Spotlight- William Salt Bi-centenary
This page features one of the many treasures that can be found within the William Salt Library collection.
Bi-centenary of the birth of William Salt
The year 2008 marks the 200th anniversary of William Salt's birth. He was born on 29th October 1808 in London, the son of John Stevenson Salt and Sarah Stevenson. A banker by profession he was able to use his wealth to pursue his life-long interest in collecting topographical and genealogical books and manuscripts. His family originated in Staffordshire and his collections concentrated on this county. During his life he acquired property in Staffordshire but never lived there.
In 1857 he married Helen Black and went to live at 23 Park Square East, near Regents Park. Salt died after collapsing on 6th December 1863 and was buried in Highgate cemetery, London.
William Salt left all his collections to his wife. Five years later she had them catalogued for sale. This came to the attention of the Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire and, although Salt's collection of coins, including many Staffordshire tokens and examples from the Stafford mint, was sold, Mrs. Salt eventually agreed to donate his books and manuscripts to the County of Stafford. The Library, always called The William Salt Library, was established in Stafford, in 1872. Salt's 'Original Collection' remains the core of the Library's collections to this day.
Amongst the outstanding collection of documents and volumes in the William Salt Library is a highly decorative pedigree for the Salt Family. This pedigree was drawn up by Henry Murray Lane, Chester Herald and is dated 25 June 1875. It depicts the family lineage from Thomas Salt (b. 1732) to Alexander Edward Wrottesley (b. 1874).
© William Salt Library, Stafford, 2008
This pedigree provides a lot of detail on the individual family members that are featured on it. For example, it is possible to see from the section relevant to William Salt that his address, date of birth, baptism date, marriage details, date of death and burial information are all recorded on the pedigree.
© William Salt Library, Stafford, 2008
The Family coat of arms also appears on the pedigree along with their motto 'In Sale Salus' or 'In Salt Safety'. The arms themselves feature a chevron between three mullets along with a lion rampant. The crest has three interlaced annulets with a dove holding an olive branch in its beak and a chevron on its neck.
© William Salt Library, Stafford, 2008
William Salt Library Ref: WSL/PEDIGREES/SALT1
Follow this link to see previous documents that have been placed under the spotlight.||||
-
-
-
-