PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL ALBUM 

page 487, 488 

ISAAC MILTON SPINING, deceased, was born in Springfield, Ohio, September 15, 1813, and there breathed his last March 1, 1878.  He was reared in this city, receiving as thorough an education as could be obtained in its schools, and supplemented his education in the college at Oxford, Ohio.  Mr. MCGUFFEY, the school-book editor, was his uncle.  After he had grown to man’s estate he engaged in the hardware business at Findlay, Hancock County, making that city his home for some years.  He then returned to his native place, bought property and built a residence east of the city, where he lived retired until his death.  The residence was erected during the war, since which time the city limits have been extended far beyond it, and instead of being in the country, as it once was, it is now surrounded by fine dwellings.  It is now occupied by Mrs. SPINING and her youngest son, and No. 736 East High Street is known to a large circle as a home of refinement and good cheer. 

The marriage of the late Mr. SPINING took place January 5, 1851, his bride being Miss Harriet L. TAYLOR, a native of Hardwick, Vt.  Her father, Pascal TAYLOR, was born in the same town, his father being John TAYLOR, who was an officer in the Custom House in Boston during the Revolution, and was killed while serving his country.  The father of Mrs. SPINING learned the trade of a ship-builder, and removing to Cleveland in 1837, he carried on the business there until his death.  His wife was Miss Mary Sweet, a native of Hanover, N. H., who died in 1838.  To Mr. and Mrs. SPINING five children were born—John is a farmer living in Conway Springs, Sumner County, Kan.; Pierson T., M. D., is now teaching Natural Sciences in the Springfield High School; William is a druggist at Peru, Ind.; Carrie married William DEVANY, and lives in Chattanooga, Tenn.; Arthur remains at home. 

Were this volume to be read only by those personally acquainted with Mr. and Mrs. SPINING and their children, it would be unnecessary to speak of their character; but the purpose of a biographical album is to leave a record for the instruction and encouragement of those who follow, and perpetuate the memories of worthy citizens.  We must therefore note that this couple have made many friends by their upright conduct, kindliness of heart, and interest in every good word and work, and that the death of Mr. SPINING was heard with regret by a wide circle.  He was a member of the Second Presbyterian Church, with which his wife and all their children are identified. 

Mr. SPINING was of honorable ancestry, his grandfather having been Judge Isaac SPINING, one of the earliest settlers in the Buckeye State.  This gentleman located near Dayton, in Montgomery County, when there were neither railroads nor canals, and all produce was taken down the Miami and Ohio Rivers to New Orleans.  On one occasion he built a flatboat at what is now the head of Main Street, Dayton, and floated it down to New Orleans, where he shipped his cargo on a sailing vessel to Boston, taking passage on the same boat.  After disposing of his flour at the Hub he went to Philadelphia, and there bought a stock of goods, returning to his home without unnecessary delay, yet having been absent six months.  His wife was Catherine PIERSON, and both spent their last years in Montgomery County. 

The father of I. M. SPINING was born in Elizabethtown, N. J., and christened by his mother’s maiden name.  He was quite young when his parents removed to Ohio, and after he grew to manhood he became a merchant in Middletown, Montgomery County.  There he married Miss Mary SCHOOLEY, in 1812, the next year coming to Springfield, and opening the first dry-goods house in this city.  He bought his goods in Philadelphia, and in going there took the quickest and easiest way—ie., on horseback.  He was lame, and always rode a side saddle.  His goods were transported across the mountains by teams, and thence conveyed down the Ohio River to Cincinnati, where teams were again brought into requisition to bring them to their destination.  The freight from Philadelphia was $6 per hundred. 

Pierson SPINING was very successful and accumulated a large fortune, at one time owning the greater part of the land now included in Springfield.  In 1830 he erected a large hotel building, for that period, known as the Buckeye House, which he operated for a time.  He finally became a contractor on public works, by which he lost heavily, a large part of his fortune being swept away.  In 1827 he built a fine dwelling on East High Street, opposite the Methodist Episcopal Church, where he died in 1857.  He was a Justice of the Peace some years, and a man of note in this section of the country, esteemed as an honorable and energetic business man and reliable citizen.  His wife was born in New Jersey, January 28, 1790, and during the same year her parents emigrated to the Northwest Territory, settling in Columbia about five miles east of Cincinnati.  Her father built a flatboat at Brownsville, Pa., and floated down the river to Columbia, a point on the Ohio River a short distance above the present site of Cincinnati.  Indians were numerous and not always peaceable, and the few white families there at the time erected a block-house, into which they gathered for protection from their savage foes.  The mother of our subject was thus nearly a life-long resident of the Buckeye State, her death having taken place in Dayton, in February, 1877.