Shasta Co., CA Biographies

GEORGE W1LLI.AM SILVERTHORNE	LUCY SILVERTHORNE
1816-1894	1830- 1910

Dr. George W. Silverthorne was born in England, 1816, and migrated to the United States in the late 1840's. He lived on the east coast for a time before coming to Shasta County. It is not known just when he arrived here, but records do show that he was operating two ferry boats on the Pitt River in 1853. Here he met and married a full blooded Wintoon Lady, Lucy. They lived in a log cabin Dr. Silverthorne built on the Pitt River. They had five children:

Rory	b. 1855	d. 1958
Mary	b. 1859	d. 1936
Pat	b. Jun-25-1863	d. Oct-24-1934
William	b. 1864	d. 1918
Tillie	--	--

In 1852 to 1853, Dr. Silverthorne was among the original stockholders and the Treasurer of the original Williams & Kellinger Gold, Silver & Mining Co., along with Charles Williams, John Kellinger, Hogue Worley, Major Pierson B. Reading & J. J. Bell. Theirs was the original discovery claim in the Pittsburg Mining District which later became Copper City.

In 1864, the Board of Supervisors granted him a renewal of his ferry license for an additional ten years, during this time he constructed a road along the north side of the Pitt River between his two ferries and the McCloud River.

He was elected three times to the Office of County Surveyor on the Republican Ticket in 1868, 1872 and 1876.

Dr. Silverthorne was a guide for Livingston Stone, the head of the Baird Fish Hatchery, when they explored the Grey Rocks together in 1875. Dr. Silverthorne's name is carved inside the Baird Caves, now known as Shasta Caverns.

Lucy Silverthorne died December 8, 1910. Dr. Silverthorne died January 29, 1894, they are both buried in the Silverthorne Cemetery.

Dr. Silverthorne established the Silverthorne Cemetery on a flat place atop a hill about 400 yards from the ferry. At the completion of Shasta Dam, all the graves were moved to their present location at the Central Valley Indian Cemetery.

Source: Shasta Historical Society

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