Spalding, Arthur Whitefield (spelled "Spaulding" with a "u" until 1916), 1877-1953
Person
Dates
- Existence: January 24, 1877 to December 15, 1953
Arthur Whitefield Spalding (January 24, 1877 to December 15, 1953) was closely connected with the Seventh-day Adventist church throughout his life. His parents joined the church in the year he was born (1877). Just before his eleventh birthday, his family moved to Battle Creek where he worked for several church leaders. At the age of 14, he was secretary to R. M. Kilgore and later secretary to J. H. and W. K. Kellogg at Battle Creek Sanitarium, and secretary to President E. A. Sutherland at Battle Creek College.
As an educator, Arthur Spalding headed the English Department and supervised small fruit farming at Emmanuel Missionary College from 1903 to 1906. He taught in and directed elementary and secondary schools in Wisconsin and the southern states of the United States. In 1910 he co-founded Fletcher Institute in North Carolina. He also pioneered family-life education in Seventh-day Adventist schools and colleges.
A writer through his life, he produced his first book, A Man of Valor, while teaching at Emmanuel Missionary College. As secretary to Ellen White in 1913, he wrote, Men of the Mountain, while under her employ. He contributed many articles for church publications and books familiar to Adventist readers such as Golden Treasury of Bible Stories and Origin and History of Seventh-day Adventists. He wrote thirty books and published more than seven hundred articles and one hundred poems. He also served as an editor of The Watchman Magazine.
From 1922 to 1941, Spalding served as founder and full-time secretary of the Home Commission of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, writing and lecturing extensively on the home. Through this venue he published and lectured on educating parents for child training and character development until his retirement in 1942. His wife Maud Wolcott Spalding, whom he had married in 1899, developed programs and material for preschool children, especially in the area of nature study. See Babes and Cradles (Center for Adventist Research PZ8.3 .S773B3) and boxes 11 and 12 of this collection. In 1921 he was invited to become the secretary of the newly formed General Conference Home Commission.
Spalding died December 15, 1953, near Collegedale, Tennessee. See, A Fire in My Bones (Center for Adventist Research BX6158.9 .S68M3) for a biography of Spalding written by his children.
As an educator, Arthur Spalding headed the English Department and supervised small fruit farming at Emmanuel Missionary College from 1903 to 1906. He taught in and directed elementary and secondary schools in Wisconsin and the southern states of the United States. In 1910 he co-founded Fletcher Institute in North Carolina. He also pioneered family-life education in Seventh-day Adventist schools and colleges.
A writer through his life, he produced his first book, A Man of Valor, while teaching at Emmanuel Missionary College. As secretary to Ellen White in 1913, he wrote, Men of the Mountain, while under her employ. He contributed many articles for church publications and books familiar to Adventist readers such as Golden Treasury of Bible Stories and Origin and History of Seventh-day Adventists. He wrote thirty books and published more than seven hundred articles and one hundred poems. He also served as an editor of The Watchman Magazine.
From 1922 to 1941, Spalding served as founder and full-time secretary of the Home Commission of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, writing and lecturing extensively on the home. Through this venue he published and lectured on educating parents for child training and character development until his retirement in 1942. His wife Maud Wolcott Spalding, whom he had married in 1899, developed programs and material for preschool children, especially in the area of nature study. See Babes and Cradles (Center for Adventist Research PZ8.3 .S773B3) and boxes 11 and 12 of this collection. In 1921 he was invited to become the secretary of the newly formed General Conference Home Commission.
Spalding died December 15, 1953, near Collegedale, Tennessee. See, A Fire in My Bones (Center for Adventist Research BX6158.9 .S68M3) for a biography of Spalding written by his children.
Found in 4 Collections and/or Records:
Arthur W. Spalding Papers II
Collection
Identifier: Collection 296
Content Description
This collection has research materials used by Allan William Freed for his dissertation: Arthur Whitefield Spalding: A Study of His Life and Contributions to Family-Life Education in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Other than some items of biographical and personal worth, the substantive part of this collection is primarily of A.W. Spalding’s published writings spanning forty years. The collection is divided in chronological order by type of items (books, articles,...
Dates:
1902 - 1953
Arthur Whitefield Spalding Papers I
Collection
Identifier: Collection 10
Content Description
The Arthur Whitefield Spalding Papers were placed in the Adventist Heritage Center in the James White Library, Andrews University, in June 1960 by Arthur Spalding's children--Ronald W. Spalding, M.D., and Elizabeth Spalding McFadden of Gobles, Michigan. The papers contain correspondence, manuscripts, and articles collected by Arthur Spalding. Of particular interest are materials dealing with the Seventh-day Adventist General Conference Home Commission (which Spalding founded and directed from...
Dates:
1905 - 1957