William Salt (29 October 1808 – 6 December 1863) was a British

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Becaus ...

in London, England, and a

genealogist Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kins ...

and antiquary in whose memory the

William Salt Library The William Salt Library is a library and archive, in Stafford, Staffordshire, England. Supported by Staffordshire County Council, it is a registered charity, administered by an independent trust in conjunction with the Staffordshire & Stoke-o ...

in Stafford was founded.

Life

Salt's father, John Stevenson Salt (

High Sheriff of Staffordshire This is a list of the sheriffs and high sheriffs of Staffordshire. The sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. The sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities ass ...

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 Cheapside is a street in the City of London, the historic and modern financial centre of London, which forms part of the A40 London to Fishguard road. It links St. Martin's Le Grand with Poultry. Near its eastern end at Bank junction, where ...

, 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 Eccleshall is a town and civil parish in the Stafford district, in the county of Staffordshire, England. It is located seven miles northwest of Stafford, and six miles west-southwest of Stone. Eccleshall is twinned with Sancerre in France. His ...

, Staffordshire.

Collections and legacy

Grave of William Salt in Highgate Cemetery

Salt was an avid collector of

topographical Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sc ...

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 A text publication society is a learned society which publishes (either as its sole function, or as a principal function) scholarly editions of old works of historical or literary interest, or archival documents. In addition to full texts, a text p ...

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 Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...

References

External links

''About William Salt''
Staffordshire County Council {{DEFAULTSORT:Salt, William 1808 births 1863 deaths Burials at Highgate Cemetery English genealogists Bankers from London Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London 19th-century English businesspeople

Life

Collections and legacy

References

Further reading

External links