Elbridge Gerry Spaulding

Elbridge Gerry Spaulding (February 24, 1809 – May 5, 1897) was an American lawyer, banker, and Republican Party politician. Born in Summer Hill, Cayuga County, New York, he was raised in upstate New York at a time of rapid economic and political change in the early republic. He opposed slavery and later became nationally known for supporting the idea of the first United States currency not backed by gold or silver, a policy that helped keep the Union’s economy afloat during the Civil War. His early life in rural New York and subsequent move into law and finance laid the groundwork for a public career that would span local, state, and national office.

Spaulding received a common-school education and then studied law, moving to Batavia, New York, where he read law in a local office. He was admitted to the bar in 1836 and began practicing in Batavia. Soon afterward he relocated to Buffalo, New York, which was emerging as a major commercial center on the Erie Canal and the Great Lakes. In Buffalo he continued his legal practice and became increasingly involved in business and civic affairs, building the professional and political connections that would support his later roles in banking and government.

On September 5, 1837, Spaulding married Antoinette Rich (1818–1841), the daughter of Gaius Basset Rich and Aphia Salisbury Rich. This first marriage, which produced no children, ended with Antoinette’s death in 1841. On September 5, 1842, he married Nancy Selden Strong (1824–1852), the daughter of Samuel Strong and Delia Selden Strong of Windsor, Connecticut. With Nancy he had three children: Charlotte Spaulding (1843–1934), who married Franklin Sidway (1834–1920); Edward Rich Spaulding (1845–1908), who married Mary Tenney Blanchard (1851–1923); and Samuel Strong Spaulding (1849–1933), who married Annie Margaret Watson (1852–1924). After Nancy’s death in 1852, Spaulding married her sister, Delia Strong (1812–1895), on May 2, 1854. This third marriage lasted more than forty years until Delia’s death in 1895; they had no children together.

Spaulding’s public career began at the local and state level. In Buffalo he served as city clerk and then as mayor, reflecting his growing prominence in municipal affairs. He was elected to the New York State Assembly as a Whig and served in 1848 and 1849, participating in state legislative debates during a period marked by the rise of anti-slavery sentiment and the realignment of political parties. At the same time, he became deeply involved in banking and finance. He helped organize and later led financial institutions in Buffalo, experience that gave him practical expertise in monetary policy and public finance. This background would later prove crucial when the federal government confronted the fiscal strains of civil war.

As a member of the Republican Party representing New York, Spaulding contributed to the legislative process during three terms in the United States House of Representatives. He was first elected as a Whig to the Thirty-second Congress, serving from March 4, 1851, to March 3, 1853, during the turbulent years following the Compromise of 1850. After returning to his legal and banking pursuits in Buffalo, he joined the newly formed Republican Party and was elected again, this time as a Republican, to the Thirty-sixth and Thirty-seventh Congresses, serving from March 4, 1859, to March 3, 1863. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, as the nation moved from sectional crisis into civil war, and he participated in the democratic process while representing the interests of his New York constituents.

Spaulding’s most enduring national impact came through his work on wartime finance. Opposing slavery and aligned with the Union cause, he played a central role in developing and advocating federal legislation that authorized the issuance of United States notes—paper currency not backed by gold or silver reserves. As a leading member of the House Ways and Means Committee during the Civil War, he supported the idea for the first U.S. currency not backed by specie, helping to design the Legal Tender Acts that allowed the Treasury to issue “greenbacks.” This innovation provided the Union government with a critical means of financing military operations and stabilizing the economy at a time when traditional revenue sources and gold reserves were insufficient, and it marked a major turning point in the history of American public finance.

After leaving Congress in 1863, Spaulding returned to Buffalo and resumed his work as a lawyer and banker, remaining a prominent figure in the city’s financial community. He continued to be active in Republican politics and public affairs, often consulted on questions of banking and currency because of his Civil War–era experience. His family also played a visible role in Buffalo’s commercial and civic life. Spaulding died on May 5, 1897, in Buffalo and was buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery. In his will, he directed that at his death the house at 775 Main Street be demolished, and accordingly the house was torn down in 1897. In the following decade, the “Spaulding Building,” built in 1906 at 763 Main Street by his son Edward Rich Spaulding, and the “Sidway Building,” built in 1907 at 775–783 Main Street by his son-in-law Franklin Sidway and daughter Charlotte Spaulding Sidway, rose on the property, reflecting the continued presence and influence of the Spaulding family in Buffalo’s urban and economic development.