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BOOK SECTION
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1963
Spalding Family Traditions In The South
THE BISHOPS OF THE WORLD ASSEMBLE. The second session of Vatican Council II opens on Sunday, September 29. It will
bring together more than two thousand cardinals, archbishops and bishops who, with the heads of religious orders and
certain others, constitute the Fathers of the Council. This picture, taken on the occasion of the inauguration of the first
session, shows the council hall, the nave of St Peter's basilica specially adapted to the purposes of the meeting. Here the
archbishops and bishops, in white copes and mitres, are already assembled in tiers of seats extending from the center of
the basilica almost to the great front doors. The cardinals of the Church are filing into their seats in the right foreground
of the picture. Behind the cardinals, the late Pope John XXIII is being carried in procession on the ceremonial chair.
A temporary altar, at which Mass is celebrated daily to open council deliberations, is seen in the center of the aisle at
the bottom of the picture.
THE SPALDING FAMILY OF
MARYLAND, KENTUCKY AND
GOERGIA FROM 1658 TO 1963
by Hughes Spalding. 185 pp.
Atlanta; The Stein Printing
Company.
In reading 'The Spalding
Family* I was reminded of a
chapter of G. K. Chestertons
The Everlasting Man* in which
Chesterton speaking of Chris
tianity states that Christianity
is not a survival. But it is
rather a series of revolutions
through which the Church after
seeming death has returned
again and again in this wes
tern world of rapid change and
perishing institutions. This
constant renewal was accom
plished by its unique ability to
generate and inflame young men
to convert the age in which they
lived. Chesterton mentions as
examples of this, the rush of
missionaries from Ireland as
having all the air of an unex
pected onslaught of young men
on an old world; Islam falling
by the roar of thousands of
thousands of young men, throw
ing all their youth into one coun
ter charge*'the Crusades. This
renewal was the sons of Fran
cis, wandering singing all over
the reads of the world: it was
gothic going up like a flight
of arrows: It was die waking
of the world. As I have indi
cated the story of the Spalding
Family has reminded meof this
from The Everlasting Man, be
cause in the renewal of the
Spalding clan there has been
an extraordinary effect on the
world in which they have lived.
This review has been writ
ten out of a feeling of love,
awl still out of a feeling of
necessity. Of love because of
my great affection for the au
thor. And of necessity because
it presents in a most interest
ing manner something which is
important and necessary in this
changeing world of ours, name
ly an awareness of our debt
to those to whom we are bound
by filial ties.
Mr. Hughes Spalding; the au
thor of the Spaldings is a re
markable person. Mr. Robert
Troutman, a man of no mean
talent and devotion to duty him
self, has said of Mr. Spalding,
"No one of his generation has
rendered to the people of Geor
gia greater public service.’*
His accomplishments are many
and diverse. He has been in
volved in an outstanding man
ner in the field of government
education, agriculture, phllan-
throphy, etc. Chairman of the
Board of Regents, University
System of Georgia, 1933-34,
1949-51; Chairman of the Board
of Trustees, Fulton - DeKalb
Hospital Authority 1946-59;
Chairman, Executive Com
mittee 1953-58; Director 1939
to date, Trust Company of Geor
gia. He has been honored by
Pope Plus XII with the tide of
Privy Chamberlain Supernu
merary of Sword and Cape. For
years he has been die astute
and wise counselor of bishops,
priests and lay people.
And now at an age when
most men in a similar position
would be willing to rest on the
well - earned honors of a long
and fruitful life, he has added
new lustre to an already dis
tinguished name by authoring
a fine book.
Genealogies are not especi
ally enjoyable books to read.
They lend themselves to bor
edom rather than a keen and
lively reading. Certainly there
are exceptions and the Spald
ing Family of Maryland, Ken
tucky and Georgia is one. In
deed if Mr. Spalding has start
ed his writing career earlier
he might well have made his
mark in the field of literature
as he has in the field of law.
'The Spalding Family* has hu
mor and salt, as well as the
simplicity of a good story well
told. Mr. Spalding has the in
stinct of a good writer. He
spices what should be, by or
dinary standards the dull and
dry statistics of genealogy, with
anecdotes and stories of cou
rage of the people of his clan,
so that his statistics are equa
ted with people, real, living,
pulsating people. He candidly
gives advice to bishops but
without ever offending, and he
is able to praise our 'good
Sisters' for the wonderful in
fluence they have exerted with
out being overly sugar - sweet.
The Spalding Family is sim
ply but engageingly written. It
is by necessity not only the story
of the Spalding Family from
1658 up to the present time,
but is also, because many of
its members were closely as
sociated with the Church, a well
documented history of the Ch
urch especially of Maryland
and Kentucky. There is an ex
cellent chapter on the life and
work of those two great Bish
ops, uncle and nephew, Martin
John Spalding and John Lan
caster Spalding. In writing of
the Spalding Family ami its
long and Illustrious history,
Mr. Spalding has given us the
fascinating and heroic account
of what it took for one family
to preserve and nourish its
treasured heritage.
This book might well have
been sub titled a testament
to fidelity. For that is what it
really is. The story of the
fidelity of the Spalding family
to the Church that gave it the
precious gift of Faith. In his
introduction to the book Mr.
Spalding has written, "It is good
to be able to say, that as far
as my branch of the Spalding
famiy is concerned there has
never been a divorce and as a
matter of fact not even a se
paration between husband and
wife. This covers a period of
more than three hundred years.
Even though some of us may
be unworthy it is fortunate to
belong to a Church which glo
rifies the family as the foun
dation stone of our country and
our religion, and which at the
same time violently condemns
divorce as the chief destruc
tive force of country and re
ligion."
This Is the spirit that has
motivated this book. A con
viction that church and family
united together can best meet
the responsibilities that life
imposes on people. Mr. Spald
ing the author has done well
in directing our attention to this
fundamental truth. To the older
generations of the Spalding fam
ily we say "euge, euge,." To
the younger Spaldings we say
''noblesse oblige."
rev. john f. McDonough
artn DUt U UUUOi a msMuiv,
