Below are a few snippets from the New Jersey Mirror concerning the murder of John Webb by his brother, David. The names of this family seem suspiciously like those of the family of Cassville famous for beginning cranberry cultivation in the 1840s, but I can't be sure.
20 Oct 1909
David L. Webb, of Webbsville, after killing his brother, John Webb, in a quarrel, walked 16 miles to Toms River on Saturday(presumably a reference to
October 16, 1909) and gave himself up to the Sheriff after confessing murder. Search revealed the dead body of his brother in his home. The man is
believed to be insane
27 Oct 1909
Inquistors appointed by the Coroner to investigate the death of John L. Webb, of Webbsville, Jackson township, in Ocean county, brought in a verdict that
Webb came to his death from pistol-shot wounds inflicted by his brother, David L. Webb, who is now in Toms River jail, he having walked sixteen miles to
surrender to the authorities. During the inquest the funeral of the murdered man was being held at the little Presbyterian church at Holmansville, and a
crowd of curious folk filled the church, while men stood outside in little groups and talked over the tragedy. David L. Webb's son, Edward Webb, of
Pittsburg, reached Toms River on Monday night of last week(October 18, 1909) and was met by his mother. They went up to the jail to see the accused
man before going to the funeral on Tuesday(presumably a reference to October 19, 1909). The young man says his father has been mentally afflicted, for
some time, believing that everyone with whom he came in contact wanted to rob and poison him. He left his wife and family because he thought they wanted
to poison him for his money. The son and daughter have supported the family for a long time. All live in New York except the son, who is manager of an
anti-tobacco-trust cigar business in Pittsburg. David L. Webb recognized his wife and son. They asked him why he shot his brother. He said his brother
and mother had made a compact to kill him for his money. It is believed that Webb will not be brought to trial, but will be sent to the Hospital for the
Insane at Trenton.
3 Nov 1909
The Ocean City Grand Jury on Wednesday(presumably a reference to October 27, 1909) indicted David L. Webb for the murder of his brother, John I. Webb, on
October 15, at his home in Hobbsville, Jackson Township. Webb's old mother, more than eighty-two years old, was present when the indictment was handed up
to Supreme Court Justice Voorhees, who assigned I. W. Carmichael as counsel for Webb, whose family say that he has little or no means. November 11 was set
as the day for trial. In the mean time the State will have Webb examined by an expert in lunacy to ascertain whether he is really insane or sufficiently
sane to be tried. Webb is the man who shot his brother, riddling him with five bullets as the brother was getting breakfast ready, and then washed and
shaved, dressed himself in his best clothes, walked ten miles and took the train to the county seat. He walked up to the sheriff's house in the court
house and announced that he had killed his brother.
In 1880, the family is still found in Cassville. John was by then 68 years old--and the census mentions that he has a wooden leg!
(According to one site,
"When it was discovered that consuming wild cranberries (by the crews on the long voyages of sailing ships) prevented the dreaded Beri-Beri disease,
John "Peg Leg" Webb, a retired seaman turned local schoolteacher, residing in the Bowman Road area east of Cassville, has been credited with initiating
the domestication of the wild cranberry and the development of unique cranberry bogs for maximum growth production in the early 1840's. At peak production
after the Civil War, more than 200 cranberry bogs were in production with the majority of the harvested crop being processed and shipped in crates and
barrels fabricated at the sawmills of Jackson, to Philadelphia, New York and even Boston, by the Holman family of Whitesville, the Allans of Cassville,
and the Poppes of Legler. )
In 1880, Elizabeth was only 45, and the eldest daughter is Jane Webb, 19, who for some reason is missing from the 1870 census. John Webb was now 16
and working
on the farm; Elizabeth and Ella were still there, and some new family members as well:
Andrew Webb, 10
Matilda Webb, 7
Harriet Webb, 4
It appears David Lane now was married and occupied the home immediately after his father's. He was married to a woman 3 years younger than he named Lydia. They had two children, Edmund, 3, and Carrie, 1.
By 1900, John Webb, Sr. was dead. Elizabeth lived in the home with only her son, John. I could not find Elizabeth in either 1910 or 1920, so she may have died.
David L. Webb appears in 1910 on the census in the State Hospital in Trenton. He was still there as of 1920.