Slaves of James Webb (1705-1771), Virginia

Location: Essex, Virginia
Surnames/tags: Slavery Black_Heritage Webb

This page's purpose is to record the people enslaved by James Webb (1705-1771) in Essex County, Virginia, and attempt to connect them to their families.

James Webb lived in South Farnham Parish, Essex County, Virginia.

On 20 May 1771, his will was probated and named 21 enslaved people, who were distributed among his wife and children.^[1]

On 15 February 1773 his estate inventory was recorded and assigned values to 13 of the enslaved people named in his will.^[2]

Name	Enslaver who inherited in 1771	1773 Inventory	Notes
James	Mary (Edmondson) Webb, wife	James = £50
Will	Mary (Edmondson) Webb, wife	Will = £50	To son James Webb after Mary’s death
Jack	Mary (Edmondson) Webb, wife	Jack =£60
Frank	Mary (Edmondson) Webb, wife	Frank = £55
Hannah	Mary (Edmondson) Webb, wife	Hannah = £55	To daughter Mary (Webb) Smith after Mary’s death
Gloster	James Webb, son	n/a
Ben	William Webb, son	n/a
Milley	William Webb, son	n/a
Davy	William Webb, son	n/a
Harry	John Webb, son	n/a
Megg	John Webb, son	n/a	Mother of Billy
Billy	John Webb, son	n/a	Son of Megg
Dick	John Webb, son	n/a
Cyras	Thomas Webb, son	Cyrus = £70
Cruse	Thomas Webb, son	Cruse = £50
Glass	Thomas Webb, son	Glass = £45
Patt	Thomas Webb, son	Patty = £15
Peter	Elizabeth Webb, daughter	Peter = £65
Sarah	Elizabeth Webb, daughter	Sarah = £45
Daniel	Elizabeth Webb, daughter	Daniel = £30
Winney	Elizabeth Webb, daughter	Winney = £25

On 21 November 1777, a document was recorded to divide the enslaved people inherited by Mary (Edmondson) Webb in 1771 among her children John Webb, William Webb, and Elizabeth Webb. A fourth child, Thomas Webb, took his share of the inheritance in cash. Mary had inherited these enslaved people for her lifetime, but she was still alive in 1777 and apparently decided to make this estate division.^[3]

Two of the enslaved people Mary inherited — Will and Hannah — had already been given to her children James Webb and Mary (Webb) Smith. Two additional enslaved people had been born between 1771 and 1777: Amos and Joe, both sons of Frank.

Name	Enslaver who inherited in 1777	Valuation in 1777
James	John Webb, son	£40
Amos (son of Frank)	John Webb, son	£30
Jack	William Webb, son	£80
Frank	Elizabeth Webb, daughter	£60
Joe (son of Frank)	Elizabeth Webb, daughter	£25

Sources

1. ↑ Will of James Webb - United States, Virginia, Essex - Probate records. Will books, v. 11-12, 1757-1775. Page 411. Image 461 of 572. Probated 20 May 1771. FamilySearch Link.
2. ↑ Estate Inventory of James Webb - United States, Virginia, Essex - Probate records. Will books, v. 11-12, 1757-1775. Page 512. Image 512 of 572. Recorded 15 Feb 1773. FamilySearch Link.
3. ↑ Estate Division of Mary Webb - Deeds, wills, etc., 1656-1901; general indexes, 1656-1936. Essex County, Virginia. Deed books, v. 31, 1772-1780. Page 365. Image 208 of 585. Recorded 21 Nov 1777. FamilySearch Link.