Justin Levi Spaulding Biography This biography appears on pages 1775 in "History of South Dakota" by Doane Robinson, Vol. II (1904) and was scanned, OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net. This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit organizations for their private use. Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other means requires the written approval of the file's author. JUSTIN LEVI SPAULDING was born in Mooretown, Vermont, June 17, 1841. He was educated at the state normal school at Bloomington, Illinois, entering this institution at the age of sixteen. He pursued his studies here until the outbreak of the Civil war in 1861, when he enlisted in the Thirty-third Illinois Infantry, under Colonel Oglesby. He served in the army until his health became broken, when he was discharged, and returning to Bloomington, he re-entered the normal school, from which he soon graduated with high honors. After leaving the normal school he was elected city surveyor of Bloomington and county surveyor of McLean county, Illinois. Following this he was elected city clerk of Bloomington, which position he retained until 1865. In May, 1863, he was married to Miss Adra A. Stiles, also a graduate from the State Normal, in Rochelle, Illinois. Soon after his marriage he removed to Chicago where for two years or more Mr. Spaulding did court reporting in the criminal courts and gained a wide reputation as an expert stenographer, being second in speed in the United States. In 1882 Mr. Spaulding came to Huron, South Dakota, and took a position in the United States land office; this he filled for seven years or more, during which time he was elected a member of the board of county commissioners, serving as its chairman for two years. Meanwhile he was admitted to the South Dakota bar. In 1889 he was elected county clerk of Beadle county, and two years later he was re-elected to the same office. The following spring he was taken seriously sick, and on May 22, 1891, he passed away. He was survived by his wife and one daughter, Rose Blanche, who still reside in Huron. His daughter in later years has become quite prominent in the work of several of the state lodges and has been honored with the position of department secretary of the state Woman's Relief Corps, and with various offices in the Rebekah state assembly, and is at present the warden of that body. She is also a member of the local Order of the Eastern Star. At the time of his death, Mr. Spaulding was a prominent Odd Fellow, an influential Mason, and a leading member of the Grand Army of the Republic. Mr. Spaulding was prominent in the political affairs of both Illinois and South Dakota during his life time, and was universally esteemed by all who were privileged to know him.