BORN:

c1729 in Great Budworth, Cheshire

MARRIED:

Mary Burkill

SPECULATIVE CHILDREN:

Baptised at Davenham, Cheshire

Thomas (c1753) - the father of Thomas Webb (1796-1873) , co-founder of Molineaux & Webb.

KNOWN CHILDREN:

All baptised at St. Elphin, Warrington

Robert (c1757)

Nancy (c1760)

Mary (c1762)

John (c1764)

Esther (c1766)

Sarah (c1768)

John (c1771) - who is believed to be the father of William Webb (1795-1865) leading to the 19th century glass firm of Ker & Webb.

DIED:

26 April 1810 in Warrington

Biography

Thomas Webb is speculatively identified as the father of Thomas Webb (c1753-1839). His parents were William Webb and Mary Boden, who married in the parish of Great Budworth, Cheshire, in 1729. His first definite appearance in the records is on the 2nd October 1757, when he baptised a son, Robert, at the church of St. Elphin, Warrington. He was the first person named Webb to appear in the St. Elphin parish registers. He was followed by an Isaac Webb, his brother, who married there in 1760, and further Webbs appear in greater numbers throughout the 1760s.

St. Elphin, Warrington

View Google Map of St. Elphin

Some entries in the register mention an individual's profession. Both Thomas and Isaac Webb are listed as "glassmen" at various points, although both were called labourers on their deaths. The date of entry of Thomas to Warrington in 1757 is significant because this is the time when a new glass works was opening at Warrington Bank Quay. The Webbs may well have been attracted to the town by the glass industry.

Linking Thomas to Thomas Webb (c1753-1839)

There are several reasons to link the two Thomas Webbs, father and son.

1) Thomas Webb, born circa 1753 was not baptised at St. Elphin. Where was he born? There is one matching record in the parish registers. There is a Thomas Webb baptised in 1753 to Thomas Webb and Mary in the village of Davenham, Cheshire. Davenham is about a dozen miles to the south of Warrington, which would be a sensible location for them prior to entering the town - close enough to hear of the new glass factories opening in Warrington.

2) The biography for William Webb (1795-1865) lists the many reasons why the Webbs of Manchester glass firms Molineaux & Webb and Ker & Webb were likely to be related. The link between the two branches of the Webb family in the glass trade is believed to come from Thomas Webb (c1753-1839) and John Webb (b1771), sons of Thomas.

3) Matching profession of glassman for both men.

4) Matching name of Thomas for both men (the name Thomas is used many times throughout the expanded Webb family tree.)

Ancestral village of the Webbs?

With reasonable confidence from the parish registers, we can go back to the baptism of Richard Webb, born 1672 in Pickmere, a parish in Great Budworth, Cheshire.

The Grave of Thomas Webb at St. Elphin, Warrington

The church of St. Elphin was once surrounded by standing tombstones but they were nearly all brought down and used to pave the path around the sides of the church. The grave of Thomas Webb was almost hidden - most of it is covered by grass and kerbing.