Maplewood History: Silence Is Golden – Nellie F. Bell & Charles S. Silence

The following post is 100% AI free.

I have known for 23 years or so that someone with the last name Silence was somehow connected with the early history of our town.  To recap a bit, in 2002, after answering a call by Barry Greenberg, I helped to start the Maplewood Historical Society. Our first project was to set up a display of historic photographs in one of the vacant stores on Sutton.

To do this, we put out a public call for photographs.  We also copied some of the images in the collection of our library.  We did not have the capability to digitize them.  That came later.   I took the actual photographs to Kinko’s and enlarged them on their color copy machine.  I remember doing this, at least, for several years.  Those large copies are still in the collection at our library.

One of the library’s images that we copied and enlarged was of the Sutton Mansion.  It knocked me out back then.  It still does.  It was on the back of that image that I first saw the name Silence.

Since then, I have seen it a few more times but not enough to learn about who they were.  But now Ryan Parnas, a family descendant, has very generously allowed us to copy his extensive and impressive research.   After you’ve taken a look at it, I think you’ll agree…Silence is definitely golden.   More solid gold nuggets from the rich vein of Maplewood history!

This is the first image I ever saw of the Sutton Mansion.

Here is the back of it.

This was Charles S. Silence in 1899.  This is from the amazing collection of images and documents lent by Ryan Parnas.  All of the images in this post are from his collection unless otherwise noted.

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch   April 30, 1899

Charles S. Silence ca. 1900.

Charles S. Silence ca. 1901, 2329 Rutger.

Charles S. Silence 1914 (Lyle Ave.)

Charles S. Silence ca. 1915

Nellie F. Bell and a neighbor.  ca. 1915  The home behind them still exists.  It can be found at 7229 Moller Ave.

Nellie F. Bell ca.1915 (scaring crows away from the orange trees)

“1917-5-6”, Charles S. Silence and Nellie F. Bell, Creve Coeur Park.

The Silences
• 1856 – 1931 Samuel F Silence
• 1860 – 1892 Mary B Horner
o 1878 – ???? Richard
o 1879 – 1899 William
o 1888 – ???? Walter
• 1865 – 1949 Mary I Humphreys
o 1896 – 1972 Charles S Silence (married Nellie F Bell)
▪ 1918 – 1983 Charls S Silence Jr
▪ 1921 – 2008 Bettie B Silence (married Harold D Cornwell)
▪ 1924 – 2017 Mary F Silence (married Robert W Cornwell)
o 1900 – 1900 Earl ? Silence

Charles S Silence Sr worked for Mo Pac Lines. He and his immediate family lived
for a few years in Los Angeles (following several of the Bells) but Charles S Sr returned to
Maplewood before Mary F was born. He and his immediate family may have lived in Little Rock for a time around 1928 but returned to Maplewood again shortly after. They remained in Maplewood until the early 1930s, likely when the house at 7456 Manchester was sold. Ryan Parnas

Ca. 1925, Nellie F. and Charles S. Silence and family.

“1925-5” Charles S. Jr., Mary F. and Bettie B. Silence.

1930, Bettie, Mary, Charles Jr. and Spot.  The location where this image was most likely made was the yard of Mary Wilgus Sutton Humphreys Harrison, now The J.B. Smith Funeral Home.  The location today is occupied by Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken.  The view is to the east.

1930. Mary and Bettie Silence.  7456 Manchester.  This one very handily has the address in the title.  There is a recognizable building at the left rear.  See next image.

It is the building that housed the Roeper-Danz Ford dealership on the NE corner of Margarette and Manchester.

From the bible of Nellie F. Bell.

Well, reader, I hope by now that you are as stunned as I am.  Please keep in mind that what is contained in this post is just a small part of the research that the descendant of the Silence family, Mr. Ryan Parnas, has done and shared with us.  It is absolutely a first class job.  Thank you, Mr. Parnas.  Longtime librarian (now retired) Dawn Yourtee, also a member of this family, had a hand in this as well.  Thanks, Dawn.

Readers, you can expect several more posts from this incredible amount of material on the Silence and Bell families and others.

Winter has finally made it to Maplewood.  We’re expecting the first hard freeze of the season but it is supposed to warm up again later in the week.

I appreciate your interest and support.

Doug Houser    November 10, 2025