Sir Richard Saltonstall (Halifax, England 4 April 1586 - October 1661[1][2]) led a group of English settlers up the Charles River to settle in what is now Watertown, Massachusetts in 1630.
He was a nephew of the Lord Mayor of London Richard Saltonstall (1517–1600), and was admitted pensioner at Clare College, Cambridge in 1603.[3] Before leaving England for North America, he served as a Justice of the Peace for the West Riding of Yorkshire and was Lord of the Manor of Ledsham.[4] He was one of the grantees of the Massachusetts Company and left England on 26 August 1629 aboard the Arbella. He was named First Assistant to Governor John Winthrop.[5]
Saltonstall arrived in Massachusetts with his wife, Elizabeth, and his children, Richard, Jr., Samuel, Robert, Henry, Grace, Rosamund, John, and Anne.[1][5] The illness of one of his daughters caused him to return to England in 1631, along with his wife, daughters, and two of his sons. He maintained an interest in the colonies and was one of the patentees of the Connecticut Colony. In 1644, he was appointed ambassador to Holland, where his portrait was painted by Rembrandt.
Saltonstall served as one of the judges who condemned the Duke of Hamilton to death for treason.
Saltonstall's first wife was Grace Kaye. They had four children: sons Richard, Robert, and Samuel, and a daughter, Grace. After his wife died in 1625, Saltonstall married Lady Elizabeth West, by whom he had two additional children, Anne and John.
Although Saltonstall only remained in Massachusetts for a brief time, his descendents played a major role in New England history.
There are several monuments dedicated to Saltonstall in Watertown. These include Saltonstall Park on Main Street, Watertown and the Saltonstall Founders Memorial near the Charles River.
There is a small granite monument commemorating their settlement close to the Mt. Auburn Bridge in Cambridge.