William Sylvester Interview

Collection

Identifier: SC 517

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Letter, and typed summary of interview (3 leaves) with Leonard Sackett concerning Humboldt Farm, owned by James J. Hill. Includes mention of Humboldt Farm's managers, a man named Valentine and a man named Donaldson, and of Donaldson's marriage to Belle Ferguson, a local school teacher.

Dates

1955.

Creator

Sylvester, William, 1873- (Person)

Access

The collection is open under the rules and regulations of the NDSU Archives.

Copyrights

Copyrights to this collection is held by the NDSU Archives.

Biography

William Sylvester was born July 27, 1873 near Toronto, Canada, son of Richard and Mary (Kirk) Sylvester. Family homesteaded near Humboldt, Minnesota in 1882. He married Isabelle “Belle” Ferguson on December 3, 1902 in Kittson County, Minnesota Together they had four children, Marjorie, Maribel, Arthur, and Warren. He farmed in the Humboldt area until 1917, then he bought the Anderson and Florance implement business at Humboldt, and was also house painter. He died on September 20, 1957, and was buried in the Greenwood Cemetery, Hallock, Minnesota.