Lowndes-Dooly County GaArchives Biographies.....Webb, William Washington August 6, 1853 - July 8, 1942
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Source: A HISTORY OF SAVANNAH AND SOUTH GEORGIA
Author: William Harden

REV. WILLIAM WASHINGTON WEBB. 

The prosperity and advancement of a community depend upon the social character 
and public spirit of its members, and in every prosperous town or country 
center will be found citizens who take the leadership and give their energies 
not alone to their own well-being but to the things that mean better and 
fuller life for all. Such a citizen at Hahira in Lowndes county has Mr. W. W. 
Webb been recognized for a number of years. William Washington Webb, who 
represents an old and prominent south Georgia family, was born on a plantation 
in Dooly county, the 6th of August, 1853. His father was John Webb, born in 
that portion of Washington county now Johnson county. The grandfather was 
Giles Webb, who it is thought was a native of North Carolina. 

According to a well authenticated family tradition, the father of Giles, known 
as General Webb, was an associate and traveling companion of John Wesley 
during his American tour. Grandfather Giles Webb came to Georgia and became a 
pioneer of Washington county, which at that time comprised a great scope of 
country in central Georgia. He bought a lot of land in what is now Johnson 
county, and with the aid of his slaves cleared and improved it into a fine 
plantation, where he was engaged in general farming until his death. He 
married a Miss Askue, and she survived him until 1861. The names of their five 
children were William, Thomas, Giles, John and Eli. Of these, Thomas and Giles 
died before the; war, William died while a prisoner of war at Point Lookout, 
and Eli went through four years of service without wounds or capture. 

John Webb, the father, after being reared to manhood in his native county, 
purchased land in Dooly county and was engaged in general farming there with 
slave labor up to the time of the war. As a Georgia soldier he participated in 
the defense of Atlanta and was so severely wounded that he lost a leg. As soon 
as he was able he returned home, Having sold in 1868 his interests in Dooly 
county and also part of the where he was convalescing when the end of the 
great struggle came, old homestead in Johnson county, he settled in Lowndes 
county in 1869. He located here before the era of modem development had begun, 
and was able to buy seven hundred acres three miles southwest of the present 
site of Hahira for the sum of five hundred dollars. His first home was a log 
house, and he had to haul the lumber for floor and doors from the nearest 
sawmill, twenty-five miles away. 

By the continuous labor of years he improved a large part of this land, 
erected good buildings, and resided there until his death at the age of 
seventy-six in 1898. John Webb married Elizabeth Lamb, who was a native of 
Houston county, this state, and a daughter of Luke and Mary (Burnham) Lamb. 
Luke Lamb was a son of Arthur Lamb, and both were born in North Carolina. 
Elijah Burnham, the father of Mary, was a native of North Carolina, and both 
the Lamb and Burnham families were pioneers of Houston county, Georgia, where 
they settled in 1826. Luke and Mary Lamb had the following children: 
Washington, Elizabeth, Mary Ann, Solomon and Laura. Mrs. John Webb, whose 
death occurred in 1900, was the mother of the following children: William W., 
of this sketch; Luke Lamb; Laura, who married J. B. Miley; John E.; Lula, who 
married Thomas Jefferson Folsom; Eli D.; Harriet, who married John L. Bedding; 
Thomas W., and Charles W. 

William W. Webb was about eight years old when the war between the states was 
precipitated. That conflict swept away nearly all his father's wealth, and as 
a consequence all the boys had to work, and little opportunity was afforded 
for the education and advantages to which families of their position were 
accustomed. But he was able to get considerable knowledge in the neighboring 
schools, and the lack of earlier years his subsequent industry has largely 
supplied. While a youth he learned the trade of blacksmith, and that was his 
regular occupation for some years. In 1876 he established a business of his 
own at Thomasville, and conducted it four years. In the meantime he bought 
land three miles from the present town of Hahira, his four years at the forge 
giving him the money to pay for this property, and in 1881 he began his career 
as an independent farmer. For ten years he resided on his country place and 
did well in general farming, and in fact has been one of the enterprising 
agriculturists of this county ever since, directing his farm from his 
residence in town. 

In 1891 he moved to Hahira, where he has taken a very important part in the 
town life and activities. Mr. Webb has been a member of the town council, and 
upwards of twenty years has served on the town board of education, and at the 
present time is also a member of the county board of education. Partly owing 
to his own early deprivations in schooling and also to his public-spirited 
interest in all that concerns the general welfare, he has devoted himself 
earnestly to the provisions for public education. To his efforts as much as to 
the efforts of any other citizen, the town is indebted for its present 
admirable school system. The Hahira schools are absolutely free to all, and in 
efficiency they are probably not surpassed in any town of the size in Georgia. 
His influence and efforts contributed in great measure to the erection of the 
present school building at a cost of twenty thousand dollars. Mr. Webb was 
also for some years a member of the Farmers Alliance, and was one of the 
promoters and still a useful member of the Farmers Union. He is president of 
the Georgia,-Alabama & Western Railroad Company. Mr. Webb was reared in the 
Methodist faith, and in 1895 was ordained a local preacher. He has been active 
in the ministry ever since. A fluent and forceful speaker, both in the pulpit 
and on social occasions he has used his talent for the advancement of 
righteousness and better ideals in his community. 

Mr. Webb has served eighteen years as worshipful master of Hahira Lodge, No. 
346, F. & A. M., and is a member of Valdosta Chapter, R. A. M., and the 
Valdosta Commandery, K. T., having filled chairs in both these branches of 
Masonry. Another important public service by which he is perhaps best known to 
the citizens of Hahira is his management of the local Post Office, his duties 
as postmaster having been continuous since 1891. In 1874 Mr. Webb was united 
in marriage with Miss Sarah Jane Vickers. Mrs. Webb was born in Lowndes 
county, a daughter of Henry and Malinda Vickers. They are the parents of seven 
children, named Solomon Wesley, Valeta, Henrietta, Ira E., Frankie Elizabeth, 
Minnie Lee and John A. Solomon W. married Lucy Lawson, and their four children 
are Willie Briggs, Louise, Roger and Dennis. Valeta is the wife of G. K. 
Johnson, and has two children, Emmett and Ira Edgar. Henrietta is the wife of 
M. M. Parrish. Ira E. married Mattie Rowntree and has two children, Carrie Lou 
and Eugene. Frankie E. is the wife of Henry B. Lawson, and their children are 
Lillian, Hollis E. and Blanford. Minnie L. is the wife of Turner Folsom. 

Additional Comments: 
From: A HISTORY OF SAVANNAH AND SOUTH GEORGIA BY WILLIAM HARDEN 


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