The Spencer Genealogy

Part Two

Note: Part Two of this study covers the period from this family's arrival in the New World during the 1600s down to the time of the Revolutionary War, a total of five generations.

9. Ensign GERARD SPENCER ("Jarrad," "Jared"), youngest child of Gerard and Alice Spencer, born April 1614 in Stotfold, Bedfordshire, England; baptised 25 April 1614 at St. Mary's Church in Stotfold; died 23 June 1685 in Haddam, Middlesex County, Connecticut. After his baptism, Gerard next appears on record in the will of his great-uncle Thomas Hill, gentleman of Flitton, Bedfordshire, dated 15 Oct. 1628 -- among the beneficiaries named in the will are Gerard's maternal grandmother Eleanor as "my sister Whitbread," Gerard's mother Alice as "my neece Spencer," and Gerard himself as "her Sonne Garrett." Ensign Gerard Spencer was one of the "Four Spencer Brothers" who came to New England in the early 1600s and are ancestors of a great many of the Spencer families of the United States. Some have said that Gerard came to America with the first Winthrop Fleet in 1630, being under the leadership of John Winthrop who established the Massachusetts Bay Colony in Cambridge, Suffolk County, Massachusetts. Frederick Adams Virkus' The Abridged Compendium of American Genealogy, vol. 1, page 991, says Gerard "Came from England with his brother William, and Rev. Thomas Hooker, to Newton, MA, 1633." Others say Gerard came with Rev. Hooker in 1632 or came to Cambridge, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, in 1631. Be all that as it may, he did arrive in the New World around 1630, and the first mention of Gerard in America is in the Cambridge Town records -- "in the prime of Sept. 1634, Lots granted on the weft fide of the River -- Gerrad Spencer -- 4 ackrs." Gerard took the Oath of Allegiance as a Freeman of Massachusetts Bay Colony on 9 March 1636/37.

About five years after his arrival in America, that is, in or about 1635, Gerard and his brother Michael moved to Lynn, Essex County, Massachusetts. Gerard reportedly appears as a journeyman in Lynn in 1635. It was about this time that Gerard married. However, the name and identity of Gerard's wife remains a subject of dispute. Some sources state that on 17 Dec. 1636 in Lynn, Massachusetts, Gerard married HANNAH HILLS (or "Joannis," of which "Hannah" can be a variant form), born 1618 in Stotfold, Bedfordshire, England, died probably in Haddam, Middlesex County, Connecticut. The identification of Gerard's wife as "Joannis" seems to be a confusion of Gerard with his cousin Gerard Spencer, baptised 20 Sept. 1601 in Stotfold, who married "Joan Hill" and had four daughters and two sons. Spencer genealogist Robert Spencer shows Gerard's first wife as "Hannah Hill" and his second wife as "Hannah Pratt," and Robert Spencer says Gerard married Hannah Pratt on 22 Dec 1680. However, in The American Genealogist, vol. 27 (1950), Donald Lines Jacobus noted, "In all my research I have never found a document that names Gerard Spencer's wife." The identification of Gerard's wife as the "Joannis" of Stotfold assumes that "Hannah" was the name of Gerard's wife. Gerard's second daughter was named Hannah, who perhaps was named after her mother -- but Gerard and his first wife also had daughters named Mehitable (the eldest daughter), Alice, Sarah, Elizabeth, Ruth, and Rebecca, any of whom could have been named for their mother. It could be that the oft-repeated statement that their mother's name was Hannah derives from a misinterpretation of a court document from a lawsuit of 6 March 1660/61 (see below) which refers to "Jared & Hannah Spencer" -- such would naturally be taken as a reference to a husband and his wife, but the background and occasion of the lawsuit, and chronological considerations, show that it is a reference to Gerard and his daughter Hannah. In The Great Migration Begins, genealogist Robert Charles Anderson speculates that Gerard's wife may have been named "Grace," noting that two of Gerard's sons named daughters Grace and that Gerard "made a special point of making mention [in his will] these two grandchildren when many other grandchildren were not mentioned." Be all that as it may, Gerard and his first wife had 12 children. In the database of the late George R. Spencer, Gerard's wife "Hannah" is said to have died in Haddam on 22 Oct. 1692. That date, however, is dubious to say the least, and other researchers have noted that Gerard's first wife must have died before her husband made his will in 1683, and perhaps much earlier (See Flora Clark's manuscript "Gerard-1, Thomas-2 SFA").

Around 1635, Gerard and his brother Michael moved to Lynn, Massachusetts, where Gerard operated the local ferry, which ran from Needham's Landing in Lynn to Biards Landing in Saugas. In March 1639, a General Court in Boston granted Gerard the use and operation of the ferry service in Lynn. Six years later, Gerard and his brothers are named in the will of their uncle Richard Spencer of London, dated 17 March 1645, who bequeathed to his nephews "the sum of fifty pounds apiece." Richard's nephews hired a London attorney to secure what he had left them, but it is not clear if Gerard ever received his inheritance, because it seems their cousin Daniel Spencer, who had charge of Richard's estate, refused to make disbursement to their agents.

Following the death of his brother Michael, Gerard was appointed administrator of his brother's estate in 1653. Earlier genealogical publications state that Gerard "was chosen Ensign in the Train Band, 1656, and in 1659 served on the Grand Jury" in Lynn, Massachusetts. In the following year, 1660, Gerard and his son John were among the 28 purchasers of the land which eventually became the town of Haddam, Connecticut, on the Connecticut River. In the same year or in 1661, Gerard moved to Hartford, Connecticut, where he resided until 1663 while awaiting the approval of Haddam's charter. Earlier genealogical publications, such as Virkus' The Abridged Compendium of American Genealogy, vol. 1, page 991, claim Gerard was one of the founders of Hartford in 1636. However, a note at the late George R. Spencer's website shows that Gerard certainly was not at Hartford so early:

"A letter by Jack T. Spencer states the Gerard did not go to Hartford until many years after he settled at Lynn. He did not go to Hartford with Thomas, for that matter neither did William. (He is correcting a statement in an article entitled 'Butler-Spencer Connection,' which appeared on page 1, vol. 17, Feb. 1993.) In Love's History of Hartford, Thomas was at Hartford early in 1637 and William in 1638. The latter date agrees with the General Court Records where William does not appear as Secretary subsequent to 1638. He also states that Gerard does not appear in the Hartford land records until 1661 and then only for a brief period (until 1663). During this short interval he was awaiting approval for a charter at Haddam."

While living at Hartford, Gerard and his second daughter Hannah were sued by another early Connecticut settler named SIMON LOBDELL. Gerard apparently had arranged a marriage contract between Hannah and Simon, but Hannah married Daniel Brainerd instead. The court found that Simon had suffered injury by Hannah's publicly breaking off the engagement so she could marry Daniel, and ordered Gerard to pay Simon damages and court costs. The substance and outcome of Simon Lobdell's lawsuit are as follows:

Lawsuit: 7 March 1660/61, Hartford, Hartford Co., CT 45. Quarter Court, 7 March 1660/61:

Simon Lobdell Plt cont: Jared & Hannah Spencer in an action of ye case shee for refuseing to marry with him according to promis and Jared for breach of promis to ye value of 150£ damadg. [page 232] The Magistrates and Jury in Simon Lobdels case doe returne this as a special Verdict. That ye find not any possitiue engagemt broken by her respecting coniugal relation or absolutely binding her to consummate such a relation: Neuertheles we find vpon Evidenc that Simon hath susteined much damadge by their occasion And therfore doe find it iust and meet that all expences that he hath bin at in referenc to these proceedings ec Jared shal repay to the said Simon and to returne any Goods or money receaued by Jared or any of his family from ye said Simon. And futher that the said Simon shal haue paid vnto him as recompense for his damadge Ten pounds wthin ye space of six months.

[155] Mrch: 14. 60 The Genll Court doth further act in reference to ye Just expenses mentioned in ye special verdict that Jared Spencer shal pay to Simon Lobdel fiue pounds besides the 10£ forementioned in ye verdict all wch Sum of ffifteen pounds shal be paid in wheat and pease or other estate Equivalent therto: Fiue pounds to be paid by the 10th of Aprill the other Ten pounds according as is specified in ye special verdict and this is to be a final issue of yt case.

Colonial Records of Connecticut (1852), vol. 2, page 182, states that "Ensigne Jarrad Spencer is propownded for a freeman." By this time, Gerard was living in Haddam. This entry was made at a Court session held at Hartford on 26 June 1672. This session, presided over by Gov. John Winthrop, was hastily called in response to a letter from the King of England that he had declared war against the States General. The king's letter advised the American colonies to make "speedy and effectual provision for their defence against the Dutch." The note about Ensign Gerard Spencer apparently signified that he was a freeman of the colony of Connecticut eligible for military service in England's war against the Dutch.

Two years later, Gerard was elected as a representative/deputy from Haddam to the General Court of Connecticut in 1674, again serving in that capacity in 1679, 1679, 1680, and 1683. During King Philip's War, which began 20 June 1675 and ended 12 April 1678, "Ens. Gerrard Spencer" was listed as a deputy at a "Generall Court by Speciall Order of the Gouernor," which met on 6 July 1675. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss King Philip's War which had broken out in Plymouth Colony and the danger it presented to the eastern towns in Connecticut. "The Court being mett, they were acquainted wth the occasion of theire meeting, which was the present trouble of the Indians now risen against the English, spoyleing and destroying of them by fire and sword . . ." (See Colonial Records of Connecticut, vol. 2, pages 260-261). Later the same year, Gerard was commissioned an Ensign in the militia for the town of Haddam on 14 Sept. 1675, again serving in the Train Band as he had in Lynn, Massachusetts.

Apparently at some point around or after the birth of Gerard's youngest known child Rebecca, his first wife died. Spencer genealogists generally affirm that after her death, Gerard married REBECCA (PORTER) CLARK, born 16 Sept. 1630 in Felsted, England, died 9 Jan. 1682/3 in Connecticut, widow of John Clark of Saybrook, Connecticut, daughter of John and Anne (White) Porter of Windsor. In his 1951 study on the Four Spencer Brothers, Donald Lines Jacobus says:

"The second marriage is suggested for Gerard because there was, by elimination, no other adult Spencer in Connecticut of proper age to be the widow Clark's husband (and unencumbered with a wife known to be living) except his brother Thomas, who was an older man and resident at a greater distance from Saybrook. Nevertheless, she may have been a third wife of Sergt. Thomas Spencer. All that the records disclose is that she died under the name of Spencer, and the loss of the early New London probate records where her estate was settled may leave it forever a matter of conjecture who her Spencer husband was. Gerard's will does not even name all his children, and lack of reference to a wife may be explained in either of two ways. A second wife may have been provided for by prenuptial agreement; or such a marriage may have occurred after the will was made."

In Early Connecticut Probate Records, vol. IV, "Hartford District, 1677-1687," published 1984, pages 363-364, the will of Ensign Gerard Spencer is transcribed. The will was dated 17 Sept. 1683 and was proved and inventory taken on 29 June 1685. The will reads as follows:

"The last Will of Ensign Jarrad Spencer of Haddam: I give unto my son William the Land which I bought of Steven Luxford's Estate. How I come by it the Court Record will show. I give unto my son William 1-3 part of 48 acres lying by that wch was commonly called Welles his Brook. I give to my son Nathaniel my now Dwelling house with the Lott that was the Houselott, with an Addition lying by the side of it, granted by the Committe. I give unto my daughter Rebeckah that Houselott I bought of Thomas Smith. Likewise I give unto my daughter Rebeckas 1-3 part of the Lott by Welles his Brook. I give unto my son Thomas 40 acres on Matchamodus Side. I give unto my son Thomas his son, Jarrad spencer by name, my Rapier. I give unto my son Timothy Spencer the remainder of that 6 score acre lott wherof his 2 brothers had their shares. The other 6 score thereof I dispose of as followeth: To Grace Spencer, the daughter of my son John Spencer, 40 acres; to Alice Brooks, the daughter of my daughter Brooks, 40 acres; to Grace Spencer, the daughter of my son Samuel Spencer, I give the other 40 acres. I give unto Jarred Cone, the son of my daughter Cone, my Carbine. A pewter Flagon and a rimmed Bason I give to the Church at Haddam, if there be one within five years. It is my Will that my son John Spencer his Children and my son-in-law Daniel Cone his Children have an equal proportion of my Estate with my other Children. It is my Will that however my Estate falls out for portions to my Children, that my daughter Ruth Clarke's portion shall be 15 pounds, which was my Covenant with her father at her marriage, which 15 pounds she hath received some part thereof, as my Books will testify; & to son Joseph Clarke I give him 40 acres of land at Matchemodus. It is the humble request of Jarrad Spencer that the honoured Major John Talcott and Capt. John Allyn would be pleased to oversee that his Will. I appoint my two sons Daniel Brainard and William Spencer Adms. to the Estate.

"Jarrard Spencer"

"Witness: John James, Joseph Arnot

"Court Record, page 111-3, Sept. 1685: Adms. to Daniel Braynard and William Spencer, with the will annexed."

Although Ensign Gerard Spencer's will names many of his children, sons-in-law and grandchildren, it does not, as we have previously noted, mention either of his wives, nor does it mention all of his children. For example, an undated land deed of Haddam, Connecticut (Haddam Deeds 1:49), mentions an otherwise unknown daughter of Gerard named Sarah. The deed conveyed land "given by Steuen Bacas [Stephen Backus] with my weif Sarah of Norwich," Connecticut, to another son-in-law of Gerard, Daniel Brainerd of Haddam — one acre "that fell to us by portion of the estat of our father, Garrard Spencer."

Shown are images of items from the old pewter collection of Haddam Congregational Church. In his 1685 will, Ensign Gerard Spencer provided, "A pewter Flagon and a rimmed Bason I give to the Church at Haddam, if there be one within five years." It was not until 1702 that Haddam got a permanent minister, but even so in the early 1700s Gerard's heirs honored his wishes and obtained various pewter items to be used for their church's communion services. These items, known locally as "the Spencer Gift," include a pewter flagon and rimmed basin and other pewter items, dating from the late 1600s and early 1700s. (Photo credit: Joseph Kugielsky of the New York Times)

Among the provisions of Gerard's 1685 will, the most notable was his stipulation that pewter utensils and articles were to be provided for the Puritan church in Haddam if a church were permanently established in the town within five years. It was not until 1702 that Haddam got a permanent minister. Nevertheless, in the early 1700s Gerard's heirs honored his wishes and obtained various pewter items to be used for their church's communion services. These items, known locally as "the Spencer Gift," include a pewter flagon and rimmed basin and other pewter items, dating from the late 1600s and early 1700s, which today are kept in a glass case in the rear of the church sanctuary at Haddam Congregational Church. (See "Pewter Reflects Church's Continuity," Frances Phipps, New York Times, 8 June 1980)

Gerard and his first wife had the following children (most if not all of their dates of birth are approximations):

     --  JOHN SPENCER, born 1636, died 3 Aug. 1682, married Rebecca Hayward (Howard).
     --  MEHITABLE SPENCER, born circa 1638, died 1691, married Daniel Cone (Mackhoe).
     --  HANNAH SPENCER, born 1641, married Deacon Daniel Brainerd of Haddam.
     --  MARAH ALICE SPENCER, born 1641, married 1st. Thomas Brooks, married 2nd. Thomas Shaylor.
     --  SARAH SPENCER, born circa 1644, married Stephen Backus of Norwich.
     --  SAMUEL SPENCER, born circa 1644, married twice.
     --  ELIZABETH SPENCER, born circa 1646, married Joseph Stannard.
     --  THOMAS SPENCER SR., born 1650, married twice.
     --  TIMOTHY SPENCER, born 1652, married Sarah Clark.
     --  RUTH SPENCER, born circa 1654, married Joseph Clark.
     10. WILLIAM SPENCER, born circa 1656.
     --  NATHANIEL SPENCER, born circa 1658, married Lydia Bailey.
     --  REBECCA SPENCER, born 1660, married 1st. John Kennard, married 2nd. John Tanner

10. WILLIAM SPENCER, son of Gerald and Hannah Spencer, born circa 1656 in East Haddam, Middlesex County, Connecticut; died prior to 6 Feb. 1731, perhaps in 1730 (though his gravestone says 1731), in East Haddam, Connecticut; buried in Riverview Cemetery, East Haddam, Connecticut. Records on William and his family are found in the First Book of East Haddam Land Records and the First Congregational Church of Haddam's records, as well as the Historical Collection of the First Church of Hartford, 1633-1855. Other information on William and his family is found in Rev. F. W. Chapman's Descendants of Robert Chapman, one of the first settlers of Saybrook, Ct. (1854), page 191, as well as Donald Lines Jacobus' landmark study on the Four Spencer Brothers.

Earlier Spencer genealogies confused this William Spencer with another William Spencer of East Haddam, Connecticut, whose will inventory was taken 16 Feb. 1712/13, who thus was a contemporary with our ancestor William. Our ancestor is NOT that William Spencer, who married Sarah Ackley -- and thus, for example, the Mary Spencer who married Jonathan Dunham in East Haddam was NOT one of the children of our ancestor William, but was instead a daughter of the other William and his wife Sarah Ackley. Our Spencers did have interactions with the Ackleys of East Haddam, which helped lead earlier genealogists to confuse our William with Sarah Ackley's husband of the same name.

As the eldest surviving son of Ensign Gerard Spencer, in his father's will, dated 17 Sept. 1683 and proved 29 June 1685, William was granted "the Land which I bought of Steven Luxford's Estate" and a third part of "48 acres lying by that wch was commonly called Welles his Brook." Gerard also named William one of the two administrators of his estate, and as such William would have taken a leading role in the early 1700s in obtaining "the Spencer Gift" for Haddam Congregational Church, of which he was one of the early members. William was also one of the three men (along with John Willee and John Hungerford) who took inventory of the estate of his brother-in-law John Kennard of Haddam on 14 Nov. 1709.

Shown here is an old postcard image of First Congregational Church of Haddam, Connecticut, founded in 1702. William Spencer and his family were members of this church, donating to it a pewter communion service known as "the Spencer Gift" in fulfillment of the wishes of William's father Gerard.

William married circa 1680 to MARGARET BATES, born 19 June 1664 in Dorchester, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, baptised 20 June 1664, died 3 Oct. 1736 in East Haddam, Connecticut; buried in Riverview Cemetery, East Haddam; daughter of James and Hannah (Withington) Bates. In his 1951 study of the Four Spencer Brothers, Jacobus observes, "Since Margaret was three months under 17 years old when William's first child was born, it has been suggested that this child was by a first unknown wife. That is quite possible, but not necessarily so." (For further information about Margaret's family, see The American Genealogist 27:171 and "The Bates Ancestry" by Ruth G. Pickard.) Margaret was admitted as a member of the church in Middletown, Connecticut, on 3 May 1690, because there was not yet an organized Puritan church in Haddam. Consequently, birth and baptismal records for most of William and Margaret's children are found in Middletown rather than Haddam. William was a constituent member of the East Haddam church on 3 May 1704, while Margaret transferred her membership from Middletown to the East Haddam church on 6 July 1707.

William's eldest son Joseph died in his early 30s in 1714, after which William presumably took a greater role in the care of Joseph's two children. On 5 June 1730, a guardian was appointed for Joseph's same named son, that is, William's grandson Joseph Spencer, which could be taken as suggesting that William had died by then (assuming Joseph had been under his grandfather's care). However, a guardianship record of 5 Jan. 1731 (discussed below) suggests William was then alive. Two stones in the first cemetery at East Haddam -- today known as the Old Cove Burying Ground -- are inscribed "W.S. 1731" and "M.S. 3 Oct 1736." These probably mark the graves of William and his wife Margaret.

William and Margaret had eight sons and two daughters:

     11. JOSEPH SPENCER, born 23 March 1680, baptised 3 Sept. 1682.
     --  ELIZABETH SPENCER, born 5 Sept. 1685, baptised 6 June 1686.
     --  HEZEKIAH SPENCER, baptised 10 Aug. 1690, died young.
     --  JAMES SPENCER, born 24 Feb. 1691, married twice.
     --  MICAJAH SPENCER, born 15 June 1693, baptised 3 Nov. 1695, married Sarah Booge.
     --  MARGARET SPENCER, born 5 Sept. 1695, baptised 1 Oct. 1699.
     --  HEZEKIAH SPENCER, born 6 April 1697, married Sarah Scovill.
     --  WILLIAM SPENCER, born 16 Sept. 1699, married Lydia (NN).
     --  JONATHAN SPENCER, born 22 Sept. 1702.
     --  ICHABOD SPENCER, born 19 May 1704, married Susannah Ventres.

11. JOSEPH SPENCER, son of William and Margaret Spencer, born 23 March 1680/1 in Middletown, Middlesex County, Connecticut; baptised on 3 Sept. 1682 in Middletown, Connecticut; died during the lifetime of his father on 19 Dec. 1714 in Haddam, Middlesex County, Connecticut. About 1705 to 1710, Joseph married HANNAH CRANE, born 4 Aug. 1689 in Wethersfield County, Hartford, Connecticut, died 20 Feb. 1780 in Wethersfield, Hartford County, Connecticut, daughter of Joseph and Sarah (Kilbourne) Crane. The inventory of Joseph's will was taken on 14 Jan. 1714/15 by Daniel Braynard and Samuel Olmsted, and on 7 March 1714/15, Joseph's widow Hannah was acknowledged as administratrix of his estate (See Manwaring's Digest of Wills, vol. 2, page 301, Probate Record 9-29). Because Joseph's children were very young when Joseph died in 1714, guardians were appointed for them. About three years after Joseph's death, Hannah married secondly on 20 Sept. 1717 in East Haddam, Connecticut, to Richard Purple.

Joseph and Hannah had two children:

     --  ELIZABETH SPENCER, born 10 Aug. 1711.
     12.  JOSEPH SPENCER, born 6 Jan. 1712/13.

12. JOSEPH SPENCER, son of Joseph and Hannah Spencer, born 6 Jan. 1712/13 in East Haddam, Middlesex County, Connecticut; died 31 March 1747 in East Haddam, Connecticut. On 5 June 1730, Joseph Spencer, then a minor aged 18 years, chose Samuel Ackley of East Haddam to be his guardian (Haddam Court Record, page 23). In the following year, Joseph and his sister Elizabeth came of age to inherit land that their father had left them, as stated in this record drawn up by Joseph's guardian dated 5 Jan. 1731:

"Samuel Ackley, guardian, shows this Court that some land in Haddam (one parcel in 1st. division, 15 acres adjoining William Spencer, Lt. Knowlton & James Bates; one other parcel of land in Haddam in 2nd. division, 30 acres, the width of the lot is 20 rods, 12 of them is part of sd William Spencer's own dwelling lot, the other 8 he had of his brother Daniel Brainard) was given to Joseph Spencer and to Elizabeth Spencer, now come of age to inherit. This Court appoints Capt. Daniel Brainard & Capt. Samuel Olmsted to assist Samuel Ackley, guardian, to make a division of said land." (See Manwaring's Digest of Wills, vol. 3, page 115, Probate Record 11-339)

On 24 June 1736 in Haddam, Joseph married RACHEL HUNGERFORD, born 12 Oct. 1722, daughter of Green and Jemima (Richardson) Hungerford. They had six children. After Joseph's death, Ruth married secondly in 1754 to Freedom Chamberlain. Guardian bonds (numbers 2820, 2823, 2845 and 2849) were issued 3 Dec. 1754 for the various children of Joseph Spencer, also on 7 Jan. 1760 and 4 Jan. 1762. The guardians were Samuel Andrews Jr., Freedom Chamberlain, Matthew Hungerford, Ezekiel Crocker, Green Hungerford, and Abner Bebee.

Joseph and Ruth had three daughters and three sons:

     --  RACHEL SPENCER, born 28 Jan. 1737, married Matthew Hungerford.
     13. JOSEPH SPENCER, born 11 May 1739.
     --  SARAH SPENCER, born 11 Jan. 1740/41, married Ezekiel Crocker.
     --  HANNAH SPENCER, born 26 March 1743, married Joseph Byington.
     --  Deacon ISAAC SPENCER, born 10 Jan. 1745, died 25 Jan. 1818, married Elizabeth Hungerford.
     --  Lt. ICHABOD SPENCER, born 22 Aug. 1747, married twice.

13. JOSEPH SPENCER, son of Joseph and Rachel Spencer, born 11 May 1739 in East Haddam, Middlesex County, Connecticut; died between 1824 and 1830 in Onondaga, Onondaga County, New York. Joseph's lifetime covers a period that not only saw our Spencers move from East Haddam, Connecticut, and finally settle in central New York State and eastern Pennsylvania, but also included the tumult of the American Revolution, in which two of his sons served as soldiers in the nascent army of the United States.

The question of Joseph Spencer's parentage was a longstanding problem among Spencer genealogists. The central document pertaining to this difficulty is a deed of Farmington, Hartford County, Connecticut, which identifies our Joseph as "Joseph Spencer ye Second of East Haddam" and says he purchased part of a lot from Thomas Stanley of Farmington, who a few months later deeded the rest of this same lot to JOEL SPENCER of East Haddam, son of James Spencer of East Haddam, whose father was William Spencer (no. 7 above), son of Ensign Gerard Spencer. Since Joseph was a Spencer from East Haddam, was described as "ye Second" (thereby distinguishing him from another Joseph Spencer of East Haddam, most likely, though not necessarily, his father), and owned one part of a lot in Farmington the other part of which soon after was purchased by Joel Spencer of the East Haddam Spencers, the obvious conclusion would seem to be that our ancestor Joseph was the Joseph Spencer who was born in East Haddam on 11 May 1739, son of Joseph and Rachel (Hungerford) Spencer. Such an identification is a very good chronological fit, and is supported by the fact that two of Joseph and Rachel's daughters married in Farmington and resided there. Thus, Joel Spencer, our Joseph's next-door neighbor in Farmington, would have been first cousin of our Joseph's father.

Nevertheless, writing in The American Genealogist 29:174-191 (July 1953), leading Spencer genealogist Flora S. Clark concluded that Joseph and Rachel's son Joseph "apparently died unmarried before Dec. 24 1764. He was too young to be the 'Joseph Spencer ye Second of E. Haddam' who bought land in Farmington in 1753 and settled there." This would be a fatal objection to the identification of our Joseph as Joseph, son of Joseph and Rachel of East Haddam, for Joseph and Rachel's son Joseph was only 14 in 1753, too young to be able to purchase and own real estate. There the question of our Joseph Spencer's parentage rested for many years, with our Joseph seemingly appearing out of nowhere and, amazingly, with no known genealogical connection to the Spencers of East Haddam and Farmington with whom he certainly had dealings. Yet it seems incredible that our Joseph would not come from the same family as his next-door neighbor Joel, since both men were Spencers of East Haddam who moved to the same lot in Farmington within a few months of each other. (In addition, a 23andMe DNA test of Joseph's male-line descendant Roy Eldon Spencer in 2017 showed that his patrilineage is indeed that of the Four Spencer Brothers, so the genetic test confirms that Joseph's male ancestry certainly traces back to one of the Four Spencer Brothers.)

In 1995, Spencer genealogists Jack T. and Edith Spencer took a new look at the question, systematically examining every recorded Joseph Spencer of that time and geographical area, and thus they excluded every other recorded Joseph Spencer as possible candidates for our ancestor Joseph. They concluded that "Joseph Spencer ye Second" of Haddam and Farmington had to be the same as Joseph and Rachel's son. According to Jack and Edith Spencer, James Shepard of New Britain had erroneously transcribed the dates of the old Connecticut land records that had led Clark to reject the identity of our Joseph with Joseph and Rachel's son. Our Joseph's land purchase in Farmington and a related transaction took place in 1758 and 1759, not 1753 and 1754 -- "In old records, it is very easy to mistake an eight for a three," Jack and Edith Spencer wrote on 16 Sept. 1995 in a letter to Patricia Bray of Eugene, Oregon. Similarly, in old records, the numbers "4" and "9" can also be easily mistaken for each other. Joseph and Rachel's son Joseph attained his majority in 1758, turning 19 years of age, old enough to acquire land and to marry, both of which he apparently did that year.

On 12 Oct. 1758 in Farmington, Joseph married MARY JEROME, born circa 1739 in Farmington, died between 1824 and 1830 in Onondaga, New York, daughter of Zerubbabel and Phebe (Cook) Jerome. Mary joined the Congregational Church of Bristol, Connecticut, on 10 Aug. 1760. Joseph and Mary had four sons and two daughters, all born in Farmington or possibly Burlington, Connecticut.

The same year as his marriage, our ancestor Joseph Spencer made his first land purchase, as discussed above. The deed was abstracted by James Shepard of New Britain in Connecticut Land Records (vol. 10, page 215) as follows:

Thomas Stanley of Farmington deeds to Joseph Spencer, 2nd. of East Haddam, "One piece of land situate in the bounds of Farmington & in the 5th. division of land lying west of the reserved land, containing 50 acres, it being part of the 56th. lot in number in said division which lot was drawn for and laid out on the right of Wm. Judd, formerly of said Farmington, deceased, and said grantee's land is to lie in equal breadth on the south side as to make it precisely 50 acres, and is bound and butted east and west with highways, north by my own land, part of the same lot, and south by lot of Joseph Wadsworth." Deed dated June 1, 1753 [1758] and recorded same day.

As mentioned above, on 6 Nov. 1758 (transcribed by Shepard as "1753") Thomas Stanley deeded the other part of this same lot to Joseph's cousin Joel Spencer of East Haddam. According to Flora Clark, this lot was in what is now the South Chippen Hill district of Bristol, Connecticut, "and is north of the present school house of the west side of the highway." The following year, on 3 Dec. 1759 (transcribed by Shepard as "1754"), Joseph and Joel exchanged deeds with the town of Farmington for highway purposes -- in those deeds they are both styled "of Farmington."

The town records of Wallingford, Connecticut, show that on 27 May 1760 "Joseph Spencer of Farmington" deeded 10 acres in New Cheshire, with house, barn, and joiner shop, to Amos Doolittle of Farmington. Farmington town records show that on 16 May 1765, Joseph Spencer sold to Samuel Adams of Wallingford "The farm where I now dwell and which I lately bought of John Dudley, [which] contains 72 acres," with the dwelling house and barn. The following year, on 20 July 1766, Jonathan Pan sold Joseph Spencer of Farmington 56 acres with the dwelling house, on land now located in the southwest part of Burlington, Connecticut. It was apparently at this time that Joseph and his family moved to Burlington.

In the Bristol Town Records, vol. 1, page 100, is a deed dated 22 Aug. 1785 conveying land in West Britain, Connecticut, from ELAM SPENCER to his "honored father" Joseph Spencer. (Bristol was "set off" from Farmington in 1785, and until 1806 it included West Britain, now called Burlington.) Four years later, on 18 Nov. 1789, Chauncy Gaylord deeded land in Bristol's fifth division to Joseph Spencer and his son MILES SPENCER. (The first husband of Joseph's eldest daughter MAMRE SPENCER was William Gaylord, presumably a kinsman of Chauncy Gaylord.) Also in the Bristol Town Records, vol. 6, page 203, is a deed showing that on 26 April 1798 Joseph Spencer of Bristol conveyed "In consideration of the love and good will that I have and do bear unto my youngest son Joseph Spencer 1/2 of 80 acres" in West Britain along with two other parcels of land. On 24 March 1802, Joseph deeded the other half of the 80 acres to his son Joseph. Also on 24 March 1802, according to the Bristol Town Records, vol. 7, page 142, was the following deed by which the younger Joseph provided a dwelling for his parents:

"Joseph Spencer, Jr. of Bristol to my honored father Joseph Spencer of said Bristol 1/4 part of all the lands I own in the said town of Bristol . . . To have and to hold the above demised premises for and during the full term of the natural life of him, the said Joseph Spencer, and the full term of the natural life of my honored mother, Mary Spencer, to use simply and to improve and to know the full profits and benefits, and further at the decease of them, the said Joseph and Mary Spencer, the heirs of them shall up surrender the premises unto him, the said Joseph Spencer, Jr. without unreasonable waste or destruction."

Joseph and his son Joseph Jr. are both listed in Burlington town records as voters at the time that the town was organized in 1806. That same year, Joseph and his son Joseph moved to Harwinton, Connecticut, where they remained until 1824. However, neither father nor son were enumerated in the 1810 U.S. Census, nor was the father listed in the 1820 U.S. Census, though he and his son were known to have been living together in Harwinton from 1806 to 1824. On 17 June 1806, Joseph Spencer Jr. sold his 70-acre farm and dwelling house in Burlington to Thomas Brooks -- of this deed, Flora Clark notes, "This was the land that Joseph and his wife Mary had a life lease of and there seemed to be no release thereof." Later that year, on 24 Dec. 1806, Harwinton town records show that "Joseph Spencer, Jr. of Burlington" purchased 95 acres with buildings in the southeast part of Harwinton from Benjamin and Hannah Elton -- this land (later known as the Beebe Alfred place) was a little under two miles from the younger Joseph's former home in Burlington. Afterwards, Joseph Jr. and his brother DANIEL SPENCER sold lots in Harwinton to John Smith, and in 1810 Joseph Jr. deeded part of the Beebe Alfred place to his brother-in-law Anson Johnson, husband of Joseph's sister POLLY SPENCER.

During this same period, on 2 Jan. 1809, "Joseph Spencer of Harwinton" sold 20 acres of land in Burlington to his son "Joseph Spencer, Jr. of Harwinton." This appears to be the last time that the elder Joseph Spencer appears on record, though he is known to have lived for at least another 14 or 15 years. As mentioned above, the elder Joseph Spencer is not listed in the 1810 and 1820 U.S. Census for Harwinton, even though he is known to have been living there in those years. The 1820 U.S. Census lists Joseph Jr. as the head of a household including one male aged 26-45 (himself), one female aged 26-45 (his wife Clarissa), one male aged 16-26 (probably a hired hand), two females aged 10-16, and two females under age 10 (Joseph and Clarissa's four daughters). Again, Joseph Jr.'s parents are known to have been living with him in 1820, yet were not enumerated as members of his household. Of the elder Joseph's absence from records during these years, Flora Clark in Unplaced and Shoemaker Spencers, page 41, says:

"Two deeds dated Jan. 6, 1817 of land in Burlington were given by Joseph Spencer Jr., but all deeds after that date on both the Burlington and Harwinton records having the name of Joseph Spencer do not describe him as Jr. Joseph Sr. was still living with his son Joseph in Harwinton but was probably so infirm as not to attend to any business, hence the son rather prematurely dropped the title Jr. The last deed on Burlington records with the name Joseph is dated Oct. 3, 1824 and is to Philip Gaylord, another brother-in-law. Gaylord's wife was a Johnson and a sister of the wife of Joseph Jr. The last Joseph Spencer deed on the Harwinton town record is Joseph Spencer to Philip Gaylord, 70 acres, his Harwinton homestead, dated Oct. 5, 1824. On the same day said Gaylord deeds the land to Beebe Alfred."

With the 1824 sale of the Spencer homestead in Harwinton, the family undertook the trek from Connecticut -- where our Spencers had lived since 1661 -- out to Onondaga County in central New York, where members of this family afterwards appear on record (although Joseph Jr.'s older brothers Daniel and Elam had previously settled in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania). Clark includes the following discussion of what is known of the end of the lives of Joseph Spencer Sr. and his wife Mary on page 41 of Unplaced and Shoemaker Spencers, as follows:

"When the Burlington land records were found to disclose the fact that the Spencers moved to Harwinton in 1806 and that Joseph the younger signed his name junior in 1817 and without the junior in 1820 it was thought that the elder Joseph died in Harwinton. In searching for the death record, Mr. Wilson, Harwinton's antiquarian, since deceased, reported that Joseph Spencer, Sr. certainly did not die in that town. This is confirmed by the testimony of Street C. Welton who was born Sept. 8, 1816 and now resides in St. Petersburg, Fla. who says he was at the Beebe Alfred place when the Spencers were loading their goods for removal in 1824 and that Uncle Joseph and Aunt Mary went with the rest. The Weltons were grandchildren of Mrs. Mary Jerome Spencer's sister, Ruth Jerome Graves."

Joseph Sr. does not appear in the 1830 U.S. Census, but his grandson Miles Spencer Jr., his son Joseph, and his son-in-law Anson Johnson are listed on the same page of the 1830 U.S. Census for Onondaga, Onondaga County, New York. However, neither Joseph Sr. nor his wife Mary are enumerated in the households of Miles, Joseph, or Anson, and given the fact that Joseph Sr. and Mary would have been about 91 years old that year, most likely they had died in Onondaga County after 5 Oct. 1824 and before 1 June 1830, the formal date of the federal census.

The children of Joseph and Mary Spencer were:

     --  MAMRE SPENCER, born 29 Oct. 1759, married twice.
     14. DANIEL SPENCER, born 1 April 1761.
     --  ELAM SPENCER, born 7 July 1764, married Hannah Deming.
     --  MILES SPENCER, born circa 1768, married twice.
     --  JOSEPH D. SPENCER JR., born circa 1778, married Clarissa Johnson.
     --  POLLY SPENCER, born 23 Jan. 1783, died 28 Nov. 1832, married Anson Johnson.

-------------

Seventeen Generations of the Spencer Family (Part One)
Seventeen Generations of the Spencer Family (Part Three)
Seventeen Generations of the Spencer Family (Part Four)

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