Judge William Spensley, a prominent member of the legal profession of Jo Daviess County, began the practice of law in Galena in 1866 and to this has since devoted his time and attention. He was elected to the office of Judge of the County Court in 1872, and held the position four years. He has been an active member of the Republican party since becoming a voting citizen, laboring for the perpetuation of its principles, with all the natural strength and integrity of his character. He is a Western man by birth and breeding; born Dec. 26, 1842, in what was then known as Catfish, Dubuque Co., Iowa, but what is now called Rock Dale.

Richard Spensley, the father of our subject, was born in the northern part of Yorkshire, England, of parents descended from pure English stock. The paternal grandfather was James Spensley, also a native of Yorkshire and a farmer by occupation. He was first married in his native England, where his wife died; later he emigrated to America, and, finally coming West, looking up his residence in Dubuque, where he spent the balance of his natural life, dying at the advanced age of 76 years. Religiously, he was an active Methodist, having been reared in the doctrines of this church, and frequently assisted his parents in the he entertainment of its founder, John Wesley, in his native England.

The father of our subject was the third in a family of sixteen children, four of whom came to America, and three of whom are living. Most of those who remained in England are now deceased. Richard Benson, a native of Yorkshire, who, after marriage, and the birth of all his children, came about 1833, to America, and located in Dubuque County, Iowa where he soon died. He had a thorough knowledge of mining, and instituted the first blast furnace known to the mining regions of this State. He became superintendent of furnaces in the mining regions of Iowa. Later he returned to his native isle on a visit, and died not far from the place of his birth, after he had attained the age of three-score and ten years. His first wife died of cholera during that epidemic in 1833. Her remains were laid to rest somewhere along the Ohio River, but the spot of sepulcher has never been discovered by her descendants, who have often sought her last resting place, in order to remove the remains to a more suitable spot. Richard Benson contracted a second marriage in his native shire, which he revisited several times after coming to the United States. His second wife returned to England, and died at an advanced age in her native county.

The parents of our subject, after their marriage, lived for a time in Yorkshire England where the father operated as foreman in a department of a mine until 1839. The outlook had been very discouraging, with little prospect of bettering his condition, and he resolved to seek a more favorable country. He was without means, having even to borrow money for his contemplated journey, and started out with his wife and six children to cross the Atlantic; one child had died in Yorkshire. On reaching Chicago IL, the father had only money enough to convey his wife and children to his destination in Iowa, he himself walking the entire distance.

In Dubuque County Richard Spensley began the battle of life on a foreign soil, under adverse circumstances. To speak of the trials and toils in the struggle of the few years following, would only be to recount what scores of others endured and suffered after their emigration to the uncultivated West. Mr. Spensley was a man of stubborn resolution and indomitable will - traits handed down to him from his substantial English ancestry - and which served him well during that season of probation, as it were. He came off, however, with flying colors, built up his homestead, and liquidated h is indebtedness by paying 100 cents and interest on every dollar. He, some time since, retired from the active labors of life, and is now in the enjoyment of a comfortable home in Galena, where he ruminates upon the scenes through which he has passed, and is able to impart many an interesting lesson to the present generation. Although, summing up his four-score years, he is still stout and hearty, without an ache or pain, with a large, robust frame, whose strength has never been impaired by the use of whiskey or tobacco. He has been an almost lifelong member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is one of its most faithful attendants in Galena. He bids fair to add another score of years to his life. The wife and mother departed hence in 1887, at the age of 82. She also united with the Methodist Church early in life and remained loyal to its doctrines until passing away. Richard Spensley cast his first Presidential vote for the Whig ticket, which under the wing of the old Whig party. Upon its abandonment in 1856, he allied himself with the Republicans, of whose principles he remains a firm supporter. He hurrahed for "old Tippecanoe" in 1840 and voted with little enthusiasm for his grandson in the fall of 1888.

Judge Spensley, our subject, was the ninth child of the parental family, which comprises six sons and six daughters. With the exception of one son who died of brain fever, at the age of 10 years, they all lived to maturity. Three sons and three daughters are yet living, and are all married. William of our sketch, took to wife Miss Mary J. Low; Ellen is the wife of John Gray; James follows farming, smelting and dairying and has represented his county in the Iowa Legislature; he married Anna Osborn, who is his third wife. Rosa is the wife of Ralph Spensley (no relative) and lives in Dubuque County Iowa; Alice, Mrs. Harker, lives on a farm in the Black Hawk County, Colo.

The boyhood and youth of Judge Spensley were spent after the manner of the sons of pioneer farmers, he receiving a limited education under the undeveloped school system of the day. He, at an early age, chose the profession of law, and when twenty-three, with this purpose in view, entered the office of E.A. Small at Galena, and by two years close application , secured admittance to the bar. So well did he succeed that, six years later, after filling other positions of trust and responsibility, he was elected Judge of the County Court, in which position he acquitted himself with great credit, as in every other place he has been called upon to fill.

In the city of Galena was celebrated the marriage of our subject, June 4, 1868, with Mary J. Low. Mrs. Spensley was born in Rice Township, this county, Dec. 10, 1844, and is the daughter of H.H. and Harriet (Beebe) Low, the former of whom died in Galena, in 1864, while in his prime. He was a native of Bangor, Me., whence he emigrated to the West in early manhood, and was married to his wife, who survives him, and makes her home with her daughter, Mrs. Spensley. Mrs. Low is likewise a native of the Pine Tree State and came to the West, like her husband, during the period of its early settlement. The latter possessed considerable inventive genius, putting forth the Low shingle machine, which is yet used extensively throughout the West, and which comprises the main principles required in the construction of a machine for such purposes. He was a skilled mechanic, being able to use with facility nearly all kinds of tools.

Mrs. Spensley was reared in this county and taught school with success before third marriage. Six children came to this household, two of whom died in infancy. Jessie E. will graduate the present year 1889 from the Galena High School; Hattie A. attends the German-English College; William R. and Mary are at home with their parents. The Judge and his estimable wife attend the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is a Republican and socially a K.T. belonging to Commandery No. 44.

Transcribed by Christine Walters - Portraits and Biographical 1889

William Spensley was born in Dubuque County, Iowa. His parents were English, having emigrated to the United States in 1829. He was reared to manhood in the township of Vinegar Hill, Jo Daviess County, Ill., where, during the winter months he attended the common school and, in the summer worked for his father who was engaged in the smelting business. For two terms he attended Platteville Academy, located at Platteville, Wis., but did not graduate. In the year 1864 he began the study of law in the office of the late E. A. Small, then a. leading lawyer in the city of Galena, was admitted to the bar on the 27th of January, 1866, and at once opened an office in Galena. On June 4, 186S, he was united in marriage with Mary J. Low. Six children were born to this union, four of whom survive, namely: Jessie E., Harriet A., William R. and Mary E. In 1873 he was elected County Judge of Jo Daviess County, Ill., serving in that position four years, but declined a re-election and has ever since devoted himself to his profession. In politics he has always been a Republican and, in 1888, was a delegate to the Republican National Convention at Chicago, which nominated Benjamin Harrison for President. In religious matters he has always cast his lot with the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Dori Leekley - History of JoDaviess 1904