Francis E. Spinner
Encyclopedia
Francis Elias Spinner was an American politician from New York
. He was Treasurer of the United States
from 1861 to 1875. He was the first administrator in the federal government to use women for clerical jobs.
, Baden
, 18 January 1768; died in German Flats, 27 May 1848), a Catholic
priest who became a Protestant, married Mary Magdalene Fidelis Brument, emigrated to the United States
in 1801, and was pastor of two German-speaking Dutch Reformed church
es, at Herkimer and German Flats, until his death.
Francis Spinner was the eldest of nine children, six sons and three daughters. His father instructed him in languages, and in the common schools of Herkimer County he learned English grammar, reading, writing and arithmetic. His father required Spinner to learn a trade. Francis elected to become a merchant, and for about a year was employed as a clerk in a store. The store failed, and Francis was apprenticed to a confectioner in Albany
.
In Albany, Spinner made the acquaintance of some educated men who took an interest in his welfare. Peter Gansevoort allowed him the use of his library. Two years after his arrival, when his father found he was being employed as a salesman and bookkeeper, Spinner was removed from that situation and apprenticed to a saddle
and harness maker in Amsterdam, New York. Here Spinner became a shareholder in the circulating library, and studied its volumes when he wasn't busy learning his trade.
In 1824, Spinner moved back to Herkimer County
, where he engaged in mercantile pursuits. In 1826, he married Caroline Caswell of Herkimer. He entered the state militia, and by 1834 had risen to the rank of major general
. He was appointed deputy sheriff in 1829, and was sheriff of the County from 1834 to 1837. He was appointed one of the commissioners for the construction of the state lunatic asylum
at Utica, New York
in 1838. When he was removed from this post on political grounds, he engaged in banking, first as cashier and later as president, at the Mohawk Bank.
He was state inspector of turnpikes, and served as commissioner and supervisor of schools. He was appointed auditor and deputy naval officer in charge of the Port of New York
in 1845 and served four years.
Spinner was elected as an anti-slavery Democrat
to the 34th Congress
. An active Republican from the formation of the party, he was re-elected as a Republican
to the 35th
and 36th United States Congress
es, altogether serving from March 4, 1855, to March 3, 1861. He served on the Committee on Privileges and Elections, on a special committee to investigate the assault made by Preston Brooks
on Charles Sumner
, and on a conference committee of both houses on the Army
appropriation bill, which the senate had rejected on account of a clause that forbade the use of the military against Kansas settlers. During his last term (36th Congress), he was chairman of the Committee on Accounts.
On the recommendation of Secretary of the Treasury
Salmon P. Chase
, he was appointed by President Lincoln
as Treasurer of the United States
and served from March 16, 1861, until his resignation on July 1, 1875. Within 60 days of his assuming office, the expenditures of the federal government increased dramatically.
He was the first to suggest the employment of women in government offices. During the Civil War
, many of the clerks of the Treasury Department joined the army, and Spinner suggested to Secretary Chase the advisability of employing women. After much persuasion, his suggestion was taken up, and he carried it into effect successfully, though not without much opposition. The women were first employed to count money, and later took up various clerical duties. He eventually hired over 100 women, paid them well, and retained them after the war was over.
He signed the different series of paper money in a singular handwriting, which he cultivated in order to prevent counterfeiting. His signature on the “greenback
s” of the United States was the most familiar autograph
in the country. The history Spinner gave of his signature was:
He resigned his office because of a disagreement over staffing appointments. A new Secretary refused to give him final say over his staff. Spinner thought that, as a bonded officer, he should have control over the appointment of clerks for whose acts he was responsible. When he resigned his office, the money in the treasury was counted. The result showed a very small discrepancy, and many days were spent in recounting and examining the books of accounts, until finally the mistake was discovered.
In 1875
, he ran on the Republican ticket for New York State Comptroller
but was defeated by Democrat Lucius Robinson
. He moved south, and for some years he lived in camp at Pablo Beach, Florida, where he lived a vigorous outdoor life, and also took up the study of Greek. He was survived by one of his three daughters.
He was buried at the Mohawk Cemetery, in Mohawk, New York
. After his death, a group of women who worked in the Treasury Department contributed $10,000 for a monument which now stands in Myers Park in Herkimer.
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He was Treasurer of the United States
Treasurer of the United States
The Treasurer of the United States is an official in the United States Department of the Treasury that was originally charged with the receipt and custody of government funds, though many of these functions have been taken over by different bureaus of the Department of the Treasury...
from 1861 to 1875. He was the first administrator in the federal government to use women for clerical jobs.
Life
His father was John Peter Spinner (born in WerbachWerbach
Werbach is a town in the district of Main-Tauber in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....
, Baden
Baden
Baden is a historical state on the east bank of the Rhine in the southwest of Germany, now the western part of the Baden-Württemberg of Germany....
, 18 January 1768; died in German Flats, 27 May 1848), a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
priest who became a Protestant, married Mary Magdalene Fidelis Brument, emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1801, and was pastor of two German-speaking Dutch Reformed church
Dutch Reformed Church
The Dutch Reformed Church was a Reformed Christian denomination in the Netherlands. It existed from the 1570s to 2004, the year it merged with the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands to form the Protestant Church in the...
es, at Herkimer and German Flats, until his death.
Francis Spinner was the eldest of nine children, six sons and three daughters. His father instructed him in languages, and in the common schools of Herkimer County he learned English grammar, reading, writing and arithmetic. His father required Spinner to learn a trade. Francis elected to become a merchant, and for about a year was employed as a clerk in a store. The store failed, and Francis was apprenticed to a confectioner in Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
.
In Albany, Spinner made the acquaintance of some educated men who took an interest in his welfare. Peter Gansevoort allowed him the use of his library. Two years after his arrival, when his father found he was being employed as a salesman and bookkeeper, Spinner was removed from that situation and apprenticed to a saddle
Saddle
A saddle is a supportive structure for a rider or other load, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is the equestrian saddle designed for a horse, but specialized saddles have been created for camels and other creatures...
and harness maker in Amsterdam, New York. Here Spinner became a shareholder in the circulating library, and studied its volumes when he wasn't busy learning his trade.
In 1824, Spinner moved back to Herkimer County
Herkimer County, New York
Herkimer County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It was created in 1791 north of the Mohawk River out of part of Montgomery County. As of the 2010 census, the population was 64,519. It is named after General Nicholas Herkimer, who died from battle wounds in 1777 after taking part...
, where he engaged in mercantile pursuits. In 1826, he married Caroline Caswell of Herkimer. He entered the state militia, and by 1834 had risen to the rank of major general
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
. He was appointed deputy sheriff in 1829, and was sheriff of the County from 1834 to 1837. He was appointed one of the commissioners for the construction of the state lunatic asylum
Utica Psychiatric Center
The Utica Psychiatric Center, also known as Utica State Hospital, which opened in Utica in 1843, was New York's first state-run facility designed to care for the mentally ill and was one of the first such institutions in the United States, predating and perhaps influencing the Kirkbride Plan which...
at Utica, New York
Utica, New York
Utica is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 62,235 at the 2010 census, an increase of 2.6% from the 2000 census....
in 1838. When he was removed from this post on political grounds, he engaged in banking, first as cashier and later as president, at the Mohawk Bank.
He was state inspector of turnpikes, and served as commissioner and supervisor of schools. He was appointed auditor and deputy naval officer in charge of the Port of New York
Port of New York and New Jersey
The Port of New York and New Jersey comprises the waterways in the estuary of the New York-Newark metropolitan area with a port district encompassing an approximate area within a radius of the Statue of Liberty National Monument...
in 1845 and served four years.
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
to the 34th Congress
34th United States Congress
The Thirty-fourth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1855 to March 4, 1857, during the last two years...
. An active Republican from the formation of the party, he was re-elected as a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
to the 35th
35th United States Congress
The 35th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1857 to March 3, 1859, during the first two years of James...
and 36th United States Congress
36th United States Congress
The Thirty-sixth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1859 to March 4, 1861, during the third and fourth...
es, altogether serving from March 4, 1855, to March 3, 1861. He served on the Committee on Privileges and Elections, on a special committee to investigate the assault made by Preston Brooks
Preston Brooks
Preston Smith Brooks was a Democratic Congressman from South Carolina. Brooks is primarily remembered for his severe beating of Senator Charles Sumner on the floor of the United States Senate with a gutta-percha cane, delivered in response to an anti-slavery speech in which Sumner compared Brooks'...
on Charles Sumner
Charles Sumner
Charles Sumner was an American politician and senator from Massachusetts. An academic lawyer and a powerful orator, Sumner was the leader of the antislavery forces in Massachusetts and a leader of the Radical Republicans in the United States Senate during the American Civil War and Reconstruction,...
, and on a conference committee of both houses on the Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
appropriation bill, which the senate had rejected on account of a clause that forbade the use of the military against Kansas settlers. During his last term (36th Congress), he was chairman of the Committee on Accounts.
On the recommendation of Secretary of the Treasury
United States Secretary of the Treasury
The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, which is concerned with financial and monetary matters, and, until 2003, also with some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United...
Salmon P. Chase
Salmon P. Chase
Salmon Portland Chase was an American politician and jurist who served as U.S. Senator from Ohio and the 23rd Governor of Ohio; as U.S. Treasury Secretary under President Abraham Lincoln; and as the sixth Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.Chase was one of the most prominent members...
, he was appointed by President Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
as Treasurer of the United States
Treasurer of the United States
The Treasurer of the United States is an official in the United States Department of the Treasury that was originally charged with the receipt and custody of government funds, though many of these functions have been taken over by different bureaus of the Department of the Treasury...
and served from March 16, 1861, until his resignation on July 1, 1875. Within 60 days of his assuming office, the expenditures of the federal government increased dramatically.
He was the first to suggest the employment of women in government offices. During the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, many of the clerks of the Treasury Department joined the army, and Spinner suggested to Secretary Chase the advisability of employing women. After much persuasion, his suggestion was taken up, and he carried it into effect successfully, though not without much opposition. The women were first employed to count money, and later took up various clerical duties. He eventually hired over 100 women, paid them well, and retained them after the war was over.
He signed the different series of paper money in a singular handwriting, which he cultivated in order to prevent counterfeiting. His signature on the “greenback
Greenback (money)
The term greenback refers to paper currency that was issued by the United States during the American Civil War.There are at least two types of notes that were called greenback:*United States Note*Demand Note...
s” of the United States was the most familiar autograph
Autograph
An autograph is a document transcribed entirely in the handwriting of its author, as opposed to a typeset document or one written by an amanuensis or a copyist; the meaning overlaps with that of the word holograph.Autograph also refers to a person's artistic signature...
in the country. The history Spinner gave of his signature was:
“I first practiced it while in the sheriff's office about 1835; I used it while commissioner for building the asylum at Utica, and as cashier and president of the Mohawk valley bank, and for franking while in congress. It was brought to its highest perfection when I was treasurer.”
He resigned his office because of a disagreement over staffing appointments. A new Secretary refused to give him final say over his staff. Spinner thought that, as a bonded officer, he should have control over the appointment of clerks for whose acts he was responsible. When he resigned his office, the money in the treasury was counted. The result showed a very small discrepancy, and many days were spent in recounting and examining the books of accounts, until finally the mistake was discovered.
In 1875
New York state election, 1875
The 1875 New York state election was held on November 2, 1875, to elect the Secretary of State, the State Comptroller, the Attorney General, the State Treasurer, the State Engineer, a Canal Commissioner and an Inspector of State Prisons, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly and the...
, he ran on the Republican ticket for New York State Comptroller
New York State Comptroller
The New York State Comptroller is a state cabinet officer of the U.S. state of New York. The duties of the comptroller include auditing government operations and operating the state's retirement system.-History:...
but was defeated by Democrat Lucius Robinson
Lucius Robinson
Lucius Robinson was an American lawyer and politician. He was the 26th Governor of New York from 1877 to 1879.-Life:...
. He moved south, and for some years he lived in camp at Pablo Beach, Florida, where he lived a vigorous outdoor life, and also took up the study of Greek. He was survived by one of his three daughters.
He was buried at the Mohawk Cemetery, in Mohawk, New York
Mohawk, New York
Mohawk is the name of some places in the U.S. state of New York:*Mohawk, Herkimer County, New York, a village*Mohawk, Montgomery County, New York, a town...
. After his death, a group of women who worked in the Treasury Department contributed $10,000 for a monument which now stands in Myers Park in Herkimer.