302  Memoir  of  William  B.  Webb.  {AmjiZT,im&Tm' 
pation  which  would  afford  him  a  support.  Going  to  Baltimore,  he 
found  employment  with  Coleman  &  Buchanan  (afterwards  Coleman 
&  Rodgers),  druggists. 
Here  he  remained  until  an  attack  of  sickness  rendered  necessary 
his  return  home.  On  regaining  his  health  he  was  apprenticed  to  a 
tinsmith,  but,  not  satisfied  with  this  position,  it  was  soon  aban- 
doned. 
In  1842,  he  again  left  York,  with  the  intention  of  looking  for 
employment.  He  went  first  to  Baltimore  and  obtained  a  letter  of 
introduction  from  Mr.  Coleman,  his  former  employer,  to  Charles 
Ellis  of  this  city. 
Arriving  in  Philadelphia  without  friends  or  acquaintances,  and 
with  only  sufficient  money  for  his  support  for  one  week,  he  called 
on  Chas.  Ellis,  who  informed  him  that  he  was  not  in  need  of  a  boy, 
and  recommended  him  to  call  on  Caleb  Needles,  at  Twelfth  and 
Race  Streets,  and  furnished  him  with  a  letter  of  introduction. 
On  calling  to  see  Mr.  Needles  he  found,  to  his  disappointment,  that 
he  was  absent  from  the  city.  Edward  Needles,  father  of  Caleb,  had 
an  interview  with  him,  and  was  pleased  with  his  manner  and  earnest 
desire  to  find  a  place  which  would  afford  him  an  opportunity  to 
show  what  was  in  him.  He  advised  him  to  await  the  return  of  his 
son,  whom  he  thought  would  engage  his  services. 
William  felt  that  he  could  not  afford  to  spend  what  little  money 
he  had  in  waiting,  and  told  Edward  Neeles  his  financial  situation, 
and  how  important  it  was  for  him  to  go  to  work  at  once.  Listen- 
ing with  interest  to  his  account  of  himself  and  becoming  interested 
in  the  boy,  Edward  Needles,  after  consultation  with  his  wife,  invited 
him  to  stay  with  them  until  the  return  of  Caleb,  and  work  in  the 
store,  feeling  confident  that  his  son,  who  was  in  want  of  an  appren- 
tice, would  find  in  William  one  who  would  suit  him. 
It  was  fortunate  for  William,  in  the  commencement  of  his  career, 
to  have  met  with  such  fatherly  kindness  as  was  extended  to  him  by 
Edward  Needles,  and  the  remembrance  of  this  was  gratefully  cher- 
ished by  him  throughout  his  life. 
On  the  return  of  Caleb  Needles,  William  was  engaged  as  an  ap- 
prentice, and  by  his  application  and  industry  became  an  expert  in 
the  business  which  he  afterwards  conducted  successfully  for  nearly 
fifty  years. 
After  graduating  from  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy  in 
