Mason Spensley Biography - Grant County Wisconsin

*****************************************************************************
USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE:  These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in 
any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons.  
Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the 
written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the 
submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this 
consent.
*****************************************************************************

Submitted by David W. Taft, dtaft @ cowtown.net

History of Grant County Wisconsin
Western Historical Publishing, Chicago, July 1881
Town of Platteville, Biographical Sketches, Page 922

MASON SPENSLEY, Platteville; was born Jan. 14, 1815, in Yorkshire, England; came 
to America in 1841, and located in the Catfish Mining Settlement near Dubuque, 
Iowa; here he was employed both as a miner and smelter ; in 1850, he formed a 
partnership with Richard Straw, Ralph Spensley and Thomas Staley; the firm 
rented the old furnace of Bell & Co., on the Big Platte River; in 1852, Ralph 
Spensley withdrew, the remaining partners removing to Platteville; here in 1855 
or 1856, Mr. Staley met an accidental death. Messrs. Spensley and Straw have 
since continued the business; their blast furnace was purchased of L. Coates 
from 700,000 to 1,100,000 pounds of lead arc annually produced. Mr. Spensley 
married Frances A. Taylor, a native of Knox Co., Ind., where her parents both 
died in her infancy; an aunt brought her to Dubuque when she was 9 years of age. 
Mr. and Mrs. Spensley have nine children - James T., Rosa, Frances A., John T., 
Maggie, Richard, Mary, Allie and Cora.