Silsby Spalding
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 | |
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Born | May 29, 1886 Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA |
Died | May 5, 1949 62) | (aged
Education | Pomona College |
Occupation | Businessman, politician |
Spouse(s) | Caroline Canfield |
Children | Deborah C. Spalding |
Parent(s) | Salathiel Martin Spalding Sarah Eglantine Camp |
Relatives | Charles A. Canfield (father-in-law) |
Early life
Silsby Morse Spalding was born on May 29, 1886 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.[1][2][3] His father was Salathiel Martin Spalding and his mother, Sarah Eglantine Camp.[1] He graduated from Pomona College in Claremont, California.[2][3]
Career
Spalding was a sporting goods magnate.[4][5] 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..[6]
Spalding served as the first Mayor of Beverly Hills, California from 1926 to 1928.[2][3][4][5][6][7] During his tenure, he appointed Will Rogers as honorary mayor, garnering worldwide publicity for Beverly Hills.[6]
Personal life
Spalding married Caroline Canfield (1890-1970), daughter of oilman Charles A. Canfield (1848-1913) in 1911.[5][8][9] They had a daughter, Deborah C. Spalding (1921-2011).[1]
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.[4][8][9][10][11] 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.[8] He later purchased the Tecolote Ranch in Goleta, California, where he raised purebred cattle and horses, and grew walnut and citrus trees.[6]
Death and legacy
Spalding died on May 5, 1949 at his main residence at 1019 Laurel Way in Beverly Hills, California.[6]
Spalding Drive in Beverly Hills is named in his honor.[7][12]
References
- Ancestry.com
- Claremont Colleges Digital Library: Students on steps of the Fulkerson's house in Claremont, California, 1904
- Digital Library: Student residence interior with students smoking pipes, Pomona College, 1904
- Ruth Ryon, Updated Estate Is Rich in History, The Los Angeles Times, January 27, 2002
- Cecilia Rasmussen Tale of Wealth, Murder and a Family's Decline, The Los Angeles Times, August 20, 2000
- OBITUARY -- Silsby Spalding, Beverly Hills Ex-Mayor, Dies, The Los Angeles Times, May 7, 1949
- Roots of Beverly Hills Streets Go Deeper Than Movie Era, The Los Angeles Times, February 03, 1994
- Marc Wanamaker, Early Beverly Hills, Arcadia Publishing, 2005, pp. 42-43
- Marc Wanamaker, Beverly Hills, (Ca): 1930-2005, Arcadia Publishing, 2006, p. 69
- George Hamilton, William Stadiem, Don't Mind If I Do, Simon and Schuster, 2008, p. 144
- Mary Ann Bonino, The Doheny Mansion: A Biography of a Home, Pioneers, 2008, p. 180
- Google Maps
Political offices | ||
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Preceded by Incumbent |
Mayor of Beverly Hills, California 1926-1928 |
Succeeded by Paul E. Schwab |