Bert E. Salisbury

Bert Eugene Salisbury (May 28, 1870 – October 20, 1946), was appointed president of Onondaga Pottery Company (O.P.Co.), later renamed to Syracuse China in 1913, and president and general manager of Pass & Seymour, Inc. in Solvay, a suburb of Syracuse, New York, in 1914. He ran both companies for many years.

Salisbury pursued his early education in the Geddes Union Free School, later called Porter School. He graduated from Syracuse High School in 1890. There were 43 students in his class including Edward S. Van Duyn, (1872–1955) who later was a prominent surgeon in Syracuse. Salisbury attended Cazenovia Seminary (now Cazenovia College to prepare for the ministry until illness forced him to leave.

Salisbury also held membership in and was a trustee of the West Genesee Methodist Episcopal Church. The school was recognized as a bachelor's degree granting institution in 1988.

Personal life

On December 3, 1895, Bert Salisbury was married to Mary Patterson Pharis of Syracuse who was born on June 24, 1871, in Geddes. She was the daughter of Mills Patterson Pharis and Eliza Anne Webb (born in January, 1834), of 600 Lowell Avenue.

The couple had four children:.

Katherine Pharis Salisbury (born February 13, 1905 – November 19, 2003) married Harold Locke Hazen (August 1, 1901 – February 21, 1980) on September 5, 1928 in her parents' home at 1810 West Genesee Street. Robert Mills Salisbury (born December 25, 1906 - May 14, 1989) Henry Webb Salisbury (born October 5, 1908 - May 16, 1938) William Root Salisbury (June 20, 1911 - April 6, 1990)

The family lived at 1810 West Genesee Street in Syracuse and their summer home was located on Fourth Lake in the Adirondack Mountains. which was designed by prominent Syracuse architect, Dwight James Baum. They lived briefly at 412 Berkeley Drive while this house was being built.

Salisbury died at home, of a cerebral hemorrhage, on October 20, 1946. He and his wife are buried in the family plot in Oakwood Cemetery, Syracuse.

Robert Salisbury, eldest son

His son, Robert Salisbury, was born on December 25, 1906, in Syracuse. He was married on September 20, 1930, to Dorothy MacMillan, daughter of E. J. McMillan, well known in Canton, New York in South Presbyterian Church in Syracuse. She was the granddaughter of Henry Bullis. He and his wife are buried in the family plot in Oakwood Cemetery. They had a daughter and two sons.

Henry Webb Salisbury

Son, Henry Webb Salisbury, was a pilot for Northwest Airlines, residing in Minneapolis, Minn. He and his entire family were killed in an airplane crash. They are buried in the family plot in Oakwood Cemetery, Syracuse.

William Root Salisbury, youngest son

His son, William Root Salisbury, was born on June 20, 1911, in Syracuse. He was married to Ethel Gardner, who was born on July 11, 1911. Salisbury had homes in both Central New York at 35 Lyndon Road in Fayetteville and Vero Beach, Florida, where he died on April 6, 1990. His wife, Ethel, died on April 4, 2004, while residing in Marblehead, Massachusetts, where their daughter, Judith, lived.

The couple had three children:

Marilyn Salisbury Judith Salisbury William Lawrence Salisbury

Recognition and memorials

Salisbury Road in Westvale, New York, a suburb on the west side of Syracuse was named after him.