USA > California > Los Angeles County > Los Angeles > A history of California and an extended history of Los Angeles and environs, Biographical, Volume II > Part 8
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After nearly two years of study and travel, which had been of inestimable value to him, and during which time he had become a member of Lodge Elgin, Montreal (Grand Lodge of Scot- land, 340), he grew impatient to see more of the United States; so he very reluctantly bade his beloved friend farewell, and departed for New York, and remained there for some time before visiting Baltimore, Maryland ; Washington, D. C .; Richmond, Virginia ; Charleston, South Carolina ; Nashville, Tennessee; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Chicago, Illinois. From Chicago he journeyed to Ottawa, Illinois, the residence of an old acquaintance; and soon after arriving there he called at the postoffice for his mail. As he stood without, undecided as to his course, a strong breeze sprang up unexpectedly, and he perceived a startlingly handsome girl endeavoring to re- cover a letter, which had been blown away from her. He stooped, quickly seized the missive, and
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held it out to her ; as she extended her little gloved hand to receive it, a pair of dark inquiring eyes were suddenly transfixed by a pair of lovely blue ones,-she blushed,-thanked him, and passed on,-but not until he had noted the perfect Greek profile, the exquisite pink and white coloring, the golden brown hair, and the slender, graceful form; and like a thunderbolt, or a flash of light- ning from a clear sky-came the swift intelligence to each, at the same instant-that their souls were mates,-and belonged to each other !
Herman lost no time in ascertaining that his beloved was one of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Hyde Post's five daughters; ( former residents of Tru- mansburg. New York, ) widely known as "The Beautiful Post Sisters." Mr. Post had formerly been associated with Chancellor Walworth, of Greenwich, Connecticut, in compiling the genealogy for the American heirs of the vast Hyde Estate of England, and was a lineal descendant of Thomas Hyde, the distinguished Orientalist of that country.
Soon after their engagement was announced, Mr. Silver left for Columbus, Ohio, to accept a good position with a mercantile house of that city ; but though he found no difficulty in famil- iarizing himself with all the details of the business, necessary for the rapid advancement which had been promised him ; he did not like it, and knew that he would never be satisfied to remain there; although he had made many pleasant acquaintances, and had taken the Degree of Master Mason, in Columbus Lodge, No. 30, F. & A. M. (Grand Lodge of the State of Ohio).
In his travels he had been fortunate enough to meet Judge Chumasero, of Peru, Illinois, a legal light of his district; who, having become greatly interested in the young man, insisted that he enter his office and read law there; assuring him that he was peculiarly fitted for the profession and that he was bound to become eminently successful in it. Mr. Silver gladly availed himself of this great privilege, and accordingly, made Peru his temporary abiding place; but he was so well pleased with the change, and so much happier in his new environment, that he decided to locate there. In time, the roses were climbing over a pretty white cottage, and a green lawn and many flowers surrounded it ; and when it was furnished and ready for occupancy, on the 21st of Septem- ber, 1858, Mr. Silver returned to Ottawa and claimed his bride. In the same year, he was
elected clerk of the town of Peru. In 1859, he was admitted a member of Mockena Lodge, No. 34, Independent Order of Odd Fellows (Right Worthy Grand Lodge of the State of Illinois) ; he was commissioned by Judge William Chu- masero, clerk of the Recorder's Court of the City of Peru, and elected clerk of the City of Peru. In 1860, he was elected clerk of the Recorder's Court and re-elected clerk of the City of Peru. It was in 1860, that Mr. Silver had the pleasure of meeting "The Immortal Lincoln" and his admiration for that great man knew no bounds; he afterward became closely associated with him, and rendered him all possible assistance in his stupendous task of protecting and caring for the poor slaves who had found their way North. He also raised more than twenty companies for active service during the war. In 1861, he was re- elected clerk of the Recorder's Court of the City of Peru, and again in 1862 and 1863. In that year, he was admitted a member of Peru Council, No. 12, R. and S. M. (Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, State of Illinois) ; and also re- ceived from the Treasury Department at Wash- ington his appointment as assistant assessor for Division Two of the Sixth Collection District of the State of Illinois; and was elected circuit clerk for LaSalle County, Illinois ; when Mr. and Mrs. Silver removed to Ottawa. At the expira- tion of that term of office he completed his study of the law, and in 1866, was admitted to practice as an attorney and counsellor at law ; and became a partner of Charles Blanchard, the prosecuting attorney of that circuit, and one of the ablest lawyers in that part of the state. Not long after, he appeared for the first time, as advocate in a trial before the United States Court, at Chicago; and so distinguished himself by the soundness of his argument, and his astonishing flights of ora- tory, that he was complimented in most flattering terms, not only by the presiding judge, but by the opposing counsel, as well. In 1870, Mr. Silver was given the Degree of Master Mason, in Hum- boldt Lodge, No. 555, A. F. & A. M. of Ottawa (Grand Lodge of the State of Illinois), and in 1872, he served on the Illinois Republican Union State Central Committee, was chairman of La Salle County Central Committee, and one of the original trustees of the Soldiers Monument Association.
In 1856, Mr. Silver formed the acquaintance of Lieutenant-Colonel John C. Fremont, of Cali-
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fornia (appointed major-general of volunteers by President Lincoln in 1861) ; and cast his first presidential vote for him, and during the ensuing years many of the following distinguished men became his warmest friends and most sincere ad- mirers: President Buchanan, of Pennsylvania ; Caleb Cushing, of Massachusetts (appointed At- torney General of the United States, by President Pierce; appointed by President Johnson a com- missioner to codify the laws of the United States from 1866 to 1870; minister to Spain from 1874 to 1877) ; and Horatio King, of Maine (appointed First Assistant and Postmaster General of the United States by President Buchanan in 1861).
Schuyler Colfax, of Indiana (re-elected to the Thirty-fifth and Fortieth Congresses, inclusive ; Speaker of the House of Representatives in the Thirty-eighth, Thirty-ninth and Fortieth Con- gresses ; and Vice-President of the United States during Grant's first administration) ; Erastus Corning, of New York (mayor of Albany ; elected a Representative to the Thirty-fifth Congress, and member of the peace conference in 1861, and re-elected to the Thirty-seventh and Thirty-eighth Congresses) ; John Sherman, of Ohio (elected to the Senate in 1861, and re-elected in 1866 and 1872; appointed Secretary of the Treasury by President Hayes; elected to the United States Senate in 1881, re-elected in 1886 and 1892, and Secretary of State under President Mckinley) ; Isaac N. Morris (elected a Representative to the Thirty-fifth Congress, re-elected to the Thirty- sixth Congress and appointed a commissioner for the Pacific Railroad in 1869) ; Stephen A. Doug- las (re-elected to the United States Senate in 1853 and again in 1859) ; Lyman Trumbull ( Represen- tative to the Thirty-fourth Congress, and three times elected to the United States Senate, serving from 1855 to 1873), all of Illinois. James A. Bay- ard, of Delaware (re-elected to the United States Senate in 1857 and again in 1863) ; Zachariah Chandler, of Michigan ( elected to the United States Senate in 1857, 1863-1869 and again in 1878; and appointed Secretary of the Interior by President Grant) ; Simon Cameron, of Pennsylvania (adju- tant general of the State and Secretary of War in 1861 ; appointed minister to Russia in 1862 and elected to the United States Senate for the fourth time in 1872) ; Members of Thirty-fifth Congress.
Thomas Corwin, of Ohio (elected a Repre- sentative to Congress in 1858, again in 1860 and appointed minister to Mexico in 1861) ; Hannibal
Hamlin, of Maine (governor in 1857; re-elected to the United States Senate in 1857; Vice-Presi- dent during President Lincoln's first administra- tion and collector of the port of Boston in 1865; and twice re-elected to the United States Senate) ; Roscoe Conkling, of New York (elected mayor of Utica in 1858; Representative to the Thirty-sixth and Thirty-seventh Congresses and a United States Senator from 1867 to 1881) ; William Pitt Fessenden, of Maine (re-elected a United States Senator in 1854 and again in 1864 and served from 1864 to 1865 as Secre- tary of the Treasury under Lincoln and again as United States Senator from 1865 to 1869), and Miguel A. Otero, Delegate from New Mexico Territory ; Members of the Thirty-sixth Congress.
Thomas C. Platt, of New York (county clerk of Tioga County from 1859 to 1861, elected to the Forty-third and Forty-fourth Congresses and United States Senator in 1881 and re-elected in 1896 and again in 1903) ; William M. Evarts, of New York (chairman New York delegation to the National Republican Convention of 1860; Attor- ney General of the United States from 1868 to 1869 and Secretary of State of the United States from 1877 to 1881, and elected to the United States Senate in 1884) ; Joseph G. Cannon, of Illinois (State attorney from 1861 to 1868; Rep- resentative to the Forty-third and Fifty-first Congresses, inclusive, and to the Fifty-third and Fifty-Eighth Congresses, inclusive, and chairman of Committee on Appropriations in the Fifty- fourth, Fifty-fifth. Fifty-sixth and Fifty-seventh Congresses) ; Francis E. Spinner, of New York (appointed Treasurer of the United States by President Lincoln in 1861 and re-appointed by Presidents Johnson and Grant ) ; Richard Oglesby, of Illinois (elected a State senator in 1860; entered the Union Army as colonel, resigned in 1864 with the rank of major-general; elected governor of Illinois in 1864-1869 and again in 1872 and a United States Senator in 1873) ; A. Scott Sloan, of Wisconsin (member of the State Legislature in 1856, and judge of the circuit court in 1858) ; Richard Franchot, of New York ( President of the Albany, Susquehanna Railroad Company) ; Salmon P. Chase, of Ohio (re-elected governor of Ohio in 1857, elected to the United States Senate in 1860, Secretary of the Treasury under Lincoln and appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 1864) ; the latter three, Members of the Thirty-seventh Congress.
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James G. Blaine, of Maine (Representative to the Thirty-eighth and Forty-third Congresses, in- clusive, serving in the Forty-first, Forty-second and Forty-third as Speaker, elected to the United States Senate ; appointed Secretary of the Treas- ury and served as Secretary of State under Gar- field and Harrison) ; James A. Garfield, of Ohio (admitted to the bar in 1860; to practice in the Supreme Court of the United States in 1866; Representative to the Thirty-eighth and Forty- sixth Congresses, inclusive, succeeded Allan G. Thurman in the United States Senate, and elected President of the United States in 1880) ; William Sprague, of Rhode Island (governor from 1860 to 1862; served in the Union Army, and was a United States Senator from 1863 to 1875) ; and B. Gratz Brown, of Missouri (one of the founders of the Missouri Democrat and its editor until 1859; took an active part in preventing the seces- sion of Missouri in 1861 and served as a United States Senator from 1863 to 1867) ; Members of the Thirty-eighth Congress; General Ulysses S. Grant (President of the United States from 1869 to 1877) ; and Generals William S. Rosecrans, T. H. Sherman, Nelson A. Miles, Philip H. Sheri- dan, Edwin S. McCook, Anson G. McCook and Winfield Scott.
Benjamin Harrison, of Ohio (reporter of the decisions of the supreme court of the State in 1860; brevetted brigadier-general in 1865, elected to the United States Senate in 1880 and President of the United States in 1888) ; Thomas B. Reed, of Maine (acting assistant paymaster United States Navy from 1864 to 1865; admitted to the bar in 1865, attorney-general of Maine from 1870 to 1872; elected to the Forty-fifth and Fifty- sixth Congresses, inclusive ; Speaker of the House of Representatives in the Fifty-first, Fifty-fourth and Fifty-fifth Congresses) ; Stephen W. Dorsey, of Arkansas (President of the Arkansas Rail- way Company ; served in the Union Army under General Grant at Shilolı, General Buell at Perry- ville, General Rosecrans at Stone River and Chat- tanooga, and General Thomas at Mission Ridge ; and served as a United States Senator from 1873 to 1879) ; Lyman K. Bass (admitted to the bar at Buffalo in 1858, district attorney for Erie County from 1865 to 1872 and a Representative to the Forty-third and Forty-fourth Congresses) ; Horace Greeley, of New York ( founded the New York Tribune and edited it until his death; a Presidential elector on the Lincoln-Johnson ticket
in 1864; and appointed minister to Austria by President Johnson, but declined ) ; Robert G. In- gersoll, of Illinois (admitted to the bar and prac- ticed law until he was appointed attorney-general for Illinois in 1866, and refused the post of minis- ter to Germany in 1877); Samuel Clemens- "Mark Twain"-and Robert Burdette, the Rev- erend Henry Ward Beecher, the Reverend T. De Witt Talmadge D.D. of New York, and the Rev- erend Dr. Isaac M. Wise, of Cincinnati.
Shelby M. Cullom, of Illinois (elected city at- torney and continued to practice law until he took his seat in the House of Representatives in 1865; elected a Representative to the Thirty-ninth, For- tieth and Forty-first Congresses ; elected governor in 1876, and again in 1880, and served as a United States Senator from 1883 to 1913); Ruther- ford B. Hayes, of Ohio (mustered out of the Union Army with the rank of brigadier-general, a Representative to the Thirty-ninth and Fortieth Congresses ; elected governor in 1867, re-elected in 1869 and again in 1876, and inaugurated President of the United States in 1877) ; James W. Nye, of Nevada (appointed governor of Nevada Terri- tory in 1861, and served as a United States Sena- tor from 1865 to 1873) ; John Pool, of North Carolina (State senator from 1856 to 1865 ; mem- ber of the State constitutional convention in 1865. and served as a United States Senator from 1869 until 1873) ; Richard Yates, of Illinois (governor from 1861 to 1865 and a United States Senator from 1865 to 1871) ; Members of the Thirty-ninth Congress.
Horatio C. Burchard, of Illinois (member of the State legislature from 1863 to 1866; elected a Representative to the Forty-first Congress and re-elected to the Forty-second, Forty- third, Forty-fourth and Forty-fifth Con- gresses) ; Burton C. Cook (member of the State senate of Illinois from 1852 to 1860, member of the peace conference which met at Washington in 1861, and a Representative to the Thirty-ninth, Fortieth and Forty-first Congresses) ; Charles B. Farwell (re-elected county clerk of Cook County in 1857; chairman of the board of supervisors in 1868, appointed national bank examiner in 1869, a Representative to the Forty-second, Forty-third and Forty-seventh Congresses and elected to the Senate of the United States in 1887) ; John B. Hay (State attorney for the twen- ty-fourth judicial district of Illinois for eight years, served in the Union Army during the Civil
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war and elected a Representative to the Forty- first and Forty-second Congresses ) ; John L. Bev- eridge (practiced law in Chicago, served four years in the Union Army as major and colonel of cavalry; sheriff of Cook County from 1866 to 1868, a State senator, and a Representative to the Forty-second Congress and elected governor of Illinois in 1873) ; John A. Logan (Presidential elector in 1856; elected to the Thirty-sixth and Thirty-seventh Congresses; reached the rank of major-general in the Civil war, appointed minister to Mexico in 1865 but declined, elected to the Fortieth and Forty-first Congresses, and served as a United States Senator from 1871 to 1877, re- elected in 1879 and 1885) ; all of Illinois. Carl Schurz, of Missouri (brigadier-general of volun- teers in the Union Army ; delegate to the Chicago convention in 1868, served as a United States Senator from 1869 to 1875, Secretary of the Interior from 1877 to 1881 and editor of the New York Evening Post from 1881 to 1884); and Jerome B. Chaffee, Delegate from Colorado Ter- ritory; Members of the Forty-second Congress. (Mr. Silver was a frequent guest at the homes of Salmon P. Chase and General John A. Logan and also at those of Governors Richard Yates and Richard J. Oglesby of Illinois and J. Q. A. King of Kentucky, John L. Beveridge, Shelby Cullom, Lyman Trumbull, Burton C. Cook, the Honor- able Lewis C. Ellsworth (of Naperville), John Dean Caton, E. W. Eames, Joseph E. Porter, John Hapeman, of Ottawa, and others) ; Lyman J. Gage ( who served as Secretary of the Treasury under Mckinley and Roosevelt). Carter H. Har- rison (elected mayor of Chicago in 1879-1881- 1883 and 1885), Arthur Caton, Marshall Field, Potter Palmer, Joseph Medill, John M. Pullman, S. P. Rounds ( Public Printer ), John V. Farwell, Francis A. Eastman, Major E. F. C. Klokke, Colonel Albert Jenks, D. W. Page (of Culver, Page and Hoyne), Charles Guenther and Charles Burrell of Chicago.
On the 26th of March, 1873, Governor John L. Beveridge (a warm personal friend of Mr. Silver's), appointed him Commissioner to the International Exposition at Vienna; an honor, which, owing to illness, he was unable to accept. In 1874, he was exalted to the Sublime Degree of Royal Arch, Chapter No. 60, Royal Arch Masons (Grand Chapter of the State of Illinois). and appointed by President Grant: Marshal for Dakota Territory, which later, was changed to
that of Receiver of the United States Land Office at Denver, Colorado. He had contracted a severe cold, which developed into congestion of the lungs; and, as they remained impaired, his physicians insisted that he remove to Colorado, firmly convinced that he would be greatly bene- fited, if not entirely restored to health, by the change of climate. So Mr. Silver (leaving his family to join him later), went to Denver to reside, served his official term there, and in 1876 received the appointment from the National Council of Union League of America : of national deputy for the State of Colorado.
On the 27th of April, 1877, on recommendation of General John A. Logan, and with the support of the entire Illinois Representation in both Houses of Congress, President Grant appointed Mr. Silver, Superintendent of The Mint of the United States, at Denver, a position which he held for eight consecutive years, and upon his retirement he was presented with an exceptionally beautiful, gold-headed cane, appropriately in- scribed, as a parting gift of the numerous .em- ployees. In 1879, he became president of the Tribune Publishing Company (one of the two leading newspapers of the city), and was also honored by the United States Circuit Court, with the appointment of cashier and auditor of the Denver and Rio Grande Railway (one of the most important roads in the state). In 1882, Mr. Silver was elected Vice President of The National Mining and Industrial Exposition Association.
In 1883, Mr. and Mrs. Silver celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of their marriage, with a large reception. Owing to the absence (in September) of relatives, who were particularly desirous of being present, the event was post- poned until the 21st of November. On this occa- sion, the stately home was ablaze with light, and the decorations would have been difficult to sur- pass. The color scheme was white and green for the reception room, pink and white for the draw- ing room, crimson for the dining room, yellow for the library, and the hall entirely in green. A huge bell of bride roses, camellias, and lilies of the valley, placed in a tower of ivy and white satin ribbons ; two immense hearts, one of white and the other of pink carnations, tuberoses, and lilies, bearing the monograms : "H. S." and "E. M. S."; and large silver baskets filled with bride roses and maidenhair ferns, their handles tied with white and silver gauze ; were universally admired.
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The wide doorways were draped with portieres of Honorable Otto Mears and Mrs. Mears, the Hon- smilax, and cords and tassels of carnations and orable Isaac Gotthelf and Mrs. Gotthelf, Professor Aaron Gove and Mrs. Gove, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Hall, Mr. and Mrs. Rodney Curtis, Mr. and Mrs. James F. Matthews, the Reverend A. M. Weeks, and Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius Ferris. A very enjoyable event of the evening, was the coming (in a body), of the brilliantly uniformed "Silver Light Cavalry" (named in honor of Mr. Silver ), to offer their congratulations; Captain E. B. Sleeth graciously proffering his handsome sword that it might be used by the happy bride to cut her cake. roesbuds. Hundreds of half opened roses ap- peared to be growing from the mossy beds which formed the top of each mantel, and waxen tapers, in tall silver candelabra, shed their soft light on a scene of exceptional beauty. A stringed orches- tra was hidden behind a screen of smilax and white roses, and a bank of palms and grasses. The wedding cake, adorned with orange blossoms, cupids, and pink hearts pierced by silver arrows, occupied a conspicuous place under a canopy of ivy, surmounted by a flight of snow-white doves. The gift room, on the second floor, which was In 1877, at the earnest request of Mr. William B. Strong, President of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (one of Mr. Silver's close friends), he accepted the position of secretary and treasurer of their consolidated lines in Cali- fornia, and the family removed to San Bernar- dino, where the offices were then located and remained there a short time before they estab- lished a home in Los Angeles, where they have since resided. thrown open to the guests, was filled with re- membrances : mainly of silver, cut glass, bronze, marble, honiton and point lace, sent from different parts of the United States, and from abroad. Among the most notable were : a magnificent silver and gold coffee and tea set ; a silver tea and choco- late set ; a large chest of polished bird's-eye maple, lined with blue satin and filled with silver; two smaller ones ; hammered and repoussé silver fruit and nut bowls; crystal and gilt candlesticks; a In company with the Honorable J. F. Crank, he applied for and was granted a franchise for the first cable road, for which they paid the city ten thousand dollars, as a guarantee that the road would be built and successfully operated. gold soup ladle and gravy spoons, with antique silver handles, copied from the Egyptian originals in the British Museum ; and a carving set of five pieces of the finest steel, with elk horn handles heavily mounted in embossed silver. The groom's gifts to his bride of a quarter of a century were : A brooch in the form of a lover's knot, encrusted with twenty-five diamonds (his own design), and a pair of diamond ear-rings, which accompanied it. A white plush case, embellished with silver corners and monogram, and lined with tufted white satin, containing an exquisite collar and handkerchief of rose point and duchess lace; and an oriental vase of carved ivory, with intricately wrought handles and bands of gold and silver, set with gray and yellow cats'-eyes, and filled with orchids, bride rosebuds and lilies of the valley. were the lovely gifts which the young son and daughter presented to their mother.
The several hundred guests included many of the most prominent in the state, among whom were: Governor James B. Grant and Mrs. Grant, Judge R. E. Goodell and Miss Goodell, Secretary of State Melvin Edwards, State Treasurer Frederick W. Walsen and Mrs. Walsen, Senator N. P. Hill, Chief Justice William E. Beck and Mrs. Beck, Ex-Chief Justice Elbert, the Honor- able W. A. H. Loveland and Mrs. Loveland, the"
In 1889, Mr. Silver tendered his resignation as secretary and treasurer of the California Central Railway Company ; the directors expressing their high regard for him personally, and their appre- ciation of his executive ability, and strict integrity in the following resolutions: "WHEREAS, In the course of events the time has arrived for the dissolution of this directory of the California Central Railway Company and the severance of the ties that have bound it to the managers of that corporation ; and, WHEREAS, The relation has always been marked with unanimity, harmony and good-fellowship; therefore, be it Resolved, That we will always look back to our membership of this directory with gratification and with pleas- ant recollections of our relationship with all its officers, and particularly with the Honorable Herman Silver, the efficient Secretary and Treas- urer, with whom our intercourse has been more frequent. Resolved, That in our long business connection, we have always found him character- ized by that affability, promptness, energy and integrity that have won for him so many friends in this community, who will ever continue to
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