John Leland Webb


John Leland Webb was an American contractor and Democratic politician in Bradford County, Pennsylvania. He was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives during the 1846 session and died in office. He previously served as sheriff of Bradford County.
Four of Webb's sons became prominent politicians: James in Pennsylvania, William and Henry in Wisconsin and Kansas, and Charles in Wisconsin.

Biography

John Leland Webb was born February 25, 1794, in Norwalk, Connecticut, and was raised and educated in Fairfield County, Connecticut.
He moved to Chemung County, New York, in 1813, and went to work in construction. He then moved to Bradford County, Pennsylvania, in 1823, and initially settled at Ridgebury Township. There he went to work as a building contractor and was hired as one of the contractors for the construction of the North Branch Canal.
He soon became involved in local politics. He was the first justice of the peace at Ridgebury township, serving ten years while holding other offices. In 1827, he was elected coroner of Bradford County, and, in 1830, he was elected one of the three county commissioners. He was then elected sheriff of Bradford County, serving from December 1833 to November 1836.
In 1845, Webb was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from Bradford County, alongside Victor Emile Piollet, running together on the Democratic Party ticket. He was re-elected in 1846, but died suddenly four days after the election, on October 17, 1846, while he was home at his farm in Smithfield township.

Personal life and family

John L. Webb was the sixth of seven children born to Moses Webb and his first wife Polly. Moses Webb was a veteran of the American Revolutionary War, having served in the Connecticut militia. The Webb family descended from the colonist Richard Webb, who came to Connecticut Colony from England in 1626.
John L. Webb married Annis Hammond of New London County, Connecticut, on September 23, 1819. They had seven children, though two sons died in childhood. All four of their surviving sons grew to have prominent political careers.