Old roots & a Hampshire boyhood (to 1850)
| Date | Who | Place | Event | In the wider world |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1700 | Deep Sylvester roots in east Hampshire farming country (Froxfield, Priors Dean, Hawkley), traced to a Richard Sylvester of the mid-1600s. | Deep Sylvester roots in east Hampshire farming country (Froxfield, Priors Dean, Hawkley), traced to a Richard Sylvester of the mid-1600s. | ||
| 1789 | The Clarke-Jervoise baronets of Idsworth held the estate the Silvesters worked from 1789. | The Clarke-Jervoise baronets of Idsworth held the estate the Silvesters worked from 1789. | ||
| 1807 | Harriet Wield | East Meon, Hampshire | Harriet Wield baptised, East Meon, Hampshire | — |
| 1809-11-26 | James Silvester | Blendworth, Hampshire | James Silvester baptised, Blendworth, Hampshire | — |
| 1828-10-08 | James Silvester, Harriet Wield | Portsea St Mary, Hampshire | James Silvester married Harriet Wield, Portsea St Mary | — |
| 1830 | The Swing Riots sweep Hampshire — labourers rise against low wages and threshing machines; brutal repression follows. | The Swing Riots sweep Hampshire — labourers rise against low wages and threshing machines; brutal repression follows. | ||
| 1834-11-22 | George Silvester | Blendworth, Hampshire | George Silvester baptised, Blendworth (father James, labourer) | Born into a hard Hampshire farming economy of subsistence wages. |
| 1839-05-25 | Ellen Menia Stewart | Ireland (Dublin?) / Glasgow? | Ellen Menia Stewart born — place CONFLICTED: Ireland/Dublin (her own evidence on children's certs) vs Glasgow, Scotland (death cert & Sarah's marriage cert) | Most likely out of post-Famine Ireland. |
| 1841 | George Silvester, James Silvester, Harriet Wield | Blendworth, Hampshire | George (age 7) in family of origin, 1841 census — James 30, Harriet 30, Jessey 11, Jane 8, George 7, Sarah 4, Henry 1 | A farm-labouring household on the Idsworth estate. |
| 1845 | Working life of a Hampshire agricultural labourer: subsistence wages (~9–12s/week), seasonal, hungry winters once threshing went to machines. | Working life of a Hampshire agricultural labourer: subsistence wages (~9–12s/week), seasonal, hungry winters once threshing went to machines. | ||
| 1846 | James Silvester | Blendworth / Pyle Farm, Hampshire | James Silvester awarded a 'third premium' of £3 for supporting six children without parish relief — recorded as aged 36, in the employ of Richard Gale, 23 years at Pyle Farm, and a member of the Buriton Friendly Society | — |
| 1848 | Ireland's Famine drives mass emigration; assisted schemes carry thousands of single Irish women to NSW (Ellen's likely strand). | Ireland's Famine drives mass emigration; assisted schemes carry thousands of single Irish women to NSW (Ellen's likely strand). | ||
| c.1843 | Ellen Menia Stewart | Sydney, NSW | Ellen arrived in NSW (death cert: 76 years in NSW → c.1843; no passenger record found) | How she came is unknown — assisted or not; either way little record survives. |
The poacher & the crossing (1850–1856)
| Date | Who | Place | Event | In the wider world |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1850 | The game laws of Victorian England — landowners' sport protected; poaching the commonest rural crime. | The game laws of Victorian England — landowners' sport protected; poaching the commonest rural crime. | ||
| 1851 | Gold transforms NSW — population leaps from ~200,000 (1851) to 357,000 (1861); self-government and reform follow. | Gold transforms NSW — population leaps from ~200,000 (1851) to 357,000 (1861); self-government and reform follow. | ||
| 1851-12 | George Silvester | Winchester (Hants County Prison) | George committed to Hants County Prison, breach of Game Laws, 2 months | The game laws bore down hard on the rural poor; poaching was the commonest offence. |
| 1852-03 | George Silvester | Winchester (Hants County Prison) | George committed to Hants County Prison, breach of Game Laws, 1 month | Repeat offence — the winter hungry season drove poaching. |
| 1853 | Emigration England→NSW in the 1850s: ~300,000 left England & Wales; unassisted travellers leave little trace. | Emigration England→NSW in the 1850s: ~300,000 left England & Wales; unassisted travellers leave little trace. | ||
| 1853-04-12 | George Silvester | Petersfield, Hampshire | George charged (twice) under the game act on Sir Jervoise Jervoise's estate, Petersfield Petty Sessions — fined £1 10s + 10s 6d & costs | The magistrate, Sir Jervoise Jervoise, was the estate's own landowner. |
| 1853-08-20 | George Silvester | Widley / Havant, Hampshire | PROBABLE: George Silvester of Widley named as assault victim, Havant | — |
| 1853/1855 | George Silvester | Sydney, NSW | George emigrated to NSW (no passenger record found; arrival 1853–55) | Most plausibly leaving after one scrape too many; the 1850s exodus eased the passage (the gold rush as means, not motive). |
| 1855 | The Scots Church and colonial Presbyterianism — Ellen 'a member of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland'. | The Scots Church and colonial Presbyterianism — Ellen 'a member of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland'. | ||
| 1855-10-15 | George Silvester, Ellen Menia Stewart | Redfern / Scots Church, Sydney | George Silvester married Ellen Stewart, Scots Church (Presbyterian), Sydney — both of Redfern; both signed with an X | Married in the Presbyterian Scots Church, Sydney. |
Newtown years (1856–1900)
| Date | Who | Place | Event | In the wider world |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1856-10-06 | Harriot (Henrietta) Jane Silvester, George Silvester, Ellen Menia Stewart | Parramatta Road, Redfern | Daughter Harriot (Henrietta) born, Parramatta Road, Redfern | — |
| 1858-12-02 | Augusta (Gussy) Silvester, George Silvester, Ellen Menia Stewart | Newtown, Sydney | Daughter Augusta born, Newtown | — |
| 1860-12-20 | Sarah Ann Silvester (later Clarke), George Silvester, Ellen Menia Stewart | Newtown, Sydney | Daughter Sarah Ann born, Newtown (reg. 1861) | — |
| 1863 | George E Silvester, George Silvester, Ellen Menia Stewart | Newtown, Sydney | Son George E born, Newtown | — |
| 1865 | Lavinia Silvester, George Silvester, Ellen Menia Stewart | Newtown, Sydney | Daughter Lavinia born, Newtown | — |
| 1867 | Henry J Silvester, George Silvester, Ellen Menia Stewart | St George, Sydney | Son Henry J born, St George district | — |
| 1870 | Alfred Ernest Silvester, George Silvester, Ellen Menia Stewart | St George, Sydney | Son Alfred Ernest born, St George district | — |
| 1873 | Arthur George Silvester, George Silvester, Ellen Menia Stewart | Newtown, Sydney | Son Arthur George born, Newtown | — |
| 1875 | Working-class Newtown & its building trades: cheap brick terraces, brickyards and the Eveleigh workshops — George's labourer/bricklayer world. | Working-class Newtown & its building trades: cheap brick terraces, brickyards and the Eveleigh workshops — George's labourer/bricklayer world. | ||
| 1876 | Edith Florence Silvester (later Parker), George Silvester, Ellen Menia Stewart | Newtown, Sydney | Daughter Edith Florence born, Newtown | — |
| 1887-04-14 | James Silvester | Deadman's Cottage, Horndean, Hampshire | James Silvester made his will — all to wife Harriet for life, then equally to four children (James jr, Henry, Ellen Spiers, Susan Spencer); George and others omitted; estate later sworn under £300 | — |
| 1888-05-02 | James Silvester | Deadman's Cottage, Horndean, Hampshire | James Silvester died at Deadman's Cottage, Horndean, Hants (probate-confirmed) — family/newspaper account: suicide by drowning in a well, amid mental distress & money worries | An estate labourer's long life ended in tragedy at Deadman's Cottage. |
| 1891 | George Silvester | 31 Bedford St, Newtown | George, householder at 31 Bedford St, Newtown — 1891 NSW census (2 male, 3 female) | Working-class Newtown — a suburb of cheap brick terraces. |
| 1892 | The Rookwood Asylum for the Aged & Infirm — the colony's main home for the aged poor (a State Hospital from 1913). | The Rookwood Asylum for the Aged & Infirm — the colony's main home for the aged poor (a State Hospital from 1913). | ||
| 1893 | Harriet Wield | Littlehampton, Sussex | Death of George's mother, Harriet Wield | — |
| 1893-02-23 | Sarah Ann Silvester (later Clarke), George Silvester | North Annandale / Leichhardt | Daughter Sarah Ann ('Annie') married John Clarke, Hunter Baillie Presbyterian Church, North Annandale — George recorded as 'bricklayer'; Sarah b. Glasgow | — |
Provider to the last (1900–1924)
| Date | Who | Place | Event | In the wider world |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1901 | George Silvester | 113 Bedford St, Newtown | George at 113 Bedford St, Newtown (directory/census reference) | Long-settled in Newtown's terrace streets. |
| 1916 | George Silvester | 113 Bedford St, Newtown | George at 113 Bedford St, Newtown (Sands Directory) | Still at 113 Bedford Street, Newtown. |
| 1918 | George Silvester | Lidcombe (Rookwood Asylum) | George resident at Lidcombe (Rookwood State Hospital & Asylum for Aged & Infirm Men) | — |
| 1918-02-01 | George Silvester | 113 Bedford St, Newtown | George made his will (protective trust for wife Ellen & invalid daughter Henrietta), 113 Bedford St | — |
| 1919-01-28 | George Silvester | Lidcombe (Rookwood Asylum) | George Silvester died, Rookwood Asylum, Lidcombe — senility; septic absorption from gangrenous toe; age 84 | Died at the Rookwood asylum for the aged poor. |
| 1919-01-30 | George Silvester | 111 Bedford St → Rookwood | George's funeral, from 111 Bedford St, Newtown, to Rookwood (Church of England cemetery) | — |
| 1919-02-07 | George Silvester | 113 Bedford St, Newtown | E. A. Turtle & Co. valued the estate for probate — the semi-detached brick house at 113 Bedford St at £525, and the household furniture, itemised room by room, at £18/1/6 (agent's market value; probate later swore £538) | The whole house inventoried for probate — a five-room home furnished plainly, much of it listed 'old'. |
| 1919-05-27 | George Silvester | Supreme Court NSW | Letters of Administration (c.t.a.) granted to the Public Trustee for George's estate | — |
| 1919-09-01 | Ellen Menia Stewart | Braeside Hospital, Stanmore → Rookwood | Ellen Menia Silvester died, Braeside Private Hospital, Stanmore/Petersham — broncho pneumonia, heart failure; age 80; buried Roman Catholic cemetery, Rookwood | — |
| 1924 | Harriot (Henrietta) Jane Silvester | Newtown, Sydney | Death of daughter Harriot/Henrietta Jane (life tenant, unmarried invalid) | — |
| 1924-10-23 | George Silvester, Harriot (Henrietta) Jane Silvester | 113 Bedford St, Newtown | Probate affidavit: estate funds exhausted, 20-ft allotment unsaleable under council rules; whole of 113 Bedford St ordered sold; Henrietta an invalid | — |
Drawn from the family's own documents and the public records, with the wider history woven in.