James Watson Webb, Sr.

James Watson Webb II (known as James Sr.) (July 1, 1884 – March 4, 1960) was an American polo champion and insurance executive. He was a grandson of William Henry Vanderbilt and James Watson Webb. Early life Webb was born on July 1, 1884, in Burlington, Vermont to Eliza Osgood Vanderbilt (1860–1936) of the Vanderbilt family and William Seward Webb. His siblings included Frederica Vanderbilt Webb, William Seward Webb Jr., and Vanderbilt Webb. His paternal grandparents were James Watson Webb, the United States Ambassador to Brazil during Abraham Lincoln's administration, and Laura Virginia Cram. His paternal uncles included H. Walter Webb, a noteworthy railway executives, and Alexander Stewart Webb, a noted Civil War general. His maternal grandparents were William Henry Vanderbilt and Maria (née Kissam) Vanderbilt. His maternal aunts and uncles included Cornelius Vanderbilt II (1843–1899), Margaret Louisa Vanderbilt Shepard (1843–1924), William Kissam Vanderbilt (1849–1920), Frederick William Vanderbilt (1856–1938), Florence Adele Vanderbilt Twombly (1854–1952), Emily Thorn Vanderbilt (1852–1946) and George Washington Vanderbilt II (1862–1914). Webb attended and graduated from the Groton School and received an A.B. from Yale University in 1907.