02/22/2026
Silas Sills would have been a familiar face for residents of Holland as early as the 1870’s, as he ventured daily over the picturesque River Avenue Bridge for business downtown just like many Northsiders in his day. He was no stranger, he was born out East and he had learned phrases in Dutch to help him prosper here. What set Sills apart though, was that he was a Black man at a time when Holland had a population of just one Black resident.
Accounts of Silas Sills say he arrived in Holland in 1873 from New Brunswick, New Jersey or New York - at least the year is seemingly confirmed in The Holland City News concerning the 16th anniversary of his arrival - in the article he quipped that he came here “broke” and has since held his own, but always been “busted”.
We find evidence of Sills in Holland for the first time in the 1880 Census living with the prominent and respected attorney Manly D. Howard. This home would have been a stately home on a North ridge of Lake Macatawa. Howard had ample ties out East and could very well have met Sill’s acquaintance on one of his numerous trips - at this point, Howard’s eyesight was failing rapidly if he wasn’t already blind and he would have needed a trusted helper.
Following his work with the Howard’s, Silas had found employment operating the complementary bus for the Holland City Hotel. The bus ran from the train depot to the location of The Warm Friend and according to oral history, Silas even learned Dutch to communicate with newcomers and visitors.
In 1885, Sills was the first to raise the alarm at about 4:30 in the morning after finding a wounded man near the hotel barns - saving his life. He also helped foil a robbery in during his employment at the hotel.
When 102 year old pioneer Anthonie Vanderkolk died, Silas moved to his “sand farm” just north of Pine Creek Corners. Today, this land is across from West Ottawa High School’s North Buiding. It is there we find him as a boarder on the 1900 US Census living with the Vanderkolk widow, an unmarried adult daughter, and a 9 year old granddaughter - all three generations going by the name Jinnie.
Silas died May 12 1907 of Asthma and emphysema at the Vanderkolk farm, Miss Jennie Vanderkolk was the informant on his death certificate. Two days later, Silas was laid to rest at Pilgrim Home Cemetery in a now unmarked grave with the Wesleyan Methodist Pastor Allen R. Merrill conducting the service.
No relatives for Sills could be found at the publishing of his death notice in The Holland City News on May 17, 1907. His life before co ming to Holland is still being researched, but the story of a valued early Black Northside resident deserves to be told and celebrated.
