Sir Thomas Salusbury, 2nd Baronet (March 1612 – 1643) was a Welsh

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and soldier, who supported King

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

and was a colonel of a

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regiment.

Life

Salusbury was born in March 1612, the eldest son of Sir Henry Salusbury of Lleweni, the first of the Salusbury Baronets. After spending some time at

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship ...

, without taking a degree, he entered the

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in November 1631 but left in July 1632 on the death of his father to take control of the family estate at Lleweni Hall,

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, Flintshire to the east, Wrexham to the southeast, Powys to the south, and Gwynedd and Conwy to the west. Rhyl is the largest town, and Ruthi ...

. He was a member of the commission of the peace for

Flintshire Flintshire () is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, the Dee Estuary to the north-east, the English county of Cheshire to the east, Wrexham County Borough to the south, and Denbighshire to the west. ...

and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and was elected to the common council of the

Denbigh Denbigh ( ; ) is a market town and a community (Wales), community in Denbighshire, Wales. It was the original county town of the Denbighshire (historic), historic county of Denbighshire created in 1536. Denbigh's Welsh name () translates to ...

corporation in 1632. He was MP for Denbighshire in the

Short Parliament The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that was summoned by King Charles I of England on 20 February 1640 and sat from 13 April to 5 May 1640. It was so called because of its short session of only three weeks. After 11 years of per ...

of 1640, but said little; his relative Sir Thomas Myddleton succeeded him in the

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an Parliament of England, English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660, making it the longest-lasting Parliament in English and British history. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened f ...

. During the

he was on the side of

, becoming colonel of a royalist regiment (

Sir Thomas Salusbury’s Regiment of Foot The Denbighshire Militia, later the Royal Denbighshire Rifles was an auxiliary regiment reorganised in the Welsh county of Denbighshire during the 18th Century from earlier precursor units. Primarily intended for home defence, it provided a con ...

) recruited from North Wales. His efforts on behalf of the King led to the House of Commons calling him a traitor. He fought at the

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and was awarded an honorary DCL Oxford degree by the King a few days later. He fell ill at Worcester and died aged 31, being buried in the family vault at Whitchurch on 13 July 1643.

Poetry

Salusbury was regarded as a noted poet, but only ''The History of Joseph'' was published when he was alive (in 1636), although there are manuscripts of other poems and dramatic works. Anthony Wood (1632–1695) wrote that "having a natural geny to poetry and romance", he became "a most noted poet of his time"; cites Wood's ''Athenæ Oxon.'' iii. 55–9 but his only known production is ''The History of Joseph'' (London, 1636,

4to Quarto (abbreviated Qto, 4to or 4º) is the format of a book or pamphlet produced from full sheets printed with eight pages of text, four to a side, then folded twice to produce four leaves. The leaves are then trimmed along the folds to produc ...

), "a very rare poem" and a "scarce volume", dedicated to Lady Myddelton or Middleton, fourth wife and widow of the author's grandfather, Sir Thomas Myddelton, as an acknowledgement of her care for him in his youth. Among the commendatory verses printed at the beginning are some by two kinsmen of the author (John Salusbury senior and junior respectively), the latter most probably being of Bachegraig, Flintshire, and an ancestor of Mrs. Piozzi.

Family

He was survived by his wife, Hester (daughter of Sir Edward Tyrrell, 1st Baronet, of Thornton, Buckinghamshire and Elizabeth Kingsmill), by his sons, the 3rd Baronet

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

, the 4th and last Baronet

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

and a daughter, Hester, who married Sir Robert Cotton.

Notes

References

* * Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Salusbury, Thomas, 2nd 1612 births 1643 deaths Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford English MPs 1640 (April) Cavaliers Baronets in the Baronetage of England 17th-century Welsh poets

People killed in the English Civil War Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for constituencies in Wales