Francis Silvester

From The Peopling of New York City

I began my search for this slave owner by searching the appropriate city directories in the Milstein Division Microform room of the New York Public library. The city directories did not yield any records for a Francis Silvester in New York in 1789 - which was the earliest available city directory available in the Milstein division. If Silvester was still in New York at this time he would have been well beyond middle age - approximately 60-70 years old. My next step was to search for colonists living in New York with a variation on the name "Silvester". i had noticed while looking through the available directories that others did indeed live in New York with the name "Sylvester". So I continued to investigate these individuals. I hoped to make a connection with Francis Silvester and these other "Sylvesters"; perhaps these people shared a common relative and their name variations were a result of disambiguation throughout the years.

Further research lead to the discovery a one Peter Sylvester listed underneath as an attorney under the "states of the Supreme Court for the state of New York". He had been officiated on the 25th of January 1759. Surprisingly he was the only Sylvester listed in New York at the time. He resided in New York at 45 Maiden Lane, which is close to present-day South Street Seaport.^[1]

Soon, however, even more traces of the Sylvester clan would emerge well into the 17th century. I continued my investigation into lives of the Sylvesters in another microform section of the New York Public Library. Here many electronic online articles from colonial times were available. I decided to search ads and articles for clues as too the real Francis Silvester's whereabouts.

While looking for leads for Francis silvester I came across an ad for a farm in a town outside new york:

“For Sale. A farm lately the residence of Cornelium Van Schaack, deceased; situated in the town of Kindeerhook, in the country of Columbia; it consists of between two and three hindered acres of meadow, arable, and wood land, and excellent orchard; has on it a dwelling house, barn, and several out-houses, it is about three miles east from the post-road leading from New York to Albany-for terms apply to the subscribers or either of them Peter Van Scaack, M.P. Vossburgh, Francis Silvester…Trust’s Kinderhook, July 13. Aug. 2. 6w”^[2]

I would learn that Mr. Francis Silvester would pay to place the same exact advertisement with the Hudson Gazette betwen the months of August 1789 to September 1789.

Francis Silvester was also somewhat involved in New York politics in addition to his property sales. For instance in one article Francis Silvester is mentioned as a secretary for a federalist organization in the town of Claverack - which explains why I was unable to find any information about Mr. Silvester in the Greater New York directories. By the late 1700s- early 1800s Silvester was living in a remote town distant from the hustle and bustle of New York City. The article that helped me determine this read as follows:

“Federal nomination. At a meeting of a number of federalists of the different towns in the country of Columbia, held at the house of Andrew Md. Carshore, in the town of Claverack, Sept 17, 1801. Henry Loingston; chairman. Francis Silvester, secretary. Resolved unanimously, that Hezekiah L. Hofmer, be supported as representatice to congress for the district composed of the counties of Columbia and Rensselaer, in the room of John Bird, Efq. Refighned.”^[3]

After that Silvester seems to disappear from the historical records again. I spent a few more days trying to find even more traces that could further my investigation into his own life, however searches through further article databases and genealogical databases came up short. However, from what I can infer Francis Silvester seems to have lived well into his later years. It is clear that he was wealthy enough travel between several towns to establish his properties. He was able to hold on to assets which would generate enough resources to sustain his way of life - in contrast to the slave trade. Furthermore, his position in a federalist organization demonstrates his degree of wealth and power compared to other people within these remote towns.

References

1. ↑ Franks, David, compiled 1786. The 1786 New-York Directory. New-York: H.J. Sachs and Company Real Estate
2. ↑ No headline, 1799. The Hudson Gazette. Jan 22, Advertisements section.
3. ↑ Federal Nomination, 1801. Hudson Gazette September 22, News section.