Gurdon Flower Saltonstall (1760 - 1836)

Born 18 May 1760 in New London, Connecticut Colony

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 30 Jan 1836 at age 75 in Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio, United States

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Biography

NCO Gurdon Saltonstall served with 3rd Regiment, Connecticut Militia during the American Revolution.

Gurdon Saltonstall is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A099415.

NAME:
- First name, Gurdon, is from paternal great-grandfather, 1666-1724, a governor of Connecticut,
- Middle name, Flower (singular), is mother's maiden name. She was first married to Ebeneezer Young, so some records show her as Rebeckah Young.
- Saltonstall men historically had children late into life.
- Coat of arms http://www.houseofnames.com/saltonstall-coat-of-arms
- Attempt to index people with similar names https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hsR0dvstqOKfGqwjhP2h_qQzsogaDPvM6zr7CSYr5TQ/edit?usp=sharing

LIFE EVENTS:
- 1760, May 18 Gurdon Flower Saltonstall (GFS) was born in New London, CT
- In his teens, he fought several months in the Revolutionary War under his father, Capt. Nathaniel Saltonstall
- ???? Married Hannah Hempstead
- 1784 first son born (GFS Jr) in CT
- 1786 first wife died (still in CT)
- From "JOURNAL of EARLY SOUTHERN DECORATIVE ARTS" Volume X (free upload at archive.com), "During the early decades of the nineteenth century, Fayetteville developed strong ties with the lower Connecticut River Valley... Riding chairmaker Gurdon Saltonstall emigrated from nearby New London."
Unknown if GFS, Jr came with GFS to NC or stayed in CT with maternal family.
- 1790 CENSUS: as Gurdon Saltonstall in Cumberland County, NC
- ???? Remarried someone of age to have children 1796 through 1810
- 1796 Daughter Rebecca born in Fayetteville NC
- 1800 CENSUS: as George Saltenstall in Cumberland County, NC
- 1801, 1803 Granted four patents for cotton cleaners and gins, dated 21 August 1801, 4 January 1803, and 14 May 1803, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
- 1804 Daughter Susan Jane born in Fayettville NC
- 1810 Son Seneca born in Fayettville (Perhaps named for philosopher Lucius Annaeus Seneca - OR perhaps the Saltonstalls did business with natives in Seneca, SC)
- 1819 Rebecca married Charles T Wright in Fayettville
(Rebecca and Susan's husbands were from CT, so we assume the family visited CT often)
- 1820 CENSUS: as Gurden Satenstall, Fayetteville, Cumberland, NC, page 208
- From above Journal: "On 6 July 1820 (Edward) Webster married Susan Jane Saltonstall, formerly of New London. She was the daughter of Gurdon Saltonstall, a wheelwright and riding chairmaker who had emigrated to Fayetteville from Connecticut."
- ???? GFS followed daughter Rebecca to Society Hill, Darlington County, SC
(GFS's wife probably died before 1823)
- 1823 Letter from GFS, in Society Hill SC, to daughter Rebecca in Marian SC, said he had "4 or 5" grandsons named after him. <a>We assume that means (a) Four lived, one died. (b) Since GFS had four children, one named two babies after him. Possible but doubtful GFS had a fifth child. (c) GFS must have been a great guy, to have so many namesakes.
- 1825 - Rebecca's family moved to CT for 2 years, for Charles to attend seminary.
- ???? GFS's Revolutionary War pension application, filed in Darlington Dist., SC. turned down because he served less than six months
- 1828 - Rebecca's family moved to Georgetown, SC
- 1830 CENSUS: as Geo. Saltonstall, Darlington Dist., SC. Two Males one age 4-10 other age 70-79.
We assume the younger one, b around 1823, was a grandson (perhaps visiting). A son would mean a later wife from the one who had Rebecca in 1796. No such wife, or son, is found in any records. So, must have been a grandson.
- 1830, from above Journal, July 11 Susan Jane Saltonstall Webster died in childbirth in Fayettville, leaving 5 children plus the newborn who died.
- 1836 GFS died in a hotel in Cincinati, Hamilton Co., Ohio, while visiting family (several siblings and their father also died in Ohio).

MORE INFORMATION:

GFS's brother John (1763-circa 1838), childness but a firm believer in education, willed fifty dollars a month to each of his nieces and nephews for every month their children attended high school / college (presumably the amount they could earn if they quit school).

Grandson GFS Wright (GFSW) wrote a Life Sketch in The Southern Dental Journal,Volume 10, pp 280-283, free here: books.google.com/books?id=Dk4VAAAAYAAJ (middle name incorrectly transcribed), which includes:
--- His ancestry: "the youngest child of Charles Townsend and Rebecca (Saltonstall) Wright, named for my maternal grandfather, Gurdon Flower Saltonstall."
--- GFSW was raised a Puritan. We assume GFS was of the same faith.
(GFSW is buried with his parents in Georgetown's Baptist Cemetery.)
---"In 1855 I sold my mill, bought the right of a patent for the State of North Carolina, sold county rights in that state, and studied Harris's Principles and Practice of Dental Science."
That describes combining rights to grandfather GFS's patent from his heirs, and selling it to study dentistry.
--- "Wrote to Dr Saltonstall of Columbus Mississippi (my mother's brother) telling him what I was trying to do. His answer invited me to his laboratory, and I became a student under his instruction. He removed to Mobile, Ala, and there I did my first artificial work."
(GFSW went on to be the first president of the Southern Dental Association.)

Rebecca And Charles' daughter married a Croft. The Croft house stayed in the family for generations. Rebecca's great-granddaughter Marguerite Croft Thieker transcribed Bibles, letters, and documents and handed down originals and transcriptions to her granddaughter.

Sources

• Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed 20 Dec 2021), "Record of Gurdon Saltonstall", Ancestor # A099415.
• Family records including a letter hand-written from Gurdon Flower Saltonstall to his daughter. Rebecca's daughter Martha, "in her old age", moved in with her son Lucius. That house stayed with the family until the early 1990s. Records were carefully retained to this day.

• "JOURNAL of EARLY SOUTHERN DECORATIVE ARTS" Volume Volume X (free upload at archive.com),

• UNITED STATES CENSUS 1790, 1800, 1820, 1830

• U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

• Grandson GFS Wright's "Life Sketch" in The Southern Dental Journal,Volume 10, pp 280-283, free here: books.google.com/books?id=Dk4VAAAAYAAJ

• Pension Application R9159