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When the [[Republic of Texas]] was founded in 1836, it became a republic that reintroduced legal slavery to Texas and banned free Black people from residing inside its borders. The Webbers were subject to increasingly dangerous persecution and the family became afraid that Silvia and the children could face re-enslavement by [[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 [[Underground Railroad#South to Florida and Mexico|southern route of the Underground Railroad to Mexico]]. John smuggled tobacco into Northern Mexico, and during those runs, he may have also helped transport enslaved people to freedom in Mexico. Silvia was particularly known for taking-in people in need. The couple also ran a business ferrying people and goods across the Rio Grande from their ranch in Hidalgo County. During the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], the family sided with the [[United States Army]], and two of their sons were captured by the [[Confederate States Army]].
==John Ferdinand Webber==
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