I picked up these photos at the antique shop, on the same trip when I found “Grandma and Grandpa Shaws Wedding Picture.” Whether the Shaws photo was jumbled with these or part of the group is tough to say.
Of the group, I started with the one that gave the most clues. The caption written on the back of this photo, in a fairly modern and left-leaning penmanship, reads:
Mother’s 2 brothers
Uncle Roscoe Webb
Major James Webb
Combining these names with the location of the photographer’s imprint on the other portraits gave me my starting point: Roscoe Webb and James Webb, brothers, in Knoxville Tennessee.
As often happens on these kinds of searches, we’ll begin at the end. Roscoe C. Webb’s Certificate of Death records that he passed away August 11, 1950 at age 68, from mitral insufficiency (a form of heart disease). His parents were John Webb and Eliza Johnson, and the informant of his death was K. D. Webb of Spartenburg, South Carolina, his son in all probability as we’ll see below. He was interred at Lynnhurst Cemetery in Knox county; his memorial is recorded at Findagrave.com, and his wife’s with him. Martha A. Webb was born July 11, 1884 and passed away March 11, 1975. The headstone presents the surnames Webb and Davis.
Proceeding backwards in time, the 1940 Federal Census shows Roscoe at age 58, living in Knoxville TN with his wife Mattie and their son, Kyle D. Webb. In 1930, Roscoe and Mattie are listed with Davis K. Webb instead. This matches up, giving us Kyle Davis Webb as the son’s full name. More importantly, it corresponds to other identified photos in the group, strengthening the argument for context in these loose photographs.
“Davis Webb in his first long pants”
In 1920, Roscoe and Mattie list their son Kyle D. as age 4 and 2 months. This time Frank Davis is also included, whose relationship to the head of household is given as brother-in-law, lending confidence to assert that Roscoe and Mattie christened their son with her maiden name, Davis.
Unidentified portrait. Roscoe Webb & Mattie Davis Webb? Or Roscoe with one of his sisters?
Roscoe registered for the draft on September 12, 1918, the third draft registration held during World War I. This record fills in some additional details: his full name was Roscoe Conklin Webb, his exact birth date November 2, 1881. His physical description confirms what we see in the photographs, that he was of medium height and slender build, with brown eyes and brown hair.
Roscoe Webb, age 21 in 1903.
In 1910, Roscoe and Mattie lived in the Second District of Knox county, Tennessee. They had been married for 7 years. A query at Familysearch.org turns up Roscoe and Mattie’s marriage license, dated January 24, 1903, when he was 21 and she was 18. Interestingly, one of the portraits can be placed in that timeframe as well. As evidenced below, Roscoe was the younger of the two brothers, and he is the subject of this image on the right. On the back of the otherwise unidentified portrait, he scratched a comment into the card backing saying, “I wos 21 when this wos made.” Therefore, the image can be dated to about 1903.
The 1900 Federal Census predates the family group formed by Roscoe and Mattie. However, at age 18 Roscoe Webb is found living with his parents John C. Webb and Eliza Webb in Civil District 2, Knox county, Tennessee. John Webb and his parents were born in Tennessee; Eliza Johnson Webb and her parents were born in Kentucky. Couples marrying earlier than John and Eliza’s parents would significantly pre-date the styles of dress in the Shaws’ wedding picture, and so it appears the Shaws are not ancestors of Roscoe and James.
Mattie? Taken in Washington D.C.
And confirming my earlier hunch, a Mattie Davis, age 15, also lived in Civil District 2 in 1900, in the household of her parents P. L. Davis and Martha Davis. An older brother named Frank is also listed. Her birth is recorded as July 1884. Because the 1890 Federal Census was largely destroyed, this is the only extant Federal Census record linking Mattie Davis to her parents. An important point: Mattie’s parents both report Tennessee as their birthplace and parents’ birthplace, and a Knox county death record for “Mrs. M. A. Davis” which seems to match up to Mattie’s mother gives her father’s surname as Brock and her mother’s maiden name as Day. Therefore, Mattie’s family does not lead back to the Indiana Shaws either. The image at the left is of the same woman photographed with Roscoe, and could be Mattie or one of James and Roscoe’s sisters. The cardboard mount bears the imprint of photograph G.G. Donaldson of Washington D.C.
We will take one more backwards leap. John C. Webb and Eliza J. Webb lived in Sharps, Campbell county, Tennessee in 1880, and though Roscoe had not yet been born, his older siblings George T., Allice E., Mary E., and James W. Webb are listed. Thus we have found the James Webb named on the photo of “Mother’s two brothers” and can now follow him forward in time, although through a very different set of records. His story includes fewer images and possible leads but more intrigue for its own sake. The search continues on August 27.
