William Salt

William Salt
Born	29 October 1808[1] Russell Square, London, England
Died	6 December 1863(1863-12-06) (aged 55) Park Square, Regent's Park
Monuments	William Salt Library
Nationality	British
Occupation	Banker
Parent	John Stevenson Salt
Relatives	Sir Thomas Salt Bt. (nephew)

William Salt FSA MRSL (29 October 1808 – 6 December 1863)[2] was a British banker in London, England, and a genealogist and antiquary in whose memory the William Salt Library in Stafford was founded.

Life

Salt's father, John Stevenson Salt (High Sheriff of Staffordshire in 1838), married Sarah Stevenson, the granddaughter of John Stevenson, founder in 1737 of a banking company in Stafford. The firm, Stevenson Salt & Co, had opened in Cheapside, London, in 1788 and in 1867 merged with Bosanquet & Co and later with Lloyds Banking Company.

His nephew was Sir Thomas Salt Bt. of Standon, near Eccleshall, Staffordshire.

Collections and legacy

Grave of William Salt in Highgate Cemetery

Salt was an avid collector of topographical and genealogical books and records, particularly those relating to Staffordshire. After his death his extensive collection was catalogued and donated to the County of Stafford, which financed the opening in 1872 of the William Salt Library in Market Square, Stafford.

He was also commemorated in the name of the William Salt Archaeological Society, founded in 1879 as a text publication society to publish local and national documents relating to the history of Staffordshire. The society changed its name in 1936 to the Staffordshire Record Society.

He died on the 6th December 1863 and is buried in Highgate Cemetery.[3]

References

1. Knight, Randle W.; Society, Staffordshire Record (2002). William Salt and his library. Staffordshire Record Society. p. 20. Retrieved 11 July 2017. William Salt was born on 29 October 1808 at 9 Russell Square, the seventh child of John Stevenson Salt and his wife Sarah. He was baptised privately on 25 November.
2. "Sudden Death of Mr. W. Salt, F.S.A., M.R.S.L., the Banker". The Morning Post. London, England. 8 December 1863. p. 5. Retrieved 6 August 2014 – via The British Newspaper Archive.
3. Cansick, Frederick Teague (1872). The Monumental Inscriptions of Middlesex Vol 2. J Russell Smith. p. 107. Retrieved 9 April 2021.

Further reading

• Johnson, D. A. (2004). "Salt, William (1808–1863)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/24566. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
• Knight, Randle W. (2002). William Salt and His Library. Occasional Papers. Vol. 3. Staffordshire: Staffordshire Record Society.

External links

• About William Salt; Staffordshire County Council