Mr. Salters adventures after death

[MadMike]

Haven't had the chance to read the book yet (busy with research for next book). Will make a deal, send me an autographed copy and I'll return the favor-

http://www.amazon.com/Broken-Arrow-Declass...4866649-9674608

Yours, Mike

[Dutchman]

Haven't had the chance to read the book yet (busy with research for next book). Will make a deal, send me an autographed copy and I'll return the favor-

WOO HOO SOMEONE WANTS ME AUTOGRAPH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! eat yer heart out sterling!!!

actually, i suppose you want kevins autograph. oh well- i'll pick it up in two weeks for ya. pm me with what you want it to say and an addy.

[LookingGlass]

Washington Daily News (NC)

Salter hearing set for end of month

Sermons to preside over case

By BETTY MITCHELL GRAY

Staff Writer

Published: Saturday, November 7, 2009 2:19 AM EST

Beaufort County’s newest Superior Court judge is scheduled to play a role this month in deciding the future resting place of the remains of a man believed to have been a member of Blackbeard’s pirate crew.

A hearing has been scheduled for Monday, Nov. 30, in Beaufort County Superior Court before Superior Court Judge Wayland J. Sermons Jr. to determine whether the estate of Edward Salter, who has been dead for more than 250 years, should be opened and a Raleigh researcher be appointed executor of the estate.

In addition to being Beaufort County’s newest judge, Sermons owns a home in Bath, also believed to be the home of the man whose estate will be before the court. And until his appointment to the bench, Sermons served as the attorney for the Town of Bath.

The hearing was scheduled after Waxhaw lawyer J. Erik Groves appealed the May ruling by Beaufort County Clerk of Court Marty Paramore denying the request to reopen Salter’s estate and appoint Raleigh researcher and author Kevin P. Duffus its executor.

Groves and Assistant Attorney General Karen A. Blum, representing the state in the dispute, refused to comment on the case.

According to court documents, Duffus wants to be Salter’s executor, in part, so that genetic testing can be done by East Carolina University on the skeletal remains, which are currently housed by the Office of State Archaeology in Raleigh and which he believes to be those of Salter.

Duffus believes that this same Edward Salter, a barrel maker who died in 1735, may have been a member of Blackbeard’s pirate crew who escaped the noose and returned to settle in Bath. Salter went on to become a warden of St. Thomas Parish and an assemblyman representing Beaufort County in 1731.

The bones of the man Duffus believes to be Salter ended up in Raleigh after what was then TexasGulf asked for permission to install a bulkhead on the west bank of Bath Creek. Archeological examinations before the work was done yielded the remains.

A later forensic examination by researchers at Wake Forest University showed that the individual was right handed, with “the right ulna being more robust than the left.” The skeleton was that of a man who had “significant and pronounced strength in the arms and upper body rather than the legs,” according to court filings. Duffus has speculated that these findings are consistent with those of a man who had worked as a barrel maker.

In its filings, the state opposes Duffus’ petition, saying it has a duty to conserve the remains permanently.

Lawyers for the state argue that Duffus’ “mere speculation” about the identity of the bones is not sufficient to reopen Salter’s estate and that, if the bones prove not to be those of Salter, the state would have no means of regaining custody of them and would lose a valuable archeological asset.

The state also maintains that the Unmarked Human Burial and Human Skeletal Remains Protection Act gives the state archeologist purview over the bones and that they should be “permanently curated according to standard museum procedures after adequate skeletal analysis.”

In May, a hearing was held before Paramore to consider a motion to reopen Salter’s estate and name Duffus executor of the estate. Two of Salter’s descendants came from Missouri for the hearing to back Duffus’ motion but the petition was later denied.

In October, the Beaufort County Board of Commissioners adopted a resolution asking for genetic testing of the skeletal remains and, if the tests determine the remains are those of Salter, the resolution seeks “the prompt and respectful return” of the remains from the N.C. Office of State Archeology to Beaufort County so they can be buried in the St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Bath.

The Washington City Council is set to adopt a similar resolution at its meeting Monday night.

[Dutchman]

and an update..... hey kevin, when is the next hearing?

Lawyers: State erred in Salter-remains case

By BETTY MITCHELL GRAY

Staff Writer

Published: Wednesday, January 6, 2010 2:19 AM EST

http://www.wdnweb.com/articles/2010/01/06/news/doc4b43de1cba167833702890.txt

Lawyers for the state acknowledged in a special session of Beaufort County Superior Court on Tuesday that the state archeologist did not follow proper procedure in 1986 when the archeologist unearthed the remains of a man believed to be a member of Blackbeard’s pirate crew.

Karen A. Blum, an assistant attorney general, told Superior Court Judge Wayland Sermons that the state had not published notice of the excavation of the remains, as required by state law to determine the identity or next of kin — or both — of the deceased.

State Archeologist Stephen R. Claggett said, under questioning by Sermons, that the state’s oversight should not affect the court’s decision regarding the estate of Edward Salter.

“There was a tremendous amount of statewide publicity about what we were doing,” he said.

Sermons said he will file a written decision in the case. He asked the public not to contact him about the case before he rules in the matter.

“A long time has passed since 1986,” Sermons said at the conclusion of the hearing. “The court is not going to decide this case today.”

The hearing — an appeal of a May 2009 ruling by Clerk of Court Marty Paramore — to determine whether Salter’s estate should be reopened was heard before a crowd of some 40 onlookers. It was scheduled after J. Erik Groves, a lawyer for Kevin P. Duffus, appealed Paramore’s ruling denying the request to reopen Salter’s estate and appoint Duffus, a Raleigh researcher and author, its executor.

For more than two hours, lawyers for Duffus and the state first argued whether Sermons should allow new evidence to be presented in the case and, later, whether the estate should be reopened.

During the hearing, Sermons allowed into evidence to pieces of information that, he said, could play a role in his decision-making process.

He allowed Groves to admit evidence, stipulated to by the state’s lawyers, that the state archeologist had not properly advertised its discovery of the remains in order to find descendants of the man believed to be Salter. State law requires the state archeologist to “publish notice that excavation of the remains has occurred, at least once per week for four successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the burials or skeletal remains were situated.”

Groves told the court that “the state archeologist shouldn’t be allowed to come into the court room with unclean hands.”

Sermons also allowed into evidence a memorandum from the state stating that the older of two burial sites uncovered in the 1986 excavation is “thought to be that of Edward Salter Sr.”

“Having these two items on the record changes the playing field slightly,” he said from the bench.

Sermons called for testimony from Claggett, questioning him about the procedures the state follows when unidentified remains are uncovered and the state’s interest in preserving the remains of the man believed to be Salter.

“Does the state have an interest in preserving the remains?” Sermons asked.

The state could gain “a tremendous amount of information from studying the remains,” Claggett said. “We have looked as these remains with an eye to applying new techniques up to and including DNA analysis.”

Sermons asked Claggett about possible DNA tests that could be performed on the remains.

“If this sort of analysis is done, it would have to be done very carefully,” Claggett said.

Sermons asked, “Is DNA necessary to determine whether the next of kin are entitled to the body?”

“No,” Claggett replied.

Sermons then asked, “Is there an interest by the state such that the state would fight to keep the bones against the wishes of the next of kin?”

“No,” Claggett replied.

Under questioning, Claggett told Sermons that he believes the state is keeping the remains in a public location with the proper acknowledgement of their historical importance

“Obviously, that doesn’t return whoever was slumbering on the banks of Bath Creek to a decent internment,” he said.

According to court documents, Duffus wants to be the Salter estate’s executor, in part, so that genetic testing can be done by East Carolina University on the skeletal remains, which are currently housed by the Office of State Archaeology in Raleigh and which he believes to be those of Salter.

During questioning by Groves, Claggett said that DNA testing would not positively confirm the identity of the remains.

“There is always margin for error,” Claggett said.

Sermons asked Groves if he and Duffus had taken the wrong legal approach by trying to open Salter’s estate if their ultimate goal was to gain possession of the bones believed to be those of Salter.

“If you allow us to open up the estate of Edward Salter, you give us a vehicle to go after the bones,” Groves said. “You give us legal standing.”

He said that in the years since Salter’s death, the number of people claiming to be next of kin would be unmanageable for the state to deal with in the matter and that Duffus should be appointed a personal representative of those next of kin who have come forward to date.

Blum said the Department of Cultural Resources, which oversees the state archeologist, is not trying to interfere with the reopening of the estate but “is the proper custodian of these remains.”

Sermons asked Blum, “Would the state require every possible next of kin to deal the state archeologist” in the disposition of Salter’s remains?

Blum said, “No.”

Sermons then asked, “300 years is a long time to create progeny. Would not a personal representative of the heirs be helpful” in the matter?

Blum said the statute requires the state archeologist to work with “the next of kin.”

Duffus believes that this Edward Salter, a barrel-maker who died in 1735, may have been a member of Blackbeard’s pirate crew who escaped the noose and returned to settle in Bath. Salter went on to become a warden of St. Thomas Parish and an assemblyman representing Beaufort County in 1731.

The bones of the man believed to be Salter ended up in Raleigh after what was then Texasgulf (now PotashCorp Aurora) asked for permission to install a bulkhead on the west bank of Bath Creek. Archeological examinations before the work was done yielded the remains in 1986.

In an interview after the hearing, Duffus said he was pleased that Sermons allowed the new evidence to be entered into the court record.

“I’m very satisfied that the court allowed us to supplement the evidence, and I’m please that it was allowed into evidence that the state has believed these remains to be Edward Salter since 1986,” he said. “Unfortunately, we don’t yet know the conclusion of the court.”

Sermons could rule to grant Duffus’ appeal and reopen the estate or he could stay Duffus’ appeal while the state advertises for Salter’s heirs to come forward.

[Dutchman]

Sermons rules in favor of Salter's heirs

Saturday, January 9, 2010

By Betty Mitchell Gray

The state will have to advertise for heirs and comply with their wishes regarding the remains of a man believed to be a member of Blackbeard’s pirate crew following the ruling Friday afternoon by Superior Court Judge Wayland Sermons.

In his three page ruling, Sermons stayed an appeal by Raleigh researcher and author Kevin P. Duffus and ordered the state to comply with its own procedures, which require it to publish notice of the excavation of human remains in order to determine the identity or next of kin, or both, of the deceased.

Sermons also ordered that the state and Duffus report on the ultimate disposition of the skeletal remains within 60 days.

The effect of the ruling will be to return Salter’s remains to Beaufort County within the year, according to Tom Thompson, executive director of the Beaufort County Economic Development Commission.

Thompson is one of several Beaufort County leaders who have pressed the state to allow genetic testing on the remains and, if they are proven to be those of Salter, to allow them to be buried in the graveyard of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Bath, according to Salter’s wishes.

“I think we will be burying Edward Salter in Beaufort County in the next 12 months,” he said. “It will be a joyous occasion. . .and it will be an historic occasion.”

Sermons’ ruling came three days after a hearing in Beaufort County Superior Court during which lawyers for the state admitted that the state archeologist did not follow proper procedure in 1986 when it unearthed the remains of the man believed to be Edward Salter.

Despite that admission, State Archeologist Stephen R. Claggett said under questioning by Sermons that the state’s oversight should not affect the court’s decision regarding the estate of Edward Salter.

“There was a tremendous amount of statewide publicity about what we were doing,” he said.

The hearing - an appeal of a May 2009 ruling by Clerk of Court Marty Paramore - to determine whether Salter’s estate should be reopened was heard before a crowd of some 40 onlookers. It was scheduled after lawyers for Duffus appealed Paramore’s ruling denying the request to reopen Salter’s estate and appoint Duffus its executor.

For more than two hours, lawyers for Duffus and the state first argued whether Sermons should allow new evidence to be presented in the case and, later, whether the estate should be reopened.

Duffus believes that this same Edward Salter, a barrel maker who died in 1735, may have been a member of Blackbeard’s pirate crew who escaped the noose and returned to settle in Bath. Salter went on to become a warden of St. Thomas Parish and an assemblyman representing Beaufort County in 1731.

The bones of the man believed to be Salter ended up in Raleigh after what was then TexasGulf asked for permission to install a bulkhead on the west bank of Bath Creek. Archeological examinations before the work was done yielded the remains.

In an interview Friday afternoon, Duffus said Sermons’ ruling was a “positive development.”

“The heirs (of Edward Salter) will have the opportunity to express an opinion as to whether the remains will reside in a box in Raleigh or will be returned for burial to Beaufort County,” he said. “I hope this will lead to a day in the not too distant future that Edward Salter’s dying wish will be honored.”

[Dutchman]

WASHINGTON, N.C. (Map, News) -

A judge has ruled that the remains of a Colonial-era resident who may have been a surviving member of Blackbeard's pirate crew must be turned over to people thought to be the man's descendants.

Judge Wayland Sermons Jr. approved an agreement Wednesday between state officials and the presumed descendants of Edward Salter, who died in 1735, The Washington Daily News reported Thursday. The state Office of State Archaeology now possesses the bones uncovered in 1986 during construction of a bulkhead near the Colonial port town of Bath by a phosphate mining company. The state is to turn over the remains June 18.

Sermons also praised the work of researcher and historian Kevin Duffus of Raleigh for his research into the remains. Duffus' 2008 book, "The Last Days of Black Beard the Pirate," argued that Salter was a barrel-maker who was forced to join Blackbeard's crew and was not executed in Williamsburg, Va., along with other crew members after the captain's death in 1718.

"You, sir, have opened a can of bones and I thank you for it," Sermons told Duffus.

Duffus has sought genetic testing on the bones to confirm his theory.

DNA identification may be possible in the future, but for now other tests can narrow down whether the bones match up with what is known about Salter, said Smithsonian Institution anthropologist Douglas Owsley, who plans to examine the remains beginning later this month at the request of Salter's presumed descendants.

Examining the bones can determine whether they come from a man or woman, whether a person was well-fed, whether he ate a diet common to Great Britain or North America of that period, whether he was healthy or sickly, and whether he performed manual labor typical of a barrel-maker, Owsley said in an interview with The Associated Press.

"We can help them better understand whether that man is Salter," said Owsley, who heads the Division of Physical Anthropology at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.

The findings will become part of the museum's work studying what human bones tell about the early European and African settlers in the Mid-Atlantic.

Duffus's research found that Salter appeared in the records of Bath when he purchased two town lots in October 1721, The News & Observer of Raleigh reported last year. Additional property deeds and records reflect Salter's success as a barrel-maker, merchant and planter.

Documents in the British Archives describe a barrel-maker named Edward Salter who was forced into piracy aboard Blackbeard's flagship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, on Dec. 5, 1717, near Puerto Rico. A warrant issued by King George I of Great Britain lists a common sailor named Edward Salter among six men suspected of being members of Blackbeard's pirate crew and arrested in Bath in November 1718.

Although popular history lists Salter among 13 Blackbeard crew members who were convicted and executed, official records to not name Salter among those executed.

-----

Information from: Washington Daily News, http://www.wdnweb.com

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[William Brand]

I have enjoyed following this thread. The debate of law and remains alone is interesting enough, but the rest. Very interesting stuff. Thanks for the updates and differing opinions and references.

[Dutchman]

Heirs: Reinter Salter at ‘Secotan’

The vestry at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Bath recently voted to allow the remains of purported pirate Edward Salter to be buried on church grounds, provided they be placed beneath a marker that would not list Salter’s name and date of birth. (WDN Photo/Jonathan Clayborne)

By JONATHAN CLAYBORNE

and BETTY MITCHELL GRAY

Staff Writers

Published: Wednesday, September 15, 2010 2:18 AM EDT

BATH — The remains of a man believed to have been a member of Blackbeard’s pirate crew are scheduled to return to Beaufort County next month, but their final resting place has yet to be determined.

The court-recognized heirs of alleged pirate-turned-wealthy-Bath-merchant Edward Salter have failed to convince the vestry at St. Thomas Episcopal Church that their ancestor should be buried with an identifiable marker on church grounds.

Citing questions about the identity of the person whose remains were the subject of its deliberations, the vestry voted to allow the remains to be buried in the church cemetery, provided the marker would not list a name and date of birth.

“This was, in our minds, the very best solution for everyone concerned,” said Father Eric Zubler, rector of the church. “We welcomed those colonial bones back with open arms. That’s just not an issue for us at all.”

Some experts have questioned whether the bones are Salter’s, Zubler said.

Pat Mansfield, a member of Zubler’s church and a history buff, disagreed with the vestry’s decision. Mansfield said much evidence points to the likelihood that the bones are Salter’s, and she highlighted the port village merchant’s involvement in the establishment of the church.

“After all of this documentation and all this person’s contributions, they’re not going to be viewing Edward Salter and his contributions to Bath as a leader from 1720 to 1735 and also his very special relationship to St. Thomas Church,” she said of the vestry.

Now, the heirs say they want the remains to be returned to the spot where they were unearthed — Bath’s Beasley Point, a site owned by PotashCorp, which has a phosphate-mining operation near Aurora.

In addition to its widely recognized colonial-era components, some historians and archaeologists contend Beasley Point is the most likely candidate for the Secotan Indian village painted by English watercolorist John White on a 1585 expedition.

A coalition of county officials, preservationists and others is hoping PotashCorp will allow further archaeological digs at the site.

Salter’s heirs are waiting for permission from PotashCorp to have the remains reinterred at the site.

“We ... wanted, in a very specific way, to make the remains available for the benefit of history and science and also to alert the public to preserving these kinds of things with dignity and discretion,” said the Rev. John Stephen Park, of Fort Wayne, Ind., one of the people identifying themselves as Salter’s heirs.

“Even though my strong feelings for him are as a progenitor, I do feel he’s a public figure, and he doesn’t just belong to me, he belongs to the state of North Carolina,” Park said.

The remains are scheduled to return to Beaufort County by Oct. 3. They will be temporarily interred in an undisclosed location while their final resting spot is determined, according to Raleigh researcher Kevin Duffus, whose longtime interest in the history of eastern North Carolina has helped determine the fate of the remains.

Duffus believes that this same Edward Salter, a barrel-maker who died in 1735, may have been a member of Blackbeard’s pirate crew who escaped the noose and returned to settle in Bath. Salter went on to become a warden of St. Thomas Parish and an assemblyman representing Beaufort County in 1731.

Salter once owned a plantation along Beasley Point, where the remains were unearthed in 1986 as part of a state-led archaeological investigation that preceded the bulkheading of the property.

The bones of the man Duffus believes to be Salter ended up in Raleigh after what was then TexasGulf asked for permission to install the bulkhead on the west bank of Bath Creek.

The remains have been sent to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History for evaluation after a ruling earlier this year by Superior Court Judge Wayland Sermons ordered the state to search for Salter’s heirs and turn the remains over to those heirs.

Paul Funeral Home of Washington, which delivered the bones to the Smithsonian, has volunteered to help with their disposition, a company official said Tuesday.

Despite the lack of genetic evidence, Duffus and others are convinced that the remains are those of Salter.

“There will never be any DNA test that will tell us the name of this person,” he said. “We would have to have the DNA of Edward Salter’s mother, for example, to compare to these remains to say conclusively that these remains were Edward Salter or a brother of Edward Salter.”

Duffus said the evidence that the remains were Salter’s was sufficient to convince Sermons to order the state to turn those remains over to the next of kin.

“You would have to say that the identification wasn’t in question to do such a thing,” he said.

The forensic analysis of the remains at the Smithsonian has narrowed the potential place of birth of the individual to the upper Mid-Atlantic area — most likely the New Jersey region — which was the home of several members of the Salter family in the 17th century, Duffus related.

The Smithsonian tests also indicate that the individual may very likely have been a barrel-maker, strengthening findings by state archeologists in 1986, Duffus said.

The family will allow a small portion of bone to be retained and archived by the Smithsonian so that, in the future, when technology develops further, there may be genetic tests that can definitively link the remains to living descendants, Duffus said.

Efforts to contact the Smithsonian were unsuccessful.

Meanwhile, the identity of the remains of a black woman, uncovered along with those believed to be Salter, are still a mystery. The state did not receive a response to its advertisements asking for heirs to come forward and. as a result, those remains will continue to be housed in Raleigh.

Tom Thompson, Beaufort County’s economic developer, is among the local officials advocating for the return of the remains to the county.

“All I can say is he is a very prominent part of North Carolina history,” Thompson said, referring to Salter. “I think we need to do something suitable and appropriate.”

[Dutchman]

edit* here is a direct link, has pictures.

http://www.wdnweb.com/articles/2010/10/04/news/doc4ca7c69fa381e114928748.txt

Salters remains returned to Beaufort County

By BETTY MITCHELL GRAY

Staff Writer

Published: Sunday, October 3, 2010 2:15 AM EDT

One day after a historic deluge hit Beaufort County, history of another kind was

made in a quiet ceremony with the arrival of the remains in Washington of a man

believed to have been a member of Blackbeards pirate crew.

At about 8 p.m. Friday, a pine coffin carrying the remains of

pirate-turned-wealthy-Bath-merchant Edward Salter was carried into Paul Funeral Home

by five members of the Beaufort County Committee of 100 and the historian who fought

for more than a year for their return.

This could be a very important day for Beaufort County, said Tom Richter, mayor of

Washington Park and chairman of the Committee of 100. In 10 years. we could look

back on this day as a part of the history of the county.

Edward Salter was a terrifically important person to Beaufort County when he was

alive, and his kin were very important to North Carolina, Richter said. He was

part of an extraordinary family.

Others there agreed with Richter.

This is a piece of history for sure, said Dick Barber, a local businessman who

helped carry Salters coffin.

The brief ceremony marked the return of Salters remains to Beaufort County for the

first time in nearly 25 years.

His remains will be kept at Paul Funeral Home until later this month when they will

be temporarily interred in an undisclosed location while their final resting spot is

determined, according to Raleigh researcher and author Kevin Duffus, whose longtime

interest in the history of eastern North Carolina has helped determine their fate.

Duffus cause was supported by the Committee of 100, whose members have said they

not only value Salters contribution to Beaufort County but believe that promoting

the countys history will spur economic development.

Duffus believes that this same Edward Salter, a barrel-maker who died in 1735, may

have been a member of Blackbeards pirate crew who returned to settle in Bath.

Salter went on to become a warden of St. Thomas Parish and an assemblyman

representing Beaufort County in 1731.

Salter once owned a plantation along Beasley Point, where the remains were unearthed

in 1986 as part of a state-led archaeological investigation that preceded the

bulkheading of the property.

The bones ended up in Raleigh after what was then TexasGulf asked for permission to

install the bulkhead on the west bank of Bath Creek.

They were sent to the Smithsonian Institutions National Museum of Natural History

for evaluation after a ruling earlier this year by Superior Court Judge Wayland

Sermons. The Smithsonian is expected to announce its complete findings later this

year, Duffus said Friday.

Salters remains were brought back to eastern North Carolina from Washington, D.C.,

by Duffus and were met near the Old Ford community with a hearse from Paul Funeral

Home.

They were transferred to a pine coffin built by Impressions Marketing Group to

resemble an 18th-century coffin similar to the one originally used to bury Salter.

The remains were accompanied the final 22 miles to Washington by Duffus and Paul

Funeral Home employees Derik Davis and Lawrence Mallard.

When we crossed the Beaufort County line, I said, Mr. Salter, you are home,

Duffus said Friday night. This is an important step in fulfilling Mr. Salters

dying wish of being decently interred.

Beaufort County native Davis said he was honored to participate in Salters return.

I grew up hearing about Blackbeard, and I could never have imagined that at some

point I would be bringing into town the bones of a man who was a member of his

crew, said Davis. It feels wonderful to think that I can be a part of something

that took place hundreds of years ago on the soil where I live.

Bobby Hodges, president of Paul Funeral Home, also said he was proud to play a part

in the historic moment. The company has donated its time with the internment of

Salters remains.

Any time you can help promote the heritage of your community, you are proud to do

so, he said.

Salters court-recognized heirs have said they want the remains to be returned to

the spot where they were unearthed Baths Beasley Point, a site owned by

PotashCorp, which has a phosphate-mining operation near Aurora.

In addition to its widely recognized colonial-era components, some historians and

archaeologists contend Beasley Point is the most likely candidate for the Secotan

Indian village painted by English watercolorist John White on a 1585 expedition.

Salters heirs are expected to meet with PotashCorp officials later this month when

they will be in Beaufort County for the temporary burial of their ancestor.

[Dutchman]

Salter laid to rest — temporarily

By JONATHAN CLAYBORNE

Washington Daily News

jonathan@wdnweb.com

Staff Writer

Published: Tuesday, October 26, 2010 2:16 AM EDT

The burial ceremony was conducted with all the usual solemnity due an occasion that marks the passing of a loved one.

The key difference was this loved one didn’t die a few days ago — he passed away in January 1735.

Remains believed to be those of colonial-era cooper, merchant, assemblyman — and, perhaps, Blackbeard the pirate’s crewman — Edward Salter were reinterred Sunday afternoon in Beaufort County.

Gathered before the reburial at Washington’s Paul Funeral Home, with a dozen or so known Salter heirs and others, Father Eric Zubler of Bath’s St. Thomas Episcopal Church said a prayer.

“May angels surround him and saints welcome him in peace,” Zubler said of Salter.

Shortly after the prayer, the remains were transported by hearse to the burial site.

At the graveside, Zubler and the heirs tossed handfuls of dirt on top of the coffin, which was made of Beaufort County pine and donated by Impressions Marketing Group of Washington.

The funeral was donated by Paul Funeral Home.

As the heirs sat under a funeral tent at the graveside, Zubler approached them to say that, in looking at them, he saw family members who might not have come together but for the rediscovery of Salter’s remains.

“For you all are related to a great person, a colonial personage, Edward Salter,” he said, “and that is something to celebrate.”

Bible verses were read by Tom Thompson, Beaufort County’s chief economic developer, and one of the heirs, the Rev. John Stephen Park of Fort Wayne, Ind.

Kevin Duffus, a Raleigh researcher and historian who speaks for the heirs, gave a eulogy, the coffin before him draped in a British flag of the colonies.

“Our nation was built upon the dreams, and bones, of our ancestors,” Duffus said. “Our freedom, our security and the comforts of life we enjoy today, are due in large measure to the forgotten grandfathers of our nation, men such as Edward Salter of Bath. Their final resting places must always be honored, protected and preserved as hallowed ground. Their mortal remains are sacred.”

The remains were disinterred from a brick-lined tomb roughly a quarter-century ago as part of archaeological investigation into the Beasley Point area in Bath. The investigation was initiated after Texasgulf Chemical Co. hatched plans to build a bulkhead on the property. Begun in 1985, the investigation was ended in 1986, according to county officials.

Salter’s remains were tucked away in a state storage facility for years, until a group of heirs and history buffs successfully petitioned the court to have the bones returned to Beaufort County.

Now that the bones have gone back to ground, at least for a while, the heirs and county officials are urging PotashCorp, Texasgulf’s successor corporation, to allow Salter to be permanently reinterred on the Beasley Point land, which the company owns.

Toward that end, one of the descendants will meet with PotashCorp officials Thursday, Duffus related after Sunday’s ceremony.

Before the ceremony, several of Salter’s heirs were overheard expressing their collective wish that the remains be reburied at Beasley Point, exactly where they were unearthed, and that the family and the public be permitted to visit the grave.

In his eulogy, Duffus referred to the Pamlico River, which has sustained life here for centuries, and to Salter, whose life’s journey ended on Bath Creek.

“What debt might we owe this man who established his home near the banks of the ancient Pamlico three centuries ago?” he asked. “How can we possibly begin to comprehend and appreciate the significance of Edward Salter’s life, and his contribution to the community we live in today? Oh, how things have changed since this man walked these shores.”