George Silver III Letter Home 1822

 The group which researches the Silver Genealogy has found the following letter from George III to his father and mother. Some parts of the letter are illegible but George reveals much about his life in Indiana. Since George or Martha probably did not read and write someone else wrote the letter for them.

Indiana, Lawrence County September 12, 1822

Dear Father and Mother,

I embrace the oppurtunity of writing you that we are all in a reasonable state of health at the present, thanks be rendered to Omnipotence for the same. Hoping when these lines come to hand will find you and yours enjoying the like health. This may inform you that through the mercie of the Lord we have embraced religion for about three years. We are both members of _______Baptist Society. We have had seven children and have burried three of them. My oldest child I have living has had fits for about three years which we call William. The other names as followeth Nancy, Edward, George are the children we have living. The children we lost one died with choking ______, one with a sore mouth, _____other _____to death.

This may inform you that I have never regretted moving from that country to this country for I have lived plintiful. I have farmed ______ for provision. I have lived on land of my own for about six years. I expect to rase 700 bushels of corn for this year. Corn is selling now for 50 cents ______ barrel.... This neighbor has ____ the present crop.

This may inform you that I have sold my place I now live on, and I am going to move to my father-in-laws to take care of the old people while they live. That is by their request. I should be very happy to see you all come to see me and take a good look at this country, for I think it is a far better country for a man to make a living in than that country is, for we can rase our grain – our pork much easier here than you can there.

We can make our own sugar very handy if we try, and we can buy plenty of our country-made sugar at six or seven per pound. We can buy coffy at 25 cents per pound. This is a very fine country for sault. We can buy plenty for one dollar a bushel. Pork is worth from $1.50 to _____dollars per hundred. We can buy cotten here at sixteen cents per pound.

This is a very fine country to raise sheep. (They) yeald a heep more wool here that they do there and the women have no trouble here in carding wool for ____ we have carding machines to card wool into rolls in this country.

It is a fine time to buy land in this country. Congress land is worth $1.25 per acre. That is, you can buy 80 acres for $100 and any number of acres above that quantity at the same price but you can’t buy no less than 80 acres of Congress land.

A man can settle here on Congress land _____ and do very well. I think if you all would move to this country you never would regret it. This may inform you that all kinds of property sells very low.

So I must conclude my letter. I want you to write me and let me know how you all are doing and where my brothers and sisters lives. I heard last_____that sister Elizabeth was dead. I want you to direct your letter to Peola, Orange Co (unty) for my father –in-law lives six miles (and) a half from there. I don’t know when _____ the oppurtunity of comin to see you & if _____ see each other in this world I hope we w_____ to enjoy the Ble____ cricified redeem(er)____. Give _____ to all enquiring friends.

So I remain your dutiful son until death.

George Silver, Martha Silver

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Rev. Dr. Edward Silver, Martha Hansen, Nancy Jennings 1838-1877

George and Martha lived in Illinois for seven years. After their son, Edward, married Martha Elizabeth Hansen in 1838 they moved with Edward to Missouri. They followed the National Pike to St Louis and Boone’s Lick Road to Rocky Fork Township in Boone County in Missouri.

Edward gradually purchased a total of 80 acres (#1 in map left) George purchased 40 acres (#2). M. G. Singleton and William Yates were two of their slave holding neighbors. Singleton purchased more than 1200 acres over several years. That’s more than two sections or two square miles.

Edward and Martha soon had four children, Isaac, George, Martha and John. Tragically Edward’s wife, Martha, died in 1845. Soon Edward married Nancy Jennings. Sidney Maupin Silver was born in 1846. Two other children would follow. Edward and George W Silver were among the first members of the Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church (#3 on map) which was constituted April 18, 1853. According to the History of Boone County, the member built church, completed in 1855, was still in use in 1882. The Centralia Baptist church was organized on April 17, 1871. Edward and Nancy Jennings Silver, and their daughter Elinder were among the original members.

After meeting in other church buildings for eleven years they worshipped for the first time in their own building in 1882. Having been ordained in 1877 Rev Edward Silver certainly would have been one of the participants at the dedication. Marriage records in Boone County are not available yet but to the east is Audrain County whose early marriage records reveal that Rev Silver officiated at three weddings on 04 Jul 1883, 15 Jan 1878, and 03 Mar 1886.

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cramsey/AudrainCoMOMarrbyGROOMbyCR.html

George Silver III died on February 22, 1870. Martha Moore Silver died on November 27, 1881. They were buried in the Pleasant Grove Cemetery, Boone County.

37

Obituary: Reverend Edward Silver

One of the oldest and most respected of Missouri citizens, and a faithful Baptist divine, died at the home of his son, Sidney Maupin Silver, six miles east of Mexico, Thursday, May 7th 1896.

Rev. Silver was a native of Indiana and was born May 5th, 1816, which made him 80 years and 2 days old. He came to Missouri in 1838 and located in Boone County on a farm 4 miles south of the present town of Centralia, where he lived up to the latter part of 1890 when he made his home with his son, S.M. Silver, with whom he lived up to his death. He leaves 8 children, 6 sons and 2 daughters. Besides S.M. of this vicinity there are Mrs. McKensie of Moberly, Mrs. Mat Turner of Saling Township, J.H. of Centralia, George H. and Lock W. of Oklahoma, Isaac in Kansas and Martin in Charles County.

Reverend Silver was ordained in 1877 and faithfully consecrated himself to the cause of the church. The funeral services were conducted at Centralia by Reverend Hardy and the burial took place on the farm which he first purchased when he came to Missouri.

Silver Threads

http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~silver/south/archive/2005-03.html

[Editor’s note: The headline on an obituary I have not been able to read refers to Rev. Dr. Edward Silver. If this title is accurate Edward returned to college for a Doctor of Divinity degree]