Gabriel and Ida Mary Silfvast and Emil Silfvast
Page by Sue and Bill Silfvast with contributions from Bob Leathers
Life Story
1873 September 26: Gabriel Silfvast was born in Finland on September 26, 1873 to Anders and Maria Silfvast. (Ancestry)
1873 May 1: Ida Mary Vasti was born in Finland. (Ancestry)
1890: Gabriel immigrated from Finland to the United States. (1900 US Census)
1892: Ida Mary Vasti immigrated from Finland to the United States. (1900 US Census)
1896 February 1: Gabriel married Ida Mary Vasti in Hanna, Carbon, Wyoming.
1900: Gabriel, age 27, was living in Hanna, Wyoming with his wife Mary and family. He was a coal miner by occupation. (1900 US Census)
1900: Gabriel most likely worked in the Hanna No. 1 mine. The No. 1 was the only mine in Hanna producing coal at the time.
1900-1910: Gabriel Silfvast, in the center of the picture below, was the leader of the Hanna Finnish Band. The image was taken in Hanna's Finn Hall.
1900-1910: Gabriel Silfvast founded and directed the Hanna, Wyoming Symphony Orchestra at the beginning of the 20th century. (Sue Silfvast. 2022)
Hanna Symphony Orchestra. Hanna Finn Hall. (Not dated) (Silfvast Collection. from Bill and Sue Silfvast. 2022)
1908 March 28: Gabriel's brother, Emil Silfvast, was killed in the Union Pacific Coal Company's No. 1 mine explosion in Hanna.
1910: Gabriel, age 37, moved his family to Diamondville, Uinta, Wyoming where he was in the retail grocery business. (1910 US Census)
Silvast and Kangas. Diamondville, Wyoming. (Silfvast Collection. 2022)
1927 May 1: Gabriel died in Eureka, California at the age of 53 and was buried in Diamondville, Wyoming. (Ancestry)
1957 January 4: Ida Mary died in Salt Lake City, Utah, at the age of 83, and was buried in Diamondville, Wyoming. (Ancestry)
Diamondville, Uinta, Wyoming
Silfvast. Ida Mary and Garbriel. Diamondville, Wyoming. (Ancestry)
Silfvast, Emil Aka: Silfast, Emil (MIR); Silfvast, E. (MM)
Born: 1885
Died: Mar. 28, 1908
Age: 23
Hanna Monument: At the top of Hanna No. 1 Hill stands a Memorial Monument dedicated to the men who lost their lives in the explosions of the Union Pacific Coal Company's No. 1 Mine in Hanna. The Monument also marks the area where 28 of the men were killed, but not recovered and their bodies remain at the bottom of the mine.
Note: Emil Silvast, Aka Emil Silfast worked as a Timberman's helper in the No. 1 mine. On Saturday, March 28th, while the mine was idle, a fire crew consisting of 18 men including Emil entered the Number 1 mine to put out a fire burning in entry number 10. The mine exploded about three in the afternoon killing all the men in the fire crew. A rescue crew was organized and entered the mine to search for survivors. A second explosion occurred the same day about ten thirty in the evening killing an additional 41 miners. Emil's body was not removed from the mine. (BL)
Note: Emil was killed in the March 28, 1908 explosion of Union Pacific Coal Company's No. 1 mine in Hanna. His body was not recovered from the mine. (BL)
More at: Hanna Miner Monument
More at: Hanna Mine Explosion Monument on Hanna No. 1 Hill
Born: 1885
Died: Mar. 28, 1908
Age: 23
Hanna Monument: At the top of Hanna No. 1 Hill stands a Memorial Monument dedicated to the men who lost their lives in the explosions of the Union Pacific Coal Company's No. 1 Mine in Hanna. The Monument also marks the area where 28 of the men were killed, but not recovered and their bodies remain at the bottom of the mine.
Note: Emil Silvast, Aka Emil Silfast worked as a Timberman's helper in the No. 1 mine. On Saturday, March 28th, while the mine was idle, a fire crew consisting of 18 men including Emil entered the Number 1 mine to put out a fire burning in entry number 10. The mine exploded about three in the afternoon killing all the men in the fire crew. A rescue crew was organized and entered the mine to search for survivors. A second explosion occurred the same day about ten thirty in the evening killing an additional 41 miners. Emil's body was not removed from the mine. (BL)
Note: Emil was killed in the March 28, 1908 explosion of Union Pacific Coal Company's No. 1 mine in Hanna. His body was not recovered from the mine. (BL)
More at: Hanna Miner Monument
More at: Hanna Mine Explosion Monument on Hanna No. 1 Hill
Hanna Mine Explosion Monuments on Hanna No. 1 Hill. (Image by Bob Leathers. Sept. 2023)
Memorial Monument to Mine Explosion Victims (Image by Bob Leathers)