Episcopal clergyman, bishop, author, b. Philadelphia, Pa. He graduated from Trinity College and from the Berkeley Divinity School in Conn., and in 1886 was ordained in the Episcopal priesthood. From 1886 to 1892 Webb served parishes in Middletown, Conn., and in Philadelphia, Pa., and in 1892 moved to Wisconsin to become professor of dogmatic theology at Nashotah House near Milwaukee. In 1897 he became president of Nashotah, and in this capacity (1897-1906) was instrumental in raising funds and in building a strong faculty. A firm advocate of the celibacy of the clergy, Webb instituted a strict discipline at Nashotah. In 1906 he was named coadjutor bishop of the diocese of Milwaukee, and later in the same year became bishop, serving until his death. During his episcopate, St. John's Home for Aged Women in Milwaukee was rebuilt and enlarged, St. Francis House was created as a student center at the Univ. of Wisconsin,. and the Eau Claire diocese was set off from the parent diocese of Milwaukee. Widely known as an authority on problems of morals and as a counselor of the Episcopal clergy, Webb conducted numerous "retreats" for clergymen. A high churchman, and an ardent Anglo-Catholic, Webb became a leader of the pro-Catholic Episcopalians in the House of Bishops during the turn of the century. He was the author of numerous books and articles on religious subjects. Who's Who in Amer., 17 (1932); E. Hawks, W. McGarvey and the Open Pulpit (Philadelphia, 1935); G. E. DeMille, Cath. Movement in the Amer. Episc. Church. 2nd ed. (Philadelphia, 1950); J. G. Gregory, Hist. of Milwaukee (4 vols., Chicago, 1931).Learn More
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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]
