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Frank J. Webb (1828–1894) was an African-American novelist, poet, and essayist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His novel, ''The Garies and Their Friends'' (1857), was the second novel by an African American to be published and the first to portray the daily lives of free blacks in the North. It was published in London and did not receive much attention in the United States until new editions were published in 1969 and 1997. Although he did not publish another novel, Webb had poems and articles, and two novellas published in 1870 in ''The New Era,'' based in Washington, DC; the weekly had been taken over by Frederick Douglass as publisher. Webb is not known to have published any other works. ==Early life== Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on March 21, 1828, Francis "Frank" Johnson Webb grew up in the city’s vibrant community of free African Americans. His family members – father Francis Webb (1788-1829), mother Louisa Burr (c.1785-1878), brother John (1823-1904), and sisters Elizabeth (1818-1888), Ann (1820-1884), and Mary (1824-1826) -- were among thousands who had returned to the United States in 1826 after the failed two-year Haitian emigration experiment.〔 While in Port au Platt, Francis Webb had served as secretary on the Board of Instruction of a joint Episcopal-Presbyterian church school.〔 This role followed naturally on his previous service in Philadelphia as an elder in the First African Presbyterian Church, a parishioner at the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, a founding member of the Pennsylvania Augustine Education Society formed in 1818, and secretary of the Haytien Emigration Society organized in 1824.〔 Upon his return to Philadelphia, Francis Webb worked as the Philadelphia distribution agent for Freedom’s Journal from 1827 to 1829.〔〔(Freedom's Journal (1827-1829) )〕 In 1829—a year after his youngest child, Frank J. Webb, was born—Francis Webb died of unknown causes.〔 Frank J. Webb’s mother, Louisa Burr, was the illegitimate daughter of former U.S. Vice President, Aaron Burr —and sister of John (Jean) Pierre Burr, a prominent activist in Philadelphia’s black community.〔 The papers of Louisa Burr Webb’s granddaughter—held in the Christian Fleetwood Papers at the Library of Congress—include photographs identifying John Pierre Burr’s daughter and granddaughters as maternal cousins, and confirming Louisa’ s maiden name as Burr.〔 Louisa Burr Webb worked most of her life for Mrs. Elizabeth Powel Francis Fisher, a prominent Philadelphia society matron closely connected to the oldest Philadelphia families, and mother of prominent Philadelphia businessman, Joshua Francis Fisher. After Francis Webb’s death, Louisa remarried and became Louisa Darius.〔 In 1854, Frank J. Webb’s older brother, John, married Annie E. Wood (1831-1879), the mixed-race daughter of James Cathcart Johnston 〔(Johnston, James Cathcart, NCpedia )〕 of Hayes Plantation, Edenton, North Carolina, and his emancipated mistress, Edy Wood, from the neighboring town of Hertford.〔 Through this marriage, Frank J. Webb’s new in-laws included Annie’s niece, poet/activist Charlotte Forten Grimké, and Annie’s adoptive mother, Amy Matilda Cassey, widow of the wealthy African American businessman, Joseph Cassey.〔 The Webb family appear to have spent a lot of time at the Cassey House, and both Frank’s brother and sister had lived for a while with Cassey family members.〔〔(Cassey, Amy Matilda Williams (1808-1856) )〕 Frank Webb worked in Philadelphia as a commercial artist〔 and married in 1845 at the age of 17. His wife Mary gained renown for her dramatic readings of works by Shakespeare, Sheridan, and Longfellow. She attracted the attention of Harriet Beecher Stowe and other prominent literary abolitionists. Stowe was so impressed by Mary’s readings that she acted as her patron, adapting scenes from her bestselling novel ''Uncle Tom’s Cabin'' expressly for Mary Webb's performance, and helped to arrange a transatlantic tour. With letters of introduction from Stowe and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the Webbs traveled to England in 1856, where Mary’s dramatic readings garnered further acclaim. The couple received a warm welcome from many British nobles. While in London, Webb asked his friend, Charles Sumner, to write an introductory letter for his wife during her reading tour in Liverpool.〔 Webb was 29 when the London firm of G. Routledge and Company published his novel in 1857. He was the second African American after William Wells Brown to publish a novel. Webb dedicated his book to supporter Lady Noel Byron, who had encouraged him, and Henry, Lord Brougham wrote an enthusiastic introduction. It was published with an additional preface by Stowe.〔Werner Sollors, Introduction, ''Frank J. Webb: Fiction, Essays, Poetry'' (New Milford, CT: The Toby Press, 2004), 1-13.〕 Although ''The Garies and Their Friends'' received favorable reviews in England, it went relatively unnoticed in the United States at the time. Soon after the novel’s publication, the Webbs relocated to Jamaica, hoping the warmer climate would benefit Mary’s poor health. But Mary died in 1859. Webb lived in Jamaica for ten more years; he married Mary Rosabelle Rodgers (b. 1845), the daughter of a Jamaican merchant,〔 and he fathered four children before returning to the U.S. in 1869. Webb and his second wife had two more children in Texas. The children were Dr. Frank J. Webb Jr. (1865-1901), Evangeline Webb (1866-1945), Ruth M.A. Webb (1867-1930), Clarice Webb (1869-1962), Ethelind Webb (1874-1969), and Thomas Rodgers Webb (1877-1964).〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Frank J. Webb」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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