Sir Richard Saltonstall (baptised, 4 April 1586 – October 1661)
led a group of English settlers up the
Charles River
The Charles River (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ), sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles, is an river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton, Massachusetts, Hopkinton to Boston along a highly me ...
to settle in what is now
Watertown, Massachusetts in 1630.
He was a nephew of the
Lord Mayor of London
The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...
Richard Saltonstall (1517–1600), and was admitted
pensioner
A pensioner is a person who receives a pension, most commonly because of retirement from the workforce. This is a term typically used in the United Kingdom (along with OAP, initialism of old-age pensioner), Ireland and Australia where someone of p ...
at
Clare College, Cambridge
Clare College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the Unive ...
, in 1603.
Before leaving England for North America, he served as a
Justice of the Peace for the
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...
and was Lord of the Manor of
Ledsham,
which he got from the Harebreds and later sold to the
Earl of Strafford
Earl of Strafford is a title that has been created three times in English and British history.
The first creation was in the Peerage of England in January 1640 for Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, the 1st Viscount Wentworth, the clo ...
.
Family

Sir Richard Saltonstall was the eldest of the eleven children of Samuel Saltonstall and Anne, born Ramsden.
Sir Richard married his first wife, Grace Kaye, around 1609; their children were named Richard, Rosamond, Grace, Robert, Samuel, and Henry.
After Grace died in 1625, Sir Richard married Lady Elizabeth West, with whom he had daughter Anne and son John.
Although Saltonstall remained in Massachusetts only briefly,
his descendants played a major role in
New England
New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
history. Amongst others, Sir Richard's son Henry was graduated in the first class at Harvard in 1642.
Early life
Saltonstall was admitted as a pensioner at Clare College in 1603
and, fifteen years later, was knighted on 23 November 1618. He served as justice of the peace in the West Riding of Yorkshire in 1625–1626
and was Lord of the Manor at Ledsham.
Massachusetts Bay Colony
Sir Richard became involved with the
Massachusetts Bay Company in 1629, signing the original charter of Massachusetts,
and was named to the emigrant committee and appointed first assistant to
Governor John Winthrop.
After the death of his first wife, he sold his land in England
and set sail for
New England
New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
with his family.
They boarded the ''
Arbella'' in April 1630 at
Yarmouth, off of the southern coast of England, with the Winthrop company and arrived in
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem was one ...
on 12 June 1630.
Saltonstall Plantation
Shortly after his arrival in New England, Sir Richard led a small party of planters, including
Rev. George Phillips, up the Charles River on the ''
Arbella''. They brought several servants and cattle on the trip to establish the
Saltonstall Plantation at present day
Watertown.
On 30 July 1630, the group of about 40 men at the Saltonstall Plantation entered into a "liberal church covenant".
He was soon appointed magistrate and justice of the peace.
Despite a land grant of over 580 acres, Saltonstall decided to leave the colony because of the harsh winter. On 29 March 1631, Sir Richard and his family, less two sons, travelled to
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
where they lodged at Governor Winthrop's house. The next morning they set sail for England.
Life in Europe
Sir Richard Saltonstall settled in London and remained involved with colonial affairs. In a letter to two leaders of the Boston church, Saltonstall expressed his disapproval of their hypocritical punishments and religious persecutions.
Connecticut Colony
In 1631, Sir Richard, and several other English gentlemen and lords, were granted a patent of Connecticut by the Plymouth Council in England. The patentees appointed
John Winthrop
John Winthrop (January 12, 1588 – March 26, 1649) was an English Puritan lawyer and a leading figure in the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the second major settlement in New England following Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led the fir ...
as governor and commissioned him to construct a fort at the mouth of the
Connecticut River
The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...
.
In 1635, he organized and funded a party of over 20 men, led by Francis Stiles, to prepare a settlement in Connecticut for the arrival of the patentees. This claim was heavily disputed and resulted in severe financial losses for Saltonstall.
Domestic service
In 1644, Saltonstall was appointed ambassador to
Holland
Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...
.
His portrait was painted there. Once thought to be by
Rembrandt
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...
., the portrait is now attributed to
Abraham de Vries.
In 1649, he, among others, was commissioned by parliament for the trial of the
Duke of Hamilton
Duke of Hamilton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in April 1643. It is the senior dukedom in that peerage (except for the Duke of Rothesay, Dukedom of Rothesay held by the sovereign's eldest son), and as such its holder is the pr ...
, Lord Capel, and the Earl of Holland, for high
treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...
.
Wales
Sir Richard Saltonstall appears to have been in Newtown,
Montgomeryshire
Montgomeryshire ( ) was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was named after its county town, Montgomery, Powys, Montgomery, which in turn was named after ...
(Powys), Wales at the
Restoration of
King Charles II in 1660. On 18 July 1660 the Council of King Charles II issued an order to Sir Matthew Price,
High Sheriff of Montgomeryshire
The office of High Sheriff of Montgomeryshire was established in 1541 since then a High Sheriff was appointed annually until 1974 when the office was transformed into that of High Sheriff of Powys as part of the creation of Powys
Powys ( , ) ...
to take into safe custody
Vavasour Powell (described as, "a most factious and dangerous minister"), Sir Richard Saltonstall, and Richard Price of Aberbechan.
According to Sir Matthew Price's letters to Secretary Sir
Edward Nicholas, Vavasour Powell, Sir Richard Saltonstall and Richard Price were concerned in a plot to depose King Charles II. Letters were found in their possession indicating the plot extended all the way to London. By 2 August 1660 Vavasour Powell was taken into custody, while Sir Richard Saltonstall and Capt. Richard Price "had left these parts"
ontgomeryshire
Legacy
There are several monuments dedicated to Saltonstall in Watertown. These include Saltonstall Park on Main Street, Watertown,
Sir Richard's Landing (later to be renamed
Gerry's Landing), and the Saltonstall Founders Memorial near the
Charles River
The Charles River (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ), sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles, is an river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton, Massachusetts, Hopkinton to Boston along a highly me ...
.
There is a small granite monument commemorating their settlement close to the Mt. Auburn Bridge in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saltonstall, Richard
People from Halifax, West Yorkshire
17th-century English knights
1586 births
1661 deaths
17th-century English diplomats
English emigrants to Massachusetts Bay Colony
Richard
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...