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Ely (Eli) Webb

Ely, also recorded as Eli, Webb is best documented through the household of his daughter Malinda Webb Chambers. His own arrival date, land, and exact residence have not been established.

What the records show

The 1860 Lowndes County census places six-year-old Malinda Webb in a household headed by Eli Webb with Harriett Webb. The 1870 census again places Malinda with Eli and Hariet Webb. Later records for Malinda identify Ely Webb as her father, and her 1933 obituary called him a pioneer citizen of the Salem community. Taken together, the parent-child identification is strong probable.

The census evidence also contains a serious age conflict. Eli was indexed as 53 in 1860 and 44 in 1870, while Harriet's ages advance normally. No birth year should be assigned to Ely until the original schedules and another dated record are reconciled. The younger Eli or Hill Webb in the household is a different person.

Connection to Barney

Malinda later lived at Barney with her husband, James Chambers, and appears in the 1900 census there. That gives Ely a strong-probable descendant connection to Barney. It does not show that Ely himself lived at Barney or owned land near the later town.

Evidence status

  • Strong probable: Ely was Malinda Webb Chambers's father; the 1860 and 1870 households represent the same family.
  • Qualified tradition: Ely was a pioneer of the Salem community, as reported in Malinda's later obituary.
  • Unresolved: Ely's birth year, settlement date, landholding, and any direct residence at Barney.

Sources

  1. 1860 U.S. census, Georgia Militia District 1200, Lowndes County, Eli Webb household, Ancestry collection 7667, record 11369303.
  2. 1870 U.S. census, Lowndes County, Eli Webb household, Ancestry collection 7163, record 12453.
  3. Georgia death certificate 33-25073, Mrs. Malinda Anthony C. Chambers.
  4. The Macon News, October 3, 1933, obituary of Malinda Webb Chambers.
  5. James Chambers household, 1900.