William Salesbury (of Rhug)
William Salesbury (1580–1660) was a Welsh privateer in the East Indies, poet and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1621 to 1622. He was Governor of Denbigh Castle, fought on the Royalist side in the English Civil War and held out for over six months until the final days of the war and only surrendered on the written instruction of Charles I.
William Salesbury was born in 1580 in a house near Denbigh, North Wales, son of John Salusbury and Eisabeth Salusbury (his namesake and the daughter of Sir John Salusbury of Lleweni) brother of Sir Robert Salesbury MP for Denbighshire and John. The family motto was A vynno Dew dervid (What God wills will come to pass) and their surname was variously spelt Salusbury, Salsberie or Salesbury.
Early in 1600's, Salesbury served on board the sailing vessel, the Barque Wylloby in the East Indies.
On 19 October 1599, Salesbury was registered for matriculation at Oriel College, Oxford.
When Sir Robert died in 1599 the estates passed to his son John Salusbury, who died in 1608. Without any children, the estate reverted to his uncle John and when he died in 1611, the estates were passed to William.
0n 10 December 1611, articles of agreement were drawn up for Salesbury to marry Dorothy Vaughan, eldest daughter of Owen Vaughan of Lloydiarth.
Extensive debts had been created from mortgages accumulated under Sir Robert and his son over the previous thirty years. On 15 May 1613, Salesbury took Pierce Griffith, Elen Owen and others to the chancery court to gain access to the lands left to him after exposing that Elen Owen had 'insinuated herself into familiarity with him (Uncle John Salesbury) by offer to be a nurse' .... 'to make a prey to herself and her accomplices of the whole estate of money, land and goods of the said John Salisburye' and leases to the estate had been obtained by 'fraud and deceit'. The Court instructed that the debt bonds held by Pierce Griffith were to be brought to court and given to Salesbury by 20 June 1613.
By frugal living Salesbury succeeded in paying off all the debts and creating an inheritance. However, when his eldest son married Mary, daughter of Gabriel Goodman of Abenbury, prothonotary of North Wales, a fierce-some quarrel drove Salesbury to split the family estate into two halves. Owen would receive Rug and the Merionethshire lands and Bachymbyd and the Denbighshire lands would be left to his second son, Charles.
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