Joshua Webster

Joshua Webster (August 17, 1795 – January 7, 1871) was an American businessman and railroad executive who served as the first president of the Saugus Branch Railroad.

Family Webster was born on August 17, 1795, at his family farm in the West Parish of Haverhill, Massachusetts. On November 24, 1820, he married Elizabeth Bartlett Chase in Haverhill. The couple had their first son, Henry, on August 10, 1821. Their second son, William Wallace, was born on January 7, 1824. In 1825, the family moved to Boston. In 1837, Webster became a director of Kilby Bank of Boston. In 1847, Webster purchased 200 acres in Malden along the projected route of the Saugus Branch. The neighborhood would become known as Maplewood due to the trees planted by Webster. In 1850 the railroad's charter was further amended so that the line extended from East Saugus to Lynn Common in Lynn, Massachusetts. By July 1851, the future of the railroad was in doubt when Edward Crane, offered to purchase all of the remaining shares. However, a month later, it was learned that the Eastern Railroad, Boston & Maine's largest competitor, had purchased all of Crane's shares, perhaps in an effort to stop the project. Nevertheless, Webster and his associates were able to continue the project. That November contracts were given out for its construction and in February 1852 ground was broken at Pearson's Neck in Saugus. That October, Gardiner Greene Hubbard was chosen to replace Webster as president, but Webster remained on as a director. In 1855, the Saugus Branch Railroad Co. was consolidated into the Eastern Railroad Co.

Later life and death By 1858, Webster and his wife were residing Maplewood.