Byrl Edwin SYLVESTER

Park, Byrl and Edwin Jr. Sylvester
Composite image of Park, Byrl and Edwin (Jr.) Sylvester at approximately the same age.
Source photos courtesy of Plainview [MN] Area History Center; montage and editing courtesy of David Sylvester

Father: Edwin Lawrence SYLVESTER
Mother: Hettie L. DILLON 

                                                            _Caleb Barker SYLVESTER _
                             _George Washington SYLVESTER _|
                            |                              |_Joanna WHITNEY _________
 _Edwin Lawrence SYLVESTER _|
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|                           |_Matilda A. COOK _____________|
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|--Byrl Edwin SYLVESTER
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|                            ______________________________|
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|_Hettie L. DILLON _________|
                            |                               _________________________
                            |______________________________|
                                                           |_________________________

Notes

Updated May 14, 2011. Compiled by Howder (www.howderfamily.com) from the following source(s):

(1) 1895 Minnesota State Census, Wabasha Co., Plainview Village: Enumeration District 4; Schedule 37, page 18; June 25, 1895.

Byrl SYLVESTER is the son of E. L. and Hettie SYLVESTER. He is 2 years old and born in Minnesota.

(2) 1900 United States Census for Minnesota, Wabasha Co., Plainview Village: Supervisor's District 1; Enumeration District 155; Sheet 5B; June 7, 1900.

Byrl E. SYLVESTER is the son of Edwin L. and Hettie L. SYLVESTER. He is born October 1892 in Minnesota and is 7 years old.

(3) 1905 Minnesota State Census, Wabasha Co., Plainview Village: Enumeration District 5; Schedule Sheets 23-24; June 22, 1905.

Byrl E. SYLVESTER is the son of Edwin L. and Hettie L. SYLVESTER. He is 13 years old, born in Minnesota and is a student.

(4) 1910 United States Census for Minnesota, Wabasha Co., Plainview: Supervisory District 1, Enumeration District 156; Sheet 5B; April 19, 1910.

Byrl E. SYLVESTER is the son of Edwin L. and Hettie (listed as "Hetty") L. SYLVESTER. He is 17 years old and born in Minnesota.

(5) U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925 via Ancestry.com (source includes passport photo)

- Name: Byrl E SYLVESTER
- Birth Date: 28 Oct 1892
- Birth Place: Plainview, Minnesota
- Age: 24
- Residence: Plainview, Minnesota
- Occupation: Bank Clerk
- Passport Issue Date: 17 May 1917
- Father Name: Edwin L SYLVESTER
- Father's Birth Location: Minnesota
- Visiting: France
- Purpose: To join American Volunteer Motor Ambulance Corps
- Departing From: New York, NY; May 19, 1917

(6) New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 via Ancestry.com

- Name: Byrl SYLVESTER
- Arrival Date: 31 Oct 1917
- Birth Year: 1892
- Birth Location: Minnesota
- Birth Location Other: Plainview
- Age: 24
- Gender: Male
- Port of Departure: Bordeaux, France
- Port of Arrival: New York, New York
- Ship Name: Espagne

(7) Florida Death Index, 1877-1998 via Ancestry.com

- Name: Byrl Edwin SYLVESTER
- Death Date: 1918
- County of Death: Escambia
- State of Death: Florida
- Gender: Male

(8) U.S. Naval Deaths, World War I via Ancestry.com

- Given Name: Byrl (listed as "Bryl")
- Surname: SYLVESTER
- MI: Edwin
- Place of Death: naval air station, Pensacola, Fla.
- Death Date: June 19, 1918
- Cause of Death: killed in seaplane accident
- Next of Kin: Edwin SYLVESTER
- Relationship: father
- Next of Kin: Hattie SYLVESTER
- Relationship: mother Address: Plainview, Minn.
- Appointed: Minneapolis, Minn.
- Rank: quartermaster, second class
- Branch: U. S. Naval Reserve Force

(9) Manzow, Ron, ed., "The Sylvester Family of Plainview, Minnesota -- a collection of information taken from the Plainview News, other newspapers, letters, and diaries beginning in 1884" (Plainview, Minnesota: Plainview History Center, 2001).

- Was in Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity at the University of Minnesota. (page 86)
- Includes a comprehensive collection of all of his letters home during the first world war, plus articles and commemorations appearing after his untimely death in an airplane training accident. (pages 84-127).

(10) The History of Wabasha County [MN], 1920. Biography of Edwin L. SYLVESTER.

- "after a distinguished army record, gave his life in the cause of humanity in the world war."

(11) Byrl E. Sylvester Papers. Minnesota Historical Society. An Inventory of His Papers -- available online. Includes an extensive description of items included in this record.

This source includes a concise biography, quoted herein:

"Byrl Edwin SYLVESTER was born at Plainview, Minnesota on October 19, 1892 to Edwin L. and Hettie L. (DILLON) SYLVESTER. He graduated from Plainview High School in 1914... and attended the University of Minnesota for three years before leaving to work in the Plainview State Bank, of which his father was president.

SYLVESTER joined the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps, a unit of the American Red Cross, on April 24, 1917. He left for service in France in May 1917, where he worked as an ambulance driver until he was wounded on September 12, 1917. he was subsequently decorated with the French Croix de Guerre (Cross of War) for his hard work and bravery.

SYLVESTER returned to Minnesota after his recovery as something of a local war hero, and gave several speeches in southeastern Minnesota in support of the war effort. In November he enlisted in the Naval Aviation Corps, and on December 1 began a 3-month course at Dunwoody Institute, Minneapolis, as part of this program. He next went on to the Boston School of Technology to study aviation, and then was transferred to the Naval Air Station at Pensacola, Florida, to complete his training. SYLVESTER was killed in an airplane collision while training over Pensacola Bay on June 19, 1918. His body was returned to Plainview, where funeral services were conducted and he was interred.

SYLVESTER was survived by his parents, brothers Park D. and Edwin L., Jr., and sisters Nettie Caldwell and Meta Holmes."

(12) George W. Sylvester family reunion. Plainview, MN (August 16-18, 2002).

- The Byrl SYLVESTER headstone at Greenwood cemetery (latitude / longitude N44°10.165' / W92°10.402') reads "Ensign / Byrl Sylvester / B.(?) O. M. U. S. N. R. F. / 1892 - 1918."

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Additional Notes.

Mayflower lineage: Howland/Tilley -1; Hope Howland -2; Hope Chipman -3; Samuel Cobb -4; Chipman Cobb -5; Andrew Cobb -6 (DAR/SAR ancestor); Hannah Cobb -7; Joanna Whitney -8; George Sylvester -9; Edwin Sylvester -10; Byrl Sylvester -11.