Samuel Silvus #339c

My great Uncle Sam Silvus had a very sad life. His first wife deserted him and he had the marriage annulled in 1859. Even though his brother, Nathaniel, who had several children, came up with the necessary $300 to escape the conflict, Sam was drafted near the end of the Civil War. This letter shows that on the date Lincoln was assassinated, he had not left Columbus. He then married Elizabeth Smith and had two sons, who died young, and two daughters who were blind at birth. My aunt has a picture of Sam Silvus with one of his sons. The son had died but Sam Silvus took the dead child to town, propped the child up on his lap with his eyes opened and had a photographer take their picture. It is one of the saddest pictures I have ever seen.

Judy Bedford