ARCHIVAL COLLECTION

Primary Documents and Historical Records

- 1810 Danville census places the Webber family in Caledonia County, Vermont.
  The entry documents John’s early New England environment, agricultural household
  structure, and community placement. This census is foundational because it ties
  the family to a specific location before John’s migration into the War of 1812.

- Register of Enlistments entry for John F. Webber, 31st U.S. Infantry.
- Caption: Age, birthplace, physical description, and military service unit.

- Probate list of enslaved people in Dr. Samuel Flowers’ estate including Sylvia and her mother.
- Caption: Ties Sylvia to East Baton Rouge Parish.

- 1819 Missouri Territory bill of sale transferring a girl named Silva.
- Caption: Brutal record documenting Silvia’s sale as a child.

Legal bond executed by John F. Webber in Mexican Texas to secure the freedom of Silvia and their children. Establishes the family’s legal
status prior to the Texas Revolution.

A page from a historical county tax record listing John F. Webber among early settlers. The preface explains that the 1837 population had temporarily fled during the “Runaway Scrape” and returned by 1838.
Relevance: Confirms John Webber’s presence and landholding in Bastrop County before his family was forced into exile for their interracial marriage.

- Federal census listing John, Silvia, and their mixed-race children.
- One of Texas first census openly documenting the interracial Webber family.

- 1853 deed and county recording related to Webber property holdings.
- Establishes settlement trajectory toward the Rio Grande.

The 1870 Hidalgo County census highlights the Webber household in a predominantly Mexican and Tejano ranching community. Names, ages, occupations, and birthplaces document a multiracial extended family along the Rio Grande after the Civil War.
This page shows who remained on or near the former Webber ranch, how family members identified in terms of race and occupation, and how the community surrounding Silvia’s descendants evolved in the first years of Reconstruction.

This non-population schedule lists livestock, acreage, and crop yields for ranchers
along the Rio Grande. It shows the scale of the Webber ranch and its economic
role in the local community.