One of George , Jr., and Nancy Silver’s 10 children was
George Silver III, born on 18 Jul 1787 in Georgetown ,
Frederick , Maryland North
Carolina . They had 11 children, three of whom died
before 1822.
In George III’s household in the 1810 Census there is an
older couple. Because his father George Jr is living nearby this older couple
may be Martha’s parents. There were also two slaves in their household. When
the War of 1812 came about, George enlisted in the North Carolina Militia at Hickory , North
Carolina Indiana
for about 20 years, in Illinois for about 7
years and about 10 years in Missouri .
(Information gathered by Karyl Hubbard and posted at the Silver Genealogy
Website)
After the war George, Martha, moved to Lawrence
County in Indiana with
his in-laws, the Moores
“ Many Quakers from North Carolina
were Orange County
[Indiana ]
Pioneers. In 1809 Jonathan Lindley visited Indiana Territory North
Carolina , and arrived in Indiana Territory
http://www.usgennet.org/usa/in/county/orange/quaker.htm
George was not a Quaker. His grandfather was a Lutheran and
his father had been christened in the Lutheran church in Trappe , Pennsylvania Moores
had arrived in America
as “dissenters.” The term refers to anyone who disagreed with the Church of
England or the government of the British Isles .
Later many of the dissenters became Quakers. Martha may have been a
Quaker—until she married George. Her meeting would then have declared her “Out
of Unity” for marrying a non-Quaker.
There were several groups of Quakers that moved to Indiana during this time
One of the wagon trains had 30-40 wagons. According the US Census George and
Martha have moved by 1820 and the Moores
by 1830. About 10 Moore
households are there in 1830.
Following is a digest of a diary regarding travel from North Carolina to Indiana .
The Silvers experience would have been very similar.
“ With all of their possessions loaded into their
tarpaulin-covered farm wagons pulled by oxen or horses, the trip took the Coxes
and their large group about a month. The travelers covered between 10 and 20
miles each day, stopping near settlements or with acquaintances for the night.
The route through the Blue Ridge Mountains and over the Cumberland Gap was the
most frequented trail to Louisville , where
travelers crossed the Ohio River into southern Indiana
or boarded rafts or flatboats bound for Illinois
and the west. Although the trip was rigorous travelers paused for sight-seeing
at well-known features such as caves or iron furnaces. Time also was spent in
small settlements having horses shod and wagon wheels fixed. Each traveler had
to have cash available, for tolls were charged for some roads, turnpikes,
bridges and ferries. A typical charge on the Cumberland Turnpike was $2.87. At Louisville the cost was $2 for each wagon to cross the Ohio River and it took one group two hours. Total cost
for one trip from North Carolina to southern Indiana was $81
including ferriage, bridge tolls, turnpike fees, etc.
A Cox Family History__, c1989, p61; In the __Illiana
Genealogist,__ vol.12, no. 4, (Fall 1976) p. 121- 124 in an article from a
diary entitled "Journey from N. Carolina to Indiana in 34 days in the Year
1815." Judy W
Eleven families of freed slaves traveled under the Quakers’
protection in the first wagon train to this new territory where slavery was
forbidden. More former slaves joined them later. Were the two slaves in George
III’s household in 1810 in North Carolina were
among the 96 freed slaves counted in 1820 in Indiana ? It is not unreasonable to believe
they were.
“These free men were deeded 200 acres of land in the heart
of a dense forest [near the first building the Quakers built—their Meeting
House]. Word of mouth soon spread the news, and this land became part of the
"underground railroad" for runaway slaves.
http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/hoosier/docs/history/lick_creek.htm
Amy [Thompson] Moore [wife of Joshua Moore] mentioned in the
account below may have been a relative of Martha Moore, George’s wife.
“A number of widely known women preachers among the Quakers
of early days came from this congregation. Among them was Amy Moore, who was
known throughout southern Indiana
for her missionary zeal. Another woman, praised for her evangelistic work in
early times, was Eleanor Chambers, who grew up in this church and began her
work here.“
HISTORY OF ORANGE COUNTY
CHAPTER
http://www.us-data.org/in/orange/history/his1884chapter3.txt
George was 35 years old when he had this letter written. He
mentions the price of hogs. This indicates that he has discovered that feeding
corn to hogs and then shipping them to Cincinnati
is more profitable than shipping the corn. Others have discovered that making
corn liquor is also more profitable. Since we want to think the best of our
ancestors we assume that George did not contribute to the 7 gallon per person
annual consumption of alcohol. (Today’s annual consumption is 2 gallons.)
Reaction to this excessive drunkenness and the associated spousal abuse led to
the development of the Temperance movement and Prohibition.
A Homestead Act deed recording the joint purchase by Andrew
Wakefield and George Silver of one of three parcels purchased jointly in Illinois .
George’s and Martha’s travels began in an area near Abingdon
in the lover right of the map above. Following the Wildernness Road and then took the left
fork to the current site of Louisville then
crossed the Ohio River into Indiana
where they lived about 20 years.
They moved to Shelby County, Illinois, in the 1830s, perhaps
as early as 1830 when George purchased three different parcels of land with
Andrew Wakefield, a descendant of the original settler in the area, Charles
Wakefield. George may have farmed the land for a few years and then sold his
share back to Andrew.
Among the events that may have pushed the Silvers on to Missouri : . Panic of
1837 during which many banks closed: Either Andrew or George Silver needed to
cash out their half of the property
Poor harvests: The Silvers moved each time in less than
seven years. If a farmer leaves within 7 to 10 years it may mean that the
enterprise failed.
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