Haven, was a judge of one of the Connecticut courts, and sat in the legislatures of that state and Massachusetts. He is described as a genial man, of great frankness, who rendered all the affairs of his household perfectly systematic, and never was in debt. He read the Bible thoroughly, believed fully in its inspiration, had deep religious convictions, and during the last thirty-five years of his life was a member of an orthodox Congregational church. He was tall and slender, but perfectly erect. His wife survived him four years. They had one son and six daughters. Dr. Webster's life has been written by one of his daughters, as an introduction to his great dictionary, and by Horace E. Scudder, in the “Men of Letters” series (Boston, 1882).
WEBSTER, Pelatiah, political economist, b.
in Lebanon, Conn., in 1725 ; d. in Philadelphia, Pa.,
in September, 1795. He was graduated at Yale in
1746, studied theology, and preached in Greenwich,
Mass., in the winter of 1748-9. About 1755 he
engaged in business in Philadelphia, where he ac-
cumulated a small fortune, at the same time devot-
ing himself to study and literary work. He was
an active patriot during the Revolution, aiding the
American cause with pen and purse, and in Febru-
ary, 1788, was seized by the British and confined
for 132 days in the city jail. Part of his property,
to the value of £500, was confiscated. He gave
much time to the study of the currency, finance,
and the resources of the country, and was often
consulted on these matters by members of congress.
In his first essay, in October, 1776, he strongly
urged the laying of a tax to provide for the speedy
redemption of the continental currency, and in
1779 he began in Philadelphia the publication of
a series of " Essays on Free Trade and Finance,"
of which seven were issued, the last in 1785. His
" Dissertation on the Political Union and Constitu-
tion of the Thirteen United States of North Amer-
ica " (Philadelphia, 1783) is mentioned by James
Madison as having an influence in directing the
public mind to the necessity of a better form of
government. Mr. Webster also published " Essay
on Credit " (1786) ; " Reasons for repealing the Act
of the Legislature which took away the Charter of
the Bank of North America" (1786) ; and " Politi-
cal Essays on the Nature and Operation of Money,
Public Finances, and other Subjects, published
during the American War" (1791).
WEBSTER, Richard, clergyman, b. in Albany,
N. Y., 14 July, 1811 ; d. in Mauch Chunk, Pa., 19
June, 1856. His father, Charles R. Webster (1763-
1834). a bookseller of Albany, established and con-
ducted the "Albany Gazette " (1784-1824), and pub-
lished "Webster's Calendar" from 1784 till his
death. The son was graduated at Union college
in 1829 and at Princeton theological seminary in
1834, and was ordained as a Presbyterian minister,
29 April, 1835. After laboring for a short time at
South Easton, Pa., he organized a church at Mauch
Chunk, 1 Nov., 1835, and was its pastor till his
death. He also did much work in all parts of the
coal region, and aided in founding about a dozen
churches. Defective sight and hearing induced
him to give much time to historical studies, and,
besides frequent contributions to current religious
literature under the signature of " K. H.," he issued
a " Digest of the Acts of the General Assembly,"
and left a " History of the Presbyterian Church
in America from its Origin till the Year 1760,
with Biographical Sketches of its Early Minis-
ters," which was published after his death by the
Presbyterian historical society, with a memoir of
the author by Rev. Cortlandt Van Rensselaer,
D. D., and a historical introduction by Rev. Will-
iam Blackwood, D. D. (Philadelphia, 1857).
WEBSTER, Warren, surgeon, b. in Gilmanton,
N. H, 7 March, 1835. He was educated in New
Hampshire and at medical schools in Boston and
Paris, and graduated at the medical department
of Harvard in 1860. Dr. Webster was appointed
assistant surgeon in the U. S. army, 23 June, 1860,
and after brief service on the frontier was ordered
to Washington, where in 1861 he was placed in
charge of Douglas general hospital, at the same time
engaging in the organization and superintending
the construction of other permanent military hos-
pitals at Washington. He was on duty on the field
at the second battle of Bull Run, and was made a
medical inspector in the Army of the Potomac in
1862. Dr. Webster was present in the battle of
Fredericksburg and active in the care of the
wounded after Chancellorsville (1863), where he or-
ganized numerous field hospitals, passing to and
fro for the purpose within the opposing lines under
flag of truce. He was in charge of McDougall
general hospital, Fort Schuyler, N. Y., in 1863-'4,
and then of De Camp general hospital, where in
1866, during the cholera epidemic, he greatly dis-
tinguished himself. He was promoted surgeon
with rank of major, 28 July, 1866, was medical di-
rector of the 5th military district in 1868-'70, when
he organized a quarantine system for the Texas
coast, and afterward served at various military
stations in California and the east. Dr. Webster
was brevetted captain " for gallant and meritorious
services " at Chancellorsville, major " for faithful
and meritorious services" during the war, and
lieutenant - colonel "for meritorious and distin-
guished services at Hart's and David's islands, New
York harbor, where cholera prevailed." He is the
author of "The Army Medical Staff" (Boston,
1865); "Regulations for the Government of De
Camp General Hospital" (New York, 1865);
" Quarantine Regulations, 5th Military District
(Austin, Tex., 1869); and "Sympathetic Diseases
of the Eye," translated (New York, 1881).
WEDDERBURN, Alexander, Baron Loughborough, b. in Edinburgh, Scotland, 13 Feb., 1733 ; d. in Bayles, Berkshire, England, 3 Jan., 1805. He was educated at the University of Edinburgh, called to the Scottish bar at nineteen years of age, and was rapidly rising in his profession when he became offended by a rebuke that was administered by one of the judges, removed to London, and was admitted to the English bar in 1757. He soon gained high reputation, especially in the great Douglas case in 1768-'9, in which the succession in that family had become a subject of litigation among its several branches. He obtained a seat in parliament, and on 26 Jan., 1771, became solicitor-general in the ministry of Lord North, in which office he added to his reputation by his defence of Lord Clive, who was accused of maladministration in the affairs of India. In January, 1774, when the petition of Massachusetts for the removal of Thomas Hutchinson and Andrew Oliver was laid before the privy council, Wedderburn defended those functionaries in a speech in which he made a gross attack upon Benjamin Franklin, the agent of the petitioners, stigmatizing him as a " true incendiary." He violently opposed the claims of the American colonies, and throughout the Revolution was a strong supporter of Lord North's ministry. When, in 1776, Fox directed the attention of that ministry to the assumption of power on the part of the government to raise taxes in America, or annihilate charters at its pleasure, as the two principal grievances of the colonists that needed revision
