J. Griswold Webb Explained

Office:Member of the New York State Senate
(28th District)
Term Start:January 1, 1923
Term End:May 5, 1934
Predecessor:James E. Towner
Successor:Frederic H. Bontecou
Office1:Member of the New York State Assembly
(for Dutchess County)
Term Start1:January 1, 1919
Term End1:December 31, 1922
Predecessor1:James C. Allen
Successor1:Howard N. Allen
Birth Name:John Griswold Webb
Birth Date:August 13, 1890
Birth Place:Riverdale, Bronx, New York City, U.S.
Residence:Crumwold Hall
Death Place:Hyde Park, New York, U.S.
Education:Groton School
Alma Mater:Harvard University
Cornell University College of Agriculture
Party:Republican
Parents:H. Walter Webb
Leila Griswold Webb Codman
Children:2
Relations:James W. Webb (grandfather)
John A. Griswold (grandfather)
William Seward Webb (uncle)
Eliza Vanderbilt Webb (aunt)

John Griswold Webb (August 13, 1890 – May 5, 1934) was an American politician from New York.

Early life

Webb was born on August 13, 1890, at Riverdale in the Bronx. He was the son of railroad executive H. Walter Webb (1856–1900) and Amelia (née Griswold) Webb (1856-1910). In 1904, Leila Webb, now a widow, married Ogden Codman, Jr., the noted society architect and interior decorator best known for his novel written with Edith Wharton.[1]

His paternal grandfather was U.S. Minister to Brazil James Watson Webb and his maternal grandfather was U.S. Congressman John Augustus Griswold. Among his uncles was Civil War general Alexander S. Webb and railroad executive Dr. William Seward Webb, who married Eliza Vanderbilt, the daughter of William K. Vanderbilt.[2]

Webb was a graduate of the Groton School, in Groton, Massachusetts, and Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1913.[3] In 1912, he went with a fellow Harvard student by car from New York City to Vancouver, a then unprecedented adventure.[4]

Career

In 1912, Webb was a war correspondent for the Boston Herald in Mexico.[3] From 1914 to 1915, he studied at the Cornell University College of Agriculture. Beginning in 1915, he was the owner and General Manager of "Webb Farms" in Clinton Corners, New York.[3]

Public office

Webb was a Republican member of the New York State Assembly (Dutchess Co., 1st D.) in 1919, 1920, 1921 and 1922; and was Chairman of the Committee on Charitable and Religious Societies in 1922.

He was a member of the New York State Senate (28th D.) from 1923 until his death in 1934, sitting in the 146th, 147th, 148th, 149th, 150th, 151st, 152nd, 153rd, 154th, 155th, 156th and 157th New York State Legislature; and was Chairman of the Special Joint Legislative Committee on Aviation from 1928 until his death in 1934.

Personal life

On May 16, 1914, he married Anne Pendleton Rogers (1894–1983),[5] the daughter of Archibald Rogers. Together, they were the parents of two children:

Webb was a member of the Harvard Club of New York City, the Racquet and Tennis Club, and the Knickerbocker Club in New York City as well as the Automobile Club of America.[3]

He died on May 5, 1934, at Crumwold Hall, his estate designed by Richard Morris Hunt in Hyde Park, New York, after a long illness.[6]

Notes and References

  1. News: CODMAN--WEBB Mrs. H. Walter Webb Married to Ogden Codman, Jr.. 19 May 2018. The New York Times. October 9, 1904.
  2. Book: Reynolds. Cuyler. Genealogical and Family History of Southern New York and the Hudson River Valley: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Building of a Nation. 1914. Lewis Historical Publishing Company. 1454-1459. 19 May 2018. en.
  3. Book: Harvard College (1780-) Class of 1913. Harvard College Class of 1913 Secretary's Second Report. 1917. Plimpton Press. 323. 19 May 2018. en.
  4. News: Students on Long Trip. 19 May 2018. The New York Times. June 23, 1912.
  5. News: Miss Anne Rogers Bride at Hyde Park. 19 May 2018. The New York Times. May 17, 1914.
  6. News: J. Griswold Webb, Legislator, Dead. State Senator, 43, Succumbs at His Hyde Park Estate After a Long Illness. Head Of Aviation Board . . May 6, 1934 . subscription .