About this blog

This blog is about the history of the Salmon family.  It also contains information about the Glasses, the Dyers and the Hilliers.

Whilst this blog has been created primarily for use by the Salmon family and our immediate relatives, we hope it will also be of use to some of our more distant relatives who may be researching their own family histories.

To view our family tree click here.

Please feel free to leave feedback if you have any comments or information that would add to our story.

Thank you for your interest, and we hope you will enjoy reading about our history.

The Salmon family

Clement Norman Salmon was born in 1896. 

When he was 21 Clem was out riding his bicycle.  He swerved to avoid a child in the road, hit a tree and was severely injured.

Clem lost his sight.

Because of his blindness Clem found it hard to find work and was unemployed most of his adult life. 

Despite this, he played the cello, made furniture and was an active member of the National League of the Blind and Disabled, a trade union of disabled workers, founded in 1894.

In 1901 Clem and his parents Edmund F W Salmon, his wife Catherine Williams and eight of their children were living at 147 Broadway, Cardiff.

Broadway, Cardiff, near Clement's family home

In 1881 the family were living with Robert Power, Catherine's husband and Edmund’s step-father.  

Catherine married Robert after the death of her first husband Edmund Salmon, Edmund F W’s father, who died in 1858.

Robert was a Lime Burner, originally from Ireland.

Edmund F W describes himself as a Warehouseman Wine and Spirits during this period.  He died in 1931.

Edmund F W’s Father Edmund Salmon was born in Bedminster near Bristol in 1833 until his death. He was an apprentice Bookbinder.

Thomas junior and Edmund's home in Bedminster

His father, Thomas Stokes Salmon junior was born in 1803 in St Phillips, Bedminster near Bristol.  He died in 1874. 

Thomas was a Bookbinder and married to Elizabeth Palmer.  In 1851 they were living at 58 South Street, Bedminster, near Bristol.

Thomas’s father Thomas Salmon senior was born in 1880 in Jamaica.  He married Hana Palmer in Gloucestershire in 1803.  He is thought to have been a doctor. 

His father, William Salmon, was born in 1743 and went to Jamaica around 1770.  His brothers Thomas Stokes Salmon and Brice Webb Salmon also spent time in Jamaica.  William's father John Salmon may also have gone to Jamaica.  

They were among the first of the 'white settlers' taking advantage of the British government's offer of land in the new colony.

William  was a Magistrate and Coroner in St Elizabeth parish Jamaica.  Thomas' mother, Mary Vassall, was described by William in his will as a ‘free woman of colour’, likely a Mulatto; from African and European stock.

To read more about the Mulatto experience, please see the Mixed Race Studies website.

William had six children with Mary Vassall.  Some say he had a further five children either with Mary or another woman, although these may have been his slaves - they are not mentioned in his will along with his children.

According to the parish register William Salmon and Mary Vassall were not married.  William had had a relationship with another mixed race woman before Mary, Elizabeth Young, with whom he had a daughter Suzanna in 1775.  Elizabeth Young died in Chettle, Jamaica in 1803. 

William and Mary’s children are described as ‘not white’.  The register states the baptisms were 'received in private', so they may have been carried out at home, and not administered by a priest.

William left Mary his house and about 12 acres of land in his will, and freed a number of slaves who had been his and Mary’s servants.

In 1817 William's children Brice Vassall and Elizabeth both owned slaves, as did Mary Vassall, which is interesting as they themselves were partly black.

The Vassalls  

John Vassall arrived in Britain in 1559.  He had been sent from Normandy by his father as a Huguenot refugee to escape the troubles in France.

By the time of his death in 1626 John Vassall had investments in Virginia, America.  He had commanded two ships against the Spanish Armada.  He built and captained a ship called the Mayflower, which took pilgrims to Cape Cod – we are not sure whether this ship was the Mayflower, which took the original pilgrim fathers to America, as there were several of this name at the time.

His great grandson John, born 1625 in Stepney, bought large tracts of land in Jamaica soon after it was seized in 1655. In 1751 the Vassalls owned three properties in St Elizabeth as well as the Friendship, Greenwich and Sweet River estates in Westomoorland.


Jamaican slaves

Mary's mother would have worked as a slave on one of these estates. 

It is most likely that Mary was the illegitimate daughter of Florentius Vassall, John’s grandson who was a big landowner in Jamaica.   

His brother Lewis may also have been the father, as he owned over 200 acres of land in St Elizabeth, and Mary named one of her sons Lewis.



Elizabeth Vassall; Mary's niece or second cousin

Florentius' granddaughter Elizabeth Vassall became a prominent socialite in England after marrying Henry Fox, 3rd Baron Holland, who she met in Naples while married to her first husband Sir Godfrey Webster, 4th Baronet, who she married when she was just 15.

Elizabeth was known for her domineering charactor.  She introduced the dahlia to England.

At the end of her life the diarist Charles Greville called her 'a social light, which illuminated and adorned England, and even Europe for a half a century'.


From his will it seems that William Salmon had a half stake in a plantation called New Crawle in St Elizabeth, Jamaica.  He left this to his brother Bryce Webb and his heirs.

William went to Jamaica along with his brother Thomas Stokes Salmon (born 1744).  His brother Bryce Webb was also in Jamaica for a while, but died in Cuba.

William’s brother Thomas Stokes Salmon was an Assistant Judge in St Elizabeth. 

Thomas Stokes Salmon also had a relationship with a mixed race woman called Suzanna Young.  They had seven children.


It is likely that Thomas Stokes Salmon’s son John inherited the New Savannah estate in Windsor, St Elizabeth.  In 1832 the estate had 1,500 acres and had over 90 slaves.  Again, John himself would have been mixed race.

In his will, Thomas Stokes Salmon paid for a memorial plaque to his mother Anne Stokes, which is still at St Mary’s Church, Thornbury (pictured below).

Thomas Stokes Salmon had an act of parliament passed to enable his children to inherit from him.  William does not appear to have made any such provision for his children, which may explain why he left his plantation to his brother Brice Webb and his heirs.

In his will, William left Thomas and his other 'reputed' sons £700 each, about £700,000 in today's money.  

Brice Webb's son and grandson, both called John,  became powerful landowners.  Brice's grandson the Hon John Salmon was Custos of St. Elizabeth and last President of the Privy and Legislative Councils of Jamaica from 1856 to 1865.  He was a leading Sugar Planter and Penkeeper (farmer). 

This picture is thought to be of the Hon. John Salmon

He owned five sugar and cattle estates in St Elizabeth parish namely; Fullerswood; Vauxhall; Maggotty; Middlesex; and The Kepp, and was one of the largest landed proprietors in Jamaica owning several thousand acres.

He lived at Fullerswood Great House, near Black River, and raised Thoroughbred Racehorses on his estate. 

The Hon John Salmon married Frances Charlotte Cooper.  They had eight children, including Thomas Stokes Salmon and William Brice Salmon (pictured). 

William Brice Salmon

William Brice Salmon (1826-1891) was a Master Mariner.  He is also listed in the Jamaica Almanac in 1860-70 as a Magistrate and Clerk of the Vestry and Collector of Dues and a Collector of Taxes - Lesser, lower works.

Emily Salmon, nee Bush, 1822-1908

William married Emily Salmon, formerly Emily Bush, (pictured).  

Emily Frances Anne Salmon b 1854

William and Emily had five children.  The eldest, Emily Frances Anne Salmon was born in 1854 is pictured below, aged about nine or ten.


















The Hon. John Salmon's son, Thomas Stokes Salmon married Emily Margaret Senior in 1848.  Emily was the daughter of Bernard Martin Senior, Esq. of Salt Spring Estate, St. Elizabeth. 


Mr.Senior was the Author of the book "Jamaica as It Was, As It Is And As It Maybe", one of the few published first-hand accounts of the Slave Rebellion of 1831-1832.   They had 5 children between 1849-1856 (Elizabeth Francis, John Bernard, Emily Charlotte, Edward Vidal and Louise).

Anne Stokes memorial, St Mary's Church, Thornbury

William and Thomas Stokes Salmon's father was John Salmon (abt. 1714-1800).  John was born in Alveston, near Bristol and it is likely that he came from the same family which owned Tokington Manor in nearby Oveston.

John’s father Edward Salmon was a Mercer (clothing tradesman) from Bristol, his father Nathaniel was a Wine Cooper from Bristol.

John Salmon married Anne Stokes, and it is likely that the Stokes family were powerful in the area, as the family used the Stokes-Salmon name for several generations afterwards, John and Anne inherited property from William Stokes.

Anne’s mother Elizabeth Grove’s father was William Grove, a Cordwainer (shoe maker) who also bequeathed property to John and Anne Salmon.

John Salmon was Mayor of Thornbury, Gloucestershire from 1756-8 and from 1766-7.  He died in 1800.

Find out more about the Salmon Family of Silver Street here.

The Glass family

Frederick Glass, aged 3

Frederick Orlando Glass was born on August 3, 1867 at 6 Diamond St, Haverfordwest.

Henry Edmond Glass

Frederick's father, Henry Edward Glass, was a Captain in the 37th Regiment 'Foot' (infantry).  He was born in Calcutta in 1835.

Frederick's mother was called Anna Evans Bridgeman, born in Tavistock, Devon in 1835.

Anna may have been a descendant of the Earls and Barons of Bradford, as the name Orlando is commonly used in the Bridgeman genealogy.  Henry and Anna married in Plymouth in 1862.



Anna died in 1869 when Frederick was just two.  His father left for India and married Katherine Julia Griffin in 1871.

They had a son, Harold Edward Lepel Glass who, like his father, joined the army.  He was recommended for the Victoria Cross in 1914 when he was seriously wounded and taken prisoner during the First World War, but was awarded the Star Ribbon.

Henry Edmond's father, Henry Harrington Glass, was born in Calcutta in 1800 and worked for the East India Civil Service during the early part of his life.

Hariet Glass with Charles in 1843

In 1861 Henry H was staying at the Kilin Hotel, Kilin in Perthshire.



In 1851 he was living at Court House, Wellington, Somerset, with his wife and three children.

Henry E was born in 1835 in Caluctta as was his younger brother Charles..



Possibly a young Matilda

Their older sister, Matilda A Glass, was born in Fife in 1832.

Colonel Andrew Glass

Henry Harrington's father, Colonel Andrew Glass, was born in St Andrews, Scotland in 1759.  He enlisted in the Bengal Artillery in 1878 and is believed to have been at the Battle of Seringapatam in India in 1799.

He retired from the army in 1807 and built  Abbey Park, which is on the outskirts of St Andrews. Col. Andrew Glass died in 1832.  His death was announced in the Schoolmaster magazine. He is buried in the grounds of St Andrews Cathedral.

Abbey Park

Abbey Park was once a girl's school, but is now derelict and there are plans to build housing on the site,

The Glass family crest

Col Andrew's father, Andrew Glass, was a merchant, born in Dundee in 1725.  The name Glass means Grey, Green or Blue in Gaelic.  The Glasses were a sept or sub-set of the Stuart Clan of Bute and the Frasers of Atholl.

The Glasses had three family mottoes.  One,  'Luctor, non mergor', means 'I struggle, but am not overwhelmed' another 'Energo', means 'rise up'.  

Andrew's father was James Glass of Dundee, born in 1695.  

Cintra Park, Croydon, London

In 1871 Frederick and his brother Henry A Glass were living with their grandfather and their Aunt Matilda at 27 Cintra Park, Croydon, London.

Newton College

In 1881, Frederick was a boarder at Newton College, Newton Abbot in Devon.

Some of Frederick's possessions 

According to Frederick's wife Hannah Gertrude, his father was an unpleasant man, constantly dissatisfied with his sons.  He sent his older son Henry A Glass to Australia and Frederick went to Canada as a young man.

This photograph of some of Frederick's possessions shows how extensively he traveled.  It includes gold from the Klondyke, a Brazilian bank note, a smelling salts bottle in a silver pendant container, a small Chinese ceramic box  He also had a Malay Kris

There is also a military button and a gold seal belonging to his great grandfather Colonel Andrew.  The seal has the Salmon family crest on it, with the 'Energo' motto.

Frederick went to Sandhurst Military College, but did not complete his officer training.  Instead he enrolled at the Chelsea College of Art..

Belvedere Rd, Penge
In 1901 Frederick was living with his aunt, Matilda at 12, Belvedere Rd, Penge, near London.

Matilda A Glass

Matilda was living on her own means, and Frederick was a  Portrait Artist.

Hannah Gertrude Gray

Frederick married Hannah Gertrude Gray, a dressmaker, sometime from January – March 1905.  Hannah was born in Sydenham, Kent, the daughter of a grocer, in 1877, but she was living in Lewisham in London in 1901.

Frederick sometimes worked as a portrait painter on cruise shops and the couple visited New York.

Nettleton Rd where Gladys was born

Their first daughter Gladys Irene was born at 12 Nettleton Rd, New Cross, London on September 7, 1902. 

Gladys was born premature and developed congenital cataracts probably because she was given too much oxygen in the incubator.

Gladys was one of the first people ever to receive transplant surgery.  She had a corneal transplant, which was at the cutting edge of medicine at the time.  This procedure did not even begin to be practiced widely until the mid 1950's.

Frederick, Hannah Gertrude and Phyllis 

By the 1911 Census, the family were living in Whitchurch Rd, Cardiff with second daughter Phyllis, born in 1906.

Frederick was able to live mainly off his family's wealth for most of his life, but he lost a lot of money in the 1929 Wall Street Crash.

Frederick died in 1933, and Hannah Gertrude in 1960.

Gladys Glass married Clement Salmon in the late 1920's.

They lived at 98 Glenroy Street, Cardiff until Clement's death in 1963.  Gladys died  in 1974.

Gladys and Clement had two children, Jean Rose in 1931 and Thomas William in 1937.

Jean Rose married Dennis Griffiths.  They had four children, Janet, Kevin, Sion and David.

Thomas William (Tom), was visually impaired.  He inherited his condition from his mother.

Like many disabled people Clement and Gladys found it hard to find work, so money was scarce.

In those days, the only way for visually impaired people to do O’, and A’ Levels, and go on to university was to attend one of two grammar schools for visually impaired people; Worcester College for boys and Chorleywood for girls.

In 1949 Tom sat the entrance exam for a free scholarship to Worcester but failed.  He tried again the following year and passed.

He went on the study History at Cardiff University, and in 1959 became the first blind person to gain a degree from that college.

Despite his achievements, and the 1960's economic boom when work was plentiful for most, Tom found it hard to find a job and spent his working life as an audio typist at the Commercial Bank of Wales, later Standard Chartered Bank.  A job he found dispiriting and boring.

But Tom found much to stimulate his mind outside of work.  He was a devout Christian and a member of the Plymouth Brethren, a strict protestant denomination.  He was a prominent ley preacher and studied Latin, Hebrew and Greek.

Tom also studied modern languages like French, German and Italian, and in 1976 won a trip to Germany, after finishing in the top six in a BBC correspondence course.

This was big news at the time, and Tom and his family appeared on the front page of the South Wales Echo.

Tom  married Nellie Dyer in 1966.  They had four children Lydia, Rachel, Deborah and Jonathan..

Tom Salmon died in 1993.

Extracts from William Salmon's will

Extracts from the will of William Salmon of Jamaica

Written 25^th July 1794. Will proved 3^rd July 1795

William Salmon of the Parish of Saint Elizabeth and Island aforesaid Esq……”this my last will and testament”…….. four thousand pounds capital three per cent Bank Stock, estate at Alveston and houses at Thornbury my “Good friends George Rolph and John Cullimore both of Parish of Thornbury, Glos, Attornies at Law” as trustees “My dear father John Salmon….My nephew John Salmon son of my brother Brice Webb Salmon….My late brother Thomas Stokes Salmon….My nephew Thomas Stokes Salmon son of my late brother John Salmon”        Two thousand pounds capital three per cent Bank Stock….

My reputed daughters Susannah Salmon and Elizabeth Salmon each of them to enjoy the dividends on one thousand pounds each for and during their natural lives and in case either of my reputed daughters should be married in that case I do empower my trustee or trustees to sell or transfer such a part of the said stock for each of their marriage portion as they my said trustee or trustees shall think fit and proper for them provided it do not exceed five hundred pounds capital……..

I give and bequeath unto each of my reputed sons Brice Vassal Salmon, Thomas Salmon, Henry Salmon and Lewis Salmon to each of them the sum of Seven Hundred Pounds sterling money of Great Britain to be paid to each of them when they reach the age of twenty one…….

I give devise and bequeath unto Mary Vassall a free woman of colour three hundred pounds current money of Jamaica to be paid her twelve months after my decease and I do give and bequeath unto the said Mary Vassall my negro boy named Arthur born of a negro woman named Paibba? To have and to keep the said negro boy named Arthur until the first day of July in the year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred and four and from that time I do give the said negro boy named Arthur his freedom and I desire he may be put apprentice to some trade and paid ten pounds sterling per annum during his natural life

And I give devise and bequeath unto the said Mary Vassall that house and about twelve acres of land situate to the westward of Black River whereon now or lately (I? or she?) did dwell to have the same for her natural life and after her death to my reputed son Brice Webb Salmon …….and whereas I stand possessed of an undivided half of the Penn or Plantation called New Crawle and the slaves and stock thereon situate in the Parish of Saint Elizabeth in the Island of Jamaica I give all my right title and interest unto my brother Brice Webb Salmon and his heirs…..And I do give my negro man named Barry Salmon an annuity of twenty pounds sterling money of Great Britain…..that the said negro man be made free and mannimised from the day of my decease….And to a negro man named Thomas Salmon whom I have already mannimized an annuity of ten pounds sterling

Codicil 12^th August 1794

A monument to be created in the church at Black River to the memory of my late dear brother Thomas Stokes Salmon with the following inscription: “To the memory of Thomas Stokes Salmon Esq of the parish of Thornbury in the County of Gloucester in the Kingdom of Great Britain many years a resident of this parish he died at Arraboldo on the fifteenth day of October 1793 universally regretted aged 51 years 11 months”

Whereas I gave my negro slave twenty pounds sterling a year…the said negro man to be paid thirty pounds sterling as an annuity further that a certain negro man named Thomas and a negro boy named Arthur allowed ten pounds currency per annum in my will be allowed twenty pounds currency…… a certain negro man named James Adams be allowed twenty pounds currency per annum

I give my reputed son Brice Vassal Salmon my watch and request that a compleat suit of Mourning….for a free Mulatto woman named Mary Vassall and a sufficient quantity of mourning for two women servants and one boy servant….

Codicil

…all my reputed children be put in…mourning and…two negro men named Barry Salmon and James Adams to have mourning….likewise all the reputed children of my late brother Thomas Stokes Salmon…….my request that immediately upon my death the said negro boy named Arthur be delivered to Mary Vassall and the annuity allowed him be paid to her….

As I have a pipe of Madeira wine a puncheon of rum and about twelve dozen bottles of Madeira wine on board it is my wish that the bottled wine and half of the puncheon rum be delivered to my father and the other half of the puncheon rum and the pipe of Madeira wine be delivered to my executors for their use as they may think proper.