Richard Saltonstall

Other Events and Attributes:

• Baptised: 4 Apr 1586, Church of St. John the Baptist, Halifax, Yorkshire, England
• Alternate death: Abt 1658, England
• Alternate death: Sep 1661, Crayford, Kent, England

Notes:

From Abandoning America (citation details below):

Sir Richard Saltonstall, a London lawyer, was first elected an assistant of the Massachusetts Bay Company in England on 23 March 1628/9. [...] In 1629, he sent servants and cattle ahead of him to New England. Saltonstall sailed to New England in 1630, as a widower, with five of his six children. He settled at Watertown. He attended all the meetings of the Massachusetts Bay Company in New England between 22 August 1630 and 22 March 1630/1.

He left New England on the Lyon, 1 April 1631, and arrived in London on 29 April. He was elected an assistant in Massachusetts in 1633, in his absence, but never returned. Saltonstall continued to take an interest in New England. He defended Massachusetts against the charges of Philip Ratcliffe, Thomas Morton and Sir Christopher Gardiner. He diverted his attention to fresh colonising ventures by Lord Saye and Sele and Lord Brooke, outside the boundaries of Massachusetts, but made heavy losses. In 1639 he handed over his New England interests to his son Robert, who had returned there c. 1638. Saltonstall spent time in the Netherlands, 1643–4, where Henry Saltonstall joined him. From 1649 he controlled the sales of crown property, and this profitable post helped him to boost his fortunes. In 1650 he and his son Richard became members of the High Court of Justice, commissioned by the Rump Parliament to try the crimes of the Commonwealth's enemies. From 1658 he lived near Wrexham, and associated with the congregationalist Vavasor Powell. He criticised Massachusetts for its intolerance: he wrote to John Wilson and John Cotton c. 1652, advocating freedom for Quakers.

From the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography:

Saltonstall opposed the crown in the civil wars, and his fortunes recovered with the parliamentarian victory. In March 1650 he was appointed a commissioner of the high court of justice, set up to punish opponents of the regime. From 1649 he held lucrative posts controlling the sales of crown property, and by 1658 he could afford to buy Brymbo Hall, near Wrexham, Denbighshire. After the Restoration, however, he was forced to flee arrest as a 'seditious person', and died at Crayford, Kent, in 1661, probably in September.

Richard married Grace Kaye on 28 Nov 1609 in Almondbury, Yorkshire, England. Grace (daughter of Robert Kaye and Anne Flower) was born before 3 Sep 1579; was christened on 3 Sep 1579 in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England; died before 27 Jun 1625; was buried on 27 Jun 1625 in Church of St. Michael and Our Lady, Wragby, Lincolnshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Maj. Richard Saltonstall was born before 1 Oct 1610; was christened on 1 Oct 1610 in All Hallows', Almondbury, Yorkshire, England; died on 29 Apr 1694 in Hulme, Lancaster, England; was buried on 2 May 1694 in St. James', Didsbury, Lancashire, England.

Richard married Elizabeth West before 5 Nov 1628. Elizabeth (daughter of Thomas West and Anne Knolles) died before 1640. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Richard married Martha Cammock about 1640. Martha (daughter of Thomas Cammock and Frances Rich) was born before 16 Nov 1587; was christened on 16 Nov 1587 in Malden, Essex, England; died before 25 Oct 1662. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: of Kingston-upon-Hull, Yorkshire, England

Samuel married Anne Ramsden before 4 Apr 1586. Anne (daughter of John Ramsden and Margaret) was born in 1564; died in 1589. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

A cloth merchant of Halifax.

Gilbert married Margaret Harrison on 3 Feb 1558 in Halifax, Yorkshire, England. Margaret died before 4 Jul 1563; was buried on 4 Jul 1563 in Halifax, Yorkshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: of Almondbury, Yorkshire, England

John married Margaret. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

John married Mary. Mary died before 15 Feb 1558; was buried on 15 Feb 1558 in Halifax, Yorkshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]