James Sutherland Spore (May 13, 1885 – April 28, 1937) was a

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. He served as acting governor of

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

from February 27, 1921 to February 7, 1922 and as acting governor of

American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...

from March 24, 1931 to April 22, 1931. James S. Spore grew up in

Bay City, Michigan Bay City is a city in Bay County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The population was 32,661 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is located just upriver from the Saginaw Bay on the Saginaw River. It is the princip ...

and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with the nickname of "Wooden Willie." His sister was Marian Spore Bush and he had three children.

Career

Spore served as acting Naval governor of

from February 27, 1921 to February 7, 1922. Spore served as acting governor of

from March 24, 1931 to April 22, 1931. As of 1933, he was stationed in

San Pedro, California San Pedro ( ; ) is a neighborhood located within the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay and Los Angeles Harbor Region, Harbor region of the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. Formerly a separate city, it consolidated with Los ...

. After retiring from the Navy, he moved to La Mesa, California (in

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of California, north to its border with Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634; it is the second-most populous ...

) to farm

avocado The avocado, alligator pear or avocado pear (''Persea americana'') is an evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae). It is native to Americas, the Americas and was first domesticated in Mesoamerica more than 5,000 years ago. It was priz ...

Personal life

On April 29, 1916, Spore married Grace Walling at St. Andrews Episcopal Church in

South Orange, New Jersey South Orange is a historic suburban Village (New Jersey), village located in Essex County, New Jersey. It was formally known as the Township of South Orange Village from October 1978 until April 25, 2024. As of the 2020 United States census, ...

. In 1937, Spore died in La Mesa, California.

References

External links

James Sutherland Spore at findagrave.com

* ttps://digital.lib.ecu.edu/11264 Burns W. Spore oral history interview, April 28, 2001 at ecu.edu {{DEFAULTSORT:Spore, James Sutherland 1885 births 1937 deaths People from Bay City, Michigan United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy officers Governors of Guam Governors of American Samoa Military personnel from Michigan