The first known authentic record of the Spalding family in America appears in a Virginia state document (senate report) entitled Virginia Colonial Records, 1619-1680, published by authority of the state of Virginia. The documents there presented were printed from copies obtained from the public record office of Great Britain and include an account of the history of the Virginia colony. It was in the year 1607 that the first emigrants to successfully form a permanent colony landed in Virginia. The colony was ruled during the earlier years by laws written in blood, and the colonists suffered an extremity of distress too horrible to be described. Of the thousands of emigrants who had been sent to Virginia at great cost, not one in twenty remained alive in April, 1619, when Sir George Yeardley arrived with commissions and instructions "for the better establishment of a commonwealth heere." The first meeting was held July 30, 1619, more than a year before the "Mayflower," with the Pilgrims on board, sailed on her historic voyage. Conclusive evidence proves that Edward Spalding came over from England with Sir George Yeardley in 1619 or about that time. There is documentary evidence that Edward Spalding and his family were fully established in the Virginia colony in 1623, as his name appears in these "Virginia colony records" in "Lists of the Living and the Dead in Virginia February 16, 1623"; under the caption "All James Citie" in list of the living is "Edward Spalding, uxor (wife) Spalding, puer (boy) Spalding, puella (girl) Spalding." The supposition is that Edward and Edmund Spalding, whose names also appear on same lists later, emigrated together from England about 1619; that some years later Edward went to the Massachusetts colony, while Edmund joined the Maryland colony under Lord Baltimore and was the progenitor of the "Maryland branch."
Powhatan, the friend of the English, died and on March 22, 1622, the Indians fell upon the settlement and in one hour three hundred and forty-seven persons were massacred. A census was ordered after the massacre and it is in this list that the name of Edward Spalding and his family appear. Prior to emigrating to Massachusetts, Edward may have lived a number of years in the Bermuda Islands (then called the Summer Islands), as there seems to be some evidence. The date of his settlement in Braintree, Massachusetts, was about 1634. Here his first wife, Margaret, and his child, Grace, died, and one of his children, Benjamin, was born. He was made a freeman, May 13, 1640, and is named in a petition, October 1, 1645. He is next of mention as one of the first proprietors of the town of Chelmsford, as is his son Edward, Junior, and John Spalding. He removed there in 1653, and at the first town meeting held November 22, 1654, was chosen selectman and again in 1656-60-67. He held other offices of trust in the town, and is recorded as one of the proprietors of "Newford," March 12, 1667.
He died February 26, 1670. He married (first) Margaret ————, died August 1, 1640. Her children were: John, Edward and Grace. He married (second) Rachel ————, named in his will. Her children were: Benjamin, of further mention; Joseph, Dinah and Andrew.
(II) Benjamin, son of Edward and Rachel Spalding, was born April 7, 1643, in Braintree, Massachusetts, died before 1708. He is not mentioned in his father's will, having already received his share. He purchased a large tract of land in Canterbury, Windham county, Connecticut, later known as Brooklyn. He was made a freeman in 1689. He married, October 30, 1668, Olive, daughter of Henry Farwell. Children:
- Sarah, married John Miriam;
- Edward, of further mention;
- Benjamin, married Sarah Hall;
- Elizabeth, married Ephraim Wheeler;
- Mary, married Isaac Morgan.
(III) Edward (2), son of Benjamin and Olive (Farwell) Spalding, was born June 18, 1672, died November 29, 1740. He inherited the Canterbury homestead of his father, and according to Miss Larned "was the third settler within the present limits of Brooklyn" and that he bought land there in 1707. He was a member of the first committee of the Religious Society organized in 1731. He married Mary Adams, died September 20, 1754, aged seventy-eight years. His first child was born in Chelmsford, Massachusetts; the others in Canterbury, Connecticut, where he died. Children:
- Benjamin, married (first) Abigail Wright; (second) Deborah Wheeler;
- Elizabeth, married William Darbe;
- Ephraim, of further mention;
- Jonathan, married Eunice Woodward;
- Ezekiel, married Martha Kimball;
- Ruth, married John Bacon;
- Abigail, married Benjamin Douglass;
- Ebenezer, married Mary Fassett;
- Thomas, married Abigail Brown;
- John, served in the war of the revolution as surgeon in Colonel John Durkee's regiment, Twentieth Continental Line, 1776.
(IV) Ephraim, son of Edward (2) and Mary (Adams) Spalding, was born April 3, 1700, in Canterbury, Connecticut, died 1776. He removed to Plainfield, Connecticut, where all his children were born. He married Abigail Bullard, of Plainfield, died July, 1789, aged over ninety years. Children:
- John, married Elizabeth Sanger.
- Phineas, born March 25, 1726.
- Reuben, of further mention.
- Lieutenant Josiah, married Priscilla Paine; he was a soldier and a pensioner of the revolution.
- Sergeant Ezekiel, married Sarah Morgan; served four years in the revolution.
- Palabah, died at the age of sixteen years.
- Abigail, married Captain Samuel Hall.
- Oliver, married (first) Mary Witter; (second) Rebecca Bottom; was a soldier in the "Old French war," and his order book is still preserved; also served in the revolution and was a pensioner.
- Mary, married John Larabee.
- Ephraim, married (first) Esther Snow; (second) Hannah Stowell; was a revolutionary soldier.
(V) Reuben, son of Ephraim and Abigail (Bullard) Spalding, was born in Plainfield, Connecticut, February 26, 1728, died January, 1765, in Tyringham, Massachusetts. After his marriage he settled in Plainfield, Connecticut, where he taught school for several years. Then he bought a farm in Tyringham, where he died. He married, October 1, 1747, Mary Pierce, born November 15, 1728, died 1826 in Sharon, Vermont, daughter of Timothy and Mary Pierce. Children:
- Mary, married Ebenezer Parkhurst and resided in Sharon, Vermont.
- Azel, left college to join the revolutionary army, was taken prisoner by the Indians and kept in Canada over a year; finally he made his escape and came to Plainfield, Connecticut, where he married Alice Cole, and later moved to Sharon, Vermont.
- Reuben, of further mention.
- Pedew, a daughter, died at the age of four years.
- Phineas, died aged four years.
(VI) Deacon Reuben (2), son of Reuben (1) and Mary (Pierce) Spalding, was born in Tyringham, Massachusetts, December 15, 1758, died September 15, 1849, in Sharon, Vermont. He settled in Sharon when eleven years of age, and took up his residence on the farm that was his home for eighty years. He was a member of the Congregational church sixty-one years, holding the office of deacon forty-two years. For over half a century he was justice of the peace, and was often called to fill various offices of trust. He had nine sons and three daughters, a circle remaining unbroken until two years before his own death, when his son, Dr. Jason C. Spalding, died. That event called together under the paternal roof the whole family and presented a sight rarely seen. The venerable father stood by the casket and urged upon the living with great fervor of spirit faithfulness in the service of that God in whom he trusted. He served in the revolution as sergeant of Captain Jesse Safford's company and in Captain Wetherly's company, Colonel Wyman's regiment, Ticonderoga alarm, 1777, serving nine days, also in Captain Lee's company, Rhode Island expedition, 1778. He married, June 21, 1785, Jerusha Carpenter, of Sharon, Vermont, born in Coventry, Connecticut, June 24, 1768, died December 7, 1827. Children, all born in Sharon, Vermont:
- Pierce, February 9, 1787, died September 10, 1852; married, March 16, 1809, Serepta Vail; children: Caroline, Horatio, Pierce, Charles E.
- Polly, August 12, 1788; married (first) Benjamin Vail; (second) Oliver Fales.
- John, January 16, 1790, died April 24, 1870; he was a successful merchant of Montpelier, Vermont, until 1840; was seven years treasurer of the state of Vermont; was president of the Bank of Montpelier; president of the Vermont Mutual Insurance Company and assistant judge of Washington county court; he died at Montpelier; he married Sarah, daughter of Judge Collins; children: Maria W., Ann E., Charles C., Sarah R., John.
- James, of further mention.
- Eunice, September 24, 1794, died January 26, 1879; married, August 6, 1816, Gaius Leonard, and resided in Ripton, Wisconsin.
- Susan, October 25, 1796, died January 10, 1871; married, March 2, 1818, Thomas Lovejoy; resided at Royalton, Vermont.
- Dr. Phineas, January 14, 1799; in 1895 he was living in Haverhill, New Hampshire, at the age of ninety-six years; he studied medicine with his brother, Dr. James, attended lectures at Hanover; began the practice of his profession at Lyndon, Vermont, in 1823; in 1839 he settled in Haverhill, New Hampshire, where he commanded a very large practice; he was lecturer at the Vermont Medical College, raised funds for the Lyndon Academy, also for Haverhill, Academy, serving for thirty years as trustee of the later; was a prominent Free Mason, temperance worker and a devout Christian; he married (first) Caroline Bailey Lathrop; (second) Charlotte Merrill; children:
- Caroline Anastasia, a philanthropic worker and. writer of prose and poetry;
- Mary Greenleaf, married James H. Lowell;
- Ada Louisa, married Henry D. James;
- Frank Merrill, married Julia E. Kingman.
- Dr. Jason Carpenter, April 29, 1801, died November 14, 1847, the first death among the twelve children; at his death the entire remaining family were gathered around the paternal table for the first and last time. He was graduated M.D. at Dartmouth College, 1828, settled in Dixfield, Maine, then in Spencer, Massachusetts; in 1836 returned to the old home in Sharon, where he died; he married Susan Haven Trask; children:
- Jason Carpenter (2),
- Julia Trask,
- Helen Trask,
- Edward Leland, and
- George Kilby.
- Azel, March 29, 1803, died 1883; he was graduated from Middlebury College, A.M., in 1835, practiced law in Montpelier, Vermont; he was a warm friend of President Jackson and wrote most of the editorials in the Vermont Patriot, a Jackson paper published in Montpelier. He was a member of the Vermont legislature, held the office of state attorney, judge of probate and other offices; he was a strong Union man and after the civil war removed to Atchison, Kansas, where he was police judge for many years; he died in that city; he married, July 14, 1834, Maria Theresa Wainwright, of Middlebury, Vermont; children:
- Azel Wainwright,
- Agnes Maria and
- Theresa.
- Levi, September 9, 1805, died June 3, 1871; he was engaged in business in Canada and Vermont; was for many years president of the First National Bank of Derby Line, Vermont; he accumulated a very large estate; married, October 17, 1833, Julia Ann Caldwell; children:
- William,
- Levi Lincoln,
- Julia Maria,
- Stephen Foster, who was lieutenant in civil war, fell in the second assault on Port Hudson, June 14, 1863;
- Clara Augusta,
- Sarah Jerusha,
- Lyman,
- Cornelia,
- Caldwell and
- Gertrude White.
- Dr. Reuben, July 22, 1807, died February 13, 1878; graduated A.M. Dartmouth College, 1832, Middebury College, 1835; studied medicine with his brother, Dr. James, at Montpelier, Vermont, graduated from Harvard Medical School, M.D., 1836, practiced his profession in Brattleboro, Vermont, from 1837 to 1857, and from February, 1859, until his death at Worcester, Massachusetts; he married (first) Electa Goodenough Clark; (second) Mrs. Mary Caroline (Sanderson) Powers; children:
- Henry George,
- Frederick,
- Edward Reynolds.
- Charles, August 23, 1812, died April 8, 1857; married Rebecca Poole Hunt, January 1, 1839; children:
- Susan Rebecca,
- Charles Henry,
- Edward Prescott,
- Richard Poole.
(VII) Dr. James Spalding, third son of deacon Reuben (2) and Jerusha (Carpenter) Spalding, was born in Sharon, Vermont, March 10, 1792, died March 15, 1858. He obtained a good common school education, and at the age of seventeen years began the study of medicine with Dr. Eber Carpenter, of Alstead, New Hampshire, at the same time took private lessons in Greek and Latin. At the age of twenty years he was graduated M.D. at Dartmouth Medical Institution. He practiced two years in Alstead with Dr. Carpenter, then practiced for a time in Claremont, Vermont, but yielding to the solicitation of friends removed to Montpelier, Vermont. Though but a boy he had seen much practice and performed many surgical operations, therefore it required but a short time for him to gain general confidence as a physician and surgeon, which he retained without abatement throughout life. As a surgeon Dr. Spalding was successful above most others. He was an original thinker, well informed in the books and general principles of his profession, as was manifested not only in his medical and surgical practice, but in other departments of science. It was a maxim with him that there should be no guess work in his profession, and that strict integrity was the true and only policy which should govern every man. For more than forty years he was an active member of the Vermont State Medical Society, and through it labored to advance the best interests of the profession he best loved. In 1819 he was elected secretary, which office he held for over twenty years. He was elected vice-president in 1843, treasurer in 1844, chairman of the committee on history of the Society in 1845; elected president in 1846-47-48, in the latter years delivering a dissertation non the Typhus Fever, which was published by vote of the society. He was elected corresponding secretary in 1850, and librarian in 1854, which office he held until his death. He was also a member of the board of fellows of the Vermont Academy of Medicine, besides holding many offices in the state connected with science, literature and temperance. He devoted his life to his profession, having never engaged in any other business or sought any political preferment. But few men in the country have seen such an amount of disease and so carefully observed the peculiarities of the various epidemics occurring for half a century, and it is to be regretted that so little is left on record of his extensive observation and experience both as a physician and a surgeon. He married (first) November 2, 1820, Eliza Reed, born October 13, 1798, at Hampstead, New Hampshire, died August 8, 1853, at Montpelier, Vermont. He married (second) Mrs. Anna (Lyman) Dodd, April 18, 1855, at Springfield, Massachusetts. She was born November 28, 1798, at Hartford, Vermont, died December 11, 1856, at Montpelier. Children, all born in Montpelier, Vermont, all by first wife:
- James Reed, of further mention.
- Martha Eliza, died in infancy.
- William Cowper, born September 24, 1825; he graduated at New York University in 1847, was commissioned surgeon in the Twenty-ninth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, September 3, 1862; soon after he left for the front and was engaged in several battles, acting as brigade surgeon; he was with General Grant at the siege of Vicksburg, but after the surrender of the city resigned on account of ill health and returned to Watertown, Wisconsin, where he resumed the practice of his profession; he married (first) August 2, 1855, Isabella McLaughlin, died October, 1855, leaving no children; he married (second) March 10, 1857, Anna Amelia Potter, born July 4, 1835, died July 4, 1888; he married (third) Mrs. Susan D. McRae, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; child, Mary Irwin, born August 12, 1875.
- Martha Eliza, born October 5, 1827, died October 30, 1848, unmarried.
- Elizabeth, died in infancy.
- Jane Maria, born May 27, 1833; married Dr. Abner Spicer Warner, of Wethersfield, Connecticut, June 7, 1869.
- Rev. George Burley, of further mention.
- Isabelle, born November 26, 1837; married, June 8, 1864, Cooke Lounsbury.
(VIII) James Reed, eldest son of Dr. James and Eliza (Reed) Spalding, was born November 15, 1821, at Montpelier, Vermont, died October 10, 1872, in Dover, New Hampshire. He graduated from the University of Vermont, 1840, and was afterward a private tutor in Georgia, at the same time studying law. On his return to Montpelier, Vermont, he was admitted to the bar and began practice with Joseph Prentice. His literary tastes led him to relinquish his profession, and he spent several years in travel in Europe and the East, as a close student of manners, morals and politics. He was a witness of the events of the revolution of France in 1848. His letters to the New York Courier and Inquirer during his sojourn won for him the highest praise from English and American scholars. In the spring of 1850 he became one of the editors of the Courier and Inquirer. His remarkable ability as a writer was soon widely recognized; his reputation as a fearless independent critic of public men and measures created a demand for the establishment of a new journal which might be a full reflection of his own spirit and character, and the New York World was the result. Its career began in June, 1860, as a religious daily, conservative in character, Republican in politics, but mismanagement prevented his carrying out his cherished plan. When that property changed hands, in 1861, Mr. Spalding became connected with the New York Times, and many of the most powerful appeals to the country in its years of darkest disaster were from his pen. His published addresses are "Spiritual Philosophy and Material Politics" and "The True Idea of Female Education." Richard Grant White, who was associated with Mr. Spalding in editorial work, said of him: "Mr. Spalding's vigor and elegance have never been excelled by a writer upon the city press." He was a gentleman of the most liberal culture and as an editor stood among the very foremost of his profession. He was a man of profound convictions, and all the resources of classical culture, of historic study and of extended travel were always at his command. He married, January 18, 1865, Mary Elizabeth Atwater, born in Catskill, New York, June 5, 1837, who died June 10, 1898; one child, Mary Atwater, born October 24, 1866, resides in Catskill, New York.
(VIII) Rev. George Burley Spalding, son of Dr. James and Eliza (Reed) Spalding, was born August 11, 1835. He graduated from the University of Vermont, 1856, studied law with Judge W. G. M. Davis, of Tallahassee, Florida; studied theology two years in Union Seminary, New York City, and one year at Andover, Massachusetts, graduating 1861. He was installed as minister of the Congregational church at Vergennes, Vermont, October 5, 1861; he became pastor of the North Church in Connecticut in September, 1864; he was installed as pastor of the First Congregational Church at Dover, New Hampshire, September 1, 1869. After fourteen years as minister of this old historic church he became pastor of the Franklin Street Church, Manchester, New Hampshire; October 1, 1885, he was installed pastor over the First Presbyterian Church of Syracuse, New York. Dr. Spalding's literary work has been extensive and of a high order. He was chairman of the school committee of Dover, president of the board of trustees of the State Normal school, a member of the constitutional convention of New Hampshire in 1877, was representative of the city of Dover in the state legislature, and chaplain of that body in 1877. He was trustee of the New Hampshire Missionary Society, of the State Orphan Home, trustee of Auburn Theological Seminary and of Hamilton College. Dartmouth conferred upon him in 1878 the degree of Doctor of Divinity, and Syracuse University in 1894 conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Laws. He married, August 6, 1861, Sarah Livingstone, daughter of Rev. John W. Olmstead, D.D., editor of the Watchman and Reflector, the leading organ of the Baptist denomination of New England; she was born October 28, 1838, in Little Falls, New York; children:
- George Burley, Jr., graduate of Yale University, clergyman;
- Mary Livingstone, still living;
- Martha, still living;
- Gertrude, still living.