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This webpage reproduces a section of
Adventures in the Santa Fé Trade, 1844‑1847

by
James Josiah Webb


Arthur H. Clark Company,
Glendale, California, 1931
As republished by Bison Books
1995

The text is in the public domain.

This page has been carefully proofread
and I believe it to be free of errors.
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Across the Plains
in '44
This site is not affiliated with the US Military Academy.

 p21  Introduction

The story of the overland trade to Santa Fé has been a familiar subject to the American people for almost a century. Ever since 1844, when Dr. Josiah Gregg published the Commerce of the Prairies,​1 this story, with its stirring accounts of adventure, of hardship, and of financial profits and losses, with its strange tales of a quaint people and of quainter habitations in far‑away New Mexico, presented to the general public the most alluring side of frontier life in the Far Southwest. Nor was this merely a popular subject; it was national and even international in importance. Many traders continued to cross the southwestern prairies for some thirty years after the publication of Gregg's book, yet none of them has published a chronicle of the later period of this important commerce. James Josiah Webb helps in some degree to fill this gap; for in the memoirs​2 here published he tells the story of his career as a Santa Fé trader from 1844 through the early part of the Mexican war. He paints a faithful picture of life on the old Santa Fé trail and in Mexico during a significant period in our westward expansion.

James Josiah Webb was born in Warren, Litchfield county, Connecticut, February 5, 1818. His father,  p22 Darius Webb, was a native of Stamford, Connecticut, and had removed to the little town of Warren in the western part of the state a few years before the birth of his son. James was educated in the district school and village academy of his native town. When he was sixteen years old, he left home and went to Rahway, New Jersey, where he secured employment as a clerk in the dry goods store of his uncle, George F. Webb. Three years later he obtained a similar position in a dry goods store, owned by another uncle, in New Haven, Connecticut. After a brief apprentice­ship there, he returned to Rahway for a short time; and then, being of a restless nature, he decided to try his fortune in another part of the country, away from the influences of his native surroundings. His father approved of the decision and advanced him a thousand dollars for his first venture.​3

In 1841, at the age of twenty-three, young Webb bade his friends and relatives good‑bye, and with high hopes he left New England for the "Sunny South." He located in Savannah, Georgia, where he made his début in the business world by establishing a clothing store under the name of James J. Webb and Company. He remained in this business for about two years; but at the end of that time, realizing that his hopes for success were not materializing, he closed his store and in the middle of January, 1843, left for St. Louis.​4 Like many  p23 other young men of his day, he had succumbed to the lure of the West. From Savannah he journeyed overland to Macon, Georgia, and thence to Mobile, Alabama, where he took a boat for New Orleans. After a short stay in that city he continued his journey by boat up the Mississippi river to St. Louis, arriving there in the latter part of February, 1843.​5

St. Louis at that time was rapidly becoming the commercial metropolis of the West. It was the center of a great river traffic which extended from New Orleans to Fort Snelling, and from Pittsburg to Fort Union. In this thriving city it was not long before Webb was again engaged in business. This time he opened a dry goods store in partner­ship with a man by the name of Smith, the firm being known as Webb and Smith. The store was located at the corner of Third and Pine streets, a short distance from the levee. Webb and Smith's stock of goods consisted, among other things, of muslins, calicoes, linens, cotton hose, kid slippers, bonnets and bonnet ribbons, handkerchiefs, alpaca aprons, and silk mitts. "No trouble to show goods" was the trade slogan adopted by the firm.​6

Webb remained in this business for about a year and a half, but without success. His funds gradually diminished; so that by July 1, 1844, after closing out his stock of dry goods, he possessed only about six hundred dollars of the capital which his father had advanced him when he left home. He decided to make another change, this time planning to go still farther west and engage in the overland trade with Santa Fé. He purchased an assortment of merchandise suitable for this trade, and  p24 about the middle of July took passage on a Missouri river packet for Independence, Missouri, the starting point of the prairie journey.​7

Webb was now twenty‑six years of age. Towering over six feet in height, he was possessed of a power­ful physique which was to stand him in good stead in the business in which he was about to engage. Undaunted by recent reverses, he entered upon his new venture with all the enthusiasm of youth. He had at last chosen the kind of business for which he was specially qualified, and from which after many years of hard work he was destined to reap a small fortune.

The Santa Fé trade, when Webb was about to make his first journey across the plains, had just been reopened after having been closed down for approximately six months. A number of regulations by the Mexican government in the early forties had hampered this traffic, and had finally brought it to an end altogether. The tariff of April 30, 1842, prohibited the importation of over fifty classes of articles, and forbade the exportation of gold and silver bullion, ore, or dust.​8 On August 7 of the following year Antonio López de Santa Anna, provisional-president of Mexico, issued a decree, which was to take effect forty-five days after its publication, declaring the custom-houses in Taos, New Mexico, and in Paso del Norte and Presidio del Norte, Chihuahua, closed to foreign commerce.​9 A week later another decree prohibited the importation of over two hundred classes of articles, and subjected to confiscation  p25 any such articles, already in the hands of merchants, which were not sold within twelve months.​10 Still another decree of September 23 of the same year forbade all foreigners from engaging in the retail business, except those naturalized in Mexico, or married to Mexicans, or residing with their families in Mexico.​11 Three days later a tariff was enacted imposing a duty of six per cent upon the value of all gold and silver coin exported from the country.​12

These acts and decrees of the Mexican government met with considerable opposition in New Mexico, as well as in the United States. To those interested in the Santa Fé trade, the decree of August 7, 1843, was especially objectionable. Many inhabitants of New Mexico openly voiced their dissatisfaction with the termination of their commerce with the United States. American traders engaged in the overland traffic pronounced the decree of August 7 an unjust exercise of power by Santa Anna, and predicted a revolution in New Mexico if the custom-houses remained closed.​13 After receiving a number of protests from the United States government, Mexico altered its policy slightly. In March, 1844, President Santa Anna promised to modify the decree of the previous August 14; and in the latter part of the same month — on March 31 — he also revoked the decree of August 7, 1843, and declared the custom-houses in Taos, New Mexico, and in Paso del Norte and Presidio del Norte, Chihuahua, open to foreign commerce.​14  p26 But the other restrictions remained in full force and limited the activities of the American merchants trading in Mexico.

Yet the traders who, together with Webb, had arrived at Independence in the latter part of July, 1844, were temporarily satisfied with the withdrawal of the decree of August 7, and hence made their preparations for departure with a light heart. Webb applied to Samuel C. Owens, the most prominent merchant in Independence, for an outfit on credit, and was treated "with that kindness and liberality which was his [Owens's] custom to extend to Santa Fé traders. "​15 Owens furnished Webb with a wagon, four yoke of oxen, and some additional equipment. All the traders who were then in Independence agreed to rendezvous at Council Grove, and there to form a company before venturing out upon the plains.

Early in August, Webb and two other traders left Independence and traveled by easy stages to Council Grove, which they reached in about ten days. After a sufficient number of traders had arrived, a company was organized, and Samuel C. Owens was elected captain. Owens then appointed four sergeants of the guard, who organized the men to act as guards, leaving a cook from each mess free from such duties. Early one morning the caravan departed from Council Grove, every person in good health and spirits, and the greenhorns hoping to see the Indians.

The journey to Santa Fé was without incident, though the greenhorns had an opportunity to see a few Indians and large herds of buffalo. On account of sickness the company was seventy days in completing the  p27 prairie journey, arriving at Santa Fé about October 20.​16 When the traders entered their goods at the custom-house, they learned that the non‑retail decree and some of the other restrictive measures were still in force, and that, with the exception of Wethered and Caldwell who were good friends of the new governor, Martínez, they would not be permitted to retail.​17 Thereupon Webb and the Leitensdorfers began to do a small wholesale business; but not satisfied with the meager returns, they finally induced the governor to permit them to retail their goods in the country to the south of Santa Fé. After a three weeks' journey of about three hundred miles to the settlements along the Río Grande as far south as Socorro, Webb and Thomas Leitensdorfer returned to Santa Fé, having sold only four hundred dollars' worth of merchandise all‑told. Some additional wholesale business was then transacted. Webb finally decided to leave New Mexico before all of his goods were disposed of, because this procedure would permit him to bring out another stock of merchandise the next year. On March 3, 1845, Webb, in company with a number of traders who had made the same decision as himself, left Santa Fé for "the States" and arrived in St. Louis in the latter part of April.​18

Although Webb's first venture in the "commerce of the prairies" was not a financial success, he hoped for greater profits next time and decided to try again. While purchasing goods in St. Louis for his second trip,​19 he was fortunate in making the acquaintance of  p28 George P. Doan, with whom he formed a partner­ship, the firm being known as Webb and Doan. Doan was the son of J. P. Doan, the senior member of the firm of Doan, King and Company, wholesale dry goods merchants, then located at 131 Main street, St. Louis.​20 With the additional credit extended by Doan, King and Company, Webb and his partner purchased sixty-three hundred dollars' worth of goods in St. Louis and transported them in two wagons from Independence to Santa Fé by the early part of September, 1845.​21 Before making an entry at the custom-house, Webb sold all of the goods and outfit to Mr. Norris Colburn, a well-known trader who had accompanied him across the plains. As a result of this transaction, Webb and Doan realized a net profit of about forty-five per cent. Feeling well-paid for the venture, both returned to St. Louis​22 and prepared to make a larger investment in the same business for the following year.

Shortly after his arrival in St. Louis, Webb felt prosperous enough to make a brief visit to his home in Warren, Connecticut. There he received a warm welcome, but found only a few of his former schoolmates and acquaintances, nearly all of them, like himself, having left home to try their fortunes in new fields. After a pleasant visit of about a month he left for St. Louis, traveling by way of Washington, D. C., in order to obtain a passport to Mexico. While in the capital city, he called upon the Secretary of State, James Buchanan, who, wrote Webb, "accosted me in a very pleasant and cordial manner," and who "very kindly asked me to remain awhile, as he wished to talk with  p29 me about the country, its trade and resources; and I did so." As soon as he had made arrangements for obtaining his passport, he left Washington, and arrived in St. Louis early in April, 1846.

Within a short time after his arrival in St. Louis, Webb, with the aid of his partner, purchased merchandise that cost about $15,000,​23 more than double the amount they had taken out the year before. On May 9, 1846, with the four wagons that were necessary to transport these goods, Webb and Doan departed from Independence on what was destined to be the longest journey either had yet taken or would ever take while engaged in the Santa Fé trade.​24 The company of traders with whom they were traveling proceeded very rapidly and reached Santa Fé the latter part of June, about forty-five days from Independence.​25

But before arriving at their destination, they received information of the outbreak of war between the United States and Mexico and of the proposed expedition of Colonel Stephen W. Kearny to New Mexico This news disarranged all their plans; for, in view of the fact that they had to pay duty on their goods, they could not hope to compete successfully in New Mexico with the merchants accompanying the army of Colonel Kearny who would have their goods admitted free of duty. Hence Webb and Doan decided to take their merchandise south to Chihuahua in company with Albert Speyer, a Prussian Jew who was transporting, among other things, two wagon loads of arms and ammunition to the governor of Chihuahua.​26 At the last  p30 moment Doan was temporarily incapacitated by an injury received after attending a fandango in Santa Fé; so Webb alone accompanied Speyer, with the understanding that Doan should follow as soon as he was able to do so.

Webb and Speyer traveled south with all possible speed, passing through Doña Ana and El Paso, and after several weeks reached the hacienda of Peñol, about forty miles north of the city of Chihuahua. There they had the misfortune to be taken prisoners by Mexican troops. Since the city of Chihuahua was in danger of being captured by the American forces in the near future, this delay again confronted them with the possibility of having to compete with goods imported free of duty. They therefore decided, in case they could obtain their release from the Mexican authorities, to proceed farther south into Mexico to the Fair of San Juan de los Lagos, where they were able to dispose of their goods with some profit.

They were detained as prisoners for about a month and a half, a longer time than they had anticipated. Immediately after obtaining their freedom, they set out on their long journey through the states of Durango,​27 Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, and Jalisco, arriving at San Juan de los Lagos late in November, 1846. In that city, located about two hundred and fifty miles northwest of Mexico City and about fifteen hundred miles south of Santa Fé, Webb and Speyer sold most of their wares at the great annual fair which was held the first two weeks of November.​28 Doan arrived a few days before they were ready to depart, and  p31 accompanied Webb on his return journey as far as Chihuahua. There, after some delay, Webb again took charge of the wagons, and proceeded through El Paso and Santa Fé to Independence, where he arrived on July 13, 1847.​29

Though the story of his adventures does not extend beyond 1847, Webb continued in the Santa Fé trade until the outbreak of the Civil war. In 1848 he invested for the firm of Webb and Doan about $30,000 in merchandise for New Mexico, half of which he obtained through the mercantile house of Doan, King and Company.​30 The late arrival of his partner from Chihuahua necessitated Webb's taking sole charge of the goods across the plains. This year, in addition to transacting a large business in Santa Fé, Webb again proceeded south to Chihuahua, where he disposed of over ten thousand dollars' worth of stock.​31

When Webb returned to "the States" in the spring of 1849, he learned that George P. Doan, his partner for the past four years, was unwilling to continue in the Santa Fé business. This news confronted Webb with a new dilemma; for in the event of his inability to form another partner­ship, he would either have to abandon the business altogether or buy additional goods on his own credit. He determined to pursue the latter course, and purchased about twenty thousand dollars' worth of goods in St. Louis and transported them to Santa Fé.​32  p32 There he remained during the summer and winter of 1849. Business was not quite as brisk as the year before, though some trade was carried on with the California emigrants who were passing through Santa Fé on their way to the gold fields.​33 Yet Webb still felt the need of a partner with additional capital, and so informed Doan, King and Company by letter in the latter part of November, 1849. In this letter he wrote: "I would prefer an honest poor man to a legally honest one with capital. Poverty is a stimulant at least to industry and economy, and the poor man will never be rich without the trial. "​34

By the latter part of 1849 Webb had been engaged in the Santa Fé trade almost six years. During that time he had thoroughly learned the details of the business and had gradually built up a profitable trade. His first lot of goods for New Mexico had cost about $1,200, but now he carried goods that cost him about $30,000. From an ordinary Santa Fé trader with a transient residence in New Mexico, he had become a prominent Santa Fé merchant with a permanent establishment there. Indeed, he had prospered beyond his fondest hopes, and could write in August, 1849, that he had "the largest store and premises in town. "​35 With a good partner and additional capital, his business could be still further expanded and placed on an even firmer basis than it already was.

Nor was it long before Webb's hopes were realized; for in January, 1850, he was exceedingly fortunate in being able to form a partner­ship with a merchant in  p33 Santa Fé who was his senior in business experience — William Sluman Messervy. Messervy was a native of Salem, Massachusetts. In 1834 he had migrated to St. Louis, and five years later had started his career as a Santa Fé trader.​36 He was a mature business man, possessed executive ability, and had sufficient capital to invest in a growing concern of the type that Webb had built up. Webb could not have made a better choice for the success of his enterprise.

The new firm was known as Messervy and Webb, and continued in business until February, 1854. It was recognized as the leading mercantile house in Santa Fé. Business had increased to such an extent that in 1851 between sixty and seventy wagons were required to transport the merchandise of the firm across the plains. With headquarters in Santa Fé, it carried on trade with all parts of New Mexico. Business was transacted with the native New Mexicans, with American merchants and residents in New Mexico, with the Territorial government of New Mexico, and with the United States government, which was establishing military posts in the southwest to protect the inhabitants against the Indians. Messervy and Webb dealt in general merchandise, and disposed of it at wholesale as well as retail. Messervy made purchasing trips to the East once a year, while Webb remained in Santa Fé to attend to the sale of the stock. The merchandise was usually shipped by rail from the eastern cities to Pittsburg, and thence by boat down the Ohio and up the Mississippi and Missouri rivers to Kansas City, where it was trans-shipped  p34 to prairie schooners for the journey across the plains to New Mexico. Sometimes shipments were made by boat from Boston to Kansas City by way of New Orleans.​37

While engaged in business with Webb, Messervy entered politics. On June 20, 1850, when New Mexico's "State" constitution was ratified by a popular vote, Messervy was elected the first delegate from New Mexico to the congress of the United States. As the National government never recognized this "State" government, Messervy had no opportunity to occupy the office to which he was elected. Yet he continued his interest in political affairs, and on April 8, 1853, was appointed Secretary of the Territory of New Mexico. In the early part of 1854 he also served as acting-governor of New Mexico in the absence of Governor David Meriwether. Messervy resigned his position as secretary in July, 1854.​38

In the latter part of 1853, after a partner­ship with Webb of almost four years, Messervy decided to retire from business in the following year, and return to his home in Salem, Massachusetts.​39 Messervy's decision again left Webb without a partner. But this time the vacancy was soon filled; for in February, 1854, Webb associated himself with John M. Kingsbury, a native of Boston, Massachusetts, who had been the faithful clerk and bookkeeper of the firm of Messervy and Webb. It was not until June 1, 1855, that the articles of association  p35 were formally drawn up organizing the new firm of Webb and Kingsbury, though in this document it was acknowledged that they had been doing business as partners without a written agreement since February 4, 1854.​40

The firm of Webb and Kingsbury continued in business from February, 1854, until May, 1861. Though the amount of merchandise it carried in stock was not usually as large as the amount that had been carried by its predecessor, the new house handled a great variety of wares, and firmly established its position as one of the leading mercantile establishments in Santa Fé. Goods that cost from $35,000 to $45,000 were annually bought in the East. Instead of carrying these goods from Kansas City to Santa Fé in their own wagons, Webb and Kingsbury entrusted their transportation to regular freighters. In 1857 and afterward two shipments of goods were made earlier, one in the spring and another in the fall, the fall shipment being purchased for the most part in St. Louis. Webb and Kingsbury not only did business in all parts of New Mexico, but also in western Texas and northern Mexico.​41

Webb now became interested in politics. In 1856 he was elected to the lower house of the New Mexico Assembly as one of the four representatives from the county of Santa Fé, and served with credit for one year.​42 But at the expiration of his term of office he decided, with Kingsbury's consent, to leave New Mexico permanently. For some time he had been planning to remove to his native state of Connecticut as soon as  p36 he could conveniently do so, and now that an opportunity presented itself, he was not long in taking advantage of it. It was agreed that Kingsbury should remain in Santa Fé in charge of the business of the firm, and that Webb should stay in the East to purchase goods and arrange for their transportation to Santa Fé. On August 1, 1857, with the best wishes of his friends, Webb departed from Santa Fé for Connecticut.​43 No purchases were made by Webb after 1859, because both he and Kingsbury, having accumulated sufficient capital for their immediate needs, decided to retire from business and close out their stock as soon as possible. It took over a year before this was accomplished, and it was not until May, 1861, that the firm of Webb and Kingsbury finally closed its business in Santa Fé.​44

Webb thus brought to a success­ful conclusion his seventeen years' connection with the Santa Fé trade. During that time he had made eighteen journeys across the plains. He had started out in 1844 with a borrowed capital of about six hundred dollars, but by 1861 he had prospered to such an extent that he was able to retire from the business. He was one of those enterprising merchants in New Mexico who, with hundreds of miles of rolling prairie separating them from their base of supplies in the East, were the medium for the introduction of Anglo-american ideas and customs into a land which for two centuries and a half had been under the influences of an Hispanic-american civilization.

Webb retired from the Santa Fé trade at the age of forty-three. Eight years before — on December 1, 1853 — he had married Florilla Mansfield Slade, of Kent,  p37 Litchfield county, Connecticut. In 1857, shortly after his return from New Mexico to act as buyer for the firm of Webb and Kingsbury, he had purchased the beauti­ful Vandenhuvalº estate in Hamden (near New Haven) Connecticut. To this estate, which he renamed "Spring Glen," Webb had removed with his wife and young son, James.​a In 1863 he was elected to the senate of the state of Connecticut. But politics was not his field, for soon after he returned to his estate he became enthusiastically interested in agriculture. Within a few years he transformed Spring Glen into a model stock and dairy farm. By study and experience he became very proficient as a farmer, and sometimes delivered lectures upon agricultural subjects before farmers' institutes throughout the state of Connecticut. In co‑operation with Professors Johnson and Brewer, of Yale University, he was instrumental in securing the establishment of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station at New Haven. Yet Webb never forgot the many years he had spent in the Santa Fé trade, and in later years was especially happy in relating his adventures in far‑away New Mexico. He died at his home in Hamden, Connecticut, March 22, 1889.​45


The Author's Notes:

1 Josiah Gregg, Commerce of the Prairies (New York, 1844), 2 vols. Vol. I Vol. II

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2 The original memoirs are in the possession of Mr. Paul Webb,​b of New Haven, Connecticut, a grandson of James Josiah Webb. There are two typewritten copies of the memoirs, one in the library of the Historical Society of New Mexico, and the other among the Webb manuscripts. The Webb manuscripts, of which Mr. Paul Webb is the custodian, are the property of the heirs of James Henry Webb, the only child of James Josiah Webb.

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3 The above account of Webb's early life is based upon a biographical sketch written by his son, James Henry Webb, in December, 1923. James Henry Webb was born in Santa Fé, New Mexico, December 22, 1854. When he was eight months old, his parents brought him east to Connecticut, where in 1858, they established their residence at Hamden (near New Haven). Upon graduation from the Yale University Law School in 1877, he was admitted to the Connecticut Bar at New Haven, and there practiced law for almost forty years. In 1914 he was appointed to the Superior Court of Connecticut. He died at his home in Hamden, April 19, 1924.

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4 Savannah (Ga.) Daily Republican, October 4, 26, 1841, Nov. 10, 1842.

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5 Webb to Central Hotel (Macon, Ga.), Jan. 20, 1843, Webb MSS.; Webb to Mansion House (Mobile, Ala.), Feb. 3, 1843, ibid.; Webb to St. Charles Exchange Hotel (New Orleans), Feb. 7, 1843, ibid.

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6 St. Louis Democrat, Feb. 22, March 5, May 23, 1844.

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7 Webb, Daybook, 1844, Webb MSS.

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8 House Ex. Docs., 27 cong., 3 sess., no. 29, pp224‑227, 251.

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9 Daily Missouri Republican (St. Louis), Nov. 1, 1843; Gregg, Commerce of the Prairies, in Early Western Travels, 1748‑1846 (Reuben G. Thwaites, ed., Cleveland, 1905), XX.236. Hereafter this edition of Gregg will be cited in the footnotes.

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10 Senate Ex. Docs., 28 cong., 1 sess., no. 1, pp36‑38.

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11 Ibid., pp31‑32.

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12 House Ex. Docs., 28 cong., 1 sess., no. 24, p113.

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13 Samuel Wethered to Manuel Álvarez, Mar. 27, 1844, Álvarez MSS., Historical Society of New Mexico; Daily Missouri Republican, January 5, 13, 1844; Gregg, op. cit., 236‑237.

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14 Senate Ex. Docs., 28 cong., 2 sess., no. 135, p171; Daily Missouri Republican, Dec. 27, 1843; Gregg, op. cit., 236.

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15 When Webb's memoirs are used as a source of information, the editor considers it unnecessary to refer to them in the footnotes.

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16 Independence Journal (Independence, Mo.), Oct. 3, 1844; Daily Picayune (New Orleans), Feb. 8, 1845.

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17 Daily Missouri Republican, Apr. 28, 1845.

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18 Ibid.

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19 Weekly Reveille (St. Louis), May 26, 1845.

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20 St. Louis Directory, 1845, p51.

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21 Webb & Doan, Account of Goods as Baled, 1845. Webb MSS.

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22 Weekly Reveille, Jan. 5, 1846.

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23 Webb & Doan, Daybook, 1846‑1847, Webb MSS.

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24 Weekly Reveille, May 11, 1846; Daily Missouri Republican, May 21, 29, 1846.

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25 Daily Missouri Republican, June 25, July 3, 1846.

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26 Ibid., Aug. 20, 1846.

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27 George F. Ruxton, Adventures in Mexico and the Rocky Mountains (London, 1861), 109‑110.º

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28 Webb & Doan, Daybook, 1846‑1847, Webb MSS.

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29 Weekly Reveille, July 26, 1847; Missouri Statesman (Columbia, Mo.), July 23, 1847; Richard S. Elliott, Notes Taken in Sixty Years (St. Louis, 1883), 254‑255.

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30 Webb & Doan, Invoices, 1848, Webb MSS.

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31 Webb & Doan, Chihuahua Daybook, 1848, Webb MSS.; Webb & Doan, Daybook, 1848, ibid.; Santa Fé Republican (Santa Fé, N. M.), May 23, June 8, 1848; Daily Missouri Republican, Mar. 21, 31, 1848; Weekly Reveille, Mar. 20, 1848.

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32 Webb, Journal, 1849, Webb MSS.; Daily Missouri Republican, May 29, June 30, Aug. 13, 1849.

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33 Webb, Daybook, 1849, Webb MSS.

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34 Webb to Doan, King & Co., Nov. 29, 1849, Letter Book, 1848‑1849, Webb MSS.

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35 Webb to Doan, King & Co., Aug. 15, 1849, ibid.

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36 George P. Messervy, Biography of William Sluman Messervy, Messervy MSS., George P. Messervy, New York City; Daily Missouri Republican, May 11, 1840; Daily Evening Gazette (St. Louis), June 4, 1840; Santa Fé Weekly Gazette (Santa Fé, N. M.), June 4, 1853.

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37 Messervy & Webb, Daybook, 1851, Webb MSS.; Messervy & Webb, Invoices, 1852, ibid.; Messervy to Webb, Nov. 29, 30, 1953, Messervy Letters, ibid.; Daily Missouri Republican, May 19, 1851.

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38 Franklin Pierce, Commission to William S. Messervy, Apr. 8, 1853, Messervy MSS.; Messervy to Webb, Mar. 28, 1854, Messervy Letters, Webb MSS.; Daily Missouri Republican, Aug. 19, 1850; Santa Fé Weekly Gazette, June 4, 1853.

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39 Messervy to Webb, Sept. 29, Dec. 14, 1853, Messervy Letters, Webb MSS.

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40 Webb & Kingsbury, Articles of Association, June 1, 1855, Webb MSS.

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41 Webb & Kingsbury, Invoices, 1854‑1859, Webb MSS.; Webb & Kingsbury, Sales Books, 1854‑1861, ibid.

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42 Webb to his wife, Sept. 7, 1856, Webb Letters, Webb MSS.

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43 El Demócrata (Santa Fé, N. M.), July 30, 1857.

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44 Webb & Kingsbury, Sales Book, 1857‑1861, Webb MSS.

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45 James H. Webb, Biography of James Josiah Webb, Webb MSS.; Webb to Kingsbury, Nov. 21, 1853, Dec. 21, 1857, Jan. 4, 1858, Webb Letters, ibid.; New Haven Evening Register (New Haven, Conn.), Mar. 22, 1889; New Haven Daily Morning Journal and Courier (New Haven, Conn.), Mar. 23, 1889.


Thayer's Notes:

a James Henry Webb, Dec. 22, 1854–Apr. 19, 1924; see Bieber's note on p22.

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b Paul J. Webb, 1885‑1976.


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