Bio of Edwin L. Sylvester (b.1859), Wabasha Co., MN USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor, OR the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. Made available to The USGenWeb Archives by: Martha J. Berryman 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 qualitieswhich 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. Edwin L. Sylvester was married November 22, 1885, to Hettie L. Dillon, and this union has been blessed with five children: Nettie, Meta, Park D., Byrl E. and Edwin L., Jr. Nettie is the wife of James P. Caldwell, a physician and surgeon of St. Paul, Minn. Meta is the wife of Roy J. Holmes, a well-known educator. Byrl E., after a distinguished army record, gave his life in the cause of humanity in the world war. Park D. and Edwin L., Jr., are at home. Hettie L. Dillon, now Mrs. Edwin L. Sylvester, was born at St. Lawrence, Jefferson County, N.Y., daughter of Albert and Helen P. (Goodenough) Dillon, April 6, 1863. Albert Dillon served in Co. E., 186th New York Volunteer Infantry, attained the rank of corporal, and was killed at the Battle of Petersburg, April 2, 1865. Thus left a widow, Mrs Dillon later married R. W. Chapman, who brought the family to Minnesota in 1869, and settled on a farm near Elgin in this county. The young daughter, who was six years old when the family arroved, attended the schools of her neighborhood and graduated from the Plainview High School. Mrs. Sylvester has been active in all those lines which made for helpful motherhood and helpful womanhood. Her first interest has been her home, and to her family she devoted the major part of her time until the children began to reach more mature years. But this has not been the compass of her work. She is a pillar in the Christian Church, prominent in its various interests, superintendent of the Sunday School and president of its Ladies' Union. In the Eastern Star, the Rebekah Degree and the Ladies' Circle of the D.A.R. she has occupied the highest local offices. One of the founders and a charter member of the Travelers Club, she helped shape its policies, as chairman of the entertainment committee for many years. In pursuing these various interests she has kept well abreast of those movements which are tending to enlarge a woman's scope of influence, and the granting of suffrage rights to women has brought to her the high historical honor of being the first chairman of the Republican Ladies of Wabasha County. Note: This biopgraphy was taken from the book "History of Wabasha County" copyrighted in 1920.