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Silvester History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Silvester History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Italy
Scotland

Early Origins of the Silvester family

The surname Silvester was first found in Ferrara, a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara, in the district of Marche but there were also early instances of this surname in other areas of Italy. Ferrara was at war with Venice in 1471. It is a walled city and notable is the Church of S.Cristoforo. In those ancient times only persons of rank, the podesta, clergy, city officials, army officers, artists, landowners were entered into the records. To be recorded at this time, at the beginning of recorded history, was of itself a great distinction and indicative of noble ancestry. The name is a modification of the Latin name Silvester, which was derived from the word "silva," meaning "wood."

Early History of the Silvester family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Silvester research. Another 98 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1339, 1399, 1420, 1485, 1525 and 1606 are included under the topic Early Silvester History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Silvester Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Silvestri, Silvestry, Silvester, Sylvester, Sylvestar, Sylvestri, Silvestre, Silvestrelli, Silvestrini, Silvestrino, Silvestro and many more.

Early Notables of the Silvester family

More information is included under the topic Early Silvester Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Silvester Ranking

In the United States, the name Silvester is the 14,179^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1

Silvester migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Silvester Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Richard Silvester, who arrived in Weymouth, Massachusetts in 1630 2
Abram Silvester, aged 14, who arrived in Virginia in 1634 aboard the ship "Bonaventure" coming via St. Domingo 2
Abram Silvester, aged 40, who arrived in Virginia in 1634 aboard the ship "Bonaventure" coming via St. Domingo 2
Phillipp Silvester, who landed in Virginia in 1642 2
John Silvester, who landed in Virginia in 1662 2
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Silvester Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Lydia Silvester, who arrived in Virginia in 1714 2
Thomas Silvester, who landed in Virginia in 1714 2
Honora Silvester, who settled in Boston in 1716
Richard Silvester, who landed in America in 1764 2

Silvester Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

W Silvester, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 2

Silvester migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Silvester Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. John Silvester, (b. 1783), aged 33, English convict who was convicted in Old Bailey, London, England for 7 years for larceny, transported aboard the "Atlas" on 16th January 1816, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1840 3
George Silvester, English convict from Warwick, who was transported aboard the "Asia" on July 29th, 1823, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 4
Henry Silvester, English convict from Middlesex, who was transported aboard the "Anna Maria" on March 6, 1848, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 5
Mr. Charles Silvester, English convict who was convicted in Birmingham, England for 7 years, transported aboard the ""Blenheim"" on 24th July 1850, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) and Norfolk Island, Australia 6

Silvester migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Silvester Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Edward Silvester, Scottish settler travelling from Glasgow aboard the ship "Jura" arriving in Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 23rd September 1858 7
Mrs. Mary Silvester, (b. 1829), aged 30, English settler from Nottingham travelling from London aboard the ship "Zealandia" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 14th November 1859 8
Miss Fanny Silvester, (b. 1858), aged 1, English settler from Nottingham travelling from London aboard the ship "Zealandia" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 14th November 1859 8
William Silvester, aged 30, a labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Hindostan" in 1875
Fanny Silvester, aged 33, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Hindostan" in 1875
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Silvester migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 9

Silvester Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Grace Silvester, who settled in Barbados with her husband and their servants in 1679

Contemporary Notables of the name Silvester (post 1700) +

Peter Henry Silvester (1807-1882), American politician, U.S. Representative from New York (1847-1851), grandson of Peter Silvester
Peter Silvester (1734-1808), American politician, Member of the United States House of Representatives from New York (1789-1793)
L. Jay Silvester (b. 1937), retired American discus thrower, Olympian, Men's Discus World Record Holder (1961-1962) and (1968-1975)
Mr. Victor Paul Silvester M.B.E., British recipient of Member of the Order of the British Empire on 8th June 2018, for charitable and political services 10
Tipping Silvester (1700-1768), English divine and author, the son of John Silvester, linendraper, of St. Mary Woolnoth, London
Sir Philip Carteret Silvester (1777-1828), English captain in the Royal Navy, son of Rear-admiral Philip Carteret, the circumnavigator
Victor Marlborough Silvester OBE (1900-1978), English dancer, author, musician and bandleader from the British dance band era
Jarrod B. Silvester (b. 1985), Australian Rules Football player for Australian Football League (AFL) club Richmond
Attila-Akyla Silvester (1944-2010), Greek dancer, choreographer and director
Peter Peet Silvester (1935-1996), Estonia-born, Canadian electrical engineer, emeritus professor at McGill University, Fellow of the IEE, and of the Royal Society of Canada
... (Another 5 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Silvester family +

HMS Dorsetshire

Kenneth Gordon Silvester (d. 1945), British Cook S aboard the HMS Dorsetshire when she was struck by air bombers and sunk; he died in the sinking 11

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th July 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/atlas
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Asia 1 voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1823 with 151 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1823
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2015, January 8) Anna Maria voyage to Van Diemen's Land or Port Phillip, Australia in 1848 with 190 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/anna-maria/1848
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/blenheim
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
"Birthday and New Year Honours Lists (1940 to 2019)." Issue 62310, 4 July 2019 | London Gazette, The Gazette, June 2018, https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/62310/supplement/B1
Force Z Survivors HMS Dorsetshire Crew List, (Retrieved 2018, February 13th), https://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listdorsetshirecrew.html