This year at the Washington Parish Fair, the family genealogy exhibit will feature the Emmanuel Sylvest-Nancy Warner Kennedy and Francis Sylvest-Martha Stevenson families. In researching these families, the following are other names that are related to this lineage: Creel, Miller, Welch, Corkern, Stafford, Erwin, Elliot, McDaniel, Wallace, Passman, and others.
Francis Sylvest was born in Portugal in 1808. As a young man, he left his home country and sailed to the United States. He married Martha Stevenson and they had eight children. They lived in Washington Parish and surrounding areas of southeastern Louisiana for decades.
Emmanuel also immigrated from Portugal and he met Francis in New Orleans. Emmanuel was lonely, broke and unable to speak English. Francis took him in and gave him the surname Sylvest. He married Nancy Warner Kennedy and they had eight children.
One of Francis’ sons, Nehemiah, married Emmanuel’s daughter, Lenora Jane. They built the Sylvest Cabin which is in Mile Branch Settlement.
Pictures and articles about the Sylvest families will be on display in the Mt. Hermon Schoolhouse in Mile Branch Settlement during the fair. Contact Beverly Taylor at 515-7604 or Lee Davis at 515-2264 for further information.
