SPALDING, JOHN [SSNE 4677]

Surname: SPALDING
First name: JOHN, HANS, HANNS, JOHAN
Title/rank: PRESIDENT OF COMMERCE
Nationality: SCOT
Region: MILHAUGH (MILLHEUCH, SOUTH LANARKSHIRE?)

Text source

John Spalding was born in Scotland around 1600, the son of George Spalding of Milhaugh and Helen Ogilvie. He had a brother in Germany, Andrew Spalding [SSNE 6717] who moved to Mecklenburg. John migrated to Sweden and became a merchant in Gothenburg where he became known as "Hans". He was a councillor there in 1639/1640 and president of commerce from 1658-1667. His name appeared on the Gothenburg shipping lists from 1639 through till 1666, and his destinations included Amsterdam, Hamburg, Lubeck, Stralsund, Danzig, Hull, Spain, Stockholm, King's Lynn, Riga, Reval, Portugal, London, Norway, Dunkirk, Halmstad, Newcastle, Stettin, Copenhagen, Calais. He also sent goods to Scotland: Crail, Dumbarton, Dundee are those destinations specified beyond "Scotland". In 1645 he twice exported bar iron to Crail. Other members of the Gothenburg Scottish community, ie James Merser [SSNE 4839] and Alexander Young [SSNE 7164], also appeared on one of the ship manifests. He again exported bar iron in 1655, this time to Dundee and Anstruther; and once again in 1658 to Dundee. One of his colleagues was the Englishman Anthony Knipe [SSNE 4676]. T. Fischer noted that he became a legal president for Gothenburg in 1658. In 1658 he attended a Riksdag meeting in Gothenburg, and in 1664 he attended the Riksdag and signed the king's resolution regarding duke Adolf Johan's supplication. He was a significant member of the community in Gothenburg as he was several times godparent for newborns: in 1659 he was godparent to Gustav von Akern's daughter and Christian Schotte's daughter. In 1661 he was godparent to lt. Erich Gallef's daughter and lt.col. Pafenfeldt's daughter. In 1662 he was godparent to Doctor Specht's son and the next year he was godparent to Dietrich Strokark's son. In 166 he was godparent to Jorgen Voltzer's son. John died in 1667. He was married to Johanna Kinnaird [SSNE 2711] first, and then to Ingeborg Danielsdotter (although Eduard Spalding implies this second marriage took place on 11 October 1647, more than a year before his first wife died!). He had seven children, all of whom became ennobled including Gabriel [SSNE 4816] who later took over as "President of Commerce" from his father and John [SSNE 4941] who served as Swedish Resident in Spanish Flanders in the 1670s. His daughters were; Elizabeth [SSNE 6413], Johanna [SSNE 6414], Margareta [SSNE 6415], Anna [SSNE 6416] and Catharina [SSNE 6417]. He had a nephew in Nörköping, Jacob Spalding [SSNE 4813] who encouraged to move to Sweden from Germany.

Göteborg Landsarkivet, Drätselkammare; Swedish Riksarkiv, Biographica Microcard, E01832 3/6. Letter dated 23 May 1664 in Stockholm and signed by "Spalding von Gottenburg"; Swedish Riksarkiv, Skoklostersamlingen II fol. vol (37) - Brev till Per Abrahamsson Brahe; Swedish Riksarkiv, Brev till Magnus de la Gardie a) fran enskilda, 1662-1664 (2); Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, 3rd series, IV, 1673-1676, p.306; G. Elgenstierna, Svenska Adelns Attartavlor, vol. 7, pp.370-371; E. Långström, Göteborgs Stads Borgarelängd 1621-1864, (Gothenburg, 1926), p.13; W. Berg, Samlingar till Göteborgs Historia Christine Kyrkas Böcker for vigda, födda och döda (Gothenburg, 1890), vol. I, 1624-1725, pp.60, 62, 66, 68, 69, 73, 77, 88-91; Eduard Spalding, Geschichtliches, urkunnden, stamm-tafeln der Spalding in Schottland, Deutschland und Schweden: Während der letzten sechs jahrhunderte, speciell der Deutsche zweig der familie (Greifswald, 1898), pp.12-13, 74-75 and Appendix V, Swedish Family Tree for 'Johan Spalding'; H. Almquist, Göteborgs Historia (Gothenburg, 1929), p.369; L. Fontaine, History of Pedlars in Europe (Oxford, 1996), p.14; Borgarståndets Riksdagsprotokoll före frihetstiden, (Uppsala, 1933), p.384 and p.424; T. Fischer, The Scots in Sweden (Edinburgh, 1907), p.16; E-B. Grage, 'Scottish merchants in Gothenburg, 1621-1850', in T.C. Smout, ed, Scotland and Europe 1200-1850, p.112; C. Dalhede, Handelsfamiljer på Stormaktstidens Europamarknad (3 vols., Partille, 2001)III, cdrom; Steve Murdoch, Network North: Scottish Kin, Commercial and Covert Associations in Northern Europe, 1603-1746 (Brill, Leiden, 2006), pp.134-215. See also www.gbgtomter.se.

Service record

SWEDEN, GOTHENBURG: Arrived 1621-01-01; Departed 1667-12-31; Capacity BURGESS, purpose CIVIC; Arrived 1639-01-01; Capacity COUNCILLOR, purpose CIVIC; Arrived 1658-01-01, as PRESIDENT; Departed 1667-12-31, as PRESIDENT; Capacity BOARD OF TRADE, purpose CIVIC, TRADE, MERCANTILE