Loomis Library & Community Learning Center

LOOMIS BASIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY’S THROWBACK THURSDAY: Charles M. Silva, Newcastle Nurseryman

Charles Moore Silva, one of Newcastle’s pioneer nurserymen, was always jovial and always had a good word for everybody, kind in his ways, honest in his dealings, held in high esteem by all who knew him.

His early life is a bit of an enigma. He was born on Staten Island, New York, in 1823. Nothing is known of his family. It was said he came to California in 1849, but that date may be a few years early.

His wife was Jane McCauslan, a native of Scotland. She arrived in New York in 1841 at age 17, traveling with other family members from Greenock, a town in the west central lowlands.

Charles and Jane were married in New York City in 1852. Their first child, Ed, was born in 1854 at James Point, an early-day settlement on the American River near the Rattlesnake Bridge. Two daughters, Lizzie and Jennie, followed.

At Rattlesnake, Charles was a merchant and served on election boards. In 1868, he moved his family to Newcastle and began cultivating fruits and berries, selling his fruits in nearby towns. In May 1875, he and his son formed a partnership and started a new firm -- C.M. Silva and Son. Their trade was “producing and shipping fruit.”

The Silvas were not just farmers. They developed a nursery business, selling trees and plants. In 1879, they promoted the emerging orchard industry, distributing guidebooks on the culture of small fruits. Eventually, they opened a nursery in Lincoln on property along what is now Highway 193, east of town.

Charles “dropped dead” on Election Day, November 1894. Having done his civic duty, he had just returned to Lincoln from Newcastle where he had gone to vote. He was a well-known member of the Newcastle community, mourned by many, a member of Placer Lodge No. 52, Knights of Pythias, and Delaware Tribe No. 48, Improved Order of Red Men.