THIS FILE IS FOR GENEALOGICAL PURPOSES ONLY

Edwin Lawrence SYLVESTER

Edwin Lawrence Sylvester Home
Plainview Twp., Wabasha Co., MN, as it appeared in 2002

BIRTH: 16 MAR 1859, Plainview, Wabasha Co., MN
DEATH: 4 JUN 1930, St. Paul, Ramsey Co., MN
BURIAL: 5 JUN 1930, Greenwood Cemetery, Plainview, Wabasha Co., MN

Father: George Washington SYLVESTER
Mother: Matilda A. COOK

Family 1: Hettie L. DILLON

MARRIAGE: 22 NOV 1885, Plainview, Wabasha Co., MN

                                                          _Charles SYLVESTER _
                                _Caleb Barker SYLVESTER _|
                               |                         |_Lucy BARKER _______
 _George Washington SYLVESTER _|
|                              |                          _Micah WHITNEY _____
|                              |_Joanna WHITNEY _________|
|                                                        |_Hannah COBB _______
|
|--Edwin Lawrence SYLVESTER 
|
|                                                         ____________________
|                               _________________________|
|                              |                         |____________________
|_Matilda A. COOK _____________|
                               |                          ____________________
                               |_________________________|
                                                         |____________________

INDEX

Notes

[NI0148] Updated April 2, 2005. Compiled by Howder (www.howderfamily.com) from the following source(s):

(1) 1860 United States Census for Minnesota, Wabasha Co., Town 108 R 11 - Plainview (Plainview Post Office): Page 41; June 18, 1860.

Edwin L. Sylvester is the son of G. W. and Matilda Sylvester. He is 1 year old and born in Minnesota.

(2) 1870 United States Census for Minnesota, Wabasha Co., Plainview Twp. (Plainview Post Office): page 10; dwelling 66; family 64; July 22, 1870.

Edwin Sylvester is the son of George and Matilda Sylvester. He was born in Minnesota, is 11 years old and is attending school.

(3) LDS FamilySearch 1880 United States Census database for Plainview, Wabasha Co., MN. Family History Library Film 1254636, NA Film Number T9-0636, Page 572A.

Edwin Sylvester is listed as the 21-year-old son of Matilda Sylvester. His birthplace is Minnesota and he is working on the farm.

(4) 1900 United States Census for Minnesota, Wabasha Co., Plainview Village: Supervisor's District 1; Enumeration District 155; Sheet 5B; June 7, 1900.

Edwin L. Sylvester is head of household, married to Hettie L. [Dillon] Sylvester. Children in the household include Nettie H., Meta M., Park D., and Byrl E. Sylvester. Hettie's mother and step-father, Hellen P. and Rhinaldo H. Chapman live next door.

- Birth month: March 1859; age 41.
- Marital Status: Married for 15 years.
- Birthplace: Minnesota, with his father from Maine and his mother from Canada - French.
- Occupation: Banker
- Home: Owns his house free of mortgage.

(5) 1910 United States Census for Minnesota, Wabasha Co., Plainview: Supervisor's District 1, Enumeration District 156; Sheet 5B; April 19, 1910.

Edwin L. Sylvester is head of household, married to Hettie (listed as "Hetty") L. [Dillon] Sylvester. Children in the household are Nettie H., Byrl E. and Edward L. Sylvester, Jr. Edwin Sr.'s brother George Sylvester and family live in the next residence.

- Age: 50; married for 23 years.
- Birthplace: Minnesota, with his father from Maine and his mother from Canada - English.
- Occupation: Banker, working on own account (i.e., self-employed).
- Home: Owns his home; it is not a farm.

(6) 1920 United States Census for Minnesota, Wabasha Co., Plainview Village: Supervisor's District 1; Enumeration District 158; Sheet 12B; January 12, 1920.

Edwin L. Sylvester is head of household, married to Hettie L. [Dillon] Sylvester. Their son Edwin L. Sylvester [Jr.] resides with them. Edwin Sr.'s brother, George Franklin ["Frank"] Sylvester lives two households away.

- Home ownership: Owns his home, free of mortgage
- Age: 60
- Birthplace: Minnesota, with his father from Maine and his mother from Canada - English.
- Occupation: Bank President; an employer.

(7) 1930 United States Census for Minnesota, Washington Co., Bayport Village, Minnesota State Prison: Enumeration District 82-4; Sheet 14B; April 14, 1930.

Edwin L. Sylvester is an inmate.

- Age: 71 years old at time of census; 26 when first married.
- Birthplace: Minnesota, with his father from Maine and mother from Canada.

(8) Manzow, Ron, ed., "The Sylvester Family of Plainview, Minnesota -- a collection of information taken from the Plainview News, other newspapers, letters, and diaries beginning in 1884" (Plainview, Minnesota: Plainview History Center, 2001).

- 1859 (March 16): Born in Plainview, MN. (page 222)
- 1882 (June 5): Joined the Plainview Bank. (page 1)
- 1897 (April 1): Purchased an interest in the Plainview Bank along with his brother Frank. (page 13, 14)
- 1925 (March 4): The Plainview State Bank closed. (page 147) ... "there is a feeling among those who were his friends that he was a victim of circumstances..." (page 222)
- 1930 (June 4): Obituary. Passed away in St. Paul, MN. His health had been failing rapidly over a period of several weeks. (page 222)

(9) George W. Sylvester family reunion. Plainview, MN (August 16-18, 2002).

- The Edwin L. Sylvester headstone at Greenwood cemetery (latitude / longitude N44°10.165' / W92°10.402') reads "Edwin Lawrence / 1859 - 1930."
- We toured the Edwin Sylvester home located on the south side of W. Broadway between 7th and 9th Sts (latitude / longitude N44°09.895' / W92°10.615').
- The site of the Plainview State Bank has been extensively remodeled but the original bank vault is still in use. The building is located on the northwest corner of W. Broadway and 3rd St (latitude / longitude N44°09.910' / W92°10.214').

(10) Byrl E. Sylvester Papers. Minnesota Historical Society. An Inventory of His Papers -- available online.

- Listed as surviving parent of Byrl E. Sylvester.

(11) Family History, Volume S(4), Sylvester, Daughters of the American Revolution library, Washington, DC., p. 4.

(12) Jewell family records. March 20, 2002 and August 6, 2002.

- Was born 16 Mar 1859, Woodland, Plainview, Wabasha Co., MN.
- Lists middle name as "Lawrence" (other sources use the initial "L.")
- Edwin passed away at St. John's Hospital, St. Paul, MN.

(13) The History of Wabasha County [MN], 1920. Biography of Edwin L. Sylvester.

"Edwin L. Sylvester, president of the Plainview State Bank, and one of the leading citizens, as well as one of the prominent financiers of this region, is a native of Wabasha County, and descended from pioneer stock on both sides of his house. His early career as an agriculturist and educator gave him a splendid foundation for his later banking career which started when he was but little past the age of reaching his majority. Under his able guidance, his bank which is the oldest in the county, has also become one of the strongest. Mr. Sylvester has felt from the first that the interests of the bank and of the community were identical, and his constant efforts have been along the lines of the still further development and progress of the surrounding rural districts. Unostentatious in manner and retiring in disposition he has not cared to assume a prominent position in political life, but his good advice and keen judgement have exerted a powerful influence on the affairs of the community in which he has made his life-long home. Mr. Sylvester possesses those qualities which would have made him a leader in whatever sphere of life his duty might have called him to. Fate cast his lot in a pioneer community with whose growth to a prosperous, commercial and agricultural region he became identified, and in whose progress he has had a part. Here he has been content to live and labor, establishing an ideal home, giving his children a tender, intelligent, fatherly guidance, helping his fellow man as he has found the opportunity, taking up the tasks that have been nearest at hand, and shedding over the community the light of his kindly personality."

"Edwin L. Sylvester was born in Plainview Township, March 16, 1859, son of George W. and Matilda A. (Cook) Sylvester, the pioneers. He attended the district schools of his neighborhood, and studied three years in the Plainview High School, supplementing this education with home study, wide reading and keen observation. With this preparation he taught school for two years. In the meantime his spare time had been spent in working on his father's farm. June 1, 1882, he became a clerk in the Plainview State Bank, and with the destinies of that institution, his name and personality have since been connected, so much so in fact, that the Plainview State Bank is more commonly known as the Sylvester Bank. He was promoted from clerk to teller and then to cashier, and in 1905 was elevated to his present position as president. Mr. Sylvester is a prominent Mason, belonging to the Blue Lodge at Plainview, the Chapter, Commandery and Consistory at Winona, and Osman Temple at St. Paul. He has also passed through the chairs of the Odd Fellows' Lodge at Plainview. His religious faith is that of the Christian Church, in the affairs of which he has taken a leading part."

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REMARKS

There are competing opinions regarding Edwin Sylvester's operation of the Plainview State Bank. For one such view please consult Manzow, Ron, ed., "The Sylvester Family of Plainview, Minnesota -- a collection of information taken from the Plainview News, other newspapers, letters, and diaries beginning in 1884" (Plainview, Minnesota: Plainview History Center, 2001), pages 147 - 222. This source includes extensive coverage and discussion of the bank failure and its aftermath.

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Additional Notes.

Mayflower lineage: Howland/Tilley -1; Hope Howland -2; Hope Chipman -3; Samuel Cobb -4; Chipman Cobb -5; Andrew Cobb -6 (DAR/SAR ancestor); Hannah Cobb -7; Joanna Whitney -8; George Sylvester -9; Edwin Sylvester -10.