Saltonstall family
Encyclopedia
The Saltonstall family is a Boston Brahmin
family from the U.S. state
of Massachusetts
, notable for having had a family member attend Harvard University
from every generation since Nathaniel Saltonstall
—later one of the more principled judges at the Salem Witch Trials
—graduated in 1659. The family originated in Yorkshire
, England, where the name was sometimes spelled Saltingstall. The name originates from the hamlet of Saltonstall in Halifax, West Yorkshire
. The meaning is derived from Sal-ton-stall in Old English. The translation being "Farm in the willows". Notable members of the family include:
Boston Brahmin
Boston Brahmins are wealthy Yankee families characterized by a highly discreet and inconspicuous life style. Based in and around Boston, they form an integral part of the historic core of the East Coast establishment...
family from the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, notable for having had a family member attend Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
from every generation since Nathaniel Saltonstall
Nathaniel Saltonstall
Col. Nathaniel Saltonstall was selected as a judge for the special Court of Oyer and Terminer, a specific court responsible for the trial and sentence of people, mostly women, for the crime of witchcraft in Massachusetts during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692...
—later one of the more principled judges at the Salem Witch Trials
Salem witch trials
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings before county court trials to prosecute people accused of witchcraft in the counties of Essex, Suffolk, and Middlesex in colonial Massachusetts, between February 1692 and May 1693...
—graduated in 1659. The family originated in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, England, where the name was sometimes spelled Saltingstall. The name originates from the hamlet of Saltonstall in Halifax, West Yorkshire
Halifax, West Yorkshire
Halifax is a minster town, within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. It has an urban area population of 82,056 in the 2001 Census. It is well-known as a centre of England's woollen manufacture from the 15th century onward, originally dealing through the Halifax Piece...
. The meaning is derived from Sal-ton-stall in Old English. The translation being "Farm in the willows". Notable members of the family include:
- Sir Richard SaltonstallRichard SaltonstallSir Richard Saltonstall led a group of English settlers up the Charles River to settle in what is now Watertown, Massachusetts in 1630....
, colonist with the Winthrop Fleet - Nathaniel SaltonstallNathaniel SaltonstallCol. Nathaniel Saltonstall was selected as a judge for the special Court of Oyer and Terminer, a specific court responsible for the trial and sentence of people, mostly women, for the crime of witchcraft in Massachusetts during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692...
, judge at Salem Witch Trials- Gurdon SaltonstallGurdon SaltonstallGurdon Saltonstall was governor of the Colony of Connecticut from 1708 to 1724...
, his son, governor of Connecticut
- Gurdon Saltonstall
- Dudley SaltonstallDudley SaltonstallDudley Saltonstall was an American naval commander during the American Revolutionary War. He is best known as the commander of the naval forces of the 1779 Penobscot Expedition, which ended in complete disaster, with all ships lost...
, Commander at Penobscot ExpeditionPenobscot ExpeditionThe Penobscot Expedition was the largest American naval expedition of the American Revolutionary War and the United States' worst naval defeat until Pearl Harbor... - Leverett Saltonstall ILeverett Saltonstall ILeverett Saltonstall , was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts who also served as Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, President of the Massachusetts Senate, the first Mayor of Salem, Massachusetts and a Member of the Board of Overseers of...
, U.S. Representative in 1830s - Leverett A. Saltonstall, U.S. Representative and Senator, Governor of Massachusetts
- William G. Saltonstall, principal, Phillips Exeter AcademyPhillips Exeter AcademyPhillips Exeter Academy is a private secondary school located in Exeter, New Hampshire, in the United States.Exeter is noted for its application of Harkness education, a system based on a conference format of teacher and student interaction, similar to the Socratic method of learning through asking...
, 1946-63