Evidence suggests that Private William Riley Webb was born about 1834 in Hartford, Connecticut, to Eloise Johnson. His father’s first name is unknown. Eloise married Edwin Salisbury on November 24, 1836, in Hartford. Eloise and Edwin also had a daughter Emerett. Emerett married Benjamin Franklin Roberts, a member of a prominent African-American publishing family in the Boston, Massachusetts area. Eloise and Edwin eventually moved to the Boston area.
In 1855, Webb committed a crime and was sent to the Wethersfield State prison where he spent four years.
William Webb enlisted in Company F of Twenty-Ninth (Colored) Regiment, Connecticut Volunteer Infantry on Dec. 22, 1863. He was mustered into the organization on March 8, 1864. He was discharged on March 9, 1865 after suffering an eye injury which resulted in vision loss.
William Webb married Augusta E. Madison of Ellington, on March 12, 1864. They were married in New Haven before the 29th left the state. Augusta and William had no children. William passed away in 1868. His estate was probated at the Ellington District Probate Court. Augusta died at the age of 19 on April 3, 1868.