Benjamin Winstead Webb was born on October 1, 1851 in Lamar County, Alabama.  He was the eldest son of David Blalock Webb's first marriage, to Sarah Mildredge Winstead.  Sarah's father was named Benjamin Winstead, and thus Ben got his name.  Ben's mother died when he was eleven years old and his father remarried during the Civil War.  

He married in 1870 near Bexar in Marion County, Alabama, at the age of 18 to Lucy Ann Parham, from Monroe County, Mississippi.  She was born on September 25, 1850, probably in the Splunge Community of Monroe County, but she might have been born up in Tennessee and moved down to Mississippi at a young age.  The census always says she was born in Mississippi.

Ben and his older sister Mary Jane were the only two children of David Blalock Webb who did not move out West.  All the rest went with their father to Texas when he moved in 1872.  Mary had already married and passed away at the age of 22, and Ben had just married shortly before 1872, and already had a small child.  This meant that Ben was the only one of his family to stay.  Although they had more distant kin that lived in the area, it must have been a big shock for Ben, who at the age of 20 saw his father, his step-mother, and all six of his siblings and two half-sisters all move out in covered wagons for the very distant (at that time) state of Texas.

Ben and Lucy Ann lived in Amory, Mississippi and had ten children together.  But in 1880, they were in Mooreville, Lee County, Mississippi when the census caught them:

1880 Lee Co., Mississippi Census
Page 105B, Mooresville, House #122
Benj. W. Webb   W M 28 AL X  AL
Ann L. Webb       W F 29 MS GA SC
John H. Webb    W M 9  MS AL MS
William C. Webb W M 7 MS AL MS
Mary E. Webb      W F 5 MS AL MS
Rachel A. Webb  W F 3 MS AL MS
Carlo Webb         W M 1 MS AL MS
Infant                     W F 0/12 May  MS AL MS

1900 Monroe County, Mississippi Census
Amory; Page 3B; Household 64/64
Webb, Ben W. Head W M Dec. 1851 48 Md. 30 years AL AL AL General Merchant
Can read and write
Webb, Lucy A. Wife W F Sept. 1851 48 Md. 30 years MS GA SC
Webb, Mitty Dau. W F Aug. 1877 22 Single MS AL MS
Webb, Custice Son W M Aug. 1883 16 Single MS AL MS
Webb, Gaither B. Son W M Nov. 1885 14 Single MS AL MS
Webb, Rubie Dau. W F July 1890 9 Single MS AL MS
Webb, Annie Dau. W F July 1893 6 Single MS AL MS

But other family members thought he had moved to Indianapolis, Indiana and died there, though it is unknown what might have drawn him there.  An article in a book about Houston County, Texas seems to confirm this.  It appears that he is buried in Indianapolis, where he died on February 22, 1939. 

At this point, our interest in Ben is greatly diminished because of the success that his wife and children achieved after he left them. Lucy raised the younger children alone and with the help of Mittie, who never married and  lived with Lucy.  Lucy was always good to her family, but was a fairly serious woman.  She didn't tolerate much foolishness, as a story is remembered about her snapping at her children as adults at the dinner table.  She passed away on June 21, 1936 and was buried in the Masonic Cemetery in Amory.  Her obituary reveals much about the woman and her children's achievements and importance.

Aberdeen Examiner
June 25, 1936

Mrs. L.A. Webb
     The death of this good woman of Amory last Sunday afternoon, June 21, brought sorrow to a large crowd of friends and relatives, who knew her and loved her.  Mrs. Webb was in her 85th year.  As Lucy Ann Parham, she was born near Detroit, Ala., and raised as an orphan by relatives, Mr. and Mrs. John Winstead near Splunge, Miss.  This was one of the pioneer families of Monroe County, and Mrs. Webb was one of the finest residents of Amory.  Many of the sorrows and disappointments of life were her portion, as well as some of the joys and successes, not the least of the latter being the love and esteem of all who knew her.  She reared a large family of fine boys and girls, amid many vicissitudes and hardships, all of whom have taken their places as honored and useful men and women in the business and social life of our section and state.  Miss Lucille Webb, a granddaughter, was tenderly cared for by this noble woman from the time she was a small infant.  Eight living children were at the last sad rites last Monday, being comforted as much as humanly possible by a great concourse of friends, forming perhaps the largest private funeral held in this section in many months.  The floral offerings were especially lovely.  The children are: Messrs. Curtis and John Webb, of Amory; B.G. Webb, of Kosciusko, and Cliff Webb, of Nettleton; the daughters are: Mrs. C.E. Thompson, Mrs. H.D. York, and Miss Mittie Webb, of Amory, and Mrs. E.L. Lucas of State College.  Impressive funeral services were conducted from the home, last Monday afternoon.  She was a life-long Methodist, and her pastor, Bro. George, paid a beautiful tribute to her life and memory.  He was assisted by the Presiding Elder, Dr. Buhrman and Bros. Armor and Bittinger, Christian and Presbyterian minister of Amory.
     To the sad hearts crushed by this overwhelming loss, we can recall no more comforting thought than the one contained in the Good Book, the words of the Master of Life and Death, who shall one day put "all things under his feet", including Man's great enemy - Death - when He spoke this great promise: "I am the resurrection and the Life; he that believeth on me, though he were dead, yet shall he live."  This contains a foregleam of the sweet fields of Eden, and a home and reunion of loved ones.
     Interment was in the Masonic Cemetery at Amory, the arrangements being in charge of E.E. Pickle, funeral director.  The pallbearers were: Active, six grandsons of the deceased: Messrs. Hansell and Herbert York, Claude Thompson Jr., Keith Webb, of Amory and  Winchell and Julian Webb, of Tupelo.  Honorary Pall Bearers were: Dr. I.P. Burdine, E.E. Herrington, T.J. Cole, Dr. G.S. Bryan, N.L. Lawson, Otho Lawson, Fred Thompson, Olin Lantrip, Will Burdett, L.B. Morgan, M.M. Foster and W.H. Cutcliff, John Duvall.

John Hiram Webb (md. Matilda Belle "Mattie" Stockton)
     John was born on March 19, 1871, named for his father's closest brother, also named John Hiram Webb.  He and Mattie married on May 13, 1899, in Monroe County.  He was 28 and she was almost 25.  According to Richard Hollis, John was the head bookkepper of a bank in Amory.  He was known for his very good work. He and Mattie had a daughter named Lucille.  When their second child, a boy, died during childbirth, as did Mattie, it just about killed John.  He became severely troubled and wound up as a bricklayer for most of the rest of his life. Lucille always tried to keep him in line though, and he had to answer to her!  He passed away in 1962 in Amory at the age of 91.

William Clifford Webb (md. Fannie R. Davis)
     William Clifford appears to have lived in Lee County around Nettleton most of his life.  He had two sons, one named Winchell and one named Julian.  He is thought to have been buried at Nettleton.

Mary Emma Webb (md. Henry Dawson York)
     Mary Emma was born in 1875 and married Mr. York at the age of 20.  She had four children, was a housewife and cooked quite a lot.  Her granddaughter remembers that she always had pretty flowers at the house and she vividly remembers Mary often doing the laundry in the washhouse.  She had a big well there at the house too.  They lived in Amory.  Mary was hard headed too.  On Fridays, the family would always go have lunch with their grandma Mary.  She also used to have huge trees in their yard which the grandkids would play around.  She passed away in 1968, at the age of 93.

Ann "Annie" Webb (md. Earnest Leslie Lucas)
     Annie was born on July 10, 1893.  She married Leslie and together they had one child.  They moved to Washington, D.C.  He was from Kosciusko and was a Col. in the U.S. Army in World War II.  She helped out with Dr. Arthur Thomas' project in doing a family history, and lived to be 91 years old when she passed away in 1984.!  She is buried with Leslie at Arlington National Cemetery.

 Carlo Webb (died as an infant)
     On the 1880 census, Ben and Lucy Ann had a small son named Carlo Webb, age 1 (thus born about 1879 in Mississippi).  We never hear of him again and assume he died young.  They were living in Lee County in 1880 and listed on the Mooreville Precinct.  There is a Carl O. Webb (born 2/16/1879 and died 1/05/1881) in the Chamblee Cemetery in the Clay Community of Itawamba County.  I think it is very likely the Carlo listed on the 1880 census.

 Infant Girl Webb (?)
     Born in May of 1880.  Doesn't appear to have lived.

  Benjamin "Benny" Gaither Webb (md. Lola ?)
     Ben Gaither was born on November 24, 1884.  He moved to Kosciusko where he married Lola, who was from down there.  He never had any children, but he was well known and owned a department store there.  Littleton's was the name given the business in 1910 when B.G. Webb and Hosmer Parham became owners.  This family dry goods store, with its wooden floors, huge pot-bellied stove, and wooden tables as features, existed until it was closed in 1968.  Benny passed away in 1972 at the age of 87.

  Oscar Curtis Webb (md. Marcie Sanders)
     O.C. (also known as just "Curtis") was born on August 22, 1882.  He married Marcie, who was eleven years younger than him, in 1918, but they never had any children.  He owned a dry goods store in Amory.  He is buried in the Masonic Cemetery there.

  Rachel Mittie Webb (never married)
     Mittie was born on August 1877.  She worked for the Webb Store and then Webb Company in Amory for her brother and then ran it for a while when he died.  She passed away on March 6, 1953, in Amory and was buried in the Masonic Cemetery there.  She was very well known and loved in Amory.

  Ruby Carry Webb (md. Claude Earnest Thompson)
     Ruby and Claude had one child.  They lived in Amory and she passed away there in 1950, at the age of 60.