SPAFFORD, AMOS (11 Apr. 1753-5 Aug. 1816), surveyor for the CONNECTICUT LAND CO. who performed one of the earliest surveys of Cleveland and made the first map detailing its original plan ("Original plan of the town and village of Cleaveland, Ohio, October 1, 1796,"), was born in the city of Sharon in Litchfield Co., Connecticut. Spafford was known as "Major" because of the service he performed in the WAR OF 1812.
Spafford was a surveyor in both parties sent to the WESTERN RESERVE between 1796-97. During Cleveland's initial years of settlement, Spafford was given authority for fixing lot and street lines and determining land titles. He was also active as a public official: township trustee in 1802, and township chairman in 1803. In 1802 he applied for and received a license to keep a tavern in Cleveland. Spafford himself was one of the original lot owners in Cleveland. He was partly responsible for persuading the Connecticut Land Co. to reduce the higher price it had attached to city lots, threatening in 1801 to leave the Western Reserve altogether if the price was not lowered. He reportedly had problems with real estate, acquiring more land than he could pay for or resell. In 1809 he was elected to the lower house of the state legislature from Geauga County. Soon afterward he was appointed collector for the new port of entry on the Maumee River, in 1810 leaving Cleveland to assume that post near Perrysburg, Ohio.
Spafford married Olive Barlow on 3 July 1773. They had 7 children: Samuel, Anna, Chloe, Gay, Adolphus, Aurora, and Jarvis. Spafford was buried in Waynesfield, Ohio.