Ignatius A. Spalding Biography
by Kentucky Kindred Genealogical Research

Perrin’s County of Union, Kentucky, Historical and Biographical, 1884
Ignatius A. Spalding, one of the most prominent and influential lawyers of the
grand old county of Union, is the only son of Ignatius A. and Ann (Huston)
Spalding. Subject's father, one of the most prominent men of his day, was born in St. Mary's County, Maryland, in 1790, and has been twice married; first in 1828, to Miss Jane Pottinger of Daviess County, who bore the following children: Samuel, Robert A. and Allethaire, all prominent citizens of this county. Mr. Spalding was among the first settlers of the county, having settled in Morganfield in 1820, and was one of the leading merchants of the county. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention that framed the Constitution of the State of Kentucky. Besides this, he was a prosperous farmer and stockman. He died at his home in Morganfield in 1852. Subject's mother was born in North Carolina in 1795, and died in Morganfield in 1877, aged eighty-two years.
Subject's paternal grandparents were Benedict and Allethaire (Abell) Spalding,
both born in St. Mary's County, Maryland. His maternal grandfather was William Huston, who was born in the city of Philadelphia, and was a soldier in the Revolutionary War under General Washington. For many years he represented Washington County in the Senate and legislature. Subject's maternal grandmother was Susanna (Allen) Huston, born in Petersburg, Virginia. Our subject was born in the town of Morganfield on December 3, 1833, and here received some six years' training in the common schools of the county, after which he went to St. Joseph's College at Bardstown, Kentucky, for four years. In 1853, at the age of twenty, he was married to Miss Susan A. Johnson at Owensboro, in Daviess County, Kentucky. Mrs. Spalding was born in Daviess County and is the daughter of John and Lucy (Huston) Johnson. Mr. Spalding has four children: J. J., a promising young lawyer now living in Atlanta, Georgia, married Bettie Hughes, daughter of Hon. D. H. Hughes, and has one child; Lucy C., who married Milton Young, the famous stockman of Fayette County, and has two children. Sue Ellen is at home and Ann, the youngest, is at school at St. Vincent's Academy. In politics Mr. Spalding is a Democrat, and was elected to the State Senate in 1867. He was also one of the Court House Commissioners. His political importance in this county was first seen to clear advantage when, in 1885, his party nominated him for the Legislature without any canvass on his part, and in the face of a very active canvass on the part of another of Union's worthiest sons. Mr. Spalding accepted the nomination, and made a vigorous canvass, received a flattering vote, and made a magnificent race for the Speakership of the Lower House, as the choice of Western Kentucky. He is now one of the State Railroad Commissioners. He owns 260 acres of land, 100 of which is cultivated, and has a beautiful home in the south part of Morganfield. Born in the Catholic church, Mr. Spalding has always shown himself a true son of Mother Church. Through his exertions mainly, St. Ann's was built in Morganfield. Mr. Spalding's address is pleasant and engaging, from from affectation and yet dignified. He impresses his auditors with the idea that a very sincere man is saying things in a wonderfully telling manner, and carries them with him, unless they are firmly predisposed against his arguments.