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Researching the estate of Thomas Saltar, a wealthy merchant who resided at Philadelphia during the mid to late 1700s. He left a large fortune to his family members, including my ancestor, Osse McMonigle. Unfortunately, unforeseen circumstances caused the estate to default to the City of Philadelphia.
Thomas Saltar, who was born in Monmouth County, New Jersey, was a grandson of Richard Saltar and his wife, Sarah Bowne. Among Richard and Sarah's more prominent descendants include, Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States.
Although married twice, Thomas never had any children of his own. After years of accumulating wealth and property in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and North Carolina, Thomas finally decided it was time to write a will so that his wife and family members could benefit from his long career as a merchant.
On October 4, 1785, his will was made mentioning his half-brother, John Coxe; sisters: Hannah Britton (deceased), Mary Leaming, Sarah Leaming, and Meribah Robbins; friends; and many others. After the death of Thomas's first wife, Susanna (Ulrich) Saltar, Thomas married Sarah Stewart, a widow. Thomas made a codicil to his original 1785 will on May 21, 1790, mentioing his new wife, Sarah Saltar and his family members.
According to the May 29, 1790 issue of the Pennsylvania Mercury, a Philadelphia newspaper, Thomas Saltar died Wednesday night, May 26, 1790. His brief death notice lists his occupation as "merchant."
According to John Edwin Stillwell in his book, "Historical and Genealogical Miscellany: Early Settlers of New Jersey and Their Descendants," the estate of Thomas Saltar was inventoried at $115,000, a large sum in those days.
Despite leaving a large estate, many of his heirs never received their legacies. Due to mismanagement on the executors part, most of estate was lost. Almost all of the money, bonds, and securities were eventually lost. By 1808, the P&R railroad claimed most of Thomas Saltar's riverfront property.
Over the next 200 years, the story of a "long lost fortune" was passed down orally by the descendants of the original heirs of the estate.
Several brief attempts were made at finding the truth about the estate, locating heirs, etc., but every attempt at settling the estate was unsuccessful. Arguably, the most successful attempt at settling the estate took place in 1898 by the descendants of Osse McMonigle, Thomas Saltar's niece, but to no avail.
While the chances of litigating the estate are slim, the lure of a "windfall fortune" has persisted among the descendants of the original heirs. It is hoped that one day, the issue will be completely laid to rest, but until then, it remains a very interesting story.
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