Stephen William Silver was born to Stephen Winckworth Silver and his wife, Frances Susan Adams, on 7 May 1817. He was a brother of Hugh Silver. They were London merchants, who took over running

S. W. Silver and Co. S is the nineteenth letter of the English alphabet. S may also refer to: History * an Anglo-Saxon charter's number in Peter Sawyer (historian), Peter Sawyer's, catalogue Language and linguistics * Long s (ſ), a form of the lower-case letter s ...

from their father in 1846. He was responsible for developing the company's industrial presence in the area to the west of

North Woolwich North Woolwich is an area in the London Borough of Newham in East London. It is located on the northern bank of the River Thames, across the river from Woolwich. It is connected to Woolwich by the Woolwich Ferry and Woolwich foot tunnel. De ...

which became known as

Silvertown Silvertown is a district in the London Borough of Newham, in east London, England. It lies on the north bank of the Thames and was historically part of the parishes of West Ham and East Ham, hundred of Becontree, and the historic county ...

taking its name from the company. Stephen married Ellen Warlters on 5 February 1852 and Sarah Constance Miles on 13 May 1875. He had a son, Stephen William Miles Silver. He resided at 3 York Gate, located at an entrance to

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...

. Here he housed his considerable library which became known as the York Gate Library. About 1879, he also bought a property, renamed as Silverhope, in New Zealand, and his New Zealand bird collection (catalogued by Sir Walter Buller) is in

Oxford University Museum of Natural History The Oxford University Museum of Natural History, sometimes known simply as the Oxford University Museum or OUMNH, is a museum displaying many of the University of Oxford's natural history specimens, located on Parks Road in Oxford, England. It a ...

. He died, after a brief cold, at the country home he bought in 1886, Letcombe Manor,

Letcombe Regis Letcombe Regis is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred the Vale of White Horse to Oxfordshire. The village is on Letcombe Brook at the foot of the Berkshire ...

, on 7 April 1905. His wife, Sarah, died in 1908. He left an estate of £83,462.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silver, Stephen William 1819 births 1905 deaths Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society