View source for J. J. Webster

{{short description|American politician, farmer, and businessman}}
{{about|the American politician|his grandson, the checkers player of the same name|Jeff Webster (checkers player)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name=James Jefferson Webster
|image= File:James Jefferson Webster.jpg
|alt=
|caption=
|office=[[Rockingham County, North Carolina|Rockingham County]] Commissioner
|term_start=November 3, 1942
|term_end=1952
|predecessor=Harvey Glenn
|birth_date= September 27, 1898
|birth_place= [[Patrick County, Virginia]]
|death_date= {{death date and age|1965|5|24|1898|9|27}}
|death_place= 
| resting_place= Centenary United Methodist Church, [[Stoneville, North Carolina]]
|residence=
|party=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]]
|alma_mater=
|spouse= Nannie Hurt Strong
|children= 5 (including [[John Ray Webster]])
|parents= James William Webster<br>Lillie Frances Davis
|relatives= [[Jeff Webster (checkers player)|James Jefferson Webster III]] (grandson)<br>[[Beth Mitchell|Elizabeth Webster Mitchell]] (great-granddaughter)<br>[[Katherine Indermaur]] (great-granddaughter)
|occupation= businessman, politician, farmer
}}

'''James Jefferson Webster Sr.''' (September 27, 1898 – May 24, 1965) was an American businessman, farmer, and politician. He owned a dairy and tobacco farm, tobacco warehouses, a general store, and co-ran a car dealership in [[Rockingham County, North Carolina]]. A [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]], Webster served as a Rockingham County commissioner for ten years. As a county commissioner, he played a role in the development of [[North Carolina Highway 135]], which was posthumously named after him, and worked on the gubernatorial campaign of [[W. Kerr Scott]].

== Biography ==
James Jefferson Webster was born on September 27, 1898 in [[Patrick County, Virginia]] to James William Webster and Lillie Frances Davis. He was one of six children. The family relocated to [[Rockingham County, North Carolina]] where his father was possibly employed in the construction of the [[Avalon, North Carolina|Avalon Mill]]. By the time he was six, Webster was orphaned, and he spent the next few years living with his brothers and other families. On December 24, 1923, he married Nannie Hurt Strong in [[Martinsville, Virginia]] and had five children with her, including [[John Ray Webster]].<ref name=encyclopedia>{{cite encyclopedia| last= King| first= Nancy Webster| title = James Jefferson Webster| encyclopedia = The Heritage of Rockingham County, North Carolina, 1983| date = 1983| publisher = Rockingham County Historical Society in cooperation with Hunter Publishing Company| location = Winston-Salem, North Carolina|page=676| isbn = 0-89459-212-2}}</ref>

In 1927 Webster purchased a wood-built store at the intersection of [[North Carolina Highway 135]] and Settle Bridge Road in Rockingham County and opened J.J. Webster's Store.<ref name= news2/> As the local [[general store]], it served as a gathering point for the Shiloh community. Webster used his position as the store's owner to assist struggling families in the area;<ref name= news/> he allowed farmers to purchase goods on credit and would wait to call their tab after their tobacco had been sold.<ref name= news2/> Webster was also a tobacco and dairy farmer<ref name= news>{{cite news| title = Proposed Highway Name Honors Store Owner| newspaper = [[News & Record]]| location = [[Eden, North Carolina|Eden]]| page = R1| date = May 5, 1995}}</ref> and operated tobacco warehouses in [[Stoneville, North Carolina|Stoneville]] and [[Clarkton, North Carolina|Clarkton]].<ref name=encyclopedia/> On May 1, 1937 Webster, together with George Amos Dillon, Robert Smith, and Clyde Smith, opened an [[Oldsmobile]] car dealership in a sheet-metal garage building in [[Madison, North Carolina|Madison]] under the name of W.D.S. Motors, Incorporated. A new W.D.S. Motors building opened on October 5, 1940.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia| last = Dillon| first = Vera W.| encyclopedia = The Heritage of Rockingham County, North Carolina, 1983| title = Seaborn Archibald Dillon Family| publisher = Rockingham County Historical Society in cooperation with Hunter Publishing Company| date = 1983| page = [http://www.thedillonfamily.org/ben/john/eri/seborn/george/Rockingham_County_Heritage.html 241]| isbn = 9780894592126| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=78t-AAAACAAJ}}</ref> In 1955 the wooden J.J. Webster Store building was moved and a brick structure was erected in its place.<ref name= news2/>

On March 19, 1936, Webster served as a witness in Raleigh, alongside J.S. Carter and J.S. Doyle, at the execution of Jake Johnston, a black man who was charged with attacking an elderly white schoolteacher in Rockingham County in 1935.<ref>{{cite news| title = Negro Is Put To Death In Electric Chair| newspaper = [[The Charlotte News]]| location = [[Charlotte, North Carolina]]| pages = 8| date = March 19, 1936| url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111552612/jake-johnston-of-rockingham-county/?fbclid=IwAR3zkPS6bSfztkdiSN9P-3SUNkhRevNRMV-0AKKSX9f3SdvT0iWo-Wa9I9k| access-date = October 24, 2022}}</ref>

=== Political career ===
[[File:James Jefferson Webster and Nannie Hurt Strong.jpg|thumb|James Jefferson Webster and his wife, Nannie Hurt Strong, with their car|left]]
On November 3, 1942 Webster—receiving 241 votes from Madison—was elected as a member of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] to the Rockingham County Board of Commissioners.<ref>{{cite news| title = Democrats Sweep Rockingham| newspaper = Madison Messenger| location = [[Madison, North Carolina|Madison]]| page = 1| volume = XXXIX| date = November 5, 1942}}</ref> In the late 1940s he worked on [[W. Kerr Scott]]'s successful gubernatorial campaign. When Scott passed a large road construction project through the [[North Carolina General Assembly|state legislature]], Webster used his position as county commissioner to ensure that N.C. Highway 135 and Settle Bridge Road were paved.<ref>{{cite news| last = Bolstad| first = Erika| title = SHILOH: REVERING HISTORY WHILE EMBRACING CHANGE| newspaper = [[News & Record]]| location = [[Greensboro, North Carolina]]| publisher = Daniel P. Finnegan| date = August 2, 1997| url = https://www.greensboro.com/shiloh-revering-history-while-embracing-change/article_3c4c79d3-c056-5403-ae22-fbd49ddc864f.html| access-date = March 10, 2020}}</ref> He remained on the Board of Commissioners until 1952.<ref name= news/>

=== Death ===
Webster suffered a heart attack<ref name= news2>{{cite news| last = Johnson| first = Maria C.| title = PROGRESS FORCES STORE OFF BEATEN PATH| newspaper = [[News & Record]]| date = 17 December 1994| url = http://www.greensboro.com/progress-forces-store-off-beaten-path/article_bc83aa42-e505-5968-816b-2f19349bb2b2.html| access-date = April 11, 2017}}</ref> and died on May 24, 1965. He was buried at Centenary United Methodist Church in Stoneville, where he was a parishioner.<ref name=encyclopedia/>

== Legacy ==
[[File:J.J. Webster Highway.jpg|thumb|J.J. Webster Highway sign]]
J.J. Webster's Store was run by Webster's family after his death. After his son, James Jefferson Webster II, died, the stock of the business was sold to a family friend in 1978. The brick store was closed on December 31, 1994 and soon thereafter demolished to make room for an expansion of N.C. Highway 135.<ref name= news2/><ref name= news/>

In May 1995 following the concurrence of Rockingham County's municipalities, the Board of Commissioners approved a resolution to dedicate N.C. Highway 135 in Webster's name.<ref name= news/> On July 7, 1995 at the recommendation of Douglas Galyon, the [[North Carolina Department of Transportation#Board of Transportation|North Carolina Board of Transportation]] passed a resolution renaming the highway.<ref>{{Citation| year = 1998| title = J. J. Webster Dedication| publisher = [[North Carolina Department of Transportation]] Public Information Office}}</ref> A formal dedication ceremony took place at 11:00 A.M. on October 28, 1998 at [[Dalton L. McMichael High School]].<ref>{{Citation| year = 1998| title = The North Carolina Department of Transportation Cordially Invites You To Attend A Dedication Ceremony Naming N.C. 135 Between N.C. 770 And U.S. 220 Business in Mayodan The J.J. Webster Highway| publisher  = [[North Carolina Department of Transportation]]| publication-place = [[Raleigh, North Carolina]]}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Webster, J.J.}}
[[Category:1898 births]]
[[Category:1965 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American politicians]]
[[Category:American automobile salespeople]]
[[Category:American merchants]]
[[Category:American people of English descent]]
[[Category:American United Methodists]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from North Carolina]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Virginia]]
[[Category:Businesspeople in the tobacco industry]]
[[Category:County commissioners in North Carolina]]
[[Category:Dairy farmers]]
[[Category:Farmers from North Carolina]]
[[Category:Farmers from Virginia]]
[[Category:James Jefferson Webster family|James]]
[[Category:North Carolina Democrats]]
[[Category:People from Patrick County, Virginia]]
[[Category:People from Rockingham County, North Carolina]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:20th-century Methodists]]