Webb, Thomas Smith (30 October 1771–06 July 1819), author of Masonic music and rituals and a founder of the Handel and Haydn Society, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Samuel Webb and Margaret Smith. His parents had emigrated from England sometime in 1771. He studied at local grammar schools and then at the Boston Latin School. Known for his “sweetness of disposition,” he was a bright and precocious student. He wrote poetry, played the fife and flute, and became proficient in French. When he was sixteen he was apprenticed to a printer in Boston. A few years later he moved to Keene, New Hampshire, and set up his own printing shop. In Keene he became acquainted with Freemasonry and received the first three degrees of the Ancient Craft from the Rising Sun Lodge....
