Bridget Salter

Bridget Shea was born c.1751 in County Cork, Ireland. She married Samuel Salter c. 1781. He was the son of Samuel Salter and Mary Pendergast. She died. April 30, 1831 in Uniontown, Fayette County, Pennsylvania. Samuel was a tavern-keeper and Bridget was his cook and ran the dining room.

"At and before the beginning of the present century [19th century], Samuel Salter kept a tavern in an old log and frame house that stood on the lot now occupied by the handsome residence of the Hon. John K. Ewing. Chief Justice McKean "put up" at this old tavern on his visits to Uniontown to hold the courts of Fayette county and was frequently regaled with roast pig. The pig was well prepared, cooked and dressed, and in all respects savory, but its frequent appearance on the table moved the old Chief Justice to believe that he was getting "too much of a good thing", and accordingly one day, in peremptory terms, he commanded the dining room girl to remove the offensive dish, which she did with trembling hands. This , of course, raised a storm in the old hostelry. Mrs. Salter became indignant, and, bringing back the pig, placed it on the table, at the same time, addressing the Judge thus: "You are Chief Justice and run the court; I am chief cook and run this dining room. That pig must stay", and it did." [excerpt from "The Old Pike: a History of the National Road, with Incidents, Accidents and Anecdotes Thereon" by Thomas B. Searight, pp. 236-237]

She was buried in the Old Uniontown Methodist Episcopal Cemetery. A list of burials was compiled by James Haddon in 1910, when the cemetery was considered for abandonment. It was located at the corner of Arch and Peter Streets in Uniontown. (Ohio Records and Pioneer Families, Volume 20, page 163). The stones for Bridget and her son Alexander still stand.

Children of Bridget Shea and Samuel Salter are:

• Nancy Salter, b. 29 Dec 1782, Uniontown, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, d. 25 Jul 1866, Portsmouth, Ohio.
• William Salter, b. 01 Aug 1786, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, d. 05 Oct 1876, Portsmouth, Ohio.
• Samuel K. Salter, b. 31 Dec 1789, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, d. 31 Jul 1844, Scioto County, Ohio.
• Alexander M. Salter, b. Abt. 1796, Union Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, d. 24 Aug 1834, Union Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania.
• Eli W. Salter, d. 1824, Union Boro, Fayette County, Pennsylvania (he was found dead, no age given).