Two months after the death of former Massachusetts Senate President Kevin B. Harrington of Salem, Essex County lost another of its iconic politicians this past weekend, Manchester's William L. Saltonstall.

If the name is familiar, it's because the Saltonstall family's roots here can be traced to Sir Richard Saltonstall who accompanied John Winthrop to Salem in 1630 aboard the Arbella. Yet despite his impressive pedigree, "Bill" Saltonstall was as modest and easygoing a person as one was likely to encounter on Beacon Hill during the 12 years he represented a district that stretched from Cape Ann to Newbury in the state Senate during the 1960s and '70s.

Saltonstall died last Friday night at home of an apparent heart attack. He was 81 years old. One of his last public appearances was at Harrington's funeral in early December.

Both politicians were nearly the same age and came from families steeped in public service — one on the Democratic side, the other Republican.

Both Bill Saltonstall and Kevin Harrington came from an era when party affiliation and ideology took a back seat to principle and pragmatism. Fortunately for the region, the high standard Saltonstall set for the holder of the 1st Essex and Middlesex Senate seat has been upheld by his successors, currently, Bruce Tarr of Gloucester. It might be the reason it's one of the few legislative districts in Massachusetts the majority Democrats have yet to crack.