Frank Elbridge Webb (September 1, 1869 – June 15, 1949) was an American engineer who served as the Farmer–Labor Party's presidential candidate in 1928. In the 1932 presidential election, he was initially renominated by the Farmer–Labor Party before being removed and running as the nominee for a wing of the Liberty Party. He also led many unsuccessful efforts to build bridges that spanned the San Francisco Bay.
Born in the California Gold Country, Webb farmed in his youth. He served in the California National Guard and became associated with John H. Dickinson, a general, attorney, and state senator. In 1901, he moved to New York and became involved in engineering work. He also served in the U.S. Army during the Spanish–American War and World War I. In 1922, Webb proposed a plan to build a bridge across the San Francisco Bay. While the plan initially drew wide support, it ultimately failed. He also drew attention for his roles in an attempted purchase of the Idle Hour estate and a scheme to control Mexican government investments in the United States.
A lifelong member of the Republican Party, albeit one who showed little interest in politics, Webb bolted from the party in 1928 and received the Farmer–Labor Party's presidential nomination. Among the policies he campaigned for were a referendum on prohibition, relief for farmers, and public ownership of utilities. His running mate was L. R. Tillman, who accepted the nomination after some tumult which included Senator James A. Reed asking "Who in hell is Webb", a phrase that became identified with the campaign. Webb appeared on the ballot in four states and received 6,390 votes.
Webb remained active in politics and made a second bid for the presidency in 1932, the first presidential election after the Great Depression began. He was initially renominated by the Farmer–Labor Party, but the party removed him after concluding that he was a spy for President Herbert Hoover. After being removed, Webb won the nomination of a wing of the Liberty Party dissatisfied with party founder Coin Harvey. The party had poor fundraising and Webb failed to appear on any ballot.
Frank Elbridge Webb was born on September 1, 1869, in Angels Camp, part of the California Gold Country, to Annie Settle and Elbridge Webb. His father was a wealthy mining engineer from New England and owned the Utica mine in Angels Camp. His mother had been born in Oregon and was a singer. Webb had an older sister who was an elocutionist, Adelaide E. Webb (1867–1896). Webb's father died and his mother later remarried; Webb had six half-siblings as a result. Webb was descended from the Pilgrims who arrived on the Mayflower and his great-grandfather Nathaniel Webb had served in the Revolutionary War. Later in life, Webb would join the Sons of the American Revolution, founded by a cousin, and The Kansas City Star would observe that it was hard to overlook Webb's Mayflower heritage because of how frequently he mentioned it.
Webb's father died in his mine when Webb was very young. After his death, Webb began farming and through that and other work he was able to afford an education. He graduated from a San Francisco night school in 1886 and received a diploma as a graduate engineer. Webb also worked as an elevator boy and then second assistant salesman at a dry goods store in San Francisco.
In 1884, Webb joined the California National Guard, where he rose to the rank of captain serving as an aide-de-camp to General John H. Dickinson. He served with distinction on Dickinson's staff when the National Guard was called to put down ARU strikers at Sacramento during the Pullman Strike. He also studied law under Dickinson and worked as his law clerk, working on the defense of murderer Theodore Durrant and as a crucial witness in a case regarding James G. Fair's estate. As a graduate engineer, Webb created an irrigation system on a large California ranch, rescuing it from financial ruin. He also managed and sold many California estates. In 1901, Webb moved to New York, where worked with John A. Bensel on the New York State Canal System and the Catskill Aqueduct. As of 1906, Webb lived in Melrose, Massachusetts, and was vice-president of a large Boston supplies company. After Bensel's death in 1921, Webb became the head of his eponymous engineering firm.
In 1898, Webb thought that Congress was being too slow in declaring war on Spain and declared that when it did declare war he would be honorably discharged from the National Guard, join the Army, and muster a company of cowboys. Webb served as a recruiting sergeant in the Spanish–American War. During World War I, Webb was an intelligence officer for Major General Leonard Wood and served in the army quartermaster, with him serving in the Philippines. After serving from 1914 to 1920, Webb retired with the rank of colonel.
Webb was a member of Republican Party and attended the Alameda County Republican convention in 1896. In 1897, Webb sought to become the Appraiser of Customs for the Port of San Francisco. The Alameda Times-Star thought that he was a viable candidate, noting that he had been active politically for multiple years and was both well-known and popular. They observed that he had ties with many influential East Coast men; his cousin William Seward Webb was a Vanderbilt-by-marriage and Webb was good friends with George Morse, nephew-in-law to President William McKinley. Webb had the support of Dickinson, a State Senator, and he was also endorsed by the San Francisco County Republican Committee, the Alameda County Republican Committee, and many leading local politicians. The Daily Encinal newspaper attributed his viable candidacy and wide support to Dickinson's backing. John T. Dare was instead appointed appraiser, with Webb being considered for the assistant appraisership. In the 1899 U.S. Senate election, Republicans in the California legislature were unable to coalesce behind a single candidate (Ulysses S. Grant Jr. led, but only with 23.85% of the vote). Webb urged the party to elect somebody, not expressing any preference and saying that he believed his opinion was widely popular among young Republicans and the party in general, with Webb expressing fear that they would fail to elect anyone and deprive both California and the Republican Party a Senator. This occurred, though Thomas R. Bard would be elected in a special session in 1900. After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake killed thousands and leveled most of the city, Webb was in correspondence with California Governor George Pardee, with The Boston Globe publishing excerpts of a letter Pardee wrote to Webb refuting rumors that the national guard had killed survivors.
In December 1921, Webb arranged a deal and headed a syndicate that agreed to purchase the Idle Hour estate from Harold Vanderbilt and convert it into a country club. Webb was related to the Vanderbilt family and would later say that he had managed Harold Vanderbilt's property for a time. A person close to Harold Vanderbilt said that the syndicate was mostly made up of Western oilmen who were Vanderbilt University alumni and that they planned to make the country club exclusive to alumni. The New York Herald reported that the syndicate consisted of "men prominent in oil, railroad, financial, industrial, professional, artistic and social circles." Webb would not then say who the other members of the syndicate were, except that they were wealthy young men. Webb said the country club would be the "finest and most exclusive country club in existence." Webb said that Harold Vanderbilt would be a member of the country club and did not specify any other members, with the syndicate also arranging $5,000,000 ($90.3 million in 2025) for the club's development. Webb did not entertain speculation about the price of the deal, but he did say they paid fair market value, then estimated at around $4,000,000 ($72.2 million in 2025). In December 1923, Harold Vanderbilt would sue the syndicate, saying that they had agreed to purchase it for $440,000 but that they had only paid $50,000 and fallen behind on payments, requesting the deal be annulled. He would rebuy it in foreclosure proceedings for $556,000. Webb would summarize the situation: "[I] handled the sale of [Harold Vanderbilt's] Long Island estate, Idle Hour, to Isaac M. Putnam, a wealthy oil man. This deal fell through, however, and Vanderbilt took back the property."