Abraham Salle (1670–ca. 1719) was a French
Huguenot
The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
who emigrated to Colonial Virginia. He was the progenitor of the Salle family in the United States. He was a successful merchant and served in the militia and was a justice of
Henrico County, Virginia
Henrico County , officially the County of Henrico, is located in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 334,389 making it the fifth-most populous county in Virginia. Henrico County is incl ...
.
Early life
Abraham Salle was born in 1670 in
Saint-Martin-de-Ré
Saint-Martin-de-Ré (, literally ''Saint-Martin of Ré''; Saintongeais: ''Sént-Martin-de-Ré'') is a commune in the western French department of Charente-Maritime.[Picardy
Picardy (; Picard and french: Picardie, , ) is a historical territory and a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Hauts-de-France. It is located in the northern part of France.
Hi ...]
, France. Salle was raised in the religion of
John Calvin
John Calvin (; frm, Jehan Cauvin; french: link=no, Jean Calvin ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French theologian, pastor and reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system ...
's
Reformed Church
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...
.
Emigration to Virginia
![Edit de Nantes Avril 1598](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Edit_de_Nantes_Avril_1598.jpg)
In 1685,
Louis XIV
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Vers ...
revoked the
Edict of Nantes
The Edict of Nantes () was signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV and granted the Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was in essence completely Catholic. In the edict, Henry aimed pr ...
, making it illegal for French citizens to practice the Protestant faith.
Huguenots were persecuted and as a result there was a "mass exodus" from France to England, the Netherlands, Africa, Germany, and Colonial America.
Some Huguenots immigrated to the
colony of Virginia
The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colonial empire, English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertG ...
where they were assured political freedom by the governor.
Manakintown
![Manakin Huguenot Church-001](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Manakin_Huguenot_Church-001.jpg)
Abraham Salle was first in New York in 1700, when he petitioned for
privileges of citizenship of the governor and council.
He moved to
Manakintown
Powhatan County () is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,033. Its county seat is Powhatan.
Powhatan County is included in the Greater Richmond Region.
The James River forms the cou ...
in what was then
Henrico County, Virginia
Henrico County , officially the County of Henrico, is located in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 334,389 making it the fifth-most populous county in Virginia. Henrico County is incl ...
, where Huguenots settled, many of them sailing on four ships to Virginia in 1700.
Manakintown was established at the site of an old
Monacan village west of
Richmond, Virginia
(Thus do we reach the stars)
, image_map =
, mapsize = 250 px
, map_caption = Location within Virginia
, pushpin_map = Virginia#USA
, pushpin_label = Richmond
, pushpin_m ...
. Monacans lived in the area until about 1722.
William Byrd II of
Tuckahoe issued land patents totally 10,000 acres for Manakintown in 1711 and 1757. A church was established in the center of town.
The emigrants were noblemen, professional people, artisans, and craftsmen. The artisans brought weaving, lace-making, and silk-work to the colony.
Because they were not farmers, the initial year was difficult. They soon learned how to clear and farm the land.
![William Byrd II](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/William_Byrd_II.jpg)
Salle became a clerk of the parish, a captain of the militia, and justice of Henrico County,
specifically chosen to handle cases of French Huguenots.
Salle was a member of the vestry in 1714, 1715 and 1718.
He was an "important merchant" and a "leading citizen". He petitioned
William Byrd II
William Byrd II (March 28, 1674August 26, 1744) was an American planter, lawyer, surveyor, author, and a man of letters. Born in Colonial Virginia, he was educated in London, where he practiced law. Upon his father's death, he returned to Virgi ...
for more land as a spokesman for the community.
He said, "our families which are pretty numerous and the place we occupy quite limited, we find ourselves in the impossibility of procuring any situation for our children or even to have them instructed or give them any education." He asked King William of England to "withdraw us from a place where we suffer", due in large part to the lack of fertile soil. He asked that they be given land in Ireland. But land was not made available per that request.
Salle obtained about 230 acres by Lower Manakin Creek and on the south side of
James River
The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...
in Henrico County in 1711. In 1715, he acquired an additional 190 acres on the south side of the James River; It was a tract on the first 5,000 acres established for French refugees.
Over the course of his life in Manakintown, he amassed sizeable property, including slaves and land.
He was the first of the French refugees in Henrico County to own enslaved people.
Marriage and children
Abraham Salle married Olive Perrault.
She may have been the daughter of Daniel Perrault, captain of the ship ''Peter and Anthony'' that sailed to Virginia with Huguenots. They had one daughter and five sons.
Before Salle moved to Manakintown, two sons were baptized in the French Church (''L'Église française à la Nouvelle-Amsterdam'') in New York. Abraham was born October 31, 1700 and Jacob was born July 28, 1701.
His son, Abraham Salle Jr., appeared on the list of tithables along with his father in 1718.
Salle died in 1719.
His estate was left to his children.
Descendants
Abraham Salle, Justice of the Peace of Chesterfield County, and his cousin Jacob Salle, a yeoman, were descendants of immigrants Abraham and Olive Salle.
Abraham Salle was a Sheriff in Chesterfield County from 1768 to 1769.
Salle's descendants have moved west to Kentucky and other states. The surnames are spelled Sallee, Salle, and Salley.
Notes
References
Further reading
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{{Authority control
1760 births
1710s deaths
Huguenots
People from Virginia
Virginia colonial people