In 1812 at the age of twenty years William Webster emigrated from County Wexford, Ireland with other members of his family arriving in Upper Canada where they settled in the rear of Lansdowne Township.

That autumn William Webster was balloted for militia service at Gananoque and spent the winter along with Hiel Sliter on night watch in the newly constructed blockhouse. In 1814 he served in Captain Benjamin Munsell’s Company, in the 2nd Regiment Leeds Militia.

In 1816 he married Alice Murphy with whom he had a family of eight children. Members of the Webster family were adherents to the Church of England; William and Alice Webster donated the land where Holy Trinity Church in Oak Leaf was built in 1848. Webster was also a staunch Orangeman and a founding member of the first Orange lodge in the district. William Webster Esq. died December 7, 1858 at the age of 66 years.