Silvia McDowell was born in Casey, Illinois in 1882, but she was mostly raised in Ouray, Colorado. Most of her adult life was spent in Denver, where she worked as a registered nurse. Silvia was married twice, first to a man named Lindsey, then to Earl M. Cavnah.
In 1956, after being widowed for a few years, Silvia joined her brothers in Centralia, Washington. She died in Oct. 1957.