The Salisbury Newsletter, Part I

by Denyce Cribbs

In looking through our library’s surnames files, I found many examples of family history newsletters.  Newsletters were a great way for people who had a common surname to keep in touch.  The newsletters all had similar features:  stories about ancestors, birth and death announcements, queries by readers who were trying to bust brick walls, old photos, and pedigree charts.  I pulled out one newsletter, in particular, called The Salisbury Newsletter, being published in Millville, MA, in 1996.  It caught my attention with its quotation under the family crest, “Old Genealogists Never Die, They Just Lose Their Census.”

This issue contained The Last Will and Testament of Augustus S. Salisbury, with a query by the contributor for more information.  According to her, there were no other death of cemetery records for this ancestor.  Another article described how the papers of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Harrison E. Salisbury had been donated to Columbia University.  There was an article about how to do tombstone rubbings (remember those) and an article about the Old Dutch Church in Kingston, New York, which I’ll talk about in my next post.  Especially interesting was a blurb called, Old Sarum, which I wondered if was published in every newsletter as it told the origins of the Salisbury name:

Salisbury’s history begins at Old Sarum, a desolate and uninhabited hill two miles north of the city (London) which was, up until the thirteenth century, a thriving town.  It was first settled in 300 B.C. by Iron Age tribesmen who built extensive earth works and developed it into a hill fort.  The town had a good strategic position with views over the sparsely vegetated plains down to the river Avon, and this obviously contributed to its development.  It is situated just eight miles south of Stonehenge which would also have made it attractive to early man. 

Old Sarum became a military town (Sorviodonum) during the Roman occupation but when this collapsed its development was temporarily halted and the town was abandoned.  It was reoccupied by the native Britons at this time. 

Soon after the Norman invasion of 1066 the town was renamed Salisberie and William I ordered the strengthening of the town’s defenses as well as the building of a wooden castle on the central mound.  In 1057 a cathedral was begun to the north of the castle.  Ultimatley, this forced the foundation of the modern city of Salisbury as there was insufficient acreage for the military and the clergy to share.

Of course, I was curious to find out what Old Sarum had to do with one of my favorite dishes, Salisbury steak.  According to Wikipedia, the term “Salisbury steak” has been in use in the United States since 1897.  The dish is named after an American physician, James H. Salisbury (1823-1905).  Salisbury served as a physician during the American Civil War, and became convinced that diarrhea suffered by the troops could be controlled with a diet of coffee and lean chopped beefsteak.  So there you have it.

Although you won’t find many family history newsletters that are printed and mailed out anymore, you will find many family websites, blogs, and forums that center around particular surnames, or regions of the world where family is from.  It’s a great way to keep in touch and add to your research!