Henry was the father of well known Denver Madam Miss Mattie Silks.

WE ARE PRESENTLY ACTIVELY LOOKING FOR HENRY'S FINAL RESTING PLACE.

Henry was born on 24 Nov 1807 in Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania to Peter Nimon 1777 – and Sarah Potts 1781 – .

On 27 Dec 1832 at 25 years old, Henry married Miss Sarah Ann West in Brownsville, Fayette, Pennsylvania.

Henry appears first in the 1840 Census:

1840 United States Federal Census about Henry Nimon
Name: Henry Nimon
Home in 1840 (City, County, State): Luzerne, Fa

Henry also appears in the 1850 census, this time with detail for his family and they have now moved to Indiana, where most history books have Mattie Silks as being born:

1850 United States Federal Census about Henry Niman
Name: Henry Niman
[Henry Nimon]
[Henry Neimon]
[Henry Neiman]
Age: 40
Birth Year: abt 1810
Birthplace: Pennsylvania
Home in 1850: Erie, Miami, Indiana
Gender: Male
Family Number: 369
Household Members:
Name Age
Henry Niman 40
Sarah Niman 43
Elizabeth Niman 17
Leah H Niman 14
Sarah E Niman 11
Mary E Niman 8
Martha Niman 5
Benjamin West 85

Here the family is incorrectly named Niman, quite typical of census data to be misspelled. Benjamin West is living with the family now in his elderly state. Mr. West is Sarah's father.

Mattie's census data clearly shows that she was born in Pennsylvania before being moved to Indiana:

1850 United States Federal Census about Martha Niman
Name: Martha Niman
[Martha A Nimon]
[Martha Neimon]
[Martha Neiman]
Age: 5
Birth Year: abt 1845
Birthplace: Pennsylvania
Home in 1850: Erie, Miami, Indiana
Gender: Female

1860 United States Federal Census about Henry Nimon
Name: Henry Nimon
Age in 1860: 53
Birth Year: abt 1807
Birthplace: Pennsylvania
Home in 1860: Erie, Miami, Indiana
Gender: Male
Post Office: Peru
Household Members:
Name Age
Henry Nimon 53
Sarah Nimon 53
Mary Nimon 17
Martha Nimon 15
Henrietta Nimon 10
Jacob Slutter 17


1870 United States Federal Census about Henry Heiman
Name: Henry Heiman
[Henry Nimon]
[Henry Neimon]
[Henry Neiman]
Age in 1870: 62
Birth Year: abt 1808
Birthplace: Pennsylvania
Home in 1870: Peru Ward 4, Miami, Indiana
Race: White
Gender: Male
Post Office: Peru
Value of real estate: View image
Household Members:
Name Age
Henry Heiman 62
Sarah Heiman 59
Hattie C Heiman 19
Orange O Gitchell 4


1880 United States Federal Census about Henry Nimon
Name: Henry Nimon
Age: 72
Birth Year: abt 1808
Birthplace: Pennsylvania
Home in 1880: Erie, Miami, Indiana
Race: White
Gender: Male
Relation to Head of House: Self (Head)
Marital Status: Married
Spouse's Name: Sarah Nimon
Father's Birthplace: Pennsylvania
Mother's Birthplace: Pennsylvania
Neighbors: View others on page
Occupation: Farmer
Cannot read/write:
Blind:
Deaf and dumb:
Otherwise disabled:
Idiotic or insane:
View image
Household Members:
Name Age
Henry Nimon 72
Sarah Nimon 72
Martha Silks 35
Benjamin Silks 7

Here we have the "Smoking gun" so to speak. Martha has earned her soon to be famous last name. She is believed to have married a Casey Silks sometime in the last 10 years. Here in this census she is identified as a "Widow". Interestingly, Benjamin Silks, presumably Mattie's son from the marriage with Casey, is listed in the census as Henry's "nephew". Why he is identified in this manner is unexplained. Regardless of this, Benjamin disappears from history after this census, never to be seen again.

Mattie's portion of the census follows:

1880 United States Federal Census about Martha Silks
Name: Martha Silks
[Mattie Silks]
[Martha Nimon]
Age: 35
Birth Year: abt 1845
Birthplace: Pennsylvania
Home in 1880: Erie, Miami, Indiana
Race: White
Gender: Female
Relation to Head of House: Daughter
Marital Status: Widowed
Father's Name: Henry Nimon
Father's Birthplace: Pennsylvania
Mother's Name: Sarah Nimon
Mother's Birthplace: Pennsylvania

Again, Mattie is reported to have been born in Pennsylvania, thus unequivocally confirming her birth location and eliminating any doubt. More importantly, Martha is uniquely placed in the household of Sarah and Henry unmistakeably and thus, linked to her parents unquestionably.


Indiana Marriage Collection, 1800-1941 about Henry Nimon
Name: Henry Nimon
Spouse Name: Martha J. Lavring
Marriage Date: 25 Feb 1883
Marriage County: Miami
Source Title 1: Miami County
Source Title 2: Index to Marriage Record 1850-1920 Inclusive Volum
Source Title 3: Original Record Located County Clerks Office, Peru
Book: C- 7
OS Page: 105

Indiana Deaths, 1882-1920 about Henry Neiman
Name: Henry Neiman
Date: 18 Nov 1901
Location: Logansport
Age: 94 Yr
Gender: Male
Race: White
Source Location: County Clerk Office, County Clerks Office, Logansport
Source notes: The source of this record is the book C-9 on page 56 within the series produced by the Indiana Works Progress Administration.