Elbridge G. Spaulding

Elbridge Gerry Spaulding (February 24, 1809 – May 5, 1897) was an American lawyer, banker, and Republican Party politician. He opposed slavery and supported the idea for the first U.S. currency not backed by gold or silver, thus helping to keep the Union's economy afloat during the U.S. Civil War.

Early life and education Spaulding was born on February 24, 1809, in Summer Hill, New York, the first of nine children of Edward Spaulding (1764–1845) and Mehitable Goodridge (1770–1838).

Legal Tender Act It was said that Spaulding was the one who figured out that the American government needed to print money to pay for the Civil War. At the time, it was regarded as economic heresy, but today many believe that the country would not have survived without it.

In 1862, he drafted the Legal Tender Act, and the National Currency Bank Bill. At the time, the only circulating paper money was notes issued by banks. Those notes were supposed to be convertible into gold, although the banks had been forced to suspend such conversions at the end of 1861. There was no central bank. The bill passed Congress not because it was thought to be good policy absent a crisis, but because it was necessary. "It was at once a loan to the government without interest and a national currency, which was so much needed for disbursement in small sums during the pressing exigencies of the war," Spaulding wrote years later in his book, History of the Legal Tender Paper Money. Edward Rich Spaulding (1845–1908), who married Mary Tenney Blanchard (1851–1923) Samuel Strong Spaulding (1849–1933), who married Annie Margaret Watson (1852–1924)

On May 2, 1854, after Nancy's death in 1852, he married Delia Strong (1812–1895), Nancy's sister. Spaulding's marriage with Delia lasted over 40 years until her death in 1895, however, they did not have any children together.

Spaulding died on May 5, 1897, in Buffalo and is buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery. In his will, Spaulding indicated that at his death, the house at 775 Main Street was to be demolished. Therefore, in 1897 the house was torn down. Later the "Spaulding Building", built in 1906 at 763 Main St. by Edward Rich Spaulding, and the "Sidway Building", built in 1907 at 775–783 Main St. by Franklin Sidway and Charlotte Spaulding Sidway, were both built on the property. Lewis F. Allen, uncle-in-law of Grover Cleveland, was the first of the so-called society of the day to build a house on the island, and Spaulding was the second. After that, it became a fashionable mecca, and numerous other houses were built. In 1879, the socially prominent Falconwood Club, formed in 1858, built its clubhouse adjacent to the Spaulding property. Much later in 1935, the boathouse was floated up river to its present location in Oakfield by Frank St. John Sidway, Spaulding's grandson.

Legacy Spaulding-Sidway Boathouse in 1903In 1846, Spaulding was one of the original founders that helped to get the University at Buffalo established. He was a member of the original council of the university, and remained a member until his death in 1897. Today, there is an undergraduate dormitory, as well as academic and administrative offices, named for him at the university.

During the 1930s, Spaulding's "River Lawn" estate later was donated to the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, by his heirs, and became the basis for present day Beaver Island State Park.

Published works 1869 – History of the Legal Tender Paper Money Issued During the Great Rebellion 1875 – Legal Tender Act 1876 – Centennial: One Hundred Years of Progress in the Business of Banking