Sarah Chase “Sallie” (Tibbetts) Salter, sea captains wife of Portsmouth NH
Her lovely, wrinkled face looks out at you from an ancient photograph, taken about the time of the Civil War. Sallie Tibbetts was born the daughter of a sea captain, and she married a sea captain. In addition to the usual habits of every day life, her interests probably revolved around the weather, waiting for her father or husband to return, and perhaps even preparing to sail with them on their ocean voyages. Her husband, John Salter, was the son of Captain John Salter – Mariner, a privateer during the American Revolution. She lived and died in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, a bustling port in New Hampshire’s early history.
Sarah Chase “Sally” “Sallie” Tibbetts, daughter of Richard & Sarah (Frost) Tibbetts, was born 30 March 1792 in Portsmouth NH, and d. 16 April 1868 in Portsmouth NH. She married 5 May 1817 NH to Captain John Salter, son of John & Jane (Frost) Salter [her first cousin]. He was born 5 July 1788, and died 10 January 1858. (His daughter Mary T’s death certificate identifies him as a ‘retired sea captain’.) [Editor’s note: his parents Capt John Salter 1740-28 Sep 1814 / 3rd wife Jane Frost b 1757, d 10 Dec 1837]
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1850 US Census > NH > Rockingham > Portsmouth
John Salter M 62 NH
Sally T. Salter F 58 NH
Ellen M. Salter F 30 NH
Frances Salter F 27 NH
Mary T. Salter F 25 NH
Augusta P. Salter F 22 NH
Anna E. Salter 20 NH
Emily K. Salter F 13 NH
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Children of John & Sally (Tibbits) Salter: [they had 8 children]
1. John Frederick Salter, b abt 1818 in Newcastle NH; christened 8 July 1827 Portsmouth NH, died June 3 1874, age 53 years.
2. Ellen Maria Salter, born abt 1823 Portsmouth NH, d. 9 February 1865 in Portsmouth NH; christened 8 July 1827 along with many siblings in Portsmouth NH
3. Frances Jane Salter, christened 8 July 1827 Portsmouth NH
4. Mary Tibbits Salter, b. abt 1825 in Portsmouth NH; d. 18 July 1893 in Portsmouth NH age 68, single; buried Harmony Grove;
5. Sarah Adeline Salter, christened 8 July 1827 Portsmouth NH
6. Augusta P. Salter, b. abt 1829; d. 2 April 1914 in Portsmouth NH, age 85, single; living 11 Washington Street
7. Anna E. “Annie” Salter, b abt 1830 Portsmouth NH
8. Emily C. Salter, b. abt 1837; d. 25 Sep 1861 in Portsmouth NH
[SALLIE’S FATHER]
Capt. Richard-7 Salter Tibbetts, Son of Israel & Mehitabel (Salter) Tibbetts, (Israel-6, Paul-5, Henry-4, Jeremiah-4, Henry-2, — Tibbetts-1) was b. 11 May 1762 in Portsmouth NH and d. October 1821 in Jacmel Bay, Haiti, West Indies. He m. 7 December 1787 in Newcastle Maine to Sarah Frost, daughter of Joseph and Margaret Frost. She b. 11 June 1766 in Newcastle and d. 4 January 1852 in Portsmouth NH. From “Henry Tibbetts and Some of His Descendants”, 1946, NEHGR Vol. 100 pg. 150-151: “He was but eight years of age when his father died, and was taken by his uncle (on his mother’s side), Capt. John Salter, to London, England, to be educated. Capt. Salter later took him to sea with him as an apprentice. He was but thirteen years old when the American Revolution commenced; from this time on, he made various voyages during his years of apprenticeship as a seaman. When eighteen years of age he was captured, 14 June 1780, in a letter-of-marque brig called the Aurora and committed to Old Mill Prison, Plymouth, England, and remained in this dismal prison more than a year, when, soon after the capture of the British general, Cornwallis, at Yorktown, Va., 19 Oct. 1781., there was a general exchange of prisoners. While in Old Mill Prison he copied in his log-book the names of five hundred prisoners; names of vessels and dates of capture. He was one of the first officers selected for the new navy of the United States, whose rank in the navy was that of lieutenant, but who, in his capacity of mariner is always referred to as captain. He entered the service 5 Dec. 1798. John Adams, who was then president, signed his commission 7 Jan. 1799.”
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Children of Capt. Richard S. & Sarah (Frost) Tibbetts:
1. Richard-8 Tibbetts, b. 25 April 1790 Portsmouth; m. Martha Wentworth Mellon
2. Hall Tibbetts b 25 April 1790, twin to Richard
3. +Sarah Chase Tibbetts b 30 March 1792; m. John Salter
4. Harriet Chase Tibbets b 20 March 1795 Portsmouth NH; m. Benjamin Salter, brother to Sarah’s husband John Salter
5. Capt. Hall Jackson Tibbetts, b 9 Aug 1797 Portsmouth; m. Jane C. Warner
6. Dorothy Jewett Tibbetts, b. 22 July 1801 Portsmouth NH, died unmarried
7. Mary Laurin Tibbetts, b. 25 Aug 1803 Portsmouth NH, d. 5 July 1824
8. William Cutter Tibbetts b 9 July 1806 Portsmouth NH; unmarried
9. Elizabeth Tibbetts b 9 July 1806 Portsmouth NH; m. in 1837 to John Lake Salter. He b 21 May 1806 Portsmouth NH
10. Caroline Augusta Tibbetts b 11 Sep 1808; m. Capt Nathaniel William Merrill
***ADDITIONAL READING***
Families At Sea: The Captain’s Wife
Louisa A. Doane’s Journal of Two Ocean Voyages, 1852-1853 [archived pages]
