CLASPILL, SAMUEL H., a substantial and representative citizen of Springfield, Ill., has lived for the past forty-five years in his comfortable home at 400 West Capitol Avenue. He was born in Hamilton County, Ohio, October 30, 1826, son of Basil C. and Anna (Allemong) Claspill, both natives of Virginia. The father was a blacksmith by trade and brought his family to Ohio in 1820, living ten years in Hamilton County. He then moved to Dearborn County, Ind., and lived there forty years, dying there in 1859. His widow survived him many years and died at the age of ninety-three in 1885, in Wisconsin, being buried in the cemetery at Riverside, Appleton, Wis. Of the seven children born to Basil Claspill and his wife, Samuel H. is the only one who survives.

The education of Samuel H. Claspill was acquired in the country schools of Dearborn County, Ind., and he went to school in a log building, where the seats were made of hewed logs and their legs of wooden pins shaped by hand. After leaving school Mr. Claspill worked for his uncle, Richard C. Mendenhall, in Muskingum County, Ohio, where he remained until he was seventeen years old, then went to Fairfield County, Ohio, and worked at the trade of gunsmith one year, with his uncle, George W. Claspill. The young man then moved to Lancaster, Ohio, where he learned the trade of shoemaker, which he has followed since, except for one year spent in gold mining in California. He made a trip to California overland, reaching there August 13, 1852, and leaving October 16, 1853. He then located in Moores Hill. Dearborn County, Ind., where he followed his trade until moving to Springfield, in 1858. He is a skilled workman and has been successful in business.

Mr. Claspill was married in Dearborn County, Ind., December 9, 1847, to Rebecca E. Davis, born there August 17, 1829, daughter of Spencer and Elizabeth Davis. The parents were natives of Maryland and were early settlers of Indiana, and died there, the father in 1853 and the mother ten years later. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Claspill, namely: Lydia A., widow of John W. Taylor, who was a retired farmer living in Dawson, Ill.; Margaret C. married Henry B. Davidson, a carriage maker of Springfield; Dora B., Mrs. Tery, lives in California, where she is conducting a hotel; Ida M. married Albert Brown, a machinist in the employ of the Illinois Watch Company. Mr. Claspill and his wife have eight grandchildren, of whom two live in Springfield. He has taken an active interest in public affairs and served as Assistant Assessor in Springfield in 1870. He is a Republican in politics. He is a member of the First Christian Church and fraternally is a member of the Masonic Order, which he joined in 1854, being affiliated with Tyrian Lodge, No. 33; Chapter No. 1, R.A.M.; Council No. 2, and Ellwood commandery No. 63, of Springfield. He has a large number of friends and is well known in the city, which has been his home for nearly half a century.