San
Joaquin County
Biographies
MANUEL SILVA
As general manager of the Associated
Milk Products, with headquarters at 53 Clay Street, San Francisco, Manuel Silva
is making a decided success of the undertaking, and fully ninety per cent of
the milk produced in the San Joaquin Valley is handled by this company. He was born on Pico Isle, one of the groups
of the Azores, August 23, 1875, a son of John and Mary Conceicao
(Silveira) Silva, both natives of the Isle of
Pico. Manuel is one of a family of five
children and was able to attend the public school in the village of Candelaria,
Isle of Pico. At the age of fifteen he
left the home ranch and began working as a clerk in a general merchandise store
in Candelaria, helping to support the family for three and a half years.
At nineteen years of age he left his
native land on board the S. S. “Peninsula,” a Portuguese liner, and soon after
his arrival in the United States entered the employ of the woolen mills at East
Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he was occupied for three years. Here he made the acquaintance of John Enos,
and in partnership they conducted the California Hotel in Brooklyn. After one year, John Enos retired from the
business and Manuel Silva successfully conducted the hotel for thirteen years,
during which time he made a number of visits to his old home. His father passed away in 1896, aged
sixty-five years.
Nine years ago Mr. Silva brought his
mother to Stockton, where he has built a comfortable residence for her and
where he resides. His first start in the
dairy business was made on Roberts Isle, where he had a small ranch in
partnership with M. R. Dias, whose sketch also appears in this history. The business venture proved a success, and
gradually a large business was built up and more land was added by lease. The development of the Riverside Farm has
been accomplished solely by Mr. Silva, and it is with just pride that he refers
to its wonderful development. In 1918 he
became a director in the Associated Milk Producers of San Francisco, which has
proven a success as a co-operative marketing company. In 1921 he became manager of the association,
which position he still holds, being the successor of Mr. Frank Machado, its
former manager. He was instrumental in
the organization of the Portuguese-American Grocery Company, a wholesale and
retail establishment of Stockton.
Twenty-two years ago Mr. Silva received his United States citizenship
papers in Brooklyn, and ever since has been a staunch Republican in politics. He is past president of the I. D. E. S. and
an active member of the U. P. C. Mr.
Silva makes his home with his mother in Stockton and enjoys the good-will and
esteem of his business associates.
Transcribed by V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Page
1637. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
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