Webb, James Josiah, 1818-1889

Webb was a merchant in Santa Fe and one of the most influential traders on the Santa Fe Trail.

Webb was a merchant in Santa Fe, New Mexico during the nineteenth century who was heavily involved in trade on the Santa Fe Trail.

James Josiah Webb, freighter and New Mexico business pioneer, was born in Warren, Connecticut in 1818. In his early life, Webb managed general stores in New Jersey, Georgia (1841), and St. Louis (1843). In 1844, Webb took a shipment of goods to Santa Fe, New Mexico from St. Louis in what was to be his first of eighteen trips along the Santa Fe Trail. When he arrived in Santa Fe, Webb set up a store with some credit he received for shipping the initial load of goods. With this venture, Webb began almost twenty years of retail service in Santa Fe.

James Josiah Webb, freighter and New Mexico business pioneer, was born in Warren, Connecticut, in 1818. In his early life, Webb managed general stores in New Jersey, Georgia (1841), and St. Louis (1843). In 1844, Webb took a shipment of goods to Santa Fe, New Mexico from St. Louis in what was to be his first of eighteen trips along the Santa Fe Trail. When he arrived in Santa Fe, Webb set up a store with some credit he received for shipping the initial load of goods. With this venture, Webb began almost twenty years of retail service in Santa Fe.

Webb ran his Santa Fe mercantile businesses with partners. He established his first stores with George P. Doan of St. Louis and soon after with William S. Messervy, of Salem, Massachusetts. In 1853, Webb joined forces with John M. Kingsbury and together they established the firm of Webb and Kingsbury, an outfit that was reported to be the largest and best known trading firm in Santa Fe. As the business grew, Webb lived and worked primarily in New Haven, Connecticut, ordering and shipping goods to Kingsbury, who remained in Santa Fe to run the daily operations of the business. Webb also had business contacts with the military, including with Captain William R. Shoemaker at Fort Union, New Mexico.

Webb was well-connected into the social and political life of New Mexico, despite his frequent and lengthy absences from the state. He was elected to the New Mexico Territorial Legislature in 1856, and maintained friendships with Samuel Ellison, a well-positioned political figure who served as secretary, translator, and interpreter for three territorial governors. Webb was reported to be charitable as well. He took in a six year old Mexican child named Jose M. Hernandez in 1849, caring for him until 1860. The letters from Hernandez in the collection discuss Hernandez's employment as a translator for the Indian Agent at Fort Defiance, Arizona.

Webb's business arrangements with Kingsbury ended in 1861. Webb remained in Connecticut for the remainder of his life, serving in the Connecticut Senate in 1863. He died in Hamden, Connecticut in 1889. His recollections about the Santa Fe trade were published posthumously under the title, Adventures in the Santa Fe Trade, 1844-1847 (Glendale, Calif. : A. H. Clark Co., 1931).