Capt. George Washington Spaulding     1816 - 1903

 

  

Photo from the Appleton Public Library

 

Born:  February 27, 1816 in Merrimack, New Hampshire.

Died:  February 14, 1903 in Appleton, Wisconsin

Place of burial:  Riverside Cemetery, Appleton, Wisconsin, Block U, Lot 1.

 

Spouse: Frances (Snow) Spaulding  (Note below)       

Children:       Stephen Spaulding (b. June 23, 1840, d. April 1, 1842)

                    Frances “Fannie” Ellen (Spaulding) Shaylor (Note below)

                    Cornelia (Spaulding) Dane

George H. Spaulding  (Note below)

 

Occupation: 

1874 Appleton City Directory identifies him with Spaulding & Co., a manufacturer.  Ryan’s History of Outagamie County described it as a stave factory and that it burned down late in 1879. 

 

A later edition notes him as proprietor of G. W. Spaulding & Co located in Appleton, WI at 770 College Ave.  Partners include F. L. Colvin and E. J. Shaylor.  Ad in the Directory says they have, “Fine lines of dry goods, cloaks, and fancy goods.  The shop eventually became Geenan Dry Goods.

 

Director at Appleton 1st National Bank

 

The City Directory also notes him as proprietor of Lawrence Flour Mill, 2nd Ward, Water Power, foot of Pearl St.

 

Trustee of the Appleton Cemetery Association, 1889-90

                             

Father’s name:  Silas Spaulding              Birth place: New Hampshire

Mother’s name: Betsey Hills                   Birth place: Massachusetts

(Clicking on the link will take you to the Merrimack, NH History and Genealogy website.  From there find the links to Family Trees, then Spalding/Spaulding.)

 

Siblings:        Rebecca Jane Spaulding

                    Leonard Woods Spaulding (See below)

                    Elbridge Spaulding

                    Ebenezer Spaulding

Step Siblings (Same father, different mother):

                    Alfred Spaulding

                    Eliza Spaulding

                    Lydia Hills Spaulding

                    Stephen Hills Spaulding

 

George and Frances moved the family to Outagamie County, Wisconsin in 1858.  The do have a modest entry in the book, Record of the Pioneers of Outagamie County, Pioneers' Association (Outagamie County, Wis.). Spencer Elihu, Editor, Post Publishing Company, 1898.  Available online at:  The State of Wisconsin Collection, search for Spaulding and select the page 91 entry.

 

George was on the committee to make arrangements for the 1860 Outagamie County Fair in Appleton, Wisconsin.

 

During the Civil War, Captain Spaulding was on a number of Appleton’s committees to recruit volunteers and appropriate bounty for them.

 

In January of 1872, George spoke at the Pioneer Festival in Appleton, Wisconsin.  His topic, “Our Manufacturers; And Still There is Room.”  From Ryan’s History of the Fox Valley.

 

A stereograph of the Spaulding home on the south side of Lawrence Street in Appleton, WI,

c. 1868

From the Outagamie County Historical Society.

 

To the best of my knowledge, George W. did not serve in the military.  The honorific of Captain appears to be of a maritime nature.  I have a tenuous link between the name Spaulding and a whaling bark known as Ocean Steed.  I have not been able to confirm this.

Watercolor painting by Benjamin Russell of the Ocean Steed in November of 1869.

Picture found in Michael Dyer’s paper Expressly Placed to Facilitate Navigation: North Atlantic Islands, Their Advantages and Impacts, 2009.

 

The California Historical Society makes reference to a G. W. Spaulding as a passenger on the Schooner Alfred, departing Connecticut on March 7, 1849 to California, possibly Sacramento.  (This most likely is not my our man as a different G. W. Spaulding died in Sacramento in 1880.)

 

Wife Frances (Snow) Spaulding was b. 1820and d. October 1, 1907 and is the daughter of William and Frances Snow.  One LDS source states she was born in Provincetown, Massachusetts and another adds that she was christened on December 29, 1822 at Ss. Philip and Jacob Church in Bristol, Gloucester, England.  The Snows had another daughter, Eunice, who married an Adam Harrington.  Eunice passed in 1908 and Adam about 1885.

 

Daughter Frances “Fannie” E. (Spaulding) Shaylor was b. May 26, 1842 and d.1878.  3 or 4 young children are buried near her: Minnie W., b. & d. 1869; Eunice “Eunie” H., b. 1872, d. 1878; Willard L., b. ?, d. 1901.  Her husband, E. Jerome Shaylor, started as a clerk at G. W. Spaulding & Co. and later became a business partner.

 

Son George H. Spaulding worked at Alesch Insurance and Realty Co. as a clerk in 1914.  It is likely that his wife is Eliza P. (Pratt) Spaulding, daughter of Miles and Deborah (Cooley) Pratt.  (From Outagamie County Pioneer Record)  There is a student at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin from 1925 through 1928 named Elmer Spaulding, possibly born in 1896 and is likely George H.’s son.

 

Brother Leonard Woods Spaulding, with his wife Lucy, had a daughter, Ida A. Spaulding.  Ida married Lawrence University Professor L. Wesley Underwood.  Prof. Underwood is noted for his efforts in math and astronomy and built a notable observatory at the institution.  More information can be found in the Commemorative biographical record of the Fox River Valley counties of Brown, Outagamie and Winnebago : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families (1895), pages 615-616.

 

1870 Census indicates George and Frances along with their daughter Cornelia and her husband Peter Dane and their first child Frances.  Also present is a domestic servant from Prussia, Mary Schaefer.

 

The 1880 Census shows that George and Frances are living in Appleton, Wisconsin along with Georgie S. and Jerome Shaylor who are identified as being their grandchildren, likely related to E. J. Shaylor, who is George’s business partner.  The census further indicates that the Shaylors are from Ohio.  Also living with the family is a Prussian servant named Maggie Kiefer.

 

The Spauldings had a domestic housekeeper living with them during the late 1880’s and early 1890’s by the name of Theresa Chriesbach.

 

Following the New Hampshire History and Genealogy website noted above will present this information regarding George W. Spauding’s parents, Silas and Betsy:

Silas-6 Spalding (Samuel-5, Henry-4, Henry-3, Andrew-2, Edward-1) b. 11 June 1767 in Merrimack NH, d. Oct 1828; m1st) 22 Jan 1797 to Rebecca Shedd; m2) 14 Jan 1798 to Elizabeth Hills, dau of Stephen Hills [she b. 2 June 1779, d. 2 July 1841]; he m3) 27 Nov 1806 to Dorcas Chandler, dau of Daniel Chandler; settled in Merrimack NH, removed to Andover VT then returned to Merrimack.
Children by 2d wife (Elizabeth Hills):
1. Rebecca Jane, b. 22 May 1798; m. 11 July 1816 James Howard of Andover NH
2. Leonard Woods, b. 26 Nov 1799; m. 19 Dec 1883 to Emily Eaton
3. Eldridge, b. 4 Jan 1802
4. Ebenezer, b. 2 Aug 1804
Children by 3rd wife (Dorcas Chandler)
5. Alfred, b. 10 Oct 1806; married Amy - [she b 1810]. Children: Mary Ann (1838), Emily F. (1839), George C. (1842), Henry L. (1843), Charles M. (1846)
6. Eliza, b. 6 Oct 1808; d. 10 Dec 1902; m. Benjamin M. Hills
7. Lydia, b. 16 Dec 1810; d. 21 June 1871; unmarried

I’m noticing that George W. is not listed amongst the children.  Going by the date of birth, George W. should then be a child by 3rd wife, Dorcas.  My source is no less than three different contributors to LDS Family Search.  I have no primary sources at this time, so please take this information with a grain of salt.  Obviously more work is needed.  The 1880 Census does, however, confirm that George W. Spaulding is from New Hampshire.

 

Mother Betsey (Hills) Spaulding, wife of Silas, is buried in the Reeds Cemetery in Merrimack, New Hampshire.  She died on July 2, 1841 at the age of 62.  The name was spelled “Spalding” and Silas is not buried with her.

 

Both Grandfathers, Samuel Spaulding and Ebenezer Hills, served in the revolutionary war according to lists compiled by the New Hampshire History and Genealogy website.  This is further elaborated on by Janice Brown.  

 

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