James Webster, Father (?) of Joseph Webster II

This account is part of the story told to Gordon Ashton Webster by his Aunt, Maria Belle (Mina) Webster endeavours to suggest that James had had some hope of inheriting the throne of England (refer Maria Belle Webster notes). It is told here without any suggestion that either Gordon or the present writer takes the suggestion seriously, however much or the story seems to fit with the known facts.

"George IV, then the Prince of Wales, married Maria Fitzherbert. Neither this marriage nor a subsequent offspring called JAMES was recognised by George III. The marriage however was recognised by the Pope and the Church of England. In any event Maria and her son were well provided for by royal endowments. It was also stated that their servants could wear the royal coat of arms.

The personal history of JAMES remains relatively obscure which is perhaps for the best. His moral character left much to be desired, but might be partially excused by his frustration at not inheriting the throne.

James married and lived in a house which was apparently half in England and half in Wales. A son was born called JOSEPH. James took Joseph away from his mother when he was five and travelled about England. When JOSEPH was fourteen he was sent to Canada with a tutor. Soon after this, Joseph was stranded in Dundas and was taken in by the GREEN family. James then married again, a girl called BELL, with one or two more offspring (Aunt Mina seems hazy about this). Some time later James visited Canada and was impressed by the resemblance of Joseph to his own father, GEORGE IV . He persuaded Joseph to return to England where he hoped by this resemblance to substantiate his claim to the throne. Joseph however, upon learning of his father' marital affairs, quarrelled violently and left him.

Joseph then sought out his mother who was living alone in Wales, and brought her back to Dundas. There he built her a house on the north side of King Street, where she lived until she died in 1863. She is buried in the Webster Falls cemetery as Margaret Allen, relict of Joseph Webster.

Other References to James Webster:
Christened by Joseph and Martha Lusty 1787
James Webster bought Hatt's Falls and renamed them Webster's Falls in 1819(History of Dundas)
James Webster listed as one of the people at a meeting in 1830 (Early Lawsuits- Pg 66 West Flamborough Township Centennial booklet)
James Webster lived in a house at Ancaster owned by Joseph Webster.
James Webster was the father of Joseph II and also used the name of Joseph.
James Webster, in 1808 married Margaret Wilson
James Webster was married to the woman later known as Margaret Allen

Margaret Wilson (Margaret Allen)

Margaret Wilson (aka Margaret Allen) was the mother of Joseph Webster II. Assumed to have been the wife of James Webster but this is still to be proven. A Margaret Wilson married a James Webster at Westham in Sussex in 1808 . Joseph II was born July 26, 1809.

When Joseph II returned to England in the early 1830's, he found his mother living in very poor circumstances having been deserted by her second husband, Mr. Allen. Joseph took her to Canada and established a home for her in King St. Dundas. She was known in Canada as Margaret Allen and is buried as such with the explanation: "Relict of Joseph Webster Esq." in the family graveyard a Webster's Falls. By the time of her death Joseph I had been gone from the area for 30 years and had been forgotten. The reference is probably intended to be vague or to mean that she was some sort of relative of Joseph II.