Silsby Spalding (May 29, 1886 – May 5, 1949) was an American businessman and politician. He served as the first mayor of Beverly Hills, California, from 1926 to 1928.
Silsby Spalding | |
|---|---|
 Spalding in the 1920s | |
| Born | May 29, 1886 |
| Died | May 5, 1949 (aged 62) |
| Education | Pomona College Preparatory School Stanford University[1] |
| Occupation(s) | Businessman, politician |
| Spouse | Caroline Canfield |
| Children | Deborah C. Spalding |
| Parent(s) | Salathiel Martin Spalding Sarah Eglantine Camp |
| Relatives | Charles A. Canfield (father-in-law) |
Early life edit
Silsby Morse Spalding was born on May 29, 1886, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.[2][3][4] His father was Salathiel Martin Spalding and his mother, Sarah Eglantine Camp.[2] He studied at the Pomona College Preparatory School in Claremont, California,[3][4] and later at Stanford University.[1]
Career edit
Spalding was a sporting goods magnate.[5][6] He also served as one of the earliest Presidents of the Aero Club of Southern California, and was an executive at the Mexican Eagle Petroleum Company and the Pan-American Petroleum and Transport Co.[7]
Spalding served as the first Mayor of Beverly Hills, California from 1926 to 1928.[3][4][5][6][7][8] During his tenure, he appointed Will Rogers as honorary mayor, garnering worldwide publicity for Beverly Hills.[7]
Personal life edit
Spalding married Caroline Canfield (1890-1970), daughter of oilman Charles A. Canfield (1848-1913) in 1911.[6][9][10] They had a daughter, Deborah C. Spalding (1921-2011).[2]
In 1912, after Canfield's death, they moved into Grayhall, an estate located at 1100 Carolyn Way, formerly built by Carole Lombard's father as a hunting lodge and later owned by George Hamilton and Bernard Cornfeld.[5][9][10][11][12] From 1918 to 1921, they lived in the Frank Flint Estate, a Colonial Revival-style mansion resembling a Southern plantation located at 1006 North Crescent Drive.[9] He later purchased the Tecolote Ranch in Goleta, California, where he raised purebred cattle and horses, and grew walnut and citrus trees.[7]
Death and legacy edit
Spalding died on May 5, 1949, at his main residence at 1019 Laurel Way in Beverly Hills, California.[7]
Spalding Drive in Beverly Hills is named in his honor.[8][13]
References edit
- ^ a b Osterdahl, Andy (6 May 2015). "Silsby Morse Spalding (1886-1949)". The Strangest Names In American Political History. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
- ^ a b c Ancestry.com
- ^ a b c Claremont Colleges Digital Library: Students on steps of the Fulkerson's house in Claremont, California, 1904
- ^ a b c Digital Library: Student residence interior with students smoking pipes, Pomona College, 1904
- ^ a b c Ruth Ryon, Updated Estate Is Rich in History, The Los Angeles Times, January 27, 2002
- ^ a b c Cecilia Rasmussen Tale of Wealth, Murder and a Family's Decline, The Los Angeles Times, August 20, 2000
- ^ a b c d e OBITUARY -- Silsby Spalding, Beverly Hills Ex-Mayor, Dies, The Los Angeles Times, May 7, 1949
- ^ a b Roots of Beverly Hills Streets Go Deeper Than Movie Era, The Los Angeles Times, February 03, 1994
- ^ a b c Marc Wanamaker, Early Beverly Hills, Arcadia Publishing, 2005, pp. 42-43 [1]
- ^ a b Marc Wanamaker, Beverly Hills, (Ca): 1930-2005, Arcadia Publishing, 2006, p. 69 [2]
- ^ George Hamilton, William Stadiem, Don't Mind If I Do, Simon and Schuster, 2008, p. 144 [3]
- ^ Mary Ann Bonino, The Doheny Mansion: A Biography of a Home, Pioneers, 2008, p. 180 [4]
- ^ Google Maps