Francis E. Spinner
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Francis Elias Spinner (January 21, 1802 - December 31, 1890) was a U.S. Representative from New York.
Born in Mohawk, German Flats, New York, Spinner was educated by his father. He served an apprenticeship at both harness making and candy making. He engaged in mercantile pursuits in 1824. He entered the State militia and was subsequently promoted to the rank of major general. He was appointed deputy sheriff in 1829. Sheriff of Herkimer County 1834-1837. He was appointed one of the commissioners for the construction of the State lunatic asylum at Utica in 1838. He engaged in banking as cashier and later president of the Mohawk Bank. State inspector of turnpikes. He 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 a Democrat to the Thirty-fourth Congress and as a Republican to the Thirty-fifth and Thirty-sixth Congresses (March 4, 1855-March 3, 1861). He served as chairman of the Committee on Accounts (Thirty-sixth Congress). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1860 to the Thirty-seventh Congress. 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. He successfully urged the employment of women in the Treasury Department. He died in Jacksonville, Florida, December 31, 1890. He was interred in Mohawk Cemetery, Mohawk, New York.
