John Webster

John Webster
Revolutionary War Soldier
(Oakland Cemetery, Northeast Quarter)

John Webster was born in 1765 in Caroline County, Virginia. He moved to Alabama in 1817 and lived with his son, John J. Webster. He died Sept 6, 1839, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and was buried in Oakland Cemetery.
Mr. Webster enlisted in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War under Captain Wallace and Lieutenant Shackelford in Albemarle County, Virginia as a substitute for his father, Moses Webster. He served for three months guarding Burgoyne’s troops. (When British Gen. John Burgoyne’s troops were defeated in the Battle of Saratoga, they became prisoners of war and were housed in Albemarle Barracks.) Without going home, he entered the service of the United States again, guarding Burgoyne’s troops in Albemarle as a substitute for a man whose name was John Tandy. This was also for three months and again under Captain Wallace. After his second term, and without going home, he enlisted a third time as a substitute guarding Burgoyne’s Troops. At the end of his third term John Webster returned home.
Shortly afterward, he was drafted into the militia in Albemarle County in Captain Wood’s company and Colonel Richardson’s Regiment. He remained with them until he was discharged, three months later. His discharge took place a few days before the Siege of Little York. He was present at Yorktown to see Cornwallis surrender on Oct. 19, 1781. Shortly after the Revolutionary War Mr. Webster moved to North Carolina, where he married. He moved to Tennessee around 1809 and then to Alabama in 1817. In Alabama, he lived with his son, John J. Webster.
When Mr. Webster died in 1839, he was buried in the “old burying ground,” also known as Oakland Cemetery. Oakland Cemetery was located on a steep slope at the end of 27th Avenue, heading down to the Black Warrior River, behind Ebenezer Church, Tuscaloosa’s first church. According to John Webster's obituary, he was buried in the Northeast quarter of the cemetery. In 1911, the graveyard was destroyed when the L &N Railroad was built through town. His grave has been lost.
His son, John J. Webster, was a trustee at the Alabama Female Institute in Tuscaloosa in 1835. He was also an architect and master builder. After his father died, John J. Webster moved his family to Harrison County, Texas in 1839. There he built a stately brick home, Mimosa Hall, one of Harrison County’s earliest brick structures. The house is now on the National Historic Register.
In 2024 the Chief Tuskaloosa Chapter, NSDAR, erected a marker honoring John Webster in Tuscaloosa's oldest public cemetery, Greenwood Cemetery, as it is not possible to place the marker at Mr. Webster's original grave. There currently are five known American Revolutionary War Patriots buried at Greenwood Cemetery.
Sources:
National Society Daughters of the American Revolution Membership Application
Flag of the Union, Sept. 18, 1839
Southern Campaign American Revolution Pension Statement and Rosters, John
Webster S11700
Revolutionary Soldiers in Alabama, compiled by Thomas McAdory Owen
Reverend Daniel Brown of Culpepper County, Virginia and Allied Families –
Webster, Finnell, McCain, Pemberton
U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Application
Yorktown Campaign | Siege of Yorktown (revolutionary-war.org)
The Democrat-Reporter, Linden, AL, May 5, 1938, p3
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/revolutionary-war/battles/saratoga
Demise of the Albemarle Barracks: A Report to the Quartermaster General - Journal of
the American Revolution (allthingsliberty.com)
Mimosa Hall | Resources by Index Name | Harrison County Historic Sites Survey |
Harrison County | Regional Resources Map for East Texas History | Center for Regional Heritage Research/SFASU

Information compiled by members of the Chief Tuskaloosa Chapter, NSDAR

Last updated June 14, 2026