Contributor

Avrel Seale

Some books by Avrel Seale

The River Nuts: Down the Nueces with One Stroke Staggering: Life and Death on the Texas Frontier at Staggers Point With One Hand Tied Behind My Brain: A Memoir of Life After Stroke The Hewetts: An American Saga in the Age of Vaudeville, Circuses, and Bands

Avrel Seale, a versatile writer from Austin, Texas, USA, blends his extensive background in journalism—having served as a newspaper reporter, columnist, magazine editor, and speechwriter—with a passion for exploring a diverse array of genres. From memoir and humor to philosophy, history, religion, and unsolved mysteries, his works are available in both print and ebook formats. Beyond writing, Avrel is a captivating speaker and frequent contributor. He resides in Austin with his wife and three sons, where he shares his insights and adventures on his personal blog, The Trailhead.

Contibuted information

John Ferdinand Webber was born in Vermont in 1786, fought in the War of 1812, and moved to Texas with Austin’s Colony in the 1820s. There he met and married Silvia Hector, a slave. In 1834 he bought her freedom and officially adopted the children. They settled east of Austin in what is now Webberville. As the 1840s progressed and settlers from the South continued moving to Texas, the interracial family was increasingly harassed, so Webber bought several leagues of land right on the Rio Grande and moved to the Valley, which was more tolerant, in 1853. When Confederates occupied the Valley during the Civil War, they moved across the river, as he was a known Unionist. After the war, they moved back. He lived to 96. The photos from outside the cemetery were taken looking down from the levy road along which the border wall runs.