 April 1858, Studham, England (adopted and sealed to George and Mary Ann) 2) Julia Ann, born: 17 March 1866, American Fork Canyon 3) George Arthur, born: 17 March 1868, Lehi, Utah 4) Walter Lorenzo, born: 20 March 1869, Lehi, Utah 5) Laura Isabella, born: 4 December 1871, Lehi, Utah 6) Angelina, born: 11 June 1874, Lehi, Utah 7) Bernard Graham, born: 11 December 1876, Lehi, Utah 8) Maude Evelyn, born: 4 July 1879, Lehi, Utah 9) Arthur Falthorp, born: 21 January 1882, Lehi, Utah 10) Dulcie May, born: 9 May 1885, Lehi, Utah George Webb was born 6 May 1839, in Studham, Bedfordshire, England. His father, William Webb, was born in Dry Drayton, Cambridgeshire, England on 9 August 1804. His mother, Emma Stokes, was born in Ivinghoe, Buckinghamshire, England on 11 July 1811. They had six children, five boys and one girl, George being the fourth child. George's father attended Christ College in Cambridge, England and was well educated. His mother was also a well educated woman. His mother taught a private school in her home for many years for children from six years and up. In addition to the regular school work, the children were all taught to braid straw from which hats were made, this being a braiding district and an industry that helped them earn a living. The price paid for braid was from 6 pence (12 cents) to 1 shilling (25 cents) per score which was 20 yards. A very fine satin braid brought 14 pence (28 cents) per score. It would take an expert a day to make 20 yards of braid.

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Emma had from 30 to 40 children in her school, the parents paying her 3 pence or 6 cents per week. George did not attend public school, but received his education at home. George's mother was very kind and big-hearted and could not bear to see children neglected, so in addition to her own family of six children, she took into their home two boys and three girls less fortunate than her own. (They brought the three girls and one small boy with them to Utah eventually.) The family all accepted the gospel and joined the Church, but not all at once. George's mother and sister Ann were baptized 30 November 1847, and his father 12 January 1848. George was baptized on 15 January 1853 when he was 14 years old. As a young man, George went to live in the home of Sir John Seabright of Studham, who owned a large estate and a flour mill. Here he learned the trade of miller and remained with the Seabrights for several years. As they had no children, the Seabrights desired to adopt George and make him their heir on the condition that he leave the Mormon Church and have no more to do with the Mormons. Although they were among the wealthy aristocracy of England and he had enjoyed living in their home and was most grateful for the many advantages they had given him, George felt that he could not sacrifice his religion. So he declined their generous offer. In March 1861 when he was 22 years old, George was called as a missionary to labor in the Norich Conference under Elder Elias H. Blackburn. After serving for three years and three months, he was honorably released and returned to his home. In May 1864 he married Julia Cushing of Shipdon, Norfork, England. On 3 June 1864, he and his new wife, his brother William and his wife who had just recently married also, together with his mother and father, two other brothers, and four children his parents had taken into their home bid farewell to Old England and started for Utah. They sailed on the ship "Hudson" leaving from Shadwell Docks, London, with 1100 passengers, 1000 being Mormon emigrants from

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England and other parts of Europe. These were organized into 14 wards with a teacher for each. Prayer was held on the deck night and morning with meetings on Sunday and during the week as well. Their rations were given to them and they made their own arrangements for cooking and serving their meals. The ship was crowded and there was much sickness and some deaths. George suffered with seasickness all the way. They had no severe storms during the journey and sailed into New York Harbor, landing at Castle Gardens on 20 July 1864, having been six weeks on the ocean. The same day of arrival they went on board a very fine steamer as deck passengers, sailing up the Hudson River to Albany where they arrived the next morning and went ashore. The same afternoon, they boarded a passenger train of 21 coaches and left for the West. They were delayed at Buffalo because of engine trouble and had to change trains. Due to the Civil War the railroad equipment was depleted, so railroad cars were poor, some of them being cattle cars. From here they traveled west into Canada where they ran into a forest fire. Trees were blazing on both sides of the tracks, and they were badly frightened. They crossed Lake Huron, changed to a much better train and went on to Chicago, arriving on Sunday, 24 July 1864. The war had just ended and things were unsettled. Some army officers searched their train for deserters and made some trouble. While here they were offered $14 in currency for one pound of English money which was gold and usually worth $5. This was due to conditions following the war when the American currency had little value. Their train left Chicago the next day and arrived in Quincy, Illinois on 26 July 1864. Here they crossed the Mississippi river and had a long walk from the landing place to the railway station over a very rough road. They remained in the station for two days and nights waiting for a train. While there they had a very heavy rain storm. There was not room for all those waiting in the station, so many had to sleep outside on the damp ground. The second night, two children died of the measles.

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The family found the people through the country very bitter against the Mormons and they had very little consideration shown them. On 28 July 1864, they started out again but soon found a bridge had been torn out and they had to wait overnight for another train. This proved to be another train of open cattle cars with no seats, the cinders from the engine falling on them as they traveled along. One car took fire and Alexander Ross crawled over the cars to the engine to alert the engineer. The train was stopped and the burning car was taken off. There were three sections of their train; one went over an embankment and one jumped the tracks, but the passengers were all protected and arrived safely at St. Joseph, Missouri. From there they went by boat up the Missouri River arriving in Florence, Nebraska, on 2 August 1864. It had been 13 days since starting out from New York. All the drinking water on this boat trip was taken from the muddy river, so nearly everyone was sick when they arrived in Florence. They camped in Florence for 11 days preparing for the trip across the plains. The group was divided into companies under Captains Warren S. Snow and William Hyde. The Webb family was in Captain Snow's company. They left Florence, Nebraska, on 13 August 1864 for the long trek of 1,000 miles by ox team. The wagons were loaded to the bows with merchandise and baggage, so all who were able had to walk. They sang and had prayers night and morning, and thus kept up their spirits. On 26 August 1864, George's young wife, Julia, died of typhoid fever and was buried in a shallow grave near the Little Blue River in Wyoming. George was also ill with typhoid. He was so ill that it was sometime before he knew of the death of his wife. The company came down Parley's Canyon, arriving in Salt Lake City on 2 November 1864, foot sore and weary, but happy to be in Zion after traveling for five months. Of the 1100 that started out, 100 died along the way. George's father and mother with the rest of the family went to Lehi, while George remained in Salt Lake for two days before going on to

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Lehi. They all went to the home of his brother, John, who had come to Utah and settled in Lehi ten years earlier. On 26 November 1864, George's mother died from the effects of the difficult trip, and on December 26th, one month later, his 18 year old brother, Edwin, died also, making three of the family who had passed away in four months. George's sister Ann, who came with his brother John and his wife ten years before, had married James Pace (4 December 1855) and moved to Harmony near St. George, Utah. That left the three brothers and their father in Lehi. On 31 May 1865, George married Mary Ann Ward of Salt Lake at the home of Hannah Lapish in Lehi. Elder James Taylor performed the ceremony. Mary Ann came to America from London on the same ship as the Webb family. George and Mary Ann started out life together with one silver dollar which was Mary Ann's. For a short time they lived in one room of Brother and Sister Okey's house. From there they moved into a partly furnished house belonging to Brother Pearse. This house had no windows as they had been boarded up. In November 1865, they moved up to the mouth of American Fork Canyon where George was employed as miller in D. R. Allen's flour mill. They had one log room furnished with a bed, a chest for clothes which they used for a table, a home made bench, one chair without a back, a very few plates, knives and forks, and a bake kettle to cook in over an open fire. They remained here a year at a salary of $50 per month in flour at $6 per cwt. They later sold this flour for $12 per cwt. There were seven families living there, the men being employed at the flour mill, shingle mill, and sawmill. The men had to guard the camp from the Indians who came over the ridge from Provo valley. A baby girl, Julia Ann, was born to them here on 17 March 1866. In November 1867, they returned to Lehi feeling quite rich with two yoke of cattle and a supply of flour. For one yoke of cattle and 100 pounds of flour they bought a city lot which was a fourth of a city block with a dugout on it. The lot was at that time all sagebrush on

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the extreme north boundary of Lehi, with no houses to the north. The dugout had a loose board floor, which had to be taken up when it rained to cover the leaky mud roof. They added a stove, three chairs, a table and a cradle to their furniture. (The cradle was used for many years, even by some of their great-grandchildren.) At the age of 18 months, their baby daughter, Julia Ann died. In 1868, George and Mary Ann went through the Endowment House and a few months later a baby boy was born to them who only lived for three weeks. In 1869 George made the adobes and built a two room house with a shingled roof (one of the few in Lehi), where another baby boy came to bless their home. In 1879, three more rooms were added. In February 1893, George's father, William, who had made his home with them for 16 years, passed away...By this time the family had grown to seven children (three boys and four girls, two others having died in infancy) who needed more room, so two more rooms were added to their home. In 1899, they tore this home down and built an eight room brick home where George lived the rest of his life. Although George did not have the advantages of a higher education, he was a student and through his own efforts became a well educated man and a leader in his community. He followed several occupations: miller, farmer, and publisher. He was one of the organizers of the Lehi Publishing Company which purchased a newspaper plant, moved it to Lehi and published the Lehi Banner. He eventually became owner and editor. He was one of the organizers of the Lehi Flour Mill, a Director of the Lehi Banking Company, President of the Lehi Irrigation Company, and Vice President of the People's Cooperative Institution. He was also influential in locating the Utah Sugar Company Factory in Lehi in 1891. George did some other interesting things such as bringing (with Tom Fowler and William Webb) one of the first grain harvesting machines to Lehi. (This machine cut the grain and dropped the bundles back of the cutter bar.) With Tom Fowler, George also brought the first two wagon loads of shade trees to Lehi. These were planted along the sidewalks on the principal streets before cement walks were put in.

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While he was Mayor, George authorized the purchase of a bell which was installed in a belfry atop city hall on Main Street. The curfew bell, rung by the Marshall every evening at 9 p.m., served as the standard for setting all Lehi clocks. The bell also served as a fire alarm, and starting in 1895 sounded at 9:30 a.m. each Sunday morning to announce Sunday School. He was the attorney for Lehi City for two terms, Alderman for two terms, Precinct Justice, and the 11th Mayor of Lehi. He was a member of the Territorial Legislature 1884-1886, was a delegate to two constitutional conventions, a school trustee for 19 years, Utah County Commissioner 1902-1904, and Justice of the Peace for 11 years. George was an active member of the L.D.S. Church. Besides being a member of the choir for 48 years, he was Assistant Superintendent of the Lehi Ward Sunday School for 7 years, Assistant Superintendent of the Utah Stake Sunday Schools for three years, and one of the Presidents of the 127th Quorum of Seventy for seven years. George's life was a busy one. He contributed freely to the building up of the Church and to the betterment of the community in which he lived. He was a High Priest at the time of his death, 18 December 1917, at the age of 78. He was survived by his wife, seven of their nine children plus an adopted son Thomas, 28 grandchildren, and four great grandchildren. When his wife wrote her history 10 years later (about 1926 or 1927), their posterity had increased to 35 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren. George’s wife, Mary Ann, died 30 July 1929, at the age of 88. An article in the Lehi Free Press in 1902 had this to say about George Webb: "Mr. Webb's career in Utah has been such as to merit the very highest praise. His life in public, private and business walks has been above reproach and those with whom he has been associated have only words of warmest praise for him. Coming to Utah a comparatively poor man, he has accumulated a very comfortable

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competence and stands among the foremost men of Lehi for which he has labored earnestly through the years."

GEORGE WEBB The subject of this sketch, George Webb, was born at Studham, Bedfordshire, England, 6 May 1839. He is the third son of William Webb and Emma Stokes Webb. His early life was spent on a farm and working in a flour mill. In the year 1856, he joined the Mormon Church. In March 1861, he was called on a mission by Elias Blackburn and assigned to labor in the Norwick conference, where he worked for 3 years and 3 months. In 1864 he married Julia Cushing. On 3 June 1864 with his father’s family, he left England for Utah, sailing on the ship “Hudson”. They were six weeks on the sea. On the plains his wife died. They arrived in Salt Lake City November 2, of the same year. After staying there a few days they came to Lehi where he has resided ever since. On 30 May 1865 he married Mary Ann Ward. While living in Lehi he has followed several occupations; running flour mills; working in American Fork Canyon; farming; running the Lehi Banner, of which he was one of the promoters and finally editor and owner. He has held the following offices: attorney for Lehi; alderman; Precinct Justice; Mayor; member of the legislature; delegate to two constitutional conventions; school trustee for 19 years; Utah County Commissioner; President Lehi Irrigation Company 10 years; and Director Utah Banking Company. At the present time, he is Vice President of the People’s Cooperative Institution and Justice for Lehi City. He has also held the following positions in the Mormon Church: Assistant Superintendent of Sunday School; Assistant Superintendent Utah Stake Sunday School; one of the presidents of the 127th quorum of seventy. His life has been a busy one and he has always stood for the building up of Lehi. This is in the book: History of Lehi 1850-1913, pages 444-445 And reprinted in the book; Lehi Centennial History 1850-1950

Webb Family Crest

PATRIARCHAL BLESSING FOR

GEORGE WEBB OCTOBER 9, 1890 BY ELIAS H. BLACKBURN LEHI CITY, UTAH COUNTY, STATE OF UTAH

A patriarchal blessing by Elias H. Blackburn, Patriarch, upon the head of George Webb, born May 6, 1839 at Studham, Bedfordshire, Old England. Brother George, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the authority of the Holy Priesthood, I lay my hands upon your head and seal upon you this, your patriarchal blessing which through your diligence and faith it will greatly aid you, that you may not fall, not withstanding the temptations which are subject unto the flesh. Your lineage is of the house of Joseph and a descendant of Ephraim, and a legal heir to hold the Holy Priesthood, and to administer in all the ordinances, entitled to become an heir to the Celestial World, a spirit chosen and elected to come forth in this, the gospel dispensation, to aid in the redemption of Zion. Greatly favored and blessed of the Lord to hold the Holy Priesthood and to e’er long receive the power of the same. Blessed to inherit wives and a numerous posterity which e’er long will not be numbered for multitude. Great wisdom shall be given unto thee to guide them, and power and authority to direct them in righteousness. Blessed to become a King and Priest unto God. Blessed shall you be in your natural life to live to finish a good ministry on the earth. Ask in faith and you shall receive the gift of prophecy, and prophesy concerning the greatness of thy posterity and Zion for generations to come. Blessed with the gift of faith with presentments from the Almighty, to be warned of coming danger and troubles. To have the inspiration of heaven to rest upon thee. Blessed to be ordained a judge in Israel and great wisdom shall be given unto thee and much faith and at thy rebuke the sinner in Zion shall tremble. Blessed to finish a glorious work in the House of the Lord, and if thou desirest it, thou mayest commune with departed spirits, for much is expected of thee and thou shalt aid much in the redemption of thy progenitors and many of the spirits are awaiting thy action now. Thousands shall rise up and call thee blessed and claim thee as their savior. Blessed to have

Front: Dulcie May Seated L-R: George, Maude, Arthur, Mary Ann

Standing: Bernard, Angelina, Laura, Walter

George and Mary Ann Ward Webb and Children

L-R: William Webb, Maude Webb, Dulcie Webb, Mary Ann Ward

Webb, Bernard Webb (boy), Walter Webb, Angie Webb, Laura Webb Salzner, Arthur Webb, Bell Gibbs, George Webb

George & Mary Ann Ward Webb Home Lehi, Utah

The late 1880’s

WEBB FAMILY HOME

Eight room home of George and Mary Ann Webb built in Lehi, Utah in 1899. This replaced an Adobe house built on the same property in 1869.

387 North 100 East (Southwest corner of 1st East and 4th North)

The home as of the 1920’s

Mary Ann Ward Webb—third from left