By Staff
Pallbearers carry remains believed to be those of colonial Bath merchant Edward Salter to a hearse outside Paul Funeral Home in Washington on Sunday. After a brief prayer at a gathering of Salter’s heirs and others, the remains were temporarily reinterred at an undisclosed location in Beaufort County on Sunday afternoon. Salter is believed to have been a member of the pirate Blackbeard’s crew, but, before his death, the prosperous man distinguished himself as one of Bath’s leading citizens. Salter’s remains were unearthed in the late 1980s as part of an archaeological investigation of Bath’s Beasley Point area, before a bulkhead was installed on the property. In state custody, the bones were kept in storage for nearly a quarter-century before Salter’s heirs and supporters successfully petitioned a court to have the remains returned to Beaufort County. The heirs now seek the permanent reburial of the remains where they were disinterred — at Beasley Point, which is owned by PotashCorp, a phosphate-mining company with a facility in Aurora. Toward this end, an heir will meet with a Potash official on Thursday, said Kevin Duffus, a Raleigh researcher and spokesman for the heirs. For full coverage of the reburial, see a future print edition. (WDN Photo/Jonathan Clayborne)