James Webb (Texas politician)
United States federal judge (1792-1856)

James Webb (1792–1856) was an attorney, judge, and politician in the Republic of Texas and during the early days of statehood after its annexation by the United States. Webb was born in Virginia in 1792 and spent part of his early years in Georgia and Florida. He taught school as a teenager, worked in the office of the county clerk and studied for the bar. He became an attorney in 1816.
He moved back to Florida in 1823 where he established the community of Webbville in Jackson County. He served as one of the trustees of the first public school in the area, Webbville Academy. In 1828 he was named a federal judge for the newly created Southern District of Florida by President John Quincy Adams.
In 1838, he moved to Texas where he caught the attention of President Mirabeau Lamar, who made him Secretary of State, Secretary of Treasury, and Attorney General of the young republic. In 1841 he was named minister to Mexico. He attempted to establish diplomatic relations during this time, but was unsuccessful.
The public source identifies “James Webb (Texas politician)” as united States federal judge (1792-1856). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around James, Webb and Texas.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “James Webb (Texas politician)”, the useful work is to connect “united States federal judge (1792-1856)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 13, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q39079178. VIAF identifies the subject as 26303196. The Library of Congress control number is n95004986. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1792, 1856, 1816 and 1823.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “James Webb (Texas politician)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow James Webb (Texas politician) primary sources, James Webb (Texas politician) archive and James research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “James Webb (Texas politician)”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “James Webb (Texas politician)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.