William Gurdon Saltonstall

William Gurdon Saltonstall (December 22, 1831 – July 21, 1889) was an American naval officer during the U.S. Civil War and a prominent merchant.

Early life Saltonstall was born on December 22, 1831, in Salem, Massachusetts, into the prominent Saltonstall family. He was a younger son of lawyer Nathaniel Saltonstall (1784–1838) and Caroline ( Saunders) Saltonstall (1793–1882).

Career During the U.S. Civil War, Saltonstall commanded in succession two gunboats in the Federal Navy and rendered distinguished service. He "rose from the position of supercargo to master" and was appointed acting lieutenant of the Minnesota. and in the Little Washington affair made himself known as a brave officer. He later became a Companion of the Massachusetts Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.

After the war, he became a merchant and was treasurer of the York Manufacturing Company, Together, they were the parents of:

Robert Saltonstall (1870–1938), who married Caroline James Stevenson, a daughter of Brig. Gen. Robert Hooper Stevenson (brother of Thomas G. Stevenson), in 1904. Lucy Sanders Saltonstall (1871–1947), who married Neal Rantoul. John Lee Saltonstall (1878–1959), who married Gladys Durant Rice, a daughter of Dr. Clarence Charles Rice, in 1910. Rosamund Saltonstall (1881–1953), who married Charles Crooke Auchincloss, son of Edgar Stirling Auchincloss and brother of James C. Auchincloss, in 1906.

For many years he lived with his mother on Chestnut Street but not long before his death, his winter residence was on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, and his summer home was at Beverly Farms. He had gone abroad in hopes of improving his health, which had declined since the death of his wife in January 1889.

Descendants Through his son Robert, he was a grandfather of William Gurdon Saltonstall (1905–1989), the 8th Principal of Phillips Exeter Academy.

Through his son John, he was a grandfather of John L. Saltonstall Jr., Elizabeth Lee Saltonstall, who married August Belmont IV and Richard Lockwood Tower, and Jean Saltonstall (1921–2011), who married Benjamin Crowninshield Bradlee of Watergate infamy, and after their divorce, and Oscar Hausserman Jr.