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 Silvia 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, 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 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 Civil War, the family sided with the United States Army, and two of their sons were captured by the Confederate States Army.