Thomas was a lumberman in timber, early in life was in business with his brother Andrew, and then with his sons. Thomas and Mary lived in Abingdon, Virninia while in business with Andrew. Later they moved to Bluff City, Tennessee, then to Johnson City, then to Horsehoe Bend Farm on the Nolichucky River. Sometime after this he and Mary separated. He married Elinor M. Briggs, and moved to Hayesville, North Carolina where he died in 1933. Thomas and Elminor are buried there. Mary Jane Sroup Salts is buried in Bluff City, Tennessee.133

The sawmill that he and his sons operated moved from place to place as tracts of timber were “cut out.” This type of business involved many men, teams of muses or horses and the railroad.133

Thomas and Mary, his first wife, lived in Abingdon, Virginia when they were in business with his brother, Andrew. Later they moved to Bluff City, then to Johnson City and then to Horseshoe Bend Farm on the Nolichucky River, all in Tennessee. Thomas and Mary separated sometime after the move to the Horseshoe Bend Farm.

Notes from Genie Rice - Thomas Jefferson Salts "Tom" was born 1854 in Washington County, TN and died 1933 in Hayesville, Clay Co, NC. He married Elinor M. Briggs, who was born in 1877, the daughter of Ezekiel L. "Zeke" and Malinda Jane Shelton Briggs. Tom was the second of Elinor's three husbands. I have more on Zeke and Jane Briggs as this is one of my main branches.

Tom and Elinor had two sons:
Floyd married Gertrude Dailey. Floyd was a welder. He and Gertrude and their 12 sons and 5 daughters migrated to NY.
Plato married Willamae Meese.
This is all the information I have on either of the sons and their families.

Tom reputedly left his first wife and family to live with Elminor for 12 years before the first wife died. He then married Elminor. He was co-owner or Skelps and Salts Sawmill on Dry Fork Road, Del Rio, Cocke Co, TN, until the boiler blew up, killing three of the workers which closed the mill. (These three workers are buried at Big Hill Cemetery, Dry Fork Road.) The logs were taken out of the mountains on a railroad made with wooden rails as wide as 2 X 4's. The workers would often ride the cars of logs down the mountain for thrills. Tom introduced one of his workers, Henry Anderson Rice, to Henrietta Ellen Massey, who later became Henry's wife. Henry and Henrietta were my paternal grandparents. (From Genie Rice - The story of the sawmill "blowup" is immortalized in the book By the River and Beyond by William Nathan Jones (1996, Newport Printing Co, Newport, TN).

1920 - Unicoi County, Erwin, District 188, Tennessee Census
She is listed as married, but is living with son Joe R. It says he is married.

1940, April 16th - District 86-7, Erwin Township, Unicoi County, Tennessee308
SALTS, J. Mary head f w 84 wd VA none
SALTS, B. Cora daughter f w 66 s VA cosmetic agent / own account

Elminor was living in Hayesville, NC as of 31 May 1926.

Briggs was Elminor's maiden name. Her father was Ezekiel L. Briggs, born 25 Feb 1850 in Yancey Co, NC. He died 13 Jan 1884. His parents were John Lee Briggs of Yancey Co, and Anna Malissa Garland of Burke Co, NC. Elminor's mother was Malinda Jane Shelton, born 18 Sep 1858 in Shelton Laurel, Madison Co, NC. She died 31 May 1926 in Erwin, Unicoi Co, TN. Her parents were Rev. John S. Shelton and Harriet Melinda Metcalf, both of Shelton Laurel. Elminor's only other sibling was a sister, Celyann Briggs, born 1878. About 1910, she married Thomas A. Shelton. They had seven children.307