[1] After his graduation from Yale University he inherited a large sum of money upon his father's death.

He purchased land in the Berkshire County in 1888 and hired local architect H. Neill Wilson to design a large summer cottage retreat in 1890, hoping a residence in the area would help his health improve.

[7] Wilson went on to design several other mansions for wealthy persons establishing summer retreats in the area, including Shadowbrook.

Speculation on whether she would lose the income was reported in newspapers as she prepared to marry another lawyer, Victor Elting.

[7][8] Spoor was chairman of the board of the Union Stockyards and Transit Company in Chicago, and sold Blythewood to a group of local investors two years before his death in 1926.