The Saga of Edmund Webb

The Saga of Edmund Webb

1828 - 29 August 1901

Introduction

Edmund Webb was baptized at Tadley in Hampshire on 6 July 1828. Other records showing his age suggest he was born very close to this date. He was the son of Thomas Webb and his wife Mary Garrett. Thomas was a carpenter and wheelwright. The 1851 Census shows that Thomas was employing 11 men in Tadley. Previous generations of Webbs are described as labourers. It should be remembered that at this time the term was used to describe skilled as well as unskilled workers. The Will of Edmund's great grandfather Jacob Webb (1747 - 1829) shows that the family had owned property around Kingsclere for sometime. Mary Garrett’s father was also a carpenter with many of his descendents following this trade.

The 1849 Post Office Directory for Southampton shows Thomas Webb listed in Portswood as a wheelwright. Two years later the census shows he is still living in Tadley but his son Dennis is in Portswood. Dennis is described as a wheelwright employing four men, one of whom is Edmund, a carpenter. This is the first record of Edmund’s move to Southampton. The address the brothers were sharing was Vine Cottage, South Stoneham. Their brother, Stephen and sister, Mary were also living there. Stephen was described as a smith whilst Mary “servant home”. On 12 June 1853 Edmund married Sarah Sign Humby in the local parish church. Again both he and Thomas are said to be carpenters.

Sarah Sign Humby was born in Brockenhurst in the New Forest on 26 January 1831. She was the daughter of William Humby and his wife Elizabeth Watts Sign. William was a thatcher, a labourer and finally a smallholder. Records show that his father was a grocer. The Humbys had moved to Hampshire in the mid 18^th Century. Elizabeth’s family had been making their living from the forest for many generations. Early records describe them as charcoal burners and turners. In more recent times they had been timber dealers. It is not known why Sarah moved to Southampton. Quite possibly she was looking for work. Her siblings also sought alternative employment about this time. The equipment needed for the timber business had been sold in 1849 after Elizabeth’s brother had fallen foul of the 1848 Select Committee. When William Humby died in 1853 Elizabeth moved to Southampton with her youngest son.

In 1856 Edmund Webb went bankrupt for the first time. Newspaper

reports described him as a timber dealer and grocer. The same reports show that Thomas tried to help his son financially to no avail. Elizabeth Watts Humby stood surety for him. Possibly using some of the money inherited from her family.

The newspaper reports summarized here make it possible to follow Edmund Webb’s business dealings over the course of his life. He was declared insolvent four times in total. Each time he bounced back with another new idea. It would be easy to assume that he was some kind of Walter Mitty character who believed that the next deal was going to be the big one. Unfortunately, other people suffered as a consequence of his actions. Elizabeth Watts Humby and Thomas Harris being the most obvious. He must have been aware of the effect his actions would have. Or, may be he thought he would be able to pull off the deal in time. His wife Sarah stood by him through all his commercial enterprises. Was she able to see what he was doing? Her marriage settlement may have protected the family from destitution.

Many newspaper articles published at this time provide an insight to Edmund's business dealings. Read alongside census entries, civil registration and parish records they help to create a picture of the family's life.When reading through these articles the evidence should be judged according to the 19^th Century when the events occurred. As L P Hartley famously said

     “ The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there”.