Draft:George Spiller

George Spiller (December 1845, Nelson County, Virginia, USA - April 14, 1931, Jacksboro, Texas) was an American surveyor, abstractor, and insurance executive. He studied civil engineering at Virginia Military Institute (VMI) and served in the American Civil War as a part of the school's corps of cadets. After the war, he completed his education at VMI, graduating in 1866. In the Fall of 1865 he was initiated into Alpha Tau Omega and was a founding member of the fraternity.

Reid's School
George Spiller attended Wm. S. Reid's school in Amherst County before matriculating at Virginia Military Institute.

Virginia Military Institute
George Spiller matriculated at Virginia Military Institute (VMI) on January 1, 1862, from Fincastle, Virginia. His studies were interrupted by typhoid fever, causing him to lose a year, but he returned and participated in the Battle of New Market in 1863 as a cadet private in Co. A. Despite being slightly wounded, he continued at VMI and graduated on July 4, 1866, ranking ninth in his class. He was appointed a sergeant in Co. C in 1865.

Alpha Tau Omega
On September 11, 1865 after the conclusion of the Civil War, Alpha Tau Omega was founded by the three founders, Otis Alan Glazebrook, Alfred Marshall and Erskin Mayo Ross. Glazebrook and Marshall began initiating new member into the fraternity on the first day of the Fall term, October 16, 1865. Six new members were initiated withing 10 days of the institutes opening with Spiller being the 6th initiate. Spiller and Marshall were quite close. After graduation 1870, Marshall contracted Yellow Fever in southern Alabama. Spiller went to a Marshall's aid and nursed him through his entire illness. Spiller was by Marshall's side when he passed away on September 22, 1870. As a further testament to their strong friendship, Spiller named one of his children after Marshall.

Career
Gilmore's Mill

After graduation, George Spiller's father gave him the store and mill known as "Gilmore's Mill" in Rockbridge Co., Va., where he was in business until May, 1870.

Mobile and Montgomery Railroad

In 1870, Spiller and his classmate, Alfred Marshall, worked as civil engineers for the Mobile and Montgomery Railroad in Alabama. The work was involved construction in a swampy area between Tensaw and Mobile, Al. Marshall contracted Yellow Fever shortly after arriving and passed away.

Engineering, surveying, abstracting and insurance

Spiller moved to Louisiana, where he worked on the Teche Division of the Southern Pacific system. He then moved to Houston, Texas, in 1871, where he worked as a civil engineer and surveyor for the Houston and Great Northern Railroad. In December 1872, Spiller relocated to Graham, Texas, where he formed the land and surveying firm of Graham, Hillard, and Spiller. Four years later, he was elected district surveyor of the Young County Land District, the first surveyor selected under the new state Texas Constitution of 1876. Spiller's district included sixteen counties, a vast expanse of land that extended from the Young County line west to New Mexico. His work included locating lands for Texas public universities. In 1881, Spiller had a short business stint in Jackson, Tennessee. He returned to Fort Worth, Texas, in 1883 and moved to Jacksboro, Texas, in 1884, where he established a successful insurance and abstract business. In 1894, he was named the official surveyor of Jack County and served in this capacity until January 1931, at which time he was succeeded by his son, Kyle Spiller. For many years in Jacksboro, he also operated the Spiller Abstract Company in conjunction with his work in the insurance business.

A historically important job carried out by George Spiller was the surveying of the West Texas lands that would become part of the Permanent University Fund. This work would prove pivitol in the development of Texas higher education and continues to have great effect on the educational landscape of Texas. During a visit to Fort Worth, Texas in 1906, I. H. Burney said the following of Spiller. "He did more surveying on the plains of Texas with his little party, 250 miles from civilization and the railroad, and among the Indians and buffaloes, than any other man in Texas. A vast amount of the grants of land made to the railroads in the early days were surveyed by him."

Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association
In 1879, George Spiller married Belle Loving, the granddaughter of Oliver Loving, an historic cattle driver. Her father, James C. Loving, was a prominent rancher and one of the founding members of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle-Raisers Association. Spiller worked as an assistant secretary of the nascent association while his wife wrote the first draft of the organization's constitution and bylaws.

Death and legacy
George Spiller, after suffering from an illness for three years, during which he became blind in the last year, George Spiller passed away on April 14, 1931. He was buried in Oakwood Cemetery.

Spiller was survived by his wife Belle Loving-Spiller, a daughter and 8 sons several who became prominent in their own right.


 * Carrie Belle Spiller of Santa Barbara, California
 * E. B. Spiller, Secretary and General Manager of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association
 * James Spiller, Panhandle
 * Kyle Spiller, Jacksboro
 * William M. Spiller, Albany, N. Y.
 * George Spiller, Cleveland, Ohio
 * Col. Hampden Spiller, attorney
 * Major Oliver L. Spiller, a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and an officer of the United States Army
 * John L. Spiller, Ventura, California.