Frank Elbridge Webb

❧

Wikipedia

Frank Elbridge Webb
Webb in 1931
Personal details
Born(1869-09-01)September 1, 1869
Angels Camp, California, U.S.
DiedJune 15, 1949(1949-06-15) (aged 79)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political party
Other political
affiliations		Constitutional (c. 1930s)
Spouses
  • Agnes Hayes
    ​
    (div. 1908)​
  • Ethel L. Webb
    ​
    (div. 1926)​
  • Elsa White Webb (née Reid)
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1928)​
Military service
Branch/service
RankColonel

Frank Elbridge Webb (September 1, 1869 – June 15, 1949) was an American industrial engineer who served as the Farmer–Labor Party's presidential candidate in 1928 and as the presidential candidate for a wing of the Liberty Party[a] in 1932. He had initially been renominated by the Farmer–Labor Party in 1932 before being removed. He also led many unsuccessful efforts to build bridges that spanned the San Francisco Bay.

Life and career

Frank Elbridge Webb was born on September 1, 1869, in Angels Camp, part of the California Gold Country, to Annie Settle and Elbridge Webb.[1][2][3] His father had once been wealthy,[3] but he lost it,[4] and by Webb's birth he was working as a mining engineer at a mine he owned in Angels Camp.[5][6] He died suddenly in that mine when Webb was young.[2] After his death, Webb began farming and through that and other work he was able to afford an education.[4] He graduated from a San Francisco night school in 1886[7][8] and received a diploma as a graduate engineer.[9] Webb also worked as an elevator boy and then second assistant salesman at a dry goods store in San Francisco.[10]

1897 drawing of Webb

In 1884,[8] Webb joined the California National Guard, where he rose to the rank of captain serving as an aide-de-camp to General John H. Dickinson.[11] He served with distinction on Dickinson's staff when the National Guard was called to put down ARU strikers at Sacramento during the Pullman Strike.[12][13] He also studied law under Dickinson[11][8] and worked as his law clerk,[14] working on the defense of murderer Theodore Durrant and as a crucial witness in a case regarding James G. Fair's estate.[15][16] Webb identified with the Republican Party but opposed the tactics of its California establishment, fearing it would result in a Democrat being elected to the Senate.[17] In 1897, Webb unsuccessfully sought election as the Appraiser of Customs for the Port of San Francisco with the endorsement of Dickinson,[18] who was frequently titled "friend of the young Republicans",[19] and the San Francisco County and Alameda County Republican Party Committees.[20] In 1898, Webb thought that Congress was being too slow in declaring war on Spain and declared that when it did declare war he would be honorably discharged from the National Guard, join the Army, and muster a company of cowboys.[13] Webb served as a recruiting sergeant in the Spanish–American War.[21] As a graduate engineer, Webb created an irrigation system on a large California ranch, rescuing it from financial ruin.[4] He also managed and sold many California estates[10] and worked as an engineer at many California mines.[22][23] In 1901, Webb moved to New York,[5] where worked with John A. Bensel on the New York State Canal System and the Catskill Aqueduct.[5] As of 1906, Webb lived in Melrose, Massachusetts, and was vice-president of a large Boston supplies company.[24][25]

During World War I, Webb was an intelligence officer for Major General Leonard Wood and served in the army quartermaster,[26] with him serving in the Philippines.[27] After serving from 1914 to 1920, Webb retired with the rank of colonel.[3]

In 1921, Webb, who had managed the properties of Harold Vanderbilt for a few years,[28] headed a syndicate that agreed to purchase Vanderbilt's Idle Hour estate and convert it into a country club.[29] The agreement was severed in 1923 after the syndicate fell behind on payments to Vanderbilt.[30]

The leaders of a surveying expedition to explore the viability of Webb's proposed bridge at Little Coyote Point in 1923. From left to right, Frank Sinnicks, W. H. Bissell, Webb, and J. J. McGrath.

After Bensel's death in 1921, Webb became the head of his eponymous engineering firm.[31] In 1922, Webb orchestrated an effort to develop Little Coyote Point, San Mateo, California.[32][5] Later that year, he outlined a plan to build a toll bridge that spanned the San Francisco Bay, from Coyote Point to the coast of Alameda County.[31] This plan received wide support from prominent bay residents, who had long supported a transbay bridge and saw Webb's plan as viable. In 1923, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors granted Webb a franchise to build the bridge and it received the approval of the War Department.[33] In 1925, the board transferred the franchise to Frank C. Towns after Webb struggled to secure capital and was forced to delay the beginning of construction.[34][35] After losing the franchise, Webb continued with other transbay bridge efforts, though they attracted little local support and were repeatedly rejected by the authorities. These efforts included seeking a franchise to build a transbay bridge at the nearby Candlestick Point.[36]

In 1926, Webb sued Colonel Robert Mackay, who had served in the British Army, for $8,000 ($150,282 in 2024) which he had loaned him in 1922. Webb loaned the money to Mackay, a recent acquaintance, because he knew him to be "the wealthiest bachelor in Scotland".[37] During the trial, it was revealed that Mackay had introduced Webb to Richard H. Cole, a friend of President Warren G. Harding's who had expected to be appointed to a diplomatic post in Mexico.[38] Through that post, Cole believed he could control Mexican investments into the United States and receive valuable concessions, and Webb agreed to raise a $100,000 ($1.88 million in 2024) fund to lobby Mexican and American officials to secure this reality.[38][39] On January 21, 1922, Webb and Cole hosted a 75-person dinner which cost $3,000 ($56,356 in 2024) that was attended by many prominent figures, including former Speaker of the House Joe Cannon, Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, another 35 members of the United States Senate, and some prominent Mexican officials.[39] President Harding had been expected to attend, but Webb warned him against attending, saying he was "being used".[28][40][41] The scheme's failure was variably attributed to Mexican political instability which damaged Cole's influence, Harding's absence from the dinner,[28] and the fact that the dinner's extravagance attracted press coverage, leading to a government inquiry, scaring off Webb's investors.[39] Webb was awarded $6,000 ($112,712 in 2024) by the judge when the trial ended, with the judge finding that Mackay had previously returned $2,000 to Webb.[41][42]

Presidential election of 1928

Nomination

Previous presidential nominees of the Farmer–Labor Party
Parley P. Christensen
Robert M. La Follette
George W. Norris

In the 1928 presidential election, Webb bolted from the Republican Party and received the Farmer–Labor Party's (FLP) nomination.[2] The FLP had been founded in the aftermath of World War I. In the 1920 presidential election, it had nominated Parley P. Christensen, who received 1% of the popular vote and appeared on 19 state ballots, receiving a fifth of the vote in Washington and South Dakota. However, by the time Webb was nominated the party had been in a period of persistent decline, beginning soon after the 1920 election.[43]: 394–397, 429  This had been greatly accelerated when members of the Workers Party (later renamed Communist Party USA) won control of the organization in 1923.[43]: 431  The party was quickly condemned by many of its allies in the Conference for Progressive Political Action (CPPA), and by the time its old non-communist leadership had reconstituted it without them, many of its strongest members had defected to the communist organization or abandoned partisan politics.[43]: 434  The FLP joined with the CPPA, Socialist Party, American Federation of Labor, and other left-leaning groups in supporting Senator Robert M. La Follette in the 1924 presidential election. Appearing on the ballot in 47 states, sometimes on the FLP's ballot line, La Follette received 17% of the vote and won Wisconsin.[43]: 412  After his defeat, many of the FLP's allies withdrew from politics, taxed or disenchanted by the campaign, and those who remained, such as the FLP itself, were left weakened.[43]: 414–416  Meeting at its July 1928 national convention in Chicago, the FLP narrowly decided to nominate Senator George W. Norris over Socialist nominee Norman Thomas, by a vote of 16 to 14.[44] Norris, while incredibly sympathetic to the FLP's cause, rejected due to the inevitable defeat he felt such an effort would end in.[45] Chester Rowell, a prominent progressive Republican, described the party which nominated Webb as having effectively ceased to exist prior to his nomination, writing "There was a time when this Farmer–Labor party threatened to be a real movement to organize the Western form of social discontent. That time has passed."[46]

In the months prior to his nomination, Webb had been wary of bolting from the Republican Party and running for president, fearing it would make him a laughingstock among his business associates, but he eventually declared that "[c]onditions compel me to change my usual political affiliations."[2] According to Webb, he had been approached by an individual whose identity he would not disclose in early July about seeking the nomination.[47] He made himself known to the FLP by attending a conference of their leaders in Denver, where he declared that he would accept their nomination if the platform was revised.[48] The executive committee assembled in Kansas City, Missouri, on September 5,[49] less than a week after the convention had been called.[50] The seven-member executive committee only had five in attendance, joined by 12 advisory delegates, with the five executive committee members present deciding they constituted a quorum of the committee, though two members of the committee stormed out of the convention prior to Webb's nomination. The three remaining members of the executive committee met together, and shortly before midday on September 6 they nominated Webb, a nomination he accepted.[51]

Platform

Webb campaigned on farm relief, public ownership of utilities, no changes in immigration law, a nonpartisan cabinet, and a national referendum on prohibition, among other positions.[2]

Webb's acceptance of the nomination was conditioned on the party platform being revised. Writing on the process of revising the platform, executive committee member J. Edwin Spurr commented that while Webb had approved of most of the party's platform, the executive committee and Webb had "discovered... several faulty clauses", and so the executive committee revised it.[3] The Minneapolis Journal described the revised platform as "practically repeat[ing]" the original platform.[27] Prior to being revised, the platform had called for Philippine independence, Puerto Rican autonomy, an end to the military occupation of the U.S. Virgin Islands, the establishment of trade relations with the Soviet Union specifically, the abolition of private banking, and public ownership of all natural resources and the means of production.[52] After being revised, the party platform did not include any of the aforementioned planks.[b] On prohibition, the party had initially declared itself to be in favor by a simple plank which called for the "enforcement of all laws", causing consternation among some members who wanted stricter more specific language.[44] The revised platform was explicit in declaring the FLP to favor of a strict enforcement of the Eighteenth Amendment and Volstead Act, the destruction of all illegal manufacturers of alcohol, the prevention of all transportation of alcohol, and the consumption of alcohol. The revised platform also featured a single plank emphasizing the party's support for separation of church and state and calling for all Americans who swore loyalty to a foreign power or institution in conflict with the Constitution to be stripped of their citizenship and deported.[53]

Search for running mate

At its July convention, the FLP had nominated Will Vereen to serve as the running mate to Norris. Like Norris, Vereen rejected the nomination, though he was not as sympathetic as Norris, calling it an "absurdity".[51] As such, when the executive committee met to name Webb they also had to find him a running mate. The committee was set on naming Senator J. Thomas Heflin, until Webb made it clear he would decline the nomination if Heflin was his running mate, as he believed Heflin had attended cheap burlesque shows in Washington, D.C. The Minneapolis Journal applauded Webb's rejection of Heflin, though it did find his reason for refusing Heflin, a leading conservative and white supremacist long alleged to belong to the Ku Klux Klan, surprising.[54] The executive committee next offered the vice presidential nomination to Senator James A. Reed of Missouri, who had fielded a strong bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1928. Reed's associates deeply resented that he had been offered it, finding it humiliating and feeling as if he had been used. Upon being informed of the nomination, Reed angrily declared "Who in hell is Webb?[c] The Farmer–Labor Party? I never heard of it!"[55] Reed declined the nomination, saying "I am positively astounded, I never dreamed of such action", with him repeatedly reiterating his support for Democratic nominee Al Smith.[56] The executive committee resumed its search for a running mate, with L. R. Tillman, a member of the executive committee, being held in reserve in case no more prominent individual could be found who was willing to serve.[57]

After Reed's refusal, the executive committee contacted Henry Quincy Alexander, with him accepting the party's vice presidential nomination on September 11.[58] Alexander had no prior affiliation with the FLP or any of its leaders, with his first contact being the executive committee asking if he would accept their vice presidential nomination if offered. Alexander was a prominent leader of North Carolina's agrarians and had rallied them to La Follette's side in 1924.[59] A member of the Democratic Party, in the 1928 Democratic presidential primaries he had been a supporter of Senator Reed.[60] Alexander said his acceptance was due to his appreciation at being offered the nomination, his desire to serve the nation's farmers and laborers however he could,[59][61] and because of Reed's refusal, with him writing:

This nomination had previously been tendered to a man of great ability and Nation-wide reputation who, if press reports are correct, had declined it with scorn and derision. To decline the honor was all right; but the manner in which it was done, if correctly reported, was all wrong. No man is larger or more important to the welfare of this Nation than its workers; the men who create our wealth, yet are possessed of so little of it.[61]

In press interviews, Alexander noted his opposition to the McNary–Haugen Farm Relief Bill and the Volstead Act, but otherwise refrained from commenting on his ideology until he had the opportunity to read its platform.[59] On September 18, after reading the party platform, Alexander told the FLP to withdraw his name because he opposed the platform. Alexander took issue with the platform for two reasons; the platform did not call for the abolition of private banking and it included a plank he saw as trying to discredit the Catholic Church, and through that the Catholic Al Smith. Webb attempted to prevent Alexander's withdrawal by sending a statement to him, and while Alexander evaluated Webb as well-qualified to be president and even more progressive than the party platform, he could not understand Webb's silence on the abolition of private banking,[62] which Alexander was fanatical about.[63] Tillman would be Webb's running mate.[57]

Campaign

In the San Francisco Peninsula, where Webb lived and was well known for his bridge project, his nomination sparked either amazement or amusement in acquaintances.[64][65] Webb had seldom involved himself in politics besides being close friends with many Republican politicians,[66] in fact he had never previously sought elected office.[1][d] Chester Rowell commented that San Franciscans did not know Webb as a farmer or laborer, with the San Francisco Chronicle describing him as "one of the 'most mysterious' men in the Bay district".[65] His selection also prompted legal trouble; an ex-wife sued for $500 a month of alimony, using his presidential bid as evidence that he could pay,[67] and a butcher sued for $80.40 after hearing of his nomination prompted them to look through their records, where they allegedly discovered that Webb had not paid for some meat.[55] The meat suit was filed in the court of John J. McGrath, San Mateo County's Justice of the Peace; McGrath pledged to bring the case to court as quickly as possible, challenging Webb to begin his farm relief program by repaying the butcher.[55] McGrath had been very close with Webb as they worked together to secure a bay bridge, but eventually a disagreement became personal and they split,[64] with McGrath opposing bridge projects that Webb was involved in.[68] McGrath pledged to make a month-long campaign in Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska to nullify the "pernicious influence" that the "newest Moses of the downtrodden agrarians of the grain belt" might have on its "toilers and yeomen".[69] McGrath did not imagine that Webb unencumbered would receive any large number of votes, but in the unlikely event he did, McGrath predicted "calamity", and so he set out to dissuade people from voting for Webb by showing the "shallowness of the Webb pretentions as the standard bearer of the Farmer–Labor Party".[69]

Webb was the only third party candidate to state that there was the slightest possibility he would be elected president. His professed route to victory involved winning the Northwest while Smith and Hoover battled for the rest of the country, neither of them able to secure a majority of the Electoral College. The election would then be thrown to the House of Representatives, where Webb predicted that he could be selected.[1] Party members, such as Spurr and Frank Lowson, Webb's campaign manager, also predicted that in the event the party deadlocked the electoral college, placed above one of the major parties in the Electoral College, and the House was unable to organize a majority behind any one candidate, then the FLP would still claim the presidency, as the third place party would join with the FLP in the contingent election in the Senate and select the FLP's vice presidential candidate, elevating them to the presidency should the House deadlock fail to break by Inauguration Day.[70][71] However, while thanking his supporters in November, he would describe his defeat as inevitable.[72]

Reed's derisive remark was embraced by the party, with Webb and the FLP including the remark in campaign literature, such as pamphlets and party bulletins.[1][57]

Results

Webb appeared on the ballot in Colorado, Iowa, Oklahoma, and South Dakota. He received 6,390 votes.[73][e]

Presidential election of 1932

Farmer–Labor Party

In April 1932, Webb was again nominated as the Farmer–Labor Party's nominee for president, with Jacob S. Coxey being nominated for vice president.[75] His nomination met significant opposition due to his wealth.[76] In June 1932, he was erased from the ticket after refusing to endorse the party platform in whole, and after it was charged that he lived in Washington, D.C., and not San Francisco, California.[76][f] The party reached the conclusion that he was "a spy for Hoover".[76]

Liberty Party

Campaign history

In July 1932, Roland Bruner, who claimed to be the national chairman of the Liberty Party's executive committee,[g] called a unity convention in Kansas City, Missouri, to fuse together the "old Liberty, the Farmer–Labor, the Progressive and the Socialist parties and the Monetary League and the Farmers' Union" in order to solidify the opposition to the Democrats and Republicans.[82][83] After considering the nominations of Smith W. Brookhart, Norman Thomas, Coin Harvey, and Jacob S. Coxey,[84] among others, the convention nominated Webb for president and Andrae Nordskog for vice president.[85] The nomination of Webb and Nordskog was ridiculed as they were both Californians, and therefore constitutionally ineligible of being awarded California's electoral votes.[86][87] In September 1932, Reverend Otis L. Spurgeon, a Baptist minister and the national secretary of Bruner's Liberty Party, replaced Nordskog as the vice presidential nominee.[88][89] The Socialist and Farmer–Labor parties, and most other organizations claimed to fuse at the convention, disavowed any claims of fusion.[90][91][92] The old Liberty Party called the convention illegitimate and said that Bruner was falsely representing himself as the chairman of its executive committee.[93] In April 1932, the old Liberty Party had merged with the Jobless Party, planning to nominate a single candidate for president at an August convention of the "Jobless-Liberty" Party.[94] The merger collapsed shortly after the convention began, with the Liberty Party delegates present at the convention renominating Coin Harvey for president.[95][94][h] Bruner's Liberty Party demanded Harvey cease claiming to be the Liberty Party nominee, promising litigation if he refused.[96][97] The existence of two Liberty parties severely impeded the campaign, with the party only fundraising $350 ($8,066 in 2024).[89][98] In November 1932, prior to the election, Bruner's Liberty Party declared that it would not win, blaming the poor fundraising.[89] Spurgeon endorsed Hoover and Webb declared that it would be better for the country if Herbert Hoover was reelected rather than if Franklin D. Roosevelt won the presidency, though he refrained from making a formal endorsement.[99]

Platform

  1. Retention and observance of the entire Constitution of the United States.[i]
  2. Government banks, operated for service only.
  3. Strict enforcement of the Sherman Anti-trust laws and restraint of trade acts.
  4. Cost of production plus a profit for the farmer.
  5. A 6-hour day and wages in keeping with industry.
  6. Expansion of currency dealing with unemployment and public improvements.
  7. Government supervision of public utilities.
  8. Protection of investments and capital only when invested in the United States.

The platform of the Liberty Party, with the exception of its first plank, was described as very similar to Franklin D. Roosevelt's then-proposed New Deal.[100] The seventh plank originally called for government ownership of public utilities but it was changed to instead call for supervision at the request of Webb, who believed that government should not directly involve itself in business, except for matters concerning banking.[101]

Results

Roosevelt defeated Hoover's bid for reelection and won the presidency with 42 states and 57.41% of the popular vote.[102] The Liberty Party appeared on just ten state ballots, and Harvey was present on the ballot or reputed as the nominee in eight of those states, with Webb not appearing on any state ballots. In California and New Mexico, where the presidential short ballot had not yet been adopted, the state Liberty Parties professed support for neither Webb nor Harvey.[103][104][j] In California, the highest vote total for a Liberty Party elector was 9,827 votes,[105] and in New Mexico, the highest vote total for a Liberty Party elector was 389 votes.[106]

Later years

In February 1933, Webb wished the incoming Roosevelt administration the best of luck and said he would serve in it if called upon.[107] In the years following the 1932 election, Webb organized and participated in various third party efforts, though they would not approach the scale or success of his previous efforts. For instance, he served as the chairman of the Constitutional Party, but it never appeared on any ballots and did not garner significant media attention.[108]

Webb died suddenly on June 15, 1949, at his home in Washington, D.C. He was 79 years old.[21] After his death, Webb was described as forgotten,[109] remembered most often for his presidential campaigns, except around the San Francisco Bay, where he was better remembered for his transbay projects.[110]

Family and personal life

1928 photo of Webb's last wife, Elsa

Through his father, Webb was able to trace his heritage to the Pilgrims who arrived on the Mayflower.[1] Writing on his Mayflower heritage, a reporter from The Kansas City Star declared that it was "difficult to overlook this feature, for the colonel mentions it frequently in conversation."[111] His great-grandfather, Nathaniel Webb, had served in the Revolutionary War and Webb belonged to the Sons of the American Revolution.[3][26][112]

His father, Elbridge Webb, had been born in Maine and came from a wealthy New England family of shipbuilders and engineers.[3][26] His mother, Annie Settle, had been born in Oregon and was a singer.[113] He had an older sister, Adelaide E. Webb, who was an elocutionist.[114] After his father's death, his mother remarried John Greenwell, with Webb having six half-siblings as a result.[113] Adelaide died in 1896[114] and his mother died in 1925.[113] He was also a cousin of William Seward Webb.[20]

Webb is noted as being married in 1900[115] and 1904.[116] In 1908, Agnes Hayes divorced from Webb for reason of desertion.[117][118] Webb remarried Ethel L. Webb and she divorced him in 1927, suing for alimony after he received the Farmer–Labor Party's nomination.[119] At some time, an ex-wife sued Webb for spending all her money and hypothecating her jewels.[55] In April 1928, Webb married Elsa Reid,[8] and they remained married until his death.[120]

Notes

  1. ↑ The wing that nominated Webb was sometimes reported to be known as the Liberty and Unity Party, Liberty Unity Party, or just the Unity Party.
  2. ↑ The revised platform called for "establishment of equitable trade relationships with all governments, permitting autonomy to all."[53]
  3. ↑ Also reported as "Who the hell is Webb?"[1]
  4. ↑ The appraisership he sought in 1898 was filled via appointment.
  5. ↑ He received 1,092 votes in Colorado, 3,088 votes in Iowa, 1,283 votes in Oklahoma, and 927 votes in South Dakota.[74]
  6. ↑ At the National Farmer–Labor Convention, had Webb not been allowed to cast California's votes for himself as its delegate, he would have lacked the necessary support to become the nominee. The convention had initially deadlocked because he was not allowed to cast California's votes, but shortly before the convention was set to end he was allowed to vote for California, giving him enough support to become the party's nominee.
  7. ↑ Bruner had been appointed to the executive committee at its August 1931 convention.[77] Soon after the convention, many members of the executive committee became estranged from Coin Harvey, the party's nominee for president,[78] with him demanding, and receiving, the resignations of many committeemen, including Bruner, who had ascended to become the national chairman of the committee.[79] In the months following Bruner's resignation, Harvey and more members of the party became estranged, such as its vice presidential nominee, Andrae Nordskog, who Harvey demanded resign his place on the ticket.[78][80] By June 1932, Bruner was ignoring his previous resignation and presenting himself as the chairman of the executive committee.[81]
  8. ↑ The Jobless Party delegates present at the convention nominated Cox, a few minutes before and a few miles away from the Liberty Party delegates.[94]
  9. ↑ The 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution established prohibition. This plank declared the party to be supportive of retaining the amendment and strict enforcement of the Volstead Act.
  10. ↑ In California, the state party had supported Harvey until they heard reports he dropped out of the race. In New Mexico, the state party did not name the candidate their electors intended to support, and did not seem to know when asked after the election who they had intended to support.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 TIME (October 8, 1928). "MINOR PARTIES: Mr. Webb". TIME. Retrieved February 18, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "He Quit Ranks of G.O.P. to Lead Farm-Labor Party". Okmulgee Daily Times. September 13, 1928. p. 5. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Spurr, J. Edwin (September 21, 1928). "Farmer-Labor Party Bulletin". The Tuttle Times. p. 2. Retrieved February 26, 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 "Webb Would Make Ideal President Says Leader". The Times. September 8, 1928. p. 1. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Bridge Plan Told By Noted Engineer". The San Francisco Journal and Daily Journal of Commerce. October 8, 1922. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Obituary for Adelaide E. Webb". San Francisco Chronicle. March 29, 1896. p. 34. Retrieved August 6, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Night-School Graduates". The San Francisco Examiner. June 12, 1886. p. 1. Retrieved July 12, 2025.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Havel, James (1996). U.S. Presidential Candidates and the Elections: A Biographical and Historical Guide. p. 610.
  9. ↑ "Colonel Frank Elbridge Webb". The Tuttle Times. October 26, 1928. p. 1. Retrieved March 7, 2025.
  10. 1 2 "Defense's Day of Minute Details - Those Everlasting Crocket Documents - The End of Kelly Alibis". San Francisco Chronicle. August 24, 1897. p. 7. Retrieved February 26, 2025.
  11. 1 2 "Fun With the General's Aide". The San Francisco Examiner. August 24, 1897. p. 12. Retrieved August 10, 2025.
  12. ↑ Burg, William (July 2, 2018). "Showdown at the Shops: The 1894 Pullman Strike". Sacramentality. Retrieved August 10, 2025.
  13. 1 2 "Frank Webb Preparing to Organize a Cowboy Company". The Daily Encinal. April 15, 1898. p. 1. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  14. ↑ "Captain Frank E. Webb". The San Francisco Call and Post. January 26, 1897. p. 7. Retrieved August 10, 2025.
  15. ↑ "A Play For Time". The San Francisco Call and Post. April 11, 1897. p. 10. Retrieved August 10, 2025.
  16. ↑ "F. E. Webb Will Be an Important Witness in Another Phase of the Case". The San Francisco Examiner. January 27, 1897. p. 16. Retrieved August 10, 2025.
  17. ↑ "Capt. Frank E. Webb". Oakland Tribune. February 11, 1899. p. 3. Retrieved August 11, 2025.
  18. ↑ "Frank A. [sic] Webb". The Daily Encinal. April 2, 1897. p. 1. Retrieved August 10, 2025.
  19. ↑ "General John J. Dickinson Died At Healdsburg Sunday". Santa Rosa Republican. August 23, 1908. p. 8. Retrieved June 23, 2025.
  20. 1 2 "Appraiser of Customs". Alameda Times Star. April 13, 1897. p. 1. Retrieved August 10, 2025.
  21. 1 2 "Ex-Presidential Candidate Dies". The Oregon Daily Journal. June 16, 1949. p. 21. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
  22. ↑ "Elmhurst". Oakland Enquirer. January 3, 1899. p. 2. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  23. ↑ "Frank Webb has resigned his position". Oakland Tribune. January 3, 1900. p. 3. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  24. ↑ "Retain Revenue Office Here". Oakland Tribune. December 12, 1906. p. 3. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  25. ↑ "Shootings Exaggerated". The Boston Daily Globe. May 15, 1906. p. 11. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  26. 1 2 3 "Colonel Frank Elbridge Webb". The Tuttle Times. October 26, 1928. p. 1. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
  27. 1 2 "Farmer-Labor Heads Back Webb". The Minneapolis Journal. September 6, 1928. p. 3. Retrieved March 18, 2025.
  28. 1 2 3 "Vanderbilt Kin Named In Suit". The San Francisco Examiner. January 15, 1927. p. 5. Retrieved April 29, 2025.
  29. ↑ "Richest Club Takes Vanderbilt's 'Idle Hour'". New York Herald. January 15, 1922. p. 73. Retrieved February 11, 2025.
  30. ↑ "Club Plan For "Idle Hour" Fizzles". The Herald Statesman. December 12, 1923. p. 14. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
  31. 1 2 Imboden, Daniel (September 28, 1922). "Coyote Bridge To Open Door From S. F. To Interior". The San Francisco Journal and Daily Journal of Commerce. pp. 5, 7. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  32. ↑ "Pacific Coast News - San Mateo County". The San Francisco Journal and Daily Journal of Commerce. June 22, 1922. p. 9. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  33. ↑ "Work To Start on Dumbarton Span Next Month". Redwood City Standard. January 3, 1924. p. 1. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  34. ↑ "Franchise For Bridge In Shift". The San Francisco Examiner. August 18, 1925. p. 15. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
  35. ↑ "Request of Frank E. Webb For Further Continuance Turned Down By Co. Board". Redwood City Tribune. August 17, 1925. p. 1. Retrieved February 26, 2025.
  36. ↑ "Supervisors Deny Candlestick Point Bridge Franchise". The Times. May 14, 1928. p. 1. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
  37. ↑ "'Lobby' Suit Strikes Oil". The San Francisco Examiner. January 20, 1927. p. 13. Retrieved April 29, 2025.
  38. 1 2 "Political Intrigue Laid to Harding". The Brooklyn Daily Times. January 14, 1927. p. 31. Retrieved February 20, 2025.
  39. 1 2 3 "'Lobby' Fund of $100,000 Bared in Suit". The San Francisco Examiner. January 14, 1927. pp. 1, 11. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
  40. ↑ "LITIGANT REFERS TO HAROLD VANDERBILT; Witness Wrote in Letter of Illegal Removal of Idle Hour Treasures". The New York Times. January 15, 1927. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 18, 2025.
  41. 1 2 "Former U.S. Colonel Wins $6,000 Verdict". Evening star. January 22, 1927. p. 16. Retrieved February 20, 2025.
  42. ↑ "Colonel Wins Suit For $6,000 on Notes". The San Francisco Examiner. January 22, 1927. p. 22. Retrieved April 29, 2025.
  43. 1 2 3 4 5 Fine, Nathan (1928). Labor and farmer parties in the United States, 1828-1928. New York: Russell & Russell. pp. 363–438. OCLC 233720.
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  47. ↑ "S. F. Man Chosen to Head Farm Labor Slate". San Francisco Bulletin. September 6, 1928. p. 1. Retrieved July 19, 2025.
  48. ↑ "Webb Is Nominated By Farm-Laborites". The Washington Post. September 7, 1928. p. 3. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  49. ↑ "Farmer-Labor National Convention Here Today". Kansas City Journal. September 5, 1928. p. 2. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
  50. ↑ "Farmer-Labor Party To Meet". The Rocky Mountain News. September 3, 1928. p. 3. Retrieved October 3, 2025.
  51. 1 2 "A Nomination To Reed". The Kansas City Star. September 6, 1928. p. 1. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
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  53. 1 2 "The Farmer-Labor Party Platform". The Tuttle Times. October 5, 1928. p. 2. Retrieved October 4, 2025.
  54. ↑ "Why, Tom Gives Em Himself". The Minneapolis Journal. September 8, 1928. p. 4. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  55. 1 2 3 4 "Reed Not To Be With Webb On New Ticket; Candidate Webb Sued Here For Bill For Meat". The Times. September 7, 1928. p. 1. Retrieved February 27, 2025.
  56. ↑ "S. F. Man Heads Farmer Ticket". The San Francisco Examiner. September 7, 1928. p. 2. Retrieved October 4, 2025.
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  58. ↑ "Alexander Accepts On Farmer's Ticket". Hickory Daily Record. September 12, 1928. p. 1. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  59. 1 2 3 "Farmer Party Gives Alexander Surprise". The Charlotte Observer. September 13, 1928. p. 13. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
  60. ↑ "Three to One Vote Is Stand In This County". The Charlotte News. June 10, 1928. p. 7. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  61. 1 2 Alexander, Henry (September 15, 1928). "The Doctor Tells Why He Accepted and Why He is for Smith". The Charlotte Observer. p. 8. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
  62. ↑ Alexander, Henry (September 30, 1928). "Doctor Alexander Unable To Endorse Farm-Labor Platform". The Charlotte Observer. p. 42. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
  63. ↑ Loomis, Charles (July 1930). "The Rise and Decline of the North Carolina Farmers' Union". The North Carolina Historical Review. 7 (3): 305–325. JSTOR 23514979.
  64. 1 2 "White House Aspirant Sued On Meat Bill". San Francisco Chronicle. September 8, 1928. p. 14. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
  65. 1 2 "Farm-Labor Party Drafts S. F. Man for President". San Francisco Chronicle. September 7, 1928. p. 1. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
  66. ↑ "Bay Bridge Promoter Is Nominated By Farmer-Labor Party". The Times. September 5, 1928. p. 1. Retrieved March 18, 2025.
  67. ↑ "Webb Asked To Pay $500 Month Alimony To Wife". The Times. October 23, 1928. p. 8. Retrieved February 20, 2025.
  68. ↑ "Battle Over Bay Bridges Moves Into San Mateo". San Francisco Chronicle. March 29, 1927. p. 7. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
  69. 1 2 "McGrath to Stump West Against Webb". The Times. September 7, 1928. p. 1. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  70. ↑ Spurr, J. Edwin (October 5, 1928). "Farmer-Labor Party Bulletin". The Tuttle Times. p. 2. Retrieved February 27, 2025.
  71. ↑ "Reed Turns It Down". The Kansas City Times. September 7, 1928. p. 1. Retrieved October 4, 2025.
  72. ↑ "A Letter From Col. Webb". The Tuttle Times. December 7, 1932. p. 2. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  73. ↑ "1928 Presidential General Election Results". U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved February 11, 2025.
  74. ↑ "Nominee By New Party". The Kansas City Times. July 5, 1932. p. 1. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
  75. ↑ "Webb and Coxey Chosen Farmer-Labor Nominees". The Atlanta Journal. April 28, 1932. p. 6. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
  76. 1 2 3 "Huey Long Urged – Farmer-Labor Party Seeks Presidential Candidate". The Bellingham Herald. June 20, 1932. p. 10. Retrieved February 11, 2025.
  77. ↑ "80-Year-Old Vet Of Many Battles Is Finally Named By Liberty Party (pg. 2)". The Springfield News-Leader. August 27, 1931. p. 2. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
  78. 1 2 "80-Year-Old Vet Of Many Battles Is Finally Named By Liberty Party". The Springfield News-Leader. August 27, 1931. p. 1. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
  79. ↑ "Harvey Names Chairman". Springfield Leader and Press. December 31, 1931. p. 4. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  80. ↑ "Liberty Party Not Entirely At Peace". Progress-Bulletin. March 18, 1932. p. 2. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
  81. ↑ "A Third Party Parley Here". The Kansas City Times. June 2, 1932. p. 1. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  82. ↑ "Third Party To Have Ticket". The Peninsula Times Tribune. July 4, 1932. p. 2. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
  83. ↑ "Webb and Nordskog On Ticket Named By New Liberty Party". Daily Sentinel. July 5, 1932. p. 1. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
  84. ↑ "Liberty Party Selects Webb". The Sacramento Union. July 5, 1932. p. 4. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
  85. ↑ "LIBERTY PARTY NOMINATES.; Names Webb and Nordskog as Its Presidential Ticket". The New York Times. July 5, 1932. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 18, 2025.
  86. ↑ "Two From California". The Sacramento Union. July 10, 1932. p. 16. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
  87. ↑ "Third Party Names Ticket, But It's Unconstitutional". Daily News. July 5, 1932. p. 348. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
  88. ↑ "Kansas City Cleric Gets Liberty Party Candidacy". The Sacramento Bee. September 23, 1932. p. 19. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
  89. 1 2 3 "Liberty Party Gives Up". The Kansas City Times. November 3, 1932. p. 9. Retrieved February 26, 2025.
  90. ↑ "'Third Parties' Are Beckoning". The Missoulian. July 12, 1932. p. 7. Retrieved February 20, 2025.
  91. ↑ "Socialists Deny Liberty Party Deal". Oakland Tribune. July 8, 1932. p. 2. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
  92. ↑ "Parties For One Banner". The Kansas City Times. July 2, 1932. p. 14. Retrieved February 27, 2025.
  93. ↑ "'Coin' Harvey In Statement". The Springfield Press. June 24, 1932. p. 12. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  94. 1 2 3 "Rival Heads of 'Jobless' Party Split". The Californian. August 17, 1932. p. 1. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
  95. ↑ "Jobless Liberty Party Chiefs in Convention Row". Modesto News-Herald. August 17, 1932. p. 9. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
  96. ↑ "'Coin' Harvey Un-Nominated". Detroit Free Press. September 1, 1932. p. 1. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
  97. ↑ "Liberty Party Head Facing Legal Fight". Evening star. September 1, 1932. p. 6. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
  98. ↑ "A Block In Coin Harvey". The Kansas City Star. August 30, 1932. p. 3. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
  99. ↑ "Liberty Nominee For Hoover". The Kansas City Times. November 5, 1932. p. 17. Retrieved February 26, 2025.
  100. ↑ "Frank Elbridge Webb of the District of Columbia – Unity Party". Mid-West Progressive. November 3, 1932. p. 7. Retrieved February 27, 2025.
  101. ↑ "Nominee Disagrees". Evening star. July 5, 1932. p. 22. Retrieved February 27, 2025.
  102. ↑ "1932 Presidential General Election Results". U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved February 26, 2025.
  103. ↑ "Progressive League Now Backs Hoover". Oakland Tribune. November 2, 1932. p. 2. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
  104. ↑ "Liberty Party Is Candidate Puzzle". Carlsbad Current-Argus. November 25, 1932. p. 2. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
  105. ↑ "1932 Presidential General Election Results – California". U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  106. ↑ "1932 Presidential General Election Results – New Mexico". U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved February 22, 2025.
  107. ↑ "Work for Roosevelt? Frank Webb Is Willing". Omaha World-Herald. February 11, 1933. p. 14. Retrieved March 26, 2025.
  108. ↑ "Political Slants". The Los Angeles Times. March 18, 1936. p. 11. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
  109. ↑ "Was Forgotten U.S. Candidate". The Expositor. June 16, 1949. p. 30. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
  110. ↑ "Frank Webb, Span Pioneer, Dies At 79". The Times. June 16, 1949. p. 1. Retrieved February 21, 2025.
  111. ↑ "F. E. Webb Would Run". The Kansas City Star. December 6, 1931. p. 8. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
  112. ↑ Kimball, Herbert Wood (June 10, 1910). Register of Members and Records of Their Revolutionary Ancestors. Massachusetts Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. p. 210.
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  116. ↑ "L'Elisir d'Amore". New-York Tribune. February 9, 1904. p. 10. Retrieved August 11, 2025.
  117. ↑ "Suits for Divorce". The San Francisco Call Bulletin. June 6, 1908. p. 10. Retrieved June 23, 2025.
  118. ↑ "Decrees of divorce granted". The San Francisco Examiner. June 11, 1908. p. 1. Retrieved March 25, 2025.
  119. ↑ "Webb Asked To Pay $500 Month Alimony To Wife". The Times. October 23, 1928. p. 8. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  120. ↑ "Obituary for Frank Webb". Evening star. June 19, 1949. p. 32. Retrieved February 20, 2025.