Merced County Biographies

ANDREW F. SILVA

Transcribed by Kathy Sedler

This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm

 
        Within the city limits of Gustine on the southwest lies the small ranch 
of six and a half acres, which for the past ten years has been the home of 
Andrew F. Silva. His birth occurred at San Lorenzo, Cal., August 4, 1885, a son 
of Andrew Silva and Mary (Cardoza) D'Souza, both natives of the town of Fayal of 
the Azores Islands, who came to the United States when young and were married in 
Boston, Mass. In 1871 they came to California and settled at San Lorenzo, where 
the father worked for wages on farms until 1903. They then removed to Gustine, 
which at that time was a flag station on the railroad, and here a farm of 
sixty-six acres was purchased and the father engaged in the dairy business for 
the balance of his life. He was fifty-three years old when he died. The mother 
makes her home at Newman, aged sixty-eight years. There were eight children in 
this family, namely: John, Rose, Mary, Alice, and Anna, all deceased; the 
surviving members are Manuel, Joseph and Andrew F.
        Andrew F. Silva attended the public schools in Alameda County and was 
associated with his father in the dairy business at Gustine until his father 
passed away; he then bought the home place, which lies east of town about 
three-quarters of a mile, continued to run a dairy for several years, and then 
sold the cows and rented the land and moved onto his present home place, where 
he has built a substantial residence and necessary farm buildings.
        At Oakland, Cal., December 12, 1909, Mr. Silva was married to Miss Mary 
Rodrigues Silva, born at Fayal, Azores Islands, daughter of Antone Silva, a 
pioneer gold miner of California, who later returned to his native country, 
where he still lives. Mrs. Silva received her education in her native city. 
Three children constitute this family: Manuel, Antone, and Mary, the wife of our 
subject. Besides farming the home place, Mr. Silva writes life insurance for the 
Western States Life Insurance Company of San Francisco. In politics he is a 
Republican.
 
History of Merced County, California � Los Angeles, Historic Record Co., 1925
page 899-900