Background
Sylvester was the son of a Kentish clothier.
Sylvester was the son of a Kentish clothier.
In his tenth year he was sent to school at King Edward VI School, Southampton, where he gained a knowledge of French. After about three years at school, he appears to have been put to business, and in 1591 the title-page of his Yvry states that he was in the service of the Merchant Adventurers" Company. He was for a short time a land steward, and in 1606 Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales gave him a small pension as a kind of court poet.
In 1613 he obtained a position as secretary to the Merchant Adventurers.
He was stationed at Middelburg, in the Low Countries, where he died.