Joseph Philbrick Webster

Joseph Philbrick Webster was an American composer, performer, music teacher, and songwriter born near Manchester, New Hampshire, on February 18, 1819. He showed musical ability early, taught himself several instruments, and paid for further study by teaching music. After Pembroke Academy he studied at the Boston Academy of Music, where University of Wisconsin sources connect him with teachers including George James Webb and Benjamin Franklin Baker and possibly Lowell Mason.

Webster lost his singing voice after severe bronchitis in 1848 but continued an active musical career as teacher, composer, ensemble manager, piano agent, and tuner. He eventually settled in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, in 1859. His output exceeded a thousand songs and included the Civil War-era ballad “Lorena” and the melody later transmitted as “Wildwood Flower.”

In 1867 Bennett handed Webster a newly written text inspired by a remark Webster had made during a period of discouragement. Bennett recalled that Webster's mood changed as he read it; he immediately composed the melody, tested it on violin, and wrote the chorus parts. Their song was published in “The Signet Ring” in 1868. Webster died in Elkhorn in 1875, and his grave marker incorporates the music and words associated with the song.