Overview
Papers relating to a number of legal cases and papers relating to estates settled by Judge Nathan Webb.
Dates
- Creation: 1859-1902
Creator
- Webb, Nathan (1825-1902) (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research. Materials stored onsite. Please contact specialcollectionsref@hbs.edu for more information.
Extent
.75 linear feet (2 boxes)The Nathan Webb Legal Papers contain records relating to a number of legal cases and papers relating to estates settled by Judge Webb. Webb's papers contain the records of a controversy between two of his wife's sisters, Martha and Elizabeth, over the estate of Elizabeth's husband, Nathaniel Osgood.
The collection also contains the will of Martha Osgood (1889). She left her real and personal estate to her mother, sisters, and brother, to use during their lifetimes. Nathan Webb was the executor of the estate and also married to Jane Usher Webb, who stood to inherit part of Martha's estate at Rebecca's demise. Other documentation and correspondence in the Webb collection include wills, probate records, claims against estates, and investment accounts for the Usher sisters, as well as nurse and childcare payments.
There are also legal cases involving women as plaintiffs, including Annie Paine in 1872 and Emily Broad in 1875. Of particular note are two 1877 letters from schoolteacher Fannie A. Haskell concerning taking legal action against the town of New Gloucester, Maine, alleging that the town's poor maintenance of the roads caused an accident which kept her from working during the winter.
Biographical / Historical
Nathan Webb was a lawyer and a judge in Portland, Maine. Webb received his A.B. degree at Harvard University in 1846. He practiced family law in private practice in Portland from 1849 to 1865. Webb served as county attorney of Cumberland County, Maine from 1866 to 1870, and United States Attorney for the District of Maine from 1870 to 1878, before returning to private practice. President Chester A. Arthur nominated Webb to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Maine on January 18, 1882. Webb retired from the bench on June 30, 1902, and died in November the same year in Portland.
Physical Location
MANU
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Nathan Webb legal papers were received by Baker Library Special Collections as a donation from Mrs. George Hobbs (gifts 7040 and 8323).
Processing Information
Processed: March 2018 By: Baker Library Special Collections Staff
Creator
- Webb, Nathan (1825-1902) (Person)
- Author
- Baker Library
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- bak00430
Repository Details
Part of the Baker Library Special Collections and Archives, Harvard Business School Repository
Baker Library Special Collections and Archives holds unique resources that focus on the evolution of business and industry, as well as the records of the Harvard Business School, documenting the institution's development over the last century. These rich and varied collections support research in a diverse range of fields such as business, economic, social and cultural history as well as the history of science and technology.
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