Silvia and John Webber

rdf:langString Silvia and John Webber

rdf:langString Silvia Hector Webber (1807 – ca. 1892) and John Fernando Webber (ca. 1786–1795 – 1882) were a mixed-race couple who were among the initial settlers in Austin's Colony in Travis County, Texas. John, previously a private and a medic during the War of 1812, was the first non-native resident and the founder of Webber's Prairie, where he had established a fort. The town was later named Webberville, Texas. The Webbers secured the freedom of Sylvia and their children ultimately by giving up much of their Webberville property. The family was subject to cruel racial prejudice and their children were unable to attend school with white children. The Webbers hired a live-in private tutor. When the Republic of Texas was founded in 1836, the Webber's marriage was deemed illegal and black people lost many of their rights that they enjoyed under the former Mexican Texas. They were subject to increasingly dangerous persecution and were afraid of Silvia and the children being captured and enslaved by slave hunters, also called Blackbirders. They moved to Hidalgo County, Texas by the mid 1850s and settled along the Rio Grande. They are believed to have been conductors on the southern route of the Underground Railroad to Mexico. John smuggled tobacco into Northern Mexico, and during those runs, he also helped former enslaved people attain their freedom. Silvia was particularly known for taking-in people in need. John also ran a business ferrying people and goods across the Rio Grande. During the Civil War, the family sided with the United States Army and two of their sons were captured by the Confederate States Army.