| Notes |
- RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. The book "Spencer Family Record of the Springfield, VT. and Evansville, Wis. Spencers. (Descendants of Garrard Spencer of Haddam, Conn. Emigrant of 1630," by William Henry Spencer, New York, Tobias A. Wright, 1907, children of Michael Spencer:
"John Spencer, bap. April 20, 1557, at Edworth; d. before 1645; m. and left a son Daniel who was a grocer in London.
Michael Spencer, bap. May 27, 1558, in Edworth; buried April 15, 1560.
Johan Spencer, bap. Aug. 20, 1564, in Edworth.
Ann Spencer, bap. July 24, 1566, in Edworth.
Michael Spencer, bap. Aug 30, 1566, in Edworth.
Alice Spencer, bap. Aug. 30, 1566, in Edworth.
Thomas Spencer, bap. March 12, 1571.
Gerat Spencer, bap. May 20, 1576, in St. Mary's Parish, Stotfold, where his seven sons from one of whom we are descended, were born. He d. before his brother Richard's will in 1645.
Richard Spencer, bap. July 9, 1580, in Stotford; lived in London. It was through the discovery of the will of Richard's with its bequests to his nephews, the emigrants, by Ray T. Spencer, that we trace our lineage. The will was proven June 8, 1646.
Catherine Spencer, m. ____ Bland; d. before her brother's will; left two daughters."
2. Thomas had three sons named Anthony, Thomas, and Jarrad as identified in the will of Thomas' brother Richard (see Richard's notes).
3. "The American Genealogist," 27:161: "The Four Spencer Brothers: Their Ancestors and Descendants," by Donald Lines Jacobus:
"Thomas Spencer, baptized at Edworth, co. Bedford, 12 March 1571, buried at Stotfold, co. Bedford, 13 June 1631, as "Thomas Spencer, gent."; marriage not found. It would seem possible that the "Margaret Spencer, widow," who was buried at Stotfold 19 Dec. 1635 was the widow of Thomas, but the Rev. Mr. Holding identifies her as the daughter of Thomas who had married a Spencer.
Children:
i. Anthony, m. at Stotfold, 7 Feb. 1632/3, Katherine Hills.
ii. Gerard, bapt. at Stotfold, 20 Sept. 1601; m. there, 4 Aug. 1628, Joan Hills, who was bur. at Stotfold, 12 Aug. 1649. Children, recorded at Stotfold: [KP: Lists 8 children bapt. 1629-1646.]
iii. Thomas, received by will of his uncle Richard lands near St. Albans, Herts.
iv. Richard, according to Mr. Holding was named in the will of his uncle Richard, but he does not appear in the detailed abstract given by Mr. Waters (supra); hence the existence of such a son in the family of Thomas remains to be verified.
v. Margaret, named as deceased in the will of her uncle Richard in 1646; according to Mr. Holding, she m. 22 Nov. 1629, Simon Spencer, son of Thomas and ___ (Halliday) Spencer, of a different Spencer line left two children, mentioned but not named in the will of Richard Spencer, of whom one was Anna, bapt. 20 Oct. 1630. She may be the Margaret Spencer, widow, who was buried at Stotfold 19 Dec. 1635, but the entry may conceivably pertain to her mother, whose given name is not known."
4. "The American Genealogist," Vol. 27 "The Four Spencer Brothers: Their Ancestors and Descendants," compiled by Donald Lines Jacobus, M. A.
"Michael Spencer, born probably 1530-1535, living in 1599; married first, at Edworth, Beds, 20 Jan. 1555/6, Agnes Limer, who was buried at Edworth, 23 Feb. 1561/2; married second, about 1563, Elizabeth ___, who was buried at Stotfold, Beds, 18 Nov. 1599, as wife of Michael Spencer, signifying that he was then alive.
The division of Michael's children between the two wives is somewhat different from what might be inferred from the Rev. Mr. Holding's book, because of the discovery of the burial of the first wife, Agnes, early in 1562. The name of the mother is not stated in the Edworth baptisms, but Elizabeth is stated as mother of the two children, Gerard and Richard, who were baptized at Stotfold. We therefore assume that Elizabeth was mother of the other children who were born after 1562 and before the birth of Gerard in 1576, though it remains possible that there was a second, unknown, wife between Agnes and Elizabeth.
The removal of the family from Edworth to Stotfold occurred between 1571 and 1576.
Children by first wife, born at Edworth
i. John, bapt. at Edworth, 20 Apr. 1557.
ii. Michael, bapt. at Edworth, 27 May 1558 bur. 15 Apr. 1560.
iii. Anne, bapt. 24 July 1560.
Children, the last two certainly, the others probably, by Elizabeth:
iv. Joan, bapt. at Edworth, 21 Aug. 1564.
v. Alice, bapt. 30 Aug. 1566.
vi. Catherine, m. ___ Bland, and had daus. Sarah and Anne. Either she or one of her sisters was mother of Elizabeth who m. Edward Terry.
vii. Thomas, bapt. 12 Mar. 1571.
viii. Gerard, bapt. 20 May 1576 the first of the children baptized at Stotfold, and recorded as "Gerat," but his name is spelled Gerard at the baptisms of his own children.
ix. Richard, bapt. 9 July 1580; d. at London at the end of May or beginning of June 1646. His will, dated 17 Mar. 1645, codicil 29 May 1646, proved 8 June 1646, calls him "gent." (Waters, "Genealogical Gleanings in England," 514-515). To Thomas Spencer, copyhold lands in St. Michael Parish near St. Albans, co. Hertford. To Daniel Spencer of London, grocer, son of brother John Spencer deceased, eight messuages in parish of St. Margaret Lothbury in London. To Sarah Bland and Hannah Bland, daus. of sister Katherine Bland deceased, and to Elizabeth Tomlyns, widow, dau. of brother Jarrard Spencer deceased, a messuage in Grace Church Street, with remainder to said Sarah Bland. To said Daniel Spencer, lands in Kent and Essex, he to make certain payments to Anthony Spencer and Jarrard Spencer, sons of brother Thomas Spencer deceased, and to the two children of Margaret Spencer deceased, now in or near London and at the disposing of Elizabeth Carter their aunt. To Jarrard Spencer, Thomas Spencer and Michaell Spencer, sons of brother Jarrard Spencer deceased, ₤50 apiece, and another ₤50 to the children of William Stencer, son of said brother Jarrard Spencer deceased, to be divided equally between them and to be paid to their guardians. To Thomas Martyn and Mary his wife, now dwelling with me. To Edward Terrey, vintner, my kinsman, ₤130 which he oweth me by bond, and ₤30 to him and Elizabeth his wife, my sister's daughter. Residue to Daniel Spencer, who is named executor. Witnesses: John Norburie, William Norburie."
5. FHL book 929.273 Sp33 "The Spencers of the Great Migration," by Jack Taif Spencer and Edith Woolley Spencer (Gateway Press, Baltimore; 1997) vol. 1, partial excerpt of full transcript in the notes of the earliest Spencer, pp. 53-55, 57-60:
"Vital Records for the Early English Generations of the New England Spencers.
CHART I: The near relatives of the five Spencer siblings of Bedfordshire who came to New England about 1630:
-JohnC Spencer (1505-1550) = Anne Merrill (d. 1560)
-MichaelB (b. 1531) = Agnes Lymer (d. 1562); = Eliz. (d. 1599)
-John (b. 1577 Edworth) children b. Baldock, Beds.: Daniel = Sarah Audley; Francis = Margaret Roberts.
-Michael (1558-1560 Edworth)
-Anne (b. 1560 Edworth)
-Joan (b. 1564 Edworth)
-Alice (b. 1566 Edworth)
-Thomas (1571-1631 Edworth) = Margaret Spencer (?). Children b. Stotfold, beds.: Gerard (b. 1601) = Joan Hills; Anthony = Katherine Hills; Thomas; Richard; Margaret (d. 1635) = Simon Spencer.
-Catherine (b. 1573 Edworth) = ___ Bland
-Gerard (b. 1576 Stotfold) = Alice Whitbread. Children b. Stotfold: William (1601-1640) = Agnes Harris; Elizabeth (b. 1602) = Timothy Tomlins; John (b. 1604); Henry (1605-1607); Thomas (1607-1767) = Ann Derifield, = Sarah Bearding; Richard (1608-1614); a son; Michael (1611-1653) = Isabel ___; Gerard (1614-1685) = Hannah Hills, = Rebecca Porter Clark. [Note that the pedigree continues with another generation from the children William, Thomas, and Gerard.]
-Richard (1580 Stotfold-1645)
-John (1533-1560)
-Gerard (ca 1543-1577) = Ellen Whysson. Children b. Biggleswade, Beds.: Richard, Agnes, Joan, a child (b. 1567).
-William (b. ca 1545)...
II. The Vital Records of the Early Generations in England [KP note: I delete all generations prior to JohnC since it is unproven conjecture.]
-JohnC Spencer of Edworth; b. ca 1505; m. Ann Merrill (d. 1560); d. 1558.
The Family of JohnC Spencer of Edworth (JohnD, JohnE, RobertF, ThomasG, HenryH, ThomasI) and Ann Merrill.
-MichaelB Spencer of Edworth, Beds.; (The first of the Spencers at Stotfold, Beds); b. 1531 at Edworth; m. (1) Agnes Lorimer (Limer), 22 Jan 1555/56 at Edworth. Agnes bur. at Edworth, 23 Feb 1562; m. (2) Elizabeth ___ in 1563; Elizabeth bur. at Stotfold, 18 Nov 1599; d. after 1599. Probably bur. at Biggleswade, Beds.
-JohnB Spencer of Edworth; b. ca 1533 at Edworth; d. ca 1560.
-Gerard Spencer, b. ca 1543 at Biggleswade, Beds. (perhaps earlier); m. Ellen (Helen) Whyston (Whysson), 10 July 1568 at Edworth, Beds. Ellen was the dau. of Wm. and Elizabeth Whyston; d. ca 1576 at Biggleswade. Will dated 8 July 1576 and proved 20 May 1577.
-WilliamB Spencer of Edworth; b. ca 1545 at Edworth.
The Family of MichaelB Spencer (b. ca 1531) and Agnes Lorimer (d 1561/62 and Elizabeth ___; (The first three children were by Agnes Lorimer).
-JohnA Spencer (MichaelB, JohnC, JohnD, JohnE, RobertF, ThomasG, HenryH, ThomasI). (Holding states that JohnA may have settled at Baldock, Beds, where several of his children were baptized); bapt. 20 April 1557 at Edworth, Beds.
-MichaelA Spencer; bpt. 27 May 1558 at Edworth, Beds.; bur. 21 April l560 at Edworth.
-Anna Spencer; bapt.) 24 July 1560.
-Joan Spencer; bapt. 21 Aug 1564 at Edworth. AliceA Spencer; bapt.) 30 Aug 1566 at Edworth.
-Thomas Spencer; bapt. 12 Mar 1571 at Edworth; m. Margaret Spencer (?) who was bur. 19 Dec 1635 at Stotfold. (So identified by Jacobus. Holding identifies Margaret as the daughter of Thomas who married a Spencer); d. 1631.
-Katherine Spencer; b. 1573 at Stotfold, Beds. m. ___ Bland; d. Before 1645. (Katherine had daughters Sarah and Hannah Bland). It appears that Katherine was the first child baptized at Stotfold after the family had moved from Edworth. Some records indicate that GerardA was the first of the children born at Stotfold.
-Gerard Spencer (the father of the Five Spencer Siblings who came to New England about 1630); bapt. 20 May 1576 at Stotfold; m. Alice Whitbread of Upper Gravenhurst, Beds, on 10 Nov 1600. Alice was born at Meppershall, Beds, ca 1580 She died in May of 1646. She belonged to a family of considerable prominence. Gerard moved from Stotfold sometime before his children emigrated to New England. Possibly Gerard moved to London, but this is not confirmed; d. before 1646.
-RichardA Spencer; b. (bapt.) 9 July 1580 at Stotfold. m.?; Will dated 17 Mar 1645; codicil dated 29 May 1646; proved 6 June 1646.
6. FHL book 929.273 Sp33 "The Spencers of the Great Migration," by Jack Taif Spencer and Edith Woolley Spencer (Gateway Press, Baltimore; 1997) vol. 1, partial excerpt of full transcript in the notes of the earliest Spencer, p. 61:
"The Family of ThomasA Spencer (1571-1631) and Margaret Spencer (?).
-ANTHONY Spencer; m. Katherine Hills at Stotfold, 7 Feb 1632/3.
-Gerard Spencer; b. (bapt.) 20 Sept 1601 at Stotfold; m. Joan Hills on 4 Aug 1628 at Stotfold. Joan was bur. at Stotfold on 12 Aug 1649. (Four Children).
-Thomas Spencer (Received lands near St. Albans, Herts, under a bequest from his uncle, RichardA Spencer). RichardA1 Spencer (He was named in the Will of his uncle, RichardA, but he does not appear in the detailed abstract given by Henry Waters; hence, the existence of such a son in the family of ThomasA remains to be verified).
-Margaret Spencer (Named as deceased in the will of her uncle, RichardA Spencer in 1646. Her two children were not mentioned in the Will); m. SIMON Spencer on 22 Nov 1629."
7. FHL patron and Spencer descendant John Hedman of Utah hired the professional services of Legacy Family History, Inc. to review the family of Gerard Spencer (bp. 1576), which was quite jumbled up in Family Search. They produced a report dated 20 Jul 2016, which John graciously posted as a "Memory" on Family Search on Gerard's page. The report reviewed the various published accounts and Stotfold Parish records of this family, which all confirmed that Gerard was married to Alice Whitbread with whom he had several known children baptized in Stotfold, Bedfordshire between 1601 and 1614. Nothing new was found in this research from most previously published accounts, nor were parish burial records found for either Gerard or his wife Alice. In confirming the family's vital data in the parish records, the researcher reported the following additional family belonging to a Gerard Spencer in Stotfold, who the researcher assumed was the same man who had previously married Alice Whitbread. The report was as follows for which I, Kerry Petersen, have added some additonal comments in [ ]:
"While none of the histories mention it, marriage records of Stotfold reveal that Gerard Spencer married a second time after Alice’s death. He and Johanna Hills were married on 4 August 1628 in Stotfold, Bedfordshire, England. Further research is needed in Stotfold’s parish records, because Family Tree shows Alice’s burial date as 20 November 1628, which is a few months after Gerard’s marriage to Johanna Hills. This burial date may be incorrect, because it does appear that the marriage of Gerard and Johanna pertains to your ancestor, Gerard Spencer (b. 1576). Stotfold’s christening records reveal seven children for Gerard and Johanna, as follows:
1. Ann Spencer. Family Tree claims she was baptized 14 January 1631 in Stotfold, Bedfordshire, England, although no christening record was found for her in FamilySearch’s databases. [Note: The research firm surprisingly missed the Stotfold records for Anne bp. 14 May 1629 and Elizabeth bp. 14 Jan 1630/1 and bur. Sep. 1632.] [Father reported as "Gerard Spenser" for both daughters.]
2. Ursula Spencer. Baptized on 18 April 1633 in Stotfold, Bedfordshire, England. [Father reported as "Gerard Spenser."]
3. Mary Spencer. Baptized on 11 September 1635 in Stotfold, Bedfordshire, England. [Parents reported as "Gerard and Joan Spenser."]
4. Sarah Spencer. Baptized 21 July 1639 and died 31 July 1639 in Stotfold, Bedfordshire, England. Twin of Elizabeth Spencer. [Parents reported as "Gerard and Joan Spenser."]
5. Elizabeth Spencer. Baptized on 21 July 1639 in Stotfold, Bedfordshire, England. Twin of Sarah Spencer. [Parents reported as "Gerard and Joan Spenser."]
6. Richard Spencer. Baptized on 5 November 1643 in Stotfold, Bedfordshire, England. [Father reported as "Gerard Spencer.]
7. John Spencer. Baptized on 4 April 1646 in Stotfold, Bedfordshire, England. [Father reported as "Gerard Spenser."]"
In analyzing the above conclusion of a second marriage for the Gerard who married Alice Whitbread, the research conclusion seems hasty, unsupported, speculative at best -- and probably not realistic. The more likely solution is that there was a different Gerard married with Joanna Hills for the following reasons:
1. The researcher did not address the problem of the duplication of the child's name Elizabeth in both sets of families. The Elizabeth born 1602 in the first marriage with Alice was alive until at least March 17, 1645/6 as shown in the entry for Timothy Tomlins (her husband) in "The Great Migration Begins," by Robert Charles Anderson. Even though not impossible, it would be very unusual for Gerard to then name two different daughters with the same name Elizabeth, 1631 and 1639, in the second set of children; twice because Elizabeth 1631 died in 1632.
2. The researcher did not address the March 17, 1645[/6] will of Gerard's brother Richard Spencer, Gentleman, who apparently died without a wife or children in London. An abstract of this will is found in the book "The Thomas Spencer Family of Hartford, Connecticut in the Line of Samuel Spencer of Cromwell, Connecticut 1744-1818," comp. by Frank Farnsworth Starr for James J. Goodwin, Hartford, Conn., copy in Connecticut Historical Society Library, Hartford, CT, pp. 6-8. "Jarrard" (Gerard) was mentioned as "deceased" in conjunction with Richard making bequests to the five surviving children of Gerard and Alice -- Jarrad, Thomas, Michael, William (deceased), and Elizabeth who was the widow of ___ Tomlyns. Note that these are all the surviving children of Gerard and Alice and even though some were residing in British Colonial America at this date, Richard was detailed enough to have also included the immigrants in his bequests. Richard also lists the various children of his other siblings besides those of Gerard. What is missing from this will is any mention of any of the children of the second family of the Gerard who married Johanna Hills. From the will we also know that Gerard was deceased at the latest on March 17, 1645/6. The last child with Joanna was born in April 1646 -- while it is possible that the child was born posthumously to Gerard's death, it seems unlikely that while Richard was so detailed and generous with all of the other children of Gerard, he would have been so callous as to have not mentioned a single one of the many children the same Gerard supposedly had with Johanna who would have all been minors and in more need of Richard's generosity than Alice's children who were all adults and spread over two continents.
3. The researcher does make mention of the fact that there are no confirmed entries of the burials of Gerard or of Alice (Whitbread) Spencer. In a subsequent report dated Aug. 29, 2016, by the same researcher which is also attached as a "Memory" to Gerard Spencer, the researcher further states that no confirmed date was found for Alice and that all reports thus far are simply manufactured by rookie family historians. If Johanna Hills was really a second wife in Stotfold, where both sets of children were baptized, then Alice's death would be in the same parish. The most likely scenario, as some Spencer books allude to, is that the first Gerard and Alice had moved away from Stotfold. The additional research report is as follows:
"First, there was a question as to the death date of Gerard’s first wife Alice and his marriage date to his second wife Johanna Hills. In Family Tree, it showed that Alice died on 20 November 1628 in Stotfold, Bedfordshire, England, yet Gerard supposedly married Johanna Hills a few months prior, on 4 August 1628 in Stotfold. Parish registers of Stotfold were examined, and Gerard’s marriage date and place to Johanna Hills was confirmed as 4 August 1628. Yet no burial record for Alice was found on or near 20 November 1628. This date must be in error, since Alice would have died before her husband remarried. A cemetery record was found for Alice on Find A Grave, which claims she died on 14 April 1628 in Elstow, Bedfordshire, England, yet was buried at St. Mary, Whitechapel, London, England.12 This burial date makes much more sense, but Elstow is 57 miles north of London, making a London burial seem unlikely. Nevertheless, burial records of St. Mary Whitechapel were searched to see if this could be right. Alice Spencer was not found in them.13 She was likewise not found in Elstow’s burial records, though they seem to be missing all entries for the year 1628.14 But a burial date of 14 April 1628 in Elstow makes sense with known information about the family. An e-mail was sent to the Find A Grave contributor to see if she has documentary evidence of the burial location in Whitechapel. She responded and said her information came from various family trees on the Internet, all of which have questionable or no documentation.
4. If both Gerards were in fact the same man, then Gerard would have married Johanna Hills at age 46 and the last child would have been born just a little over a month of his 70th birthday. Though not impossible, it is not a pattern of age one finds in this area and era for man to be having such an extensive additional family.
Conclusion:
Even though there is no dispute in the construction of the two families, the thesis of one Gerard being both men seems to weigh heavily on the unlikely or conjectural side. The more likely solution would seem that they are two different men, but probably related as cousins due to the similarity of the name. In fact, further extraction into the baptisms of Stotfold reveals another Gerard Spencer, bapt. Sept. 20, 1601, to a father named Thomas Spencer, who is the brother to both Richard and Gerard. (See https://www.familysearch.org/search/record/results?count=20&query=%2Bsurname%3Aspen*~%20%2Bbatch_number%3AP00377-1&treeref=L84V-N68&offset=0).
In following this line of reasoning, at least two publications indicate that it is correct that the Gerard, son of Thomas bp. 1601 is the man who married Johanna Hills. This same Gerard is also mentioned as a son of Thomas in the 1645/6 will of Richard cited above indicating he was very much alive at that time. Surprisingly, the hired researcher quoted above made mention of the publications in the schedule of sources consulted for the report; however, their analysis was too narrow to pick up on the more accepted and likely solution. The two publications are as follows:
1. FHL book 929.273 Sp33 "The Spencers of the Great Migration," by Jack Taif Spencer and Edith Woolley Spencer (Gateway Press, Baltimore; 1997) vol. 1, partial excerpt of full transcript in the notes of the earliest Spencer, p. 61: "Gerard Spencer; b. (bapt.) 20 Sept 1601 at Stotfold; m. Joan Hills on 4 Aug 1628 at Stotfold. Joan was bur. at Stotfold on 12 Aug 1649. (Four Children)."
2. "The American Genealogist," 27:161: "The Four Spencer Brothers: Their Ancestors and Descendants," by Donald Lines Jacobus: "Thomas Spencer, baptized at Edworth, co. Bedford, 12 March 1571, buried at Stotfold, co. Bedford, 13 June 1631, as "Thomas Spencer, gent."; marriage not found. It would seem possible that the "Margaret Spencer, widow," who was buried at Stotfold 19 Dec. 1635 was the widow of Thomas, but the Rev. Mr. Holding identifies her as the daughter of Thomas who had married a Spencer. Children ... ii. Gerard, bapt. at Stotfold, 20 Sept. 1601; m. there, 4 Aug. 1628, Joan Hills, who was bur. at Stotfold, 12 Aug. 1649. Children, recorded at Stotfold: [8 children listed bapt. 1629-1646.]
|
Chris & Julie Petersen's Genealogy
1571 - 1631 (~ 60 years)