Sampson Bellinger Webb was born in England in 1840. He was the son of Samuel and Elizabeth Webb. His family emigrated to Canada in 1843 when Sampson was only two years old. The Webbs settled in Brougham, Pickering Township where Samuel became a tavern and hotel keeper.

In 1869, 28 year-old Sampson, who was earning his living as a wheelwright, married Mary Sophia Wilson of Pickering. The Wilsons were a prominent family in Pickering Township. They were part of the community of Quakers who had left the United States just after the American Revolution.

Their first child, a son, Wilson Samuel, was born 1870 and their second son, William Chester, was born two years later. In the 1871 Canadian Dominion Directory Sampson is listed as a carriage maker with Webb and Sons in Brougham. This could have been his uncle, William, as his father was in the tavern business at the time.
By the time the 1889 Stratford City Directory was published, Sampson and his family were living in Stratford. He was working at Henry Baker’s as a carriage maker. At the time Baker’s was located on Brunswick Street near Waterloo but later moved to the corner of Wellington and St. Patrick Streets. The Webb family lived on Albert Street near the corner of Queen.

According to the 1891 census, Sampson continued to work as a carriage maker and his sons were old enough to be employed. Wilson Samuel, 18, was working simply as a “labourer” but later became a boiler maker. William Chester, 16, was a railway news agent.

In 1901, Sampson and Mary Sophia purchased parts of lots 16 and 17 valued at $275 from Robert Carroll. They built the red brick house which would be known as 209 Douro Street. They owned the house for about three years and in May, 1904 they signed an Agreement for Sale for $2,500 to George J. and Emily Pugh. George, a bookkeeper, Emily and their sons remained in the house until 1913.

Sampson and Mary Sophia lived in several locations before moving to 7 Market Place where they were living when the 1921 census was taken. Sampson died in 1932 at the age of 92. Mary Sophia lived five years longer. They are buried together in Stratford’s Avondale Cemetery.