Pictured here are Samuel Washington Silver (1884-1949) and Mamie J. Pendley (1882-1956), with their younger children. Sam Sr. is holding Samuel Washington Silver, Jr. (1920-1998), while Mary Irene (1913-1979) and Myrtle Melvina (1909-2000) are seated to Mamie’s left. Standing behind them are Charles Patton Silver (1916-1988) and Margaret Eileen (1918-1985).
At the far right of the photo is Sam’s mother, Martha Melvina “Vinie” Thomas (born 1859). Her husband, Elisha P. Silver, passed away at age 63 just a few months prior to this photo, which was taken in 1922. When she died in 1931, Vinie was buried beside him in a small graveyard on the mountain near Dogwood Flats.
Sam and Mamie’s oldest child, Viola (1904-1922), is already married to Robert Burleson. The oldest son, Robert Cleveland Silver (1906-1986), is also missing from the photo; he may have been working away from home. As is common for most families of that period, Sam and Mamie had lost a child, Cora, who was born in 1910 and died at only 5 years old.
Sam Silver was a Baptist minister. He and his family lived on Upper Hanging Rock in Mitchell County.
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