Massachusetts. Governor (1741-1757 : Shirley)

Soldier and Loyalist Richard Saltonstall (1732-1785) was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts on March 5, 1732, to Richard Saltonstall (1703-1756) and Abigail (Waldron) Saltonstall. He attended Harvard College, receiving an A.B. in 1751 and an A.M. in 1754. He received his first commission into the Army of the Province of Massachusetts Bay in 1754 and served for almost a decade, commanding a regiment in the French and Indian War (1754-1763). Saltonstall was also appointed a justice of the peace in 1758, sent to the House of Representatives in 1761, and selected as Sheriff of Essex County in 1763. He was a Loyalist and thus came under increasing threat in the years preceding the American Revolution. In 1774, he left his home in Haverhill to live in Boston, which was considered safer, and in 1776 he was among those who evacuated Boston for England, where he lived for the rest of his life. He never married. Richard Saltonstall died in London on October 5, 1785.

From the description of Commissions of Richard Saltonstall as Colonel in the Provincial Army of Massachusetts, issued by Governors William Shirley, Thomas Pownall, and Francis Bernard, 1754-1762. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 656153579

Colonial governor of Massachusetts.

A leader in efforts to support the British war effort against France in the colonies, Shirley initiated the successful 1745 assault on Louisbourg and planned for a 1746 attack on Crown Point that never materialized.

From the description of Letter : Boston, [Mass.], to Benning Wentworth, 1746 Dec. 6. (Newberry Library). WorldCat record id: 38879695