Visual Legacy: 700 Years in Motion · Complete 1325–2025 Timeline

🜂 VISUAL LEGACY: 700 YEARS IN MOTION

Complete Chronology · 1325 – 2025 · Verified · Approximate · Period · Contextual

● Verified / Primary record ◐ Approximate / c. ▣ Period / Era (narrative continuity) ○ Contextual / broader history
▣ THE STONE · ENGLAND (1325–1650)
1325–1650
  • ○c. 1325 — Medieval English lineage memory begins in northern England.¹
  • ●1385 — Maud Percy marries John Neville of Raby (traditional lineage link).²
  • ●1464 — Sir Ralph Percy dies at Hedgeley Moor.³
  • ▣1500–1600 — English Reformation period.⁴
  • ◐1598 — Thomas Webster recorded as “sound in doctrine”.⁵
  • ▣1600–1650 — Oath enforcement and civil conflict.⁶
  • ○1640s — English Civil War; oath refusal traditions.⁷
▣ THE CROSSING · NEW ENGLAND (1650–1795)
1650–1795
  • ●1654 — Thomas Webber appears in Kennebec region.⁸
  • ●1687 — Mary (Parker) Webber petition to Governor Andros.⁹
  • ●1692 — Salem‑related testimony (Mary Webber appears).¹⁰
  • ▣1690s — Kittredge medical line active in Billerica.¹¹
  • ▣1690–1750 — Healer / Kittredge lineage period.¹²
  • ▣1750–1795 — Consolidation of New England family lines.¹³
  • ○1791 — Vermont becomes a U.S. state.¹⁴
▣ I. FOUNDATIONS AND EARLY LIVES
1786–1821
  • ◐1786 — Alternate birth year of John Ferdinand Webber.¹⁵
  • ●Aug 18, 1792 — John Webber (father) marries Hannah Morrill.¹⁶
  • ▣1794 — Anchor year for John Ferdinand Webber (variant).¹⁷
  • ▣1795 — Anchor year for John Ferdinand Webber (variant).¹⁷
  • ●Oct 2, 1795 — John Ferdinand Webber born.¹⁸
  • ◐c. 1807 — Silvia Hector born into slavery.¹⁹
  • ▣1806 — Cryer family begins migration.²⁰
  • ▣1815 — Cryer family completes migration.²⁰
  • ○May 23, 1810 — Mexico’s War of Independence begins.²¹
  • ●May 23, 1813 — John Webber begins War of 1812 service.²²
  • ●May 31, 1814 — John Webber completes War of 1812 service.²²
  • ◐c. 1812 — Silvia sold for second time.²³
  • ◐c. 1815 — Silvia sold, separated from mother Sarah.²⁴
  • ●July 9, 1816 — Probate inventory: Sarah $600, Sylvia $350.²⁵
  • ●Mar 10, 1819 — Silvia sold to Morgan Cryer Sr. for $550.²⁶
  • ○1819 — Adams‑Onís Treaty.²⁷
  • ▣1815 — John Webber begins migration toward Texas.²⁸
  • ▣1820 — John Webber continues migration.²⁸
  • ○1821 — Mexico gains independence; adopts antislavery principles.²⁹
▣ II. MEXICAN TEXAS · MIGRATION & LEGAL COMPLEXITY
1822–1832
  • ○1822 — Jared Groce brings 90 enslaved to Austin’s Colony.³⁰
  • ●1823 — John Webber arrives in San Felipe de Austin.³¹
  • ○1823 (Law) — Imperial Colonization Law.³²
  • ○1824 — Mexican Federal Constitution.³³
  • ○1825 — Austin’s Colony census: 443 enslaved.³⁴
  • ●Mar 15, 1826 — John Cryer appears with five enslaved persons.³⁵
  • ●1826 — John Webber settles near Colorado River.³⁶
  • ◐c. 1826 — Silvia brought to Mexican Texas.³⁷
  • ○1827 — Coahuila y Tejas bans further slave importation.³⁸
  • ○1828 — Indenture loophole dominates.³⁹
  • ○1829 — Guerrero abolition decree (Texas exempted).⁴⁰
  • ●Oct 1829 — Birth of Alcy (Elsie) Webber.⁴¹
  • ○1830 — Law of April 6.⁴²
  • ●Before 1832 — John Webber marries Silvia (Father Muldoon).⁴³
  • ●June 22, 1832 — Land grant of 2,214 acres.⁴⁴
  • ○1832 — Anglo‑Texan settlers resist Mexican authority.⁴⁵
▣ III. FAMILY FORMATION & LEGAL RESISTANCE
1833–1837
  • ▣1830 — Son Henry born.⁴⁶
  • ▣1833 — Son John Jr. born.⁴⁶
  • ▣1832 — Webber’s Fort built.⁴⁷
  • ▣1833 — Stockade completed.⁴⁷
  • ○1834 — Santa Anna centralizes power.⁴⁸
  • ●June 11, 1834 — Emancipation bond filed; Silvia and children freed.⁴⁹
  • ○Oct 1834 — Cryer’s demand for enslaved children refused.⁵⁰
  • ○Summer 1835 — Santa Anna deploys troops.⁵¹
  • ○Oct 2, 1835 — Battle of Gonzales; Revolution begins.⁵²
  • ○1836 — Texas independence; interracial marriage outlawed.⁵³
  • ○1837 — Mexico reaffirms abolition.⁵⁴
▣ IV. DANGER, MIGRATION & BORDERLAND RESISTANCE
1837–1860
  • ▣1837–1845 — Webbers at Webber’s Prairie under surveillance.⁵⁵
  • ●1839 — Settlement named Webber’s Prairie.⁵⁶
  • ▣c. 1840s — Private tutor hired for Webber children.⁵⁷
  • ○1840s — Slavery expands; resistance networks grow.⁵⁸
  • ▣1840s — Webbers have 13 children (11 survive).⁵⁹
  • ○1845 — Texas annexed as slave state.⁶⁰
  • ○1846–1848 — U.S.–Mexico War; Rio Grande fixed as border.⁶¹
  • ●1850 — Texas enslaved 58,161; Fugitive Slave Act; Webbers in census.⁶²
  • ●1850 (Debt) — Webbers forfeit land rather than pay Cryer.⁶³
  • ○1851 — Webbers sell Central Texas land.⁶⁴
  • ○1852 — Seminole Maroons granted land in Mexico.⁶⁵
  • ▣1853 — Webbers relocate to Rio Grande Valley.⁶⁶
  • ●June 8, 1853 — Webber acquires 8,856 acres.⁶⁷
  • ●1854 — Webber’s Ranch and cemetery founded.⁶⁸
  • ●c. 1854 — Ferry landing built.⁶⁹
  • ●1855 — Ferry license obtained.⁶⁹
  • ○1860 — Texas enslaved 182,566; Rio Grande freedom route.⁷⁰
▣ V. CIVIL WAR & BORDERLAND SANCTUARY
1861–1865
  • ●1861 — Texas secedes; Webbers oppose secession.⁷¹
  • ○Jan 1, 1863 — Emancipation Proclamation issued.⁷²
  • ○1863 — Escapees cross Rio Grande hidden in cotton bales.⁷³
  • ●June 1864 — Confederate arrest of Webber’s sons.⁷⁴
  • ▣1863 — Webber family takes refuge in Mexico.⁷⁵
  • ▣1864 — Exile continues; children born in Mexico.⁷⁵
  • ▣1865 — Exile ends.⁷⁵
  • ○Apr 9, 1865 — Confederate surrender.⁷⁶
  • ●May 1865 — Webbers return to Texas.⁷⁷
  • ●Jun 19, 1865 — Juneteenth: emancipation in Texas.⁷⁸
▣ VI. RECONSTRUCTION, REMEMBRANCE & LEGACY
1866–1899
  • ○1866 — Texas Black Codes enacted.⁷⁹
  • ○Mar 1867 — Reconstruction Acts; military rule.⁸⁰
  • ●1867 — Hidalgo County voter rolls list John Webber as Unionist.⁸¹
  • ○1868 — Klan violence increases.⁸²
  • ●1870 — Texas readmitted; census lists Webbers in Hidalgo Co.⁸³
  • ○1871 — Matthew Gaines elected to Texas Senate.⁸⁴
  • ●1872 — War of 1812 pension processed for John Webber.⁸⁵
  • ○1873–1874 — “Redemption” – white supremacists regain power.⁸⁶
  • ○1877 — Compromise of 1877 ends Reconstruction.⁸⁷
  • ●1880 — Silvia appears as “wife” in census; Morrill Webber born in Mexico.⁸⁸
  • ●July 19, 1882 — John Ferdinand Webber dies.⁸⁹
  • ●Sep 13, 1892 — Silvia Hector Webber dies; grave unmarked.⁹⁰
  • ●1899 — Smithwick’s “The Evolution of a State” features the Webbers.⁹¹
▣ VII. MODERN RECOGNITION
2021–Ongoing
  • ●Ongoing — Silvia’s emancipation papers at Briscoe Center.⁹²
  • ●2021 — Plano African American Museum begins exhibits.⁹³
  • ●Jan 23, 2025 — “Hungry for History” podcast features Silvia.⁹⁴
  • ●Mar–May 2025 — “Risking It All For Freedom” exhibit.⁹⁵
  • ●Ongoing — The John Ferdinand Webber Legacy Website goes live to the public.⁹⁶
  • ●Ongoing — UTRGV Special Collections research guide.⁹⁷

⚡ THE TRANSFORMATION OF INHERITANCE

THE STONE
Fortified Faith
Obedience & Allegiance
Castle & Crown
→
THE CROSSING
Questioning Power
Oaths & Dissent
Healing & Labor
→
THE WIND
Conscience in Motion
Freedom & Exile
Moral Borders Crossed
→
THE INHERITANCE
Living Conscience
Silence → Recovery → Return
The Archive Remembers
██████████████████████████
1325
Raby Castle
Percy · Neville
→
1654
Kennebec · Billerica
Webber · Kittredge
→
1834
Colorado River
Silvia · John
→
2025
Hector-Webber Archive
The Record Changes Hands
THE STONE — England / Memory / Tradition
THE CROSSING — New England / Oaths / Healing
THE WIND — Texas / Freedom / Exile
THE INHERITANCE — Recovery / Return / Archive