Volume 33, No. 4
Quarterly Journal
of the
Spencer Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc.
November 2009
This page intentionally left blank.
SPENCER HISTORICAL and GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY, INC.
Founded 1978 as The Spencer Family Association
The objectives of the Spencer Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc. (SHGS) are to encourage and promote
the accurate recording of family data, vital statistics, and individual accomplishment of both direct family
descendants and those related to or otherwise associated with a Spencer line, and also to install, in Spencer
descendants, a sense of pride in their ancestral lineage. Membership is open to descendants of any and all
Spencer lines, and associated lines.
Journal Material. Interested persons are invited to submit material to be considered for publication
in Le Despencer, the quarterly journal of the Spencer Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc., which is
electronically published in February, May, August and November and distributed to all members. Articles
and Queries for publication should be submitted to Terri Spencer #1882, Editor; PO Box 150242, Alexandria,
VA 22315; email [email protected] at least four weeks prior to the first of the month of publication.
Queries are published at no charge to members and a fee of $2.50 per query for nonmembers. Make
checks payable to SHGS, Inc. The Society disclaims responsibility for the accuracy of material submitted by
contributors, or errors therein, which is the sole responsibility of the contributor. Articles do not necessarily
reflect the views of SHGS, Inc., its Officers, Board of Directors, Staff or Editor of this journal. Each contributor
is responsible for his/her article not violating existing copyrights. Written permission to publish copyright
material will be obtained by the contributor, giving SHGS the right to use the material, and such written
permission will accompany the material submitted for publication.
Genealogical Data. All genealogical data for the SHGS Database should be sent to Sharron S. Spencer
#1478B, Computer Data Manager; 3214 Wintergreen Court, Grapevine, TX 76051-4241; email datamanager@
spencersociety.org. Lineage should start with the earliest *proven* Spencer ancestor, with sources cited, but
not earlier than the 1500s, and go down through the Spencer line to the member’s generation. Data may be
submitted via U.S. Mail, either in GEDCOM format or hard-copy Family Group Sheets, or via email. Please include
your SHGS membership number on all correspondence.
Correspondence to officers and staff should include the complete name, address, email address, and
membership number of the submitter. Correspondence requiring a reply via postal service should include a
stamped, self-addressed envelope.
Membership and Changes of Address. Membership is on a yearly basis, with multiple year memberships
available. Renewal checks/money orders in US Dollars and address changes should be sent to Deborah M.
Diekema #1999, SHGS Registrar; SHGS, Inc.; 68281 Birch St., South Haven, MI 49090-9780; email registrar@
spencersociety.org. All renewals and address changes must be received by last business day of the month
preceding the publication of Le Despencer. Please provide both old and new addresses, with zip codes and
membership numbers. Renewal dues are payable on the first day of the expiration month.
Annual Membership Dues. Membership dues are subject to change without notice.
One Year USA/Canada
One Year Non-USA
Three-Year USA Only
Single Member
$20.00
$25.00
$50.00
Member and Spouse
$25.00
$30.00
$65.00
Junior Memberships through age 17 are available for a one-time fee of $5.00. Membership is acknowledged with a membership
certificate and are available to descendants of members. These memberships are intended to help create interest in family history.
Junior membership applications are available on the membership page of the SHGS website at www.SpencerSociety.org.
Copyright © 2009 Spencer Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc., 123 Vail Street, Michigan City, IN 46360-2543
Table of Contents
President’s Letter
110
Letter from the Editor
SHGS 2010 Reunion
111
History of Spencer, New York
113
General Joseph Spencer, Soldier of the Revolution
121
Samuel Spencer, Father of the Southern Railway System
122
112
Beginning with a Query and Ending with A Query—Richard and Rachel Spencer 137
Spencer Military Notes - Miscellaneous
138
William H. H. Spencer: A Civil War Soldier’s Personal Experiences and
Political Manifesto
140
Spencer Discussion List and Message Board
144
From the Registrar
144
Le Despencer Data Submission 145
SHGS Board of Directors and Staff
146
Happy Holidays!
Spencer Historical and Genealogical Society
Marion Gerald “Jerry” Spencer #1487
President
3214 Wintergreen Terrace
Grapevine, TX 76051
817.488.6168
[email protected]
www.SpencerSociety.org
Spencer Historical &
Genealogical Society, Inc.
October 19, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving!
Another year going by and changes coming on. For all who have an interest to participate, we
have a Nominating Committee of Sharron Spencer #1487B, Deb Diekema #1999, and Mary Post
#2107 waiting for you to make yourself available for an opportunity to serve this organization.
Election of officers will take place next summer, and officers will be installed at the meeting in New
Hampshire in September.
Allison Sovetsky #1543 and her parents, Gardner and Barbara Spencer #720, are hosting the
2010 SHGS Reunion in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and you can contact Allison by email at:
[email protected] to offer assistance. The Reunion is tentatively set for late September
with the exact dates yet to be finalized.
Terri Spencer #1882 is working on a revision of the SHGS Website to include a “Members
Only” section. That is where articles of family history, documents such a birth, death, marriage and
military service will be posted. Information on the website, as it is now, will remain for public access.
Terri will provide passwords to members when revisions are complete.
Again, the 2010 SHGS Reunion in Portsmouth, NH, looks to be an outstanding opportunity to
and tour New England, so plan to attend.
Best wishes,
M.G. “Jerry” Spencer, P.E. #1487
President, SHGS
110
from the Editor
As I re-write my November Letter
from the Editor, I’m sitting at my
mother’s kitchen table in Georgetown, Texas. I left my Northern
Virginia home on October 26th,
expecting to be home about two
and a half weeks later. However,
my Mom, who will be 89 years old
in December, caught the flu, and
my return has been delayed in order to take care of her.
Unfortunately, Mom, who has a
laptop, only uses it to play games
for hours on end, so I haven’t had
my usual high-speed internet
connection. It’s been almost 10
years since I’ve used dial-up, so
getting work done has been almost impossible. It is because of
this situation that I’ve reduced the
size of the journal I originally prepared so that I can upload it via
dial-up. I’m sure I’ll tie up Mom’s
telephone line for quite awhile!
On the plus side of this situation,
I was able to spend Thanksgiving with my Mom, which I hadn’t
done in many years.
Regarding this issue, I omitted
Part 2 of “Finding my Spencer
Roots”, as it caused a considerable increase in the file size of the
journal. I do plan to include it in
February, so I hope you won’t be
too displeased by that thought! I
had several positive responses to
my story, and wish it as an inspiring message to those who are still
hunting their elusive ancestors. It’s
been a very exciting and rewarding journey for me, and one I hope
will continue for years to come.
This issue includes a lengthy article
on Samuel Spencer, known as the
Father of the Southern Railway.
While searching for journal items
of interest, I ran across various stories on Mr. Spencer. Personally,
I found his life and accomplishments mesmerizing, and it is both
tragic and incredibly ironic that he
was killed by one of his own trains.
While the story is large, it includes
original information and family
names, so I hope you will enjoy it
as much as I did. It is also my hope
that one or more of our members
will recognize this incredible man
as an ancestor, so please let me
know if Samuel Spencer is in your
family tree. I do want to mention
that while I edited some of the
content, the words are not mine.
previous issues and send the files
to me via email, or send the the
actual publications. If the latter, I
will make sure they are returned to
you.
It’s hard to decide what to put in
the journal, but even more importantly, it’s hard to determine what
YOU want. With that in mind, you
will soon receive a link to an online survey so that I can ascertain
a number of things, including your
preferences for the journal and
website, and your current computer setup. The latter will help me
determine how best to design the
websites and journal so that it is a
welcome, smooth, and enjoyable
experience for you.
I do want to inject another personal note. In the August 2009 edition of Le Despencer, I mentioned
that I had turned in my Mom’s DAR
application. It actually didn’t get
submitted till early October, but
it was with a happy heart that I
received an email from my DAR
chapter registrar late last month
while I was in Louisiana. She informed me that Mom’s application
had been received and verified in
record time—16 days! Mom will
receive her DAR National Number
on December 12th, just in time for
her 89th birthday on December
19th.
Fortunately, while I caught Mom’s
flu, it wasn’t too bad, and I should
be home in a few days. At that
time I’ll upload the new SHGS
Member Website—using my highspeed internet connection! Please
note that the website will be—for
a very short time—standalone,
without any link to the current Thank you for your patience. I
public site. I hope you will like hope you all had a wonderful
it, and welcome your feedback. Thanksgiving, and wish you a joyThere isn’t a lot of data available ous holiday season, and a properfor the site as of yet, but hope ous and happy New Year!
that will change with submissions
from all our members. Before I Happy Holidays!
left home, I’d scanned most of
my printed issues of Le Despencer.
However, because I joined SHGS in Terri Spencer #1882
late 2001, I only have issues dating Editor, le Despencer
from November 2001. Therefore, I [email protected]
request that members either scan
111
SHGS Reunion 2010
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Planning continues for the 2010 SHGS Reunion, to be held
in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Reunion activities will
take place in the Portsmouth area, and also in Maine and
Massachusetts.
Allison Sovetsy #1543 and her parents, Gardner and Barbara Spencer #720, will be our reunion hosts in Portsmouth.
The reunion date is tentatively scheduled for late September, so we will probably see some wonderful Fall Foliage.
The city of Portsmouth, NH is one of the oldest settlements
of the United States. The area was first formally settled as
Strawbery Banke in 1623, and fishing colonies have been
here since the late 1500’s, making it the oldest community
in New Hampshire and the 6th oldest town in the United
States.
Please contact Allison if you’d like to offer assistance. She
can be reached at [email protected].
Portsmouth Links of Interest
• PortsmouthOldGraves.org
• PortsmouthNH.com. Guide to Portsmouth, New
Hampshire, and the Seacoast
• SeacoastNH.com. Independent web portal for the
historic Seacoast of New Hampshire and South Coast
Maine region.
• PortsmouthHistory.org. Portsmouth Historical Society
• NHBM.org. New Hampshire Boat Museum
• http://www.historicnewengland.org/.org. Gundalow
Company is committed to a vision of the gundalow as
being the connecting-force and collaborative leader
of a shared maritime heritage of the Piscataqua watershed, encompassing a 120 square mile area from York
in the north, down each riverway and waterbasin that
leads to the Gulf of Maine and the Atlantic: Great Bay,
Little Bay, the Squamscott River, Lamprey River, Oyster
River, Bellamy River, Piscataqua River, to Rye and the
Hamptons in the south.
Portsmouth Facts
Portsmouth is located in Rockingham County, southeastern New Hampshire, U.S., across the Piscataqua River from
Kittery, Maine, on the Atlantic coast. It is New Hampshire’s
oldest settlement, second oldest city, first capital, and
only seaport. In 1623 a fishing settlement was built at the
river’s mouth. First called Piscataqua and then Strawbery
Banke, it became a bustling colonial port. The town, incorporated by Massachusetts in 1653 and named for Portsmouth, England, served as the seat of New Hampshire’s
provincial government until the American Revolution.
The state’s first newspaper, the New Hampshire Gazette
(1756), began publication there. The Portsmouth Naval
Shipyard (actually in Kittery), dating from the 1790s, has
been an important factor in the city’s economic growth.
The yard was the site of the 1905 treaty negotiations ending the Russo-Japanese War. For almost all of the 20th century Portsmouth was a centre for the building and repair
of submarines; since 1971 submarines have only been repaired there. Connected with it is a naval hospital.
Portsmouth is the trade centre for an agricultural and resort region and has light manufacturing industries. The
city’s historic buildings include the John Paul Jones House
(1758), where the naval commander lived, and the homes
of the author Thomas Bailey Aldrich (1797) and of John
Langdon (1784), three-term governor of New Hampshire.
The Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion, a national historic
landmark 2 miles (3 km) southeast of Portsmouth, was the
home and council chamber of New Hampshire’s first royal
governor (1741–67). Strawbery Banke Museum is a 10-acre
(4-hectare) restoration of historic houses and shops dating from 1695 to the 1950s on the original site. St. John’s
Church (1807) has a pipe organ dating from 1708. Inc.
city, 1849. Pop. (1990) city, 25,925; Portsmouth-Rochester
PMSA, 223,271; (2000) city, 20,784; Portsmouth-Rochester
PMSA, 240,698.
Source: Britannica.com
The Captain Adams gundalow docked at Wagon Hill Farm
• StrawberyBanke.org. The Strawbery Banke Museum.
• USSAlbacore.org. The third Navy vessel to bear the
name, the Auxiliary General Submarine (AGSS) Albacore holds a place in history as the first Navy-designed
vessel with a true underwater hull of cylindrical shape
that has become the standard for today’s submarines
worldwide.
112
HISTORY OF SPENCER,
NEW YORK
Submitted by Terri Spencer #1882
Spencer lies in the extreme northwestern corner of Tioga
County, New York, and is bounded north bythe county
line, east by Candor, south by Barton, and west by the
county line.
The town was formed by an act of the legislature passed
February 28, 1806, receiving its name in honor of Judge
Ambrose Spencer. At this time, however, it was a town of
great extent, set off from Owego (now Tioga). From this
large territory have been formed the towns of Candor,
Caroline, Danby and Newfield, the latter three in Tompkins
county, set off February 22, 1811; and Cayuta, in Schuyler
county, organized March 20, 1824. Thus Spencer may truly
be said to be a “mother of towns;” but these large concessions have shorn the parent town’s territory to an area of
only about 29,136 acres, 20,000 acres of which is improved
land. Topography. - The north-eastern portion of the town
forms the water-shed between the Susquehanna river and
Cayuga lake. The ridges have a general north and south
direction, their declivities steep, and their summits broad
and broken. Catatonk creek, flowing east, breaks through
these ridges at nearly right angles, forming a deep and
narrow valley. This is the principal stream, though there
are numerous small tributaries to it. The soil is a gravelly
loam in the valleys, and a hard, shaly loam upon the hills.
Dairying, stock-raising, and lumbering are the chief pursuits of the people.
SETTLEMENT AND GROWTH
Benjamin Drake, in connection with Joseph Barker, made
the first settlement in the town of Spencer, in the year
1794. The place of his nativity is not known, and as none
of his descendants are now living here, nothing of his early
life, previous to settlement here, can be ascertained. He
settled on the site of Spencer village, or what was for many
years the village, the lower corners, as the north and west
portions of the village have mostly been built up in comparatively a few years. Mr. Drake’s first cabin was built of
logs, poles and bark, near the bank of Catatonk creek, half,
or three-quarters of a mile east of the village. His time was
occupied in clearing his land, and when, after the labors of
the day were over, and the shades of night had gathered
around the humble home of the settlers, and they had retired to rest, their sleep was often disturbed by the howling and snarling of the wild beasts that inhabited the wilderness around them. Tradition says that Mr. Drake built
the first frame dwelling-house in town, a part of which is
standing on the spot where Andrew Purdy formerly resid-
ed, and known for many years as the “Purdy tavern,” and
now owned by the estate of Hon. Abram H. Miller. He also
built the first grist-mill. How long he resided here, and the
time or place of his death, is not known. His daughter,
Deborah, was the first white child born within the present
town limits.
Joseph Barker, as stated above, came to Spencer in the
year 1794, from Wyoming, Pa. He settled on the place now
owned by C. W. Bradley, a little north of the center of the village of Spencer, his land extending south of and including
the old cemetery, which he partially cleared off and gave
to the town as a public burial-place. At the early day there
was no town organization, and consequently no town officers, common interests prompting the settlers to friendliness and a general effort to build up good society, and also
to extend a cordial greeting and welcome to those who
came to settle and make a home among them. But as their
numbers increased, the necessity for forming such an organization became apparent, and it was effected in 1806,
and the first town meeting was held April 1st, of that year,
Mr. Barker being elected justice of the peace, an office
he held till the election of Israel Hardy, in 1830. The first
school was organized in Mr. Barker’s house, but the date is
not known. Many of his descendants are still living in this
and adjoining towns. He was a man of strict integrity, and
was respected and honored by all around him.
Edmond and Rodney Hobart, brothers, came from Canaan,
Litchfield county, Conn., in the year 1795. Edmond settled
on the farm now owned and occupied by James B. Hull, his
brother Rodney going about a mile farther north, where
he resided for many years, the place now being owned by
Benjamin F. Lewis, excepting about four acres where the
house stands, that is now owned by Mr. E. Signor. Edmond
Hobart is said to have put in and harvested the first crop of
wheat, and he also built the first saw-mill. His family consisted of seven children, five boys and two girls, and their
conveyance from Yankee land to Spencer was a wagon
drawn by oxen, and they were seventeen days on the
road, making the third family in the town. Their oldest son,
Prescott, while using the axe - the principal and most useful tool the settlers had - received a slight cut which terminated in lockjaw, the first year they were here, his death
being the first one in town. Charlotte, the oldest daughter,
married Daniel McQuigg, of Owego, who purchased the
homestead of the heirs, in 1815, (Mr. Hobart died in 1808)
and it was kept in the family many years, his son Daniel
occupying it till about the year 1844, when it was sold
to Deacon James B. Hull, who now lives on it. Esther, the
youngest daughter, married Horace Giles, of Owego, in
1814, and in a few months moved to Spencer, where the
widow lived till her death, in 1832. Mr. and Mrs. Giles lived
on the same farm for fifty-fife years. He died December 16,
113
HISTORY OF SPENCER,
NEW YORK continued
eight daughters and four sons, none of whom are now living. He only resided here three or four years, moving to
West Danby, where he and his wife were both buried.
and she, December 18, 1870, aged eighty and seventyseven years, respectively. Two daughters and one son are
now living, one, Charlotte Giles Converse, occupying the
homestead.
Daniel Hugg arrived in Spencer, in 1804, and settled on the
farm previously occupied by his brother, William, where
Frank Adams now lives, and resided there till the death of
his wife, in 1849, after which he lived with his children till
his death, in 1855, having been a resident for Spencer for
fifty-one years. His family of six daughters and one son are
all dead. At the organization of the First Congregational
church, Daniel Hugg and Achsah Hugg, his wife, were two
of the original members, and he was one of the first deacons, a title he retained until his death. The descendants of
these three brothers can be counted by the score, and are
not only to be found in Spencer and surrounding towns,
but in several different States of the Union, and as far as
known are honored and respected members of the communities in which they reside.
Others came soon after the settlement was begun, but the
exact date cannot now be ascertained. John and George K.
Hall, from Westchester county, N. Y., came about 1798, and
settled on a part of what for many years has been known as
the John McQuigg farm. Soon after the year 1800, the arrivals became more frequent. Among them may be named
the following: Joshua Ferris, from Westchester, Doctor
Holmes, from Connecticut, and Stephen Bidlack, from
Wyoming, in 1800; Henry Miller, Andrew Purdy, Thomas
Mosher, C. Valentine, John and Leonard Jones, David and
Richard Ferris, from Westchester county, N. Y., and George
Watson, from Canaan, Conn., between that date and 1805;
Truman, Joshua, Abram and Benjamin Cowell, brothers,
came from Connecticut about 1807 or 1808; George Fisher and family, from Albany, N. Y., in 1810; Thomas Fisher
and family came soon after, and settled in what has long
been know as Fisher’s Settlement, his wife being the first
person to drive a horse from the settlement (now the village), through the woods to their home; Solomon Mead,
Joseph Cowles, Alvin Benton, Thomas Andrews, H. Lotze,
Joel Smith, Benjamin Jennings, Moses Reed, Levi Slater,
Ezekiel Palmer and his son, Urban Palmer, came prior to
1815; Shubael Palmer and wife, with a family of six children, came in February, 1817, bringing both family and
goods by oxen through woods and over hills, with roads
such as is usually found at that time of the year.
The next few years arrivals were numerous, and among
them may be found the names of Dodd, Lake, Lott, Dean,
Garey, French, Sackett, Riker, Vose, Harris, Bradley, Wells,
Benton, Nichols, Adams, Casterline, Schofield, Swartwood
and Butts. Isaac, William and Daniel Hugg, brothers, came
from Canaan, Conn., the first two in 1800, and Daniel four
years later, and settled in that part of the town known for
many years as Hugg Town, now called North Spencer. Isaac
settled at the head of the pond, his land extending to the
road leading from Spencer to Ithaca: but built his house
and resided till his death, in 1837, where Horace Furman
now lives. This family consisted of eleven children, six girls
and five boys. The youngest daughter, Sophia, is still living, and is in good health for one who has seen eighty-four
years.
William Hugg settled on the farm afterwards occupied by
his brother, Daniel. His family consisted of twelve children,
Rev. Phineas Spalding was born in Woodstock, Vermont, in
1759. While a mere boy he enlisted in the revolution, was
present at the surrender of Burgoyne, saw him deliver his
sword to his captors, and was one of the guard placed over
the prisoners taken at that time. Afterwards, in the darkest hours of that terrible struggle, he joined that portion
of the army with Washington, late in the autumn of 1777,
and when the inclemency of the weather rendered it necessary to go into permanent winter quarters they marched
for eight days, leaving marks from their bleeding eet upon
the frozen ground, till they came to Valley Forge, where
they spent the winter. Their cabins were made with the
boughs of trees hung on sticks or poles, under which they
would build their fires, and gather around them, poorly
clothed, and many without blankets, coats or shoes, and
often obliged to feed on horse meat, which, in consequence of their extreme hunger, seemed to taste sweeter
than any meat they had ever eaten before. After leaving
the army he married a Miss Rebecca Jacques, by whom he
had three children, Rebecca, Phineas, and Polly, the latter
of whom was only a few weeks on when Mrs. Spaulding
died. After marrying again (Miss Susanna Hotchkiss), he
removed to Whitehall, N. Y., where Nancy, Amy, and William were born. About 1796, he came to what was then
called Tioga Point, and lived for one year on a place called
the Shepard farm, during which time his son James was
born. While living here, he came to Spencer and selected
the place upon which he afterward settled his family, in
the year 1798. The place has been known for many years
as the John McQuigg place. Here, in the woods, the sturdy
pioneer erected his log cabin, cleared his land, and made
himself and family a home, and soon had the satisfaction
of seeing the growing crops, and also neighbors settling
around him. Here three more children were added to Mr.
114
HISTORY OF SPENCER,
NEW YORK continued
Spalding’s family, viz: Susanna, Jesse, and Joseph. As
neighbors increased, and he being the only male professor
of religion in the town, he was impressed that duty called
him to preach the gospel to those around him, and yielding to these convictions, he preached, in his own house,
the first gospel sermon in the town, in 1799. At the organization of the Baptist church, 1810, he was chosen deacon,
licensed to preach, and in 1813, was ordained, and was for
many years pastor of the church. Previous to this he removed to a farm about two miles south of West Danby,
where he lived several years, and here Ebenezer and Betsy
were born. Mrs. Spalding died there in 1831, after which he
lived with his children. He died in 1838, aged seventy-nine
years, at the residence of his daughter Amy (Mrs. Barker),
at West Danby, and his remains repose in the old cemetery
in Spencer. Three of his children are still living, Mrs. Amy
Barker, at West Danby, N. Y., aged ninety-four years; Ebenezer, in Wisconsin, aged seventy-nine years; and Mrs. Betsey
Cowell, at North Spencer, aged seventy-seven years. Those
who have died lived most of them to be old, and were useful and honored citizens. Phineas died at Havanna, aged
eighty-six years. Polly, the next oldest child, was married
to John Underwood, and this was the first marriage in
town. She died in Spencer, aged seventy-five years. Nancy
moved to Ohio at an early day, and died in 1838. James
died at West Danby. Joseph died in Washington, and William, where he had lived for many years, at Mottville, aged
eighty-two years.
ace married Naomi Cowell, and six children were born to
them, as follows: Betsey M., Nathaniel, Mary A., Truman,
Roxanna and Horace. William Loring, son of Abel, was born
in Barre, Mass., November 18, 1780, and moved from there
to Granville, N. Y., when quite young. He married Hannah,
daughter of Theophilus Tracy, of Norwich, Conn., October
8, 1808, and nine children were born to them, viz: Horace,
William T., Lucena, Wealthy, Susan, Sarah, Louisa, Mary, and
Harriet. Mr. Loring located in this town in February, 1811.
Lucena Loring married James B. Hull, and has one son, Loring W.
Arthur Frink was one of the early settlers here, and located
on the farm now owned by William Ransom.
Peter Signor came from Greenville, N. Y., in March, 1812, and
purchased the farm which was settled by Bartley Roots, in
1810, and which is now owned by Albert Signor. He married Lorena, daughter of Adonijah Roots, and had born to
him three children, Albert, Adonijah, and Anna, widow of
Jehiel House, of Danby. Albert was born in Greenville, May
12, 1803, married Anna, daughter of Levi English, and has
two children, Adonijah and Mary A. (Mrs. Ira Patchen), of
Danby. In 1834 he purchased the farm where he now lives,
which was then a wilderness, with no building except an
old saw-mill, built a few years previous, and which he has
re-built, and has cut from 100,000 to 400,000 feet of lumber annually.
Stephen Bidlack, son of James, came to Spencer, from Athens in 1800, and made the first settlement of the farm now
owned by Ransom Bidlack. He married Lois, daughter of
Capt. Samuel Ransom, and reared eight children, only one
of whom, Ransom, is living.
One of the first settlers of what is known as the Dean Settlement, was Nicholas Dean, who came from Westchester
county, in June 1816, and built the first house on the place
now owned by Mary Deyo, in October, 1817. Among other
early settlers who came to this location were Elisha Sackett, from Peeksill, in 1820, locating where Jasper Patty now
lives, John Williams, who settled on the farm now owned
by George Pearson, and Eli Howell, who settled on the
farm now owned by W. H. Fleming.
Richard Ferris came from Peekskill, in 1805, and located on
land now owned by Elmer Garrott. He reared a family of
nine children, only one of whom, Mary is living. The latter
was born March 22, 1787, and has lived here since she was
eighteen years of age. She is the widow of John Forsyth,
who was a pensioner of the war of 1812.
Maj. Tunis Riker came from New York City, in 1817, and located on the farms now owned by O. P. Riker and Antoinette Riker. He served as a major in the war of 1812. He was
a carpenter by trade, which occupation he followed here.
He married Eleanor Moore, of New York, and reared a family of twelve children.
Truman Cowell, one of the early settlers, came from Coxsackie, about 1806, and made the first settlement on the
farm now owned by Edward Cowell. He had born to him
two sons and eight daughters, viz: Nathan, James, Naomi,
Eunice, Anna, Roxy, Polly, Rhoda, Della, and Harriet.
Edward Bingham came from Jay, Vt., about 1819, and located on the farm now owned by his grandson, I. A. Bingham. He served in the war of 1812. Ira, one of his twelve
children, married Sally, daughter of Elisha Holdridge, and
five children were born to him, viz.: Eliza, deceased, Sarah,
Mary, I. Augustus, and Seth H.
Nathaniel Scofield, an early settler, located on the farm
now owned by Luther Blivin, about 1806. His son Hor-
Edward Hobart, an early settler, made the first settlement
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HISTORY OF SPENCER,
NEW YORK continued
Jacob T. Shaw was an early settler of Flemingville, and located here, in 1840, on the farm now owned by William A.
Shaw.
on the place now owned by James B. Hull. It is said that the
first piece of wheat raised in the town was grown on this
farm.
Alonzo Norris, son of Matthew N., who was an early settler of Erin, Chemung county, was born in Erin, October 2,
1833, studied medicine with E. Howard Davis, of Horseheads, for three years, and graduated from Jefferson Medical College, of Philadelphia, Pa., March 12, 1860. He began
practice at Halsey Valley, where he remained about a year,
and then located in this town. He has two children, John N.
and Olive K., both residing at home.
Elisha Holdridge came from Bridgewater, Pa., in the spring
of 1822, and purchased a farm, now owned by Dr. Norris,
where he lived until 1837 or 1838, when he removed to
Genoa. He married Mary Shaff, and reared nine children,
only two of whom, Amos, of Spencer, and Samuel, of Hillsdale, Mich., are now living. Amos was born in Bridgewater,
Pa., July 13, 1813, and was nine years of age when he came
here. He married Wealthy, daughter of William Loring, of
Spencer, and has two children, Edgar P., of Cortland, and
William A., who lives here.
Lewis Van Woert, son of Jacob, was born in Cambridge,
N.Y., December 5, 1794; married Tabitha Gould, and settled here on the farm now owned by Lewis J. Van Woert, in
1827. He reared five children, namely, William G., Lewis J.,
Eleanor M., Lydia E., and Mehitable, deceased.
John Brock came here in 1830, and purchased the farm
now owned by William Lang. He was a farmer, and was also
engaged in droving until within two years of his death,
which occurred in 1872. He married Mary, daughter of A.
Whitney, of Maryland, N.Y., and seven childrlen were born
to them, viz.: William, deceased, Ethiel, Ann E., wife of Seth
Bingham, of Danby, John, Adaline, widow of Stockholm
Barber, Thomas, and Dewitt C. Benjamin Coggin located
here, on the farm now owned by his grandson, George E.
Coggin, in 1832. He married Phebe Vose, and six children
were born to him, as follows: John, Loama T., Albert, Rachel
V., Mary V., and Eveline C.
Solomon Davenport, son of Martin, wasa born at Port
Jervis; lived in Caroline, N.Y., several years, and located
here, on the farm now owned by Mrs. Valentine, in 1836.
He married Ann, daughter of Samuel Snyder, of Caroline,
and eight children were born to him, viz.: Henry, Sherman,
Mary C., Jane A., Charlotte, Emma E., Sarah and Harriet A.
James Hagadorn came from Cherry Valley, in 1840, and
settled on the farm now owned by his son David B. He
married Lockey Genung, and five children were the fruits
of this marriage, namely, Horace, who served as major in
the late war, in Co. H, 3rd N. Y. Infantry, and was killed in
front of Petersburg, June 15, 1865, Rebecca, wife of Henry
C. Shaw, Emma, wife of William Stone, of Curtis, Neb., Aaron, also of Curtis, and David B.
Dr. Ezra W. Homiston was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., June 10,
1859. He studied in the public schools, and with his father,
Joseph M., and graduated at the Bellevue Hospital College
in arch, 18883, and began practice in Brooklyn. In August,
1885, he came to Spencer, and has practiced here since. He
married Adele Bumsted, of Jersey City, in 1882.
Rev. Luther Bascom Pert, son of Thomas Pert, was born in
this town October 12, 1819. When fifteen years of age, he
left home to prepare for college, at Cortland academy. He
entered Hamilton College, and graduated, in the class of
1843. From 1849 to 1869 he practiced law in New York city,
and in April, 1870, he was licensed to preach by the third
New York Presbytery and continued a faithful minister to
the time of his death. He was pastor of the Presbyterian
church at Raisin, Mich., from 1870 to ‘74, at Londonderry, N.
H., from 1874 to ‘79. In 1843 he married Miss Ellen P. Smith,
of Spencer, by whom he had one daughter, Helen M., wife
of Rev. W. W. Newman, Jr., who are now living abroad. Mrs.
Newman has three sons, viz.: George Kennedy, a student
in Williams College, William Whiting, now of Colorado, and
Oliver Shaw, who is traveling with his parents. Rev. Mr. Pert
died at Bergen Point, N. J., May 29, 1881, and his remains
were brought to the home of his boyhood for interment.
Stephen Vorhis, son of Jotham Vorhis, was born in this
town in 1812. His preparatory education was received in
Owego; he entered Hamilton College and graduated in
1836, and from Auburn Theological Seminary in ‘38. He
was pastor of the Presbyterian church at Akron, O., for two
years, at Danby, N. Y., fourteen years, Phoenix, N. Y., five
years, Hammondsport, N. Y., eight years, and at Spencer
fifteen years before his retirement. He married A. Louisa
Ward, of Allegany co, N. Y., by whom he had three children,
viz.: Mary H., Lillian, who died at the age of six years, and
Harry S. Mr. Vorhis died July 17, 1885.
Dr. J. H. Tanner was born in Virgil, Cortland county, N. Y., October17, 1834, and lived in that town some thirty years. He
studied medicine with Dr. Knapp, in Harford, and graduated at Buffalo, N. Y., in 1863, when he returned home and
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HISTORY OF SPENCER,
NEW YORK continued
formed a partnership with Dr. J. H. Knapp, which continued only for a short time. In October, 1863, he moved to
Nineveh, Broome county, N. Y. In May, 1864 he married
Cornelia G., eldest daughter of James Heath, of Harford. He
continued to practice in Nineveh until January, 1865. He
bought out Dr. Knapp, of Harford, and late in January, he
removed to that place where he continued his practice until the summer of 1866, when he sold out to Dr. Knapp, and
moved to Weltonville, Tioga county, where he continued
to practice until October, 1877. Here he buried his wife. In
the fall of 1878, he married his second wife, and settled in
Spencer, Tioga county, N. Y., where he now resides. He has
one son, J. Henry.
Samuel Bliven, of Westerly, R. I., was a soldier of the revolution, and married Mary Green, by whom he had eight
children. Among them was Luther, who married Rebecca
Cook, by whom he had nine children. Of these, Samuel G.,
was born in Hartford, N. Y., January, 1, 1799, lived there until he was a year old, when his people removed to Fort Ann,
N. Y. When twenty-four years of age he came to Spencer,
and has since resided here,—a period of over sixty-two
years. He married Rebecca, daughter of Phineas Spalding,
by whom he has had six children. He has been engaged
principally in farming, and now lives retired in the village
of Spencer. Mrs. Bliven died September 8, 1885, aged seventy-five years.
Capt. John Fields was another of the very early settlers of
this town, and who in his early years was a member of the
Queen’s Rangers, a regiment of the British army. When his
time of enlistment expired he asked for his discharge, but
it was denied him. He awaited his opportunity, and deserted, coming to this country, and in the war of 1812 took
arms against the British, and served the American cause
faithfully. He was taken prisoner at the battle of Lundy’s
Lane, and after a period of confinement was discharged.
When the war closed he retired to his farm, in the eastern
part of the town of Spencer, where he spent the remainder
of his life. His wife was Lydia Bates, who died, leaving no
children.
Joshua Tompkins was born in Oxford, England, September
22, 1815. On April 30, 1836, he left Liverpool in the packet
“Napoleon,” and arrived in New York the following month.
He came direct to Spencer, where he located on the farm
now owned by his brother James, and this town has been
his only home in America. He married Susan, daughter of
William and Hannah Lorring. He is now engaged in farming, and in building operations within the corporation of
Spencer village. Mr. Tompkins is probably one of the oldest foreign born citizens of the town.
James Silke was born in Cork, Ireland, and for thirteen
years after his arrival in this country he was in the employ
of Halsey Brothers, of Ithaca, who were running one of
the largest flouring mills at that time in Central New York.
In 1874, he came to Spencer to take the management of
A. Seely’s mill, which position he still holds. He married
Mary Wasson, of Ithaca, and has four children.
Dr. G. W. Davis was born in Trenton, Dodge county, Wis.,
May 29, 1851. When he was only seven years old his parents removed to Ithaca, N. Y., where he received his education. He entered the office of Dr. John Winslow, of Ithaca,
and also the office of Dr M. M. Brown, and Dr. P. C. Gilbert.
Her graduated from the University of Buffalo, in 1882.
He located first in Newfield, Tompkins county, where he
remained one year, and since then he has been located
in Spencer village. He married Eva, daughter of Holmes
Shepard, of Van Ettenville, by whom he has one child.
Truman Lake came to this town from Greenville, Green
county, N. Y., in 1815, and settled on the farm now owned
and occupied by Fred W. Lake. He married Clarissa,
daughter of Rufus Brown, of New Malbury, N. Y., by who
he had six children viz.: Betsey, wife of Erastus Meacham,
of Owego, Maria (Mrs. Jacob Vorhis), Harvey, Rachel (Mrs.
Joshua Philo), Hiram and Rufus, all deceased except Mrs.
Meacham, who is now in her eighty-fifth year, and resides
in Owego.
J. Parker Vose, son of John Vose of this town, married Nancy B., daughter of Isaac Buckley, of Danby, N. Y., in June,
1853. Their children are Emma J., wife of J. B. G. Babcock,
of Owego, and Charles E.
S. Alfred Seely is a son of Seymour A. and Polly Seely, and
was born in Newfield, Tompkins county, in 1842. Till the
age of sixteen he attended the district school near his
home, finishing his school days by several terms in Spencer and then in Ithaca. He taught school several terms,
and at the age of twenty-one went to Elmira, N. Y., and
in company with his brother, Seymour, commenced the
manufacture of lumber, under the firm name of A. Seely
& Bro. After eleven years in Elmira, they transferred their
business to Spencer, purchased several acres of land near
the G. I. & S. R. R. station, put up a large steam sawmill,
and went to work, employing at times two hundred men.
In 1875 they erected a steam flouring-mill near their sawmill and this is now the only mill of its kind doing business
in the town. Within a year or two, an addition has been
made to it, in which the grinding is done by the roller
process, and large quantities of the best flour are almost
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HISTORY OF SPENCER,
NEW YORK continued
daily shipped to different parts of the country. In 1877,
they commenced, in a small way, the mercantile business,
which has enlarged till at present they occupy a large brick
block, their stock including nearly everything needed or
used in a farming or manufacturing community. In 1880,
they built near their mills a large creamery, and it is now
receiving the milk or cream from about 700 cows, brought
from four or five towns and from three different counties.
January 1, 1887, the partnership was dissolved, Seymour
retiring and Alfred continuing the business alone. Mr.
Seely married Emily LaRow, of Newfield, October 20, 1863,
who bore him one child, a girl, who died at the age of four
years. Mrs. Seely died in September, 1879,; and in November, 1880, he married Mary E. Williams, of Romulus, N. Y.,
and has three children.
Silvenes Shepard was born in the town and county of Otsego, January 23, 1823. His parents oved to Virgil, Cortland
county, in 1826, where he lived until the fall of 1839, at
which time they moved on to a farm near the white schoolhouse, at East Spencer. He worked on a farm summers and
taught school winters, until the spring after he was of age,
when he commenced the manufacture of tomb-stones, at
East Spencer. He removed to the village in 1847, and continued in the business until his health gave out, in 1849.
He, with his brother-in-law, commenced manufacturing
tin-ware and selling stoves, in 1852, continuing in the business a few years, when he went to farming, working as he
was able, until 1862, when he found employment in the
store of Lucius Emmons, father of the Emmons Bros. He
remained in their store five years, when he commenced
business for himself, at the same place he now occupies. In
April, 1867, without application or solicitation on his part,
he received the appointment of postmaster, which office
he held till October 17, 1885. He has been the recipient of
many favors from the citizens of Spencer, having held the
office of overseer of the poor, assessor, and supervisor. To
the latter office he has been elected six times. He has been
interested in the educational interests of the town nearly
half a century, an advocate for free schools long before the
enactment of our grand “free school law.” While positive
and decided in his views on all public questions, and free
to express them in proper times and places, he is willing to
concede the same right to others. He has always taken a
decided stand against intemperance.
Charles J. Fisher’s grandfather came from Frankfort-onthe-Main, Germany, to this country, in 1754, and, it is believed, settled in New York city. His son, George, came to
Spencer, in 1810, his family consisting of nine children- five
girls and four boys. Charles H., the third son, was born in
Spencer, in 1817. He attended the common schools till
the age of eighteen, when he entered his father’s store as
clerk, which business he followed for different merchants
till 1850, when he commenced business for himself, carrying a stock of dry goods and groceries, and continued till
some time during the rebellion, when he sold his stock
of goods and opened a drug store, the first one in town,
which business he still continues. He now lives on the
place formerly occupied by his father, has always lived and
done business on, or very near, the spot where his father
settled, in 1810.
Dr. William Henry Fisher, son of Charles J. Fisher, was born
January 31, 1854. He studied in the Spencer Academy, and
studied medicine with Dr. T. F. Bliss, of Spencer, and entered Bellevue Hospital Medical College in 1874, graduated in 1876, and immediately began practice in Spencer village, where he has since resided. The Doctor married Alice
Knight, daughter of Harding A. Knight, of Spencer, November 14, 1877, and has two children, a son and a daughter.
Roger Vose was born in Bedford, N. H., February 26, 1770.
He married Anne Bassett, of Sharon, Mass., February 14,
1793, and moved with his family from Bedford, N. H., to
Spencer, in the fall of 1826, and purchased the farm on
which he lived until his death, which occurred November
24, 1843. His wife, Anne Vose, died March 2, 1834. Their
children were: Samuel Vose, born at Bedford, N. H., December 27, 1793. He came to Spencer from Bedford, about
the year 1818, and died here, August 3, 1854. John Vose
was born at Bedford, N. H., October 20, 1796. He came to
this country with his brother, Samuel, about 1818, and
died March 5, 1871. Jesse Vose was born at Bedford, N.H.,
May 23, 1801, and died in 1845. Charles Otis Vose was born
at Bedford, N. H., May 1, 1807, and died May 31, 1829. Alfred Vose was born in Bedford, N. H., August 10, 1812. He
moved to this town from Bedford, at the same time of his
father; was reared and continued to live on the place purchased by his father, up to the time of his death, which
occurred September 20, 1883.
Lucius Emmons was born in Hartland, Hartford county,
Conn., April 31, 1810. In early life he worked on a farm,
later did office work, and then started out as a peddler, to
what was then called the West (New York state). He came
to Spencer to live in the spring of 1839, and married Nancy, daughter of Roger Vose, July 4, 1839. They removed to
Candor, thence to Simsbury, Conn., in the fall of 1841, and
thence back to Spencer, in the spring of 1844, where he
remained until his death. He immediately started in the
mercantile business on a small scale, and being a peddler
himself, he soon formed the idea of sending out peddlers,
which he did on a large scale, and for many years carried
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HISTORY OF SPENCER,
NEW YORK continued
on a large business in general merchandise. He was taken
sick in 1856 with a complication of diseases, from which
he had nearly recovered at the time of his death, which
occurred March 19, 1864.
Lucius Edward Emmons, son of Lucius and Nancy Emmons, was born at Spencer, August 23, 1846. He attended
school at the Spencer academy, and at the age of nineteen years commenced work on his father’s farm. At the
age of twenty-one years, August 23, 1867, he became a
partner with his elder brother, A. S. Emmons, as dealers
in general merchandise, under the firm name of Emmons
Brothers, succeeding the firm of Mrs. L. Emmons & Son.
September 15, 1;872, he was married to Cornelia M. Hull,
daughter of Eben Hull, of Spencer. On a spot made vacant
by a large fire, and owned by said firm, they erected, in
the fall of 1876 and succeeding winter, a three-story brick
drug store, and after the loss of their wooden structure
(general store), on the opposite corner, they erected, in
1878, a large store of brick to carry on the same business.
On April 23, 1880, the firm purchased of Dr. William H.
Gregg, of Elmira, the formulas for and exclusive right to
manufacture Electro-Silicon liniment, also Dr. Shorey’s Investigator remedies, which medicine business they conducted under the name of the Electro-Silicon Liniment
Co. On September 1, 1886, the firm of Emmons Brothers
was dissolved by mutual consent, and by the expiration
of the contract; L. E. Emmons continuing the drug business in the same store before used for that purpose. His
children are Charlie Hull Emmons, aged eleven years;
Freddie Earl Emmons, aged seven years, and Jessie Nell
Emmons, aged six years.
Myron B. Ferris was born in Spencer, April 22, 1835, son
of Joshua H. and Louisa (Fisher) Ferris. He studied in the
Spencer Academy, and graduated from the Ithaca High
School in 1849. He soon after began the mercantile business in Spencer, and continued in the same about twenty
years, and upon the establishment of the bank here he
became its assistant cashier, a position he still holds. Mr.
Ferris has represented the town in the board of supervisors four years in succession, and represented his county
in legislature of 1873. Mr. Ferris married Hannah M. Cooper, daughter of Jessie B. Cooper, in 1853, and has three
children, Nathan B., Stella L., and F. Harry.
The comparative growth of the town may seem by the
following citation from the several census enumerations
since its organization: 1810, 3,128; 1820, 1,252; 1825, 975;
1830, 1,278; 1835, 1,407; 1845, 1,682; 1850, 1,782; 1855,
1,805; 1860, 1,881; 1865, 1,757; 1870, 1,863; 1875, 1,884;
1880, 2,382. Organization.- At a town-meeting held at the
inn of Jacobus Schenichs, Tuesday, April 1, 1806, the following named officers were elected: Joel Smith, supervisor; Joshua Ferris, town clerk; Edmond Hobart, Daniel H.
Bacon, Levi Slater, assessors; Moses Read, Benjamin Jennings, Joseph Barker, commissioners of highways; Lewis
Beers, Samuel Westbrook, overseers of the poor; Isaiah
Chambers, collector; John Shoemaker, Nathan Beers,
William Cunan, John Murphy, and Isaiah Chambers, constables; John F. Bacon, John McQuigg, John Mulks, Jacob
Swartwood, poundmasters; John I. Speed, John Englilsh,
Joseph L. Horotn, Jacob Herinton, Alexander Ennes, and
Lewis Beardslee, fence-viewers.
The history of Spencer as the county-seat, the history of
its railroads and newspaper, has already been given, in the
general history of the county, in the earlier pages of this
work.
BUSINESS CENTERS
SPENCER VILLAGE is located on Catatonk creek, west of
the center of the town, and on the G.I. & S. and the E.C. &
N. railroads. From 1812 to 1821, it was the county-seat of
Tioga county. It contains three churches, the old campingground of the Wyoming Conference, one union school
or academy, six dry-goods and grocery-stores, two hardware-stores, two drug-stores, one agricultural store, two
hotels, one livery-stable, one steam saw and grist-mill, one
planing-mill, one plaster-mill, one marble-factory, eight
blacksmith-shops, three wagon-shops, two cabinetshops,
three millinery-shops, three shoe-shops, two tailor-shops,
one paint-shop, two harnessshops, one dental office, three
doctors’ offices, two undertaking establishments, one
photograph parlor, one meat-market, one job printing office, about one hundred and thirty five dwellinghouses,
and seven hundred inhabitants. The busy mills, the large
number of neat and commodious private residences, with
well-kept grounds attached, and the highly-cultivated
fields surrounding the village, attest that the inhabitants
have not forgotten the thrift, habits of industry, and economy which characterized their forefathers from Connecticut and Eastern New York.
SPENCER SPRINGS, lying three miles northeast of Spencer village, has valuable springs of sulphur and chalybeate mineral waters. The surroundings are picturesque, and
it has been quite popular as a resort during the summer
months.
NORTH SPENCER, about three and one-half miles north of
Spencer, contains one church (Union), one school-house,
a store, about twenty dwelling-houses, and one hundred
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HISTORY OF SPENCER,
NEW YORK continued
inhabitants.
since run it almost continuously, at the same stand, in Van
Etten street. He manufactures wagons, sleighs, and carriages, of the most approved styles, and does all kinds of
repairing in the neatest and most workmanlike manner.
COWELL’S CORNERS, a hamlet on Catatonk creek, aboaut one and one-fourth miles east of Spencer, contains a
school-house, a shoe-shop, two cooper-shops, and about
forty inhabitants.
J. T. McMaster’s Steam Saw-Mill, located on road 53, is operated by a fifty horse-power engine. It has a lumber-saw,
lath-mill, wood-saw, and edger, and also a feed-mill, run by
the same power. He employs twelve men, and cuts annually 800,000 feet of lumber and 500,000 lath.
The Farmers’ and Merchants’ Bank of Spencer was incorporated in March, 1884, with a paid-up capital of $25,000.00.
The first officers were M. D. Fisher, president; O. P. Dimon,
vise-president; C. P. Masterson, cashier. The present officers are Thomas Brock, president; O.P. Dimon, vice-president; M. D. Fisher, cashier; and M. B. Ferris, assistant cashier.
Samuel Eastham’s Saw-Mill, located on road 36, is operated by water-power, employs twelve men, and cuts from
800,00 to 1,000,000 feet of lumber annually. He has also a
hay-barn where he presses hay, and ships 1,000 ton annually.
The Spencer Creamery (S. Alfred Seely Proprietor) was established in 1880, by Hoke & Seely, and is located in the
western part of the village, on Liberty street. At present
they are manufacturing from the product of 700 cows, and
are doubling their capacity yearly. All their equipments
are of the latest and most improved patents. They run two
DeLaval cream separators, a steam butter-worker, and all
the improved steam-power machinery, which is used in
the manufacture of butter. They also manufacture cheese
from skimmed milk. There are one hundred hogs and thirty
calves fed at the creamery. Beside supplying families with
the choicest butter, they ship to New York twice and three
times a week. Last year they manufactured over 60,000
pounds. The creamery is under the superintendence of Mr.
D. LaMont Georgia.
S. A. Seely’s Flour and Custom Mill is situated on Mill street,
near the G., I. & S. R. R. depot, and was built in October
1873, by A. Seely & Bro. It was started with three runs of
stones, and did at that time custom work, principally. In
1879, it was renovated and enlarged, another run of stones
added, and also machinery necessary for making the new
process flour. In the spring of 1886, it was again enlarged
and machinery added, making it a full-fledged roller-mill.
The capacity of the roller department is seventy-five barrels in twenty-four hours. A specialty is made of buckwheat grinding, according to the new process, manufacturing flour from 45,000 to 50,000 bushels annually. Three
men are employed, with James Silke, superintendent. Mr.
Seely’s large steam saw-mill, the largest in the state, has
already been spoken of in detail.
Brundage’s Carriage and Wagon Works.- DeWitt C. Brundage came to Spencer when about eighteen years of age,
and learned the trade of carriage and wagon making,
serving an apprenticeship of three years with George
Rosekrans. He bought the business of Rosekrans and has
Richardson & Campbell’s Brick Yard, located on road 43,
was established in 1882. The clay is first-class. The firm employs thirty-five hands, and have capacity for the manufacture of 3,000,000 brick annually.
CHURCHES
The First Congregational Church was organized November
23, 1815, with seven members, as follows: Daniel Hugg,
Achsah Hugg, Urban Palmer, Stephen Dodd, Mary Dodd,
and Clarissa Lake. Until the year 1828, the society met in
dwelling-houses, school-houses, and the courthouse, the
pulpit being supplied by missionaries. Rev. Seth Williston
was the first missionary, he having been sent out by the
Congregationalists of Connecticut. Rev. Gardner K. Clark
was the first regularly installed pastor. The church edifice
was commended July 3, 1826, and completed two years
later. It is of the style usually erected for houses of worship
in the country fifty years ago. It cost $2,500 and has sittings for about 400 people. Recently the building, through
the munificence of Mr. Kennedy, has been extensively repaired and embellished.
The Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1809,
by Peter Lott and his wife, Jeremiah Andrews, Esther Dean,
Abraham Garey, and Hester Ann Purdy. For many years
the society was supplied by circuit preachers of the Oneida Conference, who came once in four weeks. They held
meetings in private houses, barns, and school-houses until 1828, when the present church was completed. It cost
$2,800, and will seat 450 people. Rev. Loring P. Howard is
the present one. This church, too, has recently been extensively repaired.
The Baptist Church. Phineas Spalding was the founder of
this society, and preached to his brethren as early as 1799.
The society was more formally organized by Elder David
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HISTORY OF SPENCER,
NEW YORK continued
GENERAL JOSEPH SPENCER
Jayne, February 11, 1810, and consisted of fifteen members, as follows: Phineas Spalding, Susannah Spalding,
John Cowell, Deborah Cowell, Thomas Andrews, Joseph
Barker, Phebe Barker, Mehitable Hubbard, William Hugg,
Lydia Hugg, Polly Underwood, Benjamin Cowell, Benjamin
Castalin, and Ruth Castalin. Its first church was erected
about 1830, and located one mile east of the village. The
present one was completed in 1853, costing, with the alterations since made, about $4,000. It is the largest church
in the village of Spencer, seats 700 in the audience-room,
and 300 in the Sunday-school room.
Joseph Spencer (1714 - 1798), a son of Isaac Spencer, was
born in East Haddam. He entered the Northern Army in
1758 and served as a lieuenant colonel in the French War.
In the was of the American Revolution, he was made a major general in 1776 and in 1778 was placed in command in
Rhode Island. The failure of his attack on the British at Newport resulted in his retirement and in 1778 he returned to
his home in Millington Society.
Soldier of the Revolution
Source: Encyclopedia Americana.
The Union Church at North Spencer was organized, with
thirty members, in 1870, and its church edifice, which will
seat 275 people, was erected the same year, at a cost of
about $1,500.
Source: Historical Gazetteer of Tioga County, New York,
1785-1888. Compiled and edited by W. B. Gay. Published
by W. B. Gay & Co., Syracuse, N. Y. in 1888.
Joseph Spencer Monument
Erected by the State of Connecticut due to the petition of
the Nathan Hale Memorial Chapter of the Daughters of the
American Revolution.
The Spencer family’s graves and headstones were later removed from their first resting place in the Millington section of town to be near the monument.
In the park near the Nathan Hale schoolhouse stands
a monument to Gen. Joseph Spencer. This was erected
by the State on the petition of the Nathan Hale Memorial Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
General Spencer’s body and that of his wife, as well as their
original headstones, were later removed from their first
resting place and located near the monument.
Source: Deep River New Era, Friday, September 14, 1934 Mouat, p. 146
121
SAMUEL SPENCER
Father of the Southern Railway System
Submitted by Terri Spencer #1882
American railroad magnate Samuel
Spencer (1847-1906) began his career in the industry as a engineer, but
rose to become one of the country’s
most powerful transportation tycoons. Associated with Wall Street financier J. P. Morgan, Spencer helped
arrange the consolidation of dozens
of railroad lines in the southern United States into the mighty Southern
Railway. Quite ironically, Spencer’s
career was cut short by tragedy when
he died in a crash on his own line in
the early-morning hours of Thanksgiving Day of 1906.
Spencer’s early life carried little indication of the wealth and prestige he
would later attain. He was born on
March 2, 1847, in Columbus, Georgia,
the only child of Lambert and Vernona (Mitchell) Spencer. His father’s
family was known to have its roots in
Talbot County, Maryland, where they
descended from a 1670 settler there
named James Spencer. While still a
teenager, Spencer dropped out of
the Georgia Military Institute in Marietta to join the Confederate Army
under Generals Nathan B. Forrest and
John Bell Hood. He also served in
Captain Thomas Nelson’s Rangers, an
independent cavalry unit.
When the war ended in 1865, Spencer left military service and enrolled
in the University of Georgia at Athens.
He earned his first degree in 1867, and
went on to the engineering program
at the University of Virginia, where
he graduated at the top of his class
in 1869. His first job was with the
Savannah & Memphis Railroad as a
“rod man” with its surveying unit, but
quickly advanced through the various
ranks until he had become a principal
assistant engineer. He wed in 1872
and headed north that same year to
take a post in Long Branch, New Jersey, as the clerk to the superintendent
of the New Jersey Southern Railroad.
Before long, Spencer had moved on
again, this time to the Baltimore &
Ohio Railroad, which serviced the Atlantic seaboard. He spent four years
with the company, and in 1877 was
offered another promotion with another line, this time as superintendent of the Virginia Midland railroad.
He headed north once again in 1878
to become general superintendent of
the Long Island Railroad, an impressive post for a man still in his early
thirties, but transferred back to the
Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) a year later
when he became assistant to its president.
Spencer spent almost a decade with
the B&O, rising to the post of vice
president and then president in December of 1887. His tenure in that
office was brief, however: one of his
duties was to reduce the B&O’s immense floating debt of $8 million,
and the various schemes to move it
around aroused some bad feelings
among other directors, who believed
the powerful Wall Street banking
house of Drexel, Morgan & Company
were trying to use Spencer to wrest
control of the railroad from them.
Out of work only temporarily, Spencer was hired by Drexel, Morgan & Co.
as its railroad expert, and was made a
partner in 1890.
Drexel, Morgan & Company, which
became J.P. Morgan & Company in
1895, was one of the most powerful banking houses in the world at
the time, amassing large amounts of
capital and funding various projects
of merit under the guidance of its immensely wealthy chief, J.P. Morgan.
It had already been involved in the
reorganization of various American
railroad entities, but Morgan had set
his sights on the disorganized post Civil War South and its 150 separate
lines. Spencer provided crucial input
at the company for the byzantine
plan, thanks in part to his experience
as an executive. “No move in the railroad world was made by the financier
without the counsel of Mr. Spencer,”
noted a New York Times tribute published after his 1906 death. “It was
said of him that there was no man in
the country so thoroughly well posted on every detail of a railroad from
122
SAMUEL SPENCER
Father of the Southern
Railway System - Continued
the cost of a car brake to the estimate
for a terminal.”
The railroad industry in the
southern United States had
actually boasted a few notable firsts in the era before
the Civil War. The first regularly scheduled passenger
service, the “Best Friend of
Charleston,” began operation in 1830, and its owner,
the South Carolina Canal
& Rail Road Company, had
been the first in the nation
to run trains during the
nighttime hours. The numerous railroad lines that
crisscrossed the region
were mostly linked by 1857,
but the war wreaked havoc
on the South’s transportation infrastructure, and
the rebuilding process was
slow. By the time Spencer
joined the Morgan house,
“the Southern transportation interests were in the
hands of a large number
of poorly constructed and
poorly operated lines,”
his New York Times obituary noted.
“Money was lacking for improvements, and the country was held back
in every way by the chaos which prevailed among its railroads.”
Some of the lines fell into the hands
of creditors, and in 1893 the Morgan
house appointed Spencer as one
of the receivers for the Richmond &
Danville Railroad. He was later given
similar duties with the East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia Railway. Morgan wanted to consolidate these and
others into a single, easy to manage,
and thus more profitable company.
After gaining control of several of the
lines, by 1894 Morgan’s bank had reorganized these and others into the
Southern Railway. Morgan named the
able Spencer as its first president.
Spencer proved up to the job. He was
a shrewd manager and made sound
financial decisions on behalf of the
Morgan bank, which was still its parent company. From 1894 until his
death a dozen years later, the system’s
mileage increased from 4,391 to 7,515
miles of lines, and the number of passengers carried from 3.4 million to
more than 11 million; its freight tonnage also quadrupled. Earnings, not
surprisingly, rose at a corresponding
rate, from $17 million to $53 million.
The American railroad industry
proved so lucrative that it ran afoul of
politicians in Washington during this
era. Some of the lines offered rebates
to favored shippers, and public discontent - especially from small farmers, who seemed to pay the heaviest freight charges - grew over rates,
which fluctuated wildly. At the time,
the federal government had little
regulatory power over such companies, but that began to change when
the Interstate Commerce Commission
(ICC) was established, the first federal
regulatory agency. Though it outlawed rebates in the railroad industry,
the ICC remained somewhat toothless until President Theodore Roosevelt was elected to the White House,
and made good on his threats to curb
railroad - rate abuses.
Spencer became one of the
leading opponents of the
Roosevelt Administration’s
plan to set railroad rates,
and argued strenuously in
the first years of the century
against the proposed laws.
He defended Southern Railway’s business practices
before the House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, claiming
that other costs of operating the line had risen in
recent years, and the company needed to be able
to set its rates in order to
remain profitable. “It is un
- American and unfair, not
to say, outrageous because
it is alleged there are such”
abuses, he said in a 1903
Pittsburgh speech quoted
by the New York Times,
“that every manager, that
every President and Director, shall be
subject to indiscriminate public condemnation, and that the innocent
investors shall have their property
jeopardized and their rights infringed
because those to whom the prosecution of the law is entrusted fail to find
the offender and to punish him.” In
the end, his efforts failed to prevent
the passage of the Hepburn Act of
June 29, 1906, which gave the federal
government the power to enforce ICC
rules and regulations.
Spencer was an illustrious figure in his
era. He held the presidencies of the
Alabama Great Southern, the Cincinnati, New Orleans, & Texas Pacific, the
Mobile & Ohio, the Georgia Southern
123
SAMUEL SPENCER
Father of the Southern
Railway System - Continued
and Florida, and the Northern Alabama railroads. He also was a director of 11 other railroad lines, and held
similar rank with the Hanover National
Bank, Old Dominion Steamship Company, Pennsylvania Coal Company,
Standard Trust Company, and Western
Union Telegraph Company. He and
several other titans of industry were
avid quail and partridge hunters, and
had leased a 12,000 - acre preserve
near Greensboro, North Carolina, that
was stocked with expensive quail imported from Hungary.
at the Greensboro lodge. His car and
several others became detached from
the engine, and had stalled on the
tracks. Another train, the Washington
and Southwestern Vestibule Limited,
was behind it and bound for Atlanta,
but apparently a station operator did
not notice that the engine car had
passed by without the rest of the train.
The other train was allowed to proceed onto the block, and it slammed
Yet Spencer was also a casualty of the
times: he died in a pre-dawn collision
of two trains near Lawyers, Virginia
on November 29, 1906. Spencer was
sleeping in a private rail car attached
to the Jacksonville express train. He
and some business associates were
on their way to a hunting expedition
into the stalled cars.
Spencer was one
of seven casualties,
among them his
hunting companions
General Philip Schuyler of New York City
and Charles D. Fisher
of Baltimore.
Spencer’s son had
been waiting to meet
the train at Greensboro station, and
was informed of the
tragedy. The railroad
executive’s untimely
death made the front
page of the New York
Times, and a day
later the same paper
eulogized him in a
lengthy tribute that
asserted “the South
has lost one of the
moving spirits in its
recent revival, and America one of its
leading railroad experts.” All Southern
Railway trains were halted briefly on
the day of his funeral in his honor. His
wife Louisa Benning Spencer, another
son, and a daughter survived him. The
Southern Railway also proved an enduring testament to his talents: it exists as the Norfolk Southern line nearly a century after Spencer’s passing.
There is a bronze figure of him located
in Hardy Ivy Park
in downtown Atlanta, the work
of noted artist
Daniel Chester
French, and the
town of Spencer, North Carolina, is named in
his honor. It was
once the site of
the
immense
Spencer Shops,
the railroad - car
repair facility of
the
Southern
Railway.
Sources:
Dictionary of American Biography,
American Council of Learned Societies, 1928 - 1936.
New York Times, November 30, 1906;
December 1, 1906.
News & Record (Piedmont Triad, NC),
December 29, 2002
124
SAMUEL SPENCER
Father of the Southern Railway System
Continued
A GEORGIAN,
A CONFEDERATE SOLDIER,
THE FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE
SOUTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY.
ERECTED BY THE EMPLOYEES
OF THAT COMPANY.
—From Inscription on Monument.
SAMUEL SPENCER1
Samuel Spencer was born March 2, 1847, at Columbus, Georgia,
and died November 29, 1906, at Lawyer’s, Virginia. He was the only
child of Lambert and Vernona (Mitchell) Spencer. His father was
the son of Lambert Wickes and Anna Spencer. His mother was the
daughter of Isaac and Parizade Mitchell. Lambert Wickes Spencer
was a son of Richard Spencer, who
was a grandson of James Spencer, who emigrated from England in
1670, and settled in Talbot County, Maryland, and of Martha Wickes, sister of Captain Lambert Wickes of the United States Navy.
After attending the common schools of Columbus until he was
fifteen years old Samuel Spencer entered the Georgia Military Institute at Marietta. The following year, though but sixteen years of
age, he enlisted in the Confederate service as a private in the “ Nelson Rangers,” an independent company of cavalry. His first service
with this command was scout and outpost duty before Vicksburg.
He subsequently served under General N. B. Forrest, the famous cavalry commander. He served with General Hood in
Atlanta, and during the campaign against Nashville, and remained in the service until the surrender of General Johnston’s army in April, 1865.
As soon as the war was over he again took up his studies, and, entering the junior class in the University of Georgia, he
graduated from that institution in 1867 with first honors. In the autumn of that year he entered the University of Virginia,
where he took a course in Civil Engineering, and graduated in 1869 with the degree of C. E., again at the head of his
class.
Mr. Spencer began his railway career with the Savannah & Memphis Railroad Company, serving successively as rodman,
leveler, transitman, resident engineer, and principal engineer, until July, 1872, when he became clerk to the Superintendent of the New Jersey Southern Railroad at Long Branch. In December, 1872, he went into the transportation department of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, with which Company he remained for four years in charge of one of its divisions.
For a short time in 1877, he was Superintendent of the Virginia Midland Railroad, and in January, 1878, he became General Superintendent of the Long Island Railroad. In 1879 he returned to the Baltimore & Ohio as Assistant to the President, from which post he was advanced to the offices of Third Vice-President in 1881 ; Second Vice-President in 1882,
and First Vice-President in 1884. In December, 1887, he was elected President of the Baltimore &
Ohio, and piloted that Company successfully through one of the most trying and difficult periods in its history.
1. From “In Memoriam - Samuel Spencer Exercises at the Unveiling of the Monument Erected by the Employees of the
Southern Railway Company”. Atlanta, Georgia. May 21, 1910.
125
SAMUEL SPENCER
Father of the Southern
Railway System - Continued
In March, 1889, he entered the banking house of Drexel, Morgan & Company (now J. P. Morgan & Company,) as railroad
expert and representative of their large railroad interests.
In July, 1893, Mr. Spencer was appointed receiver of the Richmond & Danville Railroad Company, and of the East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia Railway Company, and in June, 1894, when the Southern Railway Company was organized to
take over the properties of the old Richmond Terminal and East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia System, he was made its
President and served as such until his death. The Southern Railway System, under his administration, was built up from
4,391 miles to 7,515 miles of directly operated lines, and controlled subordinate companies, operated separately, with
2,038 miles of line.
At the time of his death Mr. Spencer was at the head of an organization of more than 40,000 men in the employ of the
Southern Railway Company alone. He was President of the following railway companies:
—The Southern Railway Company
—Mobile and Ohio Railroad Company
—Alabama Great Southern Railroad Company,
—Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway Company
—Georgia Southern and Florida Railway Company
—Northern Alabama Railway Company
At that time he was, in addition to the above, a member of the Boards of Directors of the following companies:
—Alabama Great Southern Railway Company (Limited) England
—Central of Georgia Railway Company
—Chicago, Milwaukee and Saint Paul Railway Company
—Erie Railroad Company
—Old Dominion Steamship Company
—Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad Company,
—The Standard Trust Company, of New York
—Hanover National Bank, of New York
—The Trust Company of America, New York
—Western Union Telegraph Company
Mr. Spencer was married on February 6, 1872, to Louisa Vivian, daughter of Henry L. Benning, a Judge of the Supreme
Court of Georgia and a Brigadier General in the Confederate Army, and is survived by his widow and three children,
Henry Benning, Vernona Mitchell, and Vivian. He was a member of the University and Union Clubs, of New York ; the Tuxedo Club ; the Metropolitan Club, of Washington ; the Jekyl Island Club; the Capital City Club, of Atlanta ; the Queen City
Club of Cincinnati, and the Chicago Club. He was also a member of the New York Chamber of Commerce ; the American
Academy of Political Science; the American Forestry Association; the Metropolitan Museum of Art ; the Municipal Art
Society and the American Museum of Natural History, of New York ; the New York Zoological Society ; the Association for
the Protection of the Adirondacks, and the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Mr. Spencer had rare capacity as an executive officer and organizer. He was an excellent judge of men, and, a tireless and
energetic worker himself, he had the faculty of securing the efficient co-operation of his subordinates. He was a man of
the highest integrity and was noted for consistent honesty of purpose and fair dealing. He was uniformly just and generous in his dealings with his subordinates and always had their fullest confidence and their highest respect.
With his friends he was jovial and companionable and won their affection. As a writer and public speaker Mr. Spencer
ranked high. His addresses on public questions, and more particularly on the relations of the railways to the pub-lie,
were admirable examples of clear thinking and sound reasoning, and stamped him as an economic statesman of high
order.
126
SAMUEL SPENCER
Father of the Southern
Railway System - Continued
A Joint Meeting of the Voting Trustees and the Board of Directors of the Southern Railway Company was held at its office in Washington, D. C, on Sunday, December 2nd, 1906, immediately after the funeral service of Samuel Spencer, late
President of the Company, Alexander B. Andrews, First Vice-President, presiding. Upon motion of Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan, the following minute was adopted, and was ordered to be entered on the records and published at length in the
press upon the lines of the Southern Railway:
Samuel Spencer, bom in Columbus, Georgia, March 2nd, 1847, died November 29th, 1906, near Lawyer’s Station, Virginia,
upon the railroad of the Southern Railway Company of which he was the first and only President. The personal qualities
of Mr. Spencer, his integrity in hezirt and mind, his affectionate and genial disposition, his loyal and courageous spirit, his
untiring devotion to duty, his persistent achievement of worthy ends and his comradeship on the fields of battle, of affairs, and of manly sport, combined to establish him in the loving regard of hosts of friends in every section of his country,
and nowhere more securely than in the affection of his fellow workers in the service of the Southern Railway Company.
The importance of his service to this Company is matter of common knowledge throughout the railroad world, but the
character, the extent, and the consequence of that service are and can be appreciated at their full worth only by his associates now gathered here to attest their regard for him, and to record their high estimate of his life and work.
Upon June 18th, 1894, on the completion of the Richmond Terminal Reorganization conceived by J. Pierpont Morgan,
and conducted by his partner, Charles H. Coster, the first meeting of the Southern Railway Company was called to order at Richmond by Samuel Spencer as President. In the first fiscal year the Southern Railway System embraced 4,391
miles of road, with 623 locomotives and 19,694 cars, which carried 3,427, 858 passengers, and 6,675,750 tons of freight
and earned $17,114,791. In the last fiscal year the Southern Railway System embraced 7,515 miles of road, with 1,429
locomotives and 50,119 cars, which carried 11,663,550 passengers, 27,339,377 tons of freight and earned $53,641, 438.
The number of employees had increased from 16,718, June 30, 1895, to 37.003, June 30, 1906, and the wages paid from
$6,712,796 to $21,198,020.
The full details and the impressive character of this remarkable advcmce, too extended for present recital, are exhibited
in the masterly communication which, upon February 1st, 1906, Mr. Spencer addressed to the Voting Trustees as the basis
of the Development and General Mortgage. In this progress every step had been initiated and conducted by Mr. Spencer
with the cordial concurrence of the Voting Trustees and the Board of Directors ; and it is significant of the conservative
and cautious disposition of Mr. Spencer and his supporters that this phenomenal enlargement of the System and its
business was not made the basis of any increase of stock, or even of any increase of dividends beyond the amount contemplated and stated in the Plan of 1893 with reference to the properties originally reorganized. Every dollar that could
be borrowed under President Spencer’s management was put into the property in the effort to enable it to meet the ever
increasing demands of the vigorous and wonderful growth of the South and its industries.
The mighty fabric which for twelve years he has been moulding must continue under others to develop, and to improve
in the service that it shall render to the public, but never can it cease to bear the impress, or to reveal the continuing impulse of the master mind of its first President. In the height of his usefulness and his powers he has been called away, but
the inspiration of his shining example and his lofty standards must ever animate his successors.
To many other corporations conducting the commerce of the country, as well as to the Southern Railway, did Mr. Spencer
render invaluable service, and all of them will share in our sense of loss and personal grief. As their chosen spokesman in
the tremendous agitation culminating in the Congressional action of 1906, his mastery of his subject, his dignity of bearing and his integrity of character commanded the confidence and approval of the vast interests whose constitutional
rights it became his duty to assert and to protect.
To the great public not less than to the commercial interests did he recognize his obligation. How well he conceived, how
admirably he performed that duty, was indicated in the last of his public addresses, his last message to his friends in the
127
SAMUEL SPENCER
Father of the Southern
Railway System - Continued
South, delivered at Montgomery, Alabama, on October 25th, 1906; an address which deserves wide circulation and close
consideration, not only in his own South that he loved so well, but throughout t e whole country which he had learned to
know far better than most of its citizens wherever born.
His chosen career has closed, but the wisdom and the virtues that characterized that career will abide as long as there
shall be a regard for duty bravely done and for high service gallantly rendered.
To his family we extend our deep and most respectful sympathy, and our assurance that for them, as well as for his associates, honor <utd happiness will ever result from their relation to Samuel Spencer, that just and upright man and officer.
HOW THE MONUMENT WAS BUILT.
The high esteem in which Mr. Spencer was held by the employees of the Southern Railway system was evidenced when,
within a few days after his death, suggestions were received by the executive officers of the Company from many individuals, that the whole body of employees be permitted to testify to their appreciation of him as a railway executive and
their affection for him as a man, by the erection of a suitable and enduring memorial.
This suggestion met with the approval of the executive officers who promised their aid and co-operation, with the
understanding that no employee wasto be urged to contribute, but that the memorial was to be a voluntary and spontaneous expression of the regard in which the contributors held their great leader. The matter was taken up enthusiastically by the employees of every department on all parts of the system. Meetings were held and resolutions were
adopted. After a careful consideration of several propositions s to the character of the memorial to be erected and its
location, it was decided that a statue of Mr. Spencer would be most appropriate and that the ideal location for it was
on the plaza in front of the Terminal Station in Atlanta. The selection of Atlanta was governed by the fact that it is the
Capital of the State of Georgia, in which Mr. Spencer was born, and a central and important city on the Southern Railway
system.
In order to systematize the movement, a General Committee of employees was appointed, under the Chairmanship of
Mr. J. W. Connelly, Chief Special Agent, and embracing the following representatives of every branch of the service:
STATION AGENTS.
G. A. Barnes, Chattanooga, Tenn. — C. L. Candler, Norfolk, Va.
D. L. Bryan, Columbia, S. C. — T. L. Hill, Birmingham, Ala.
E. H. Lea, Richmond, Va.
FREIGHT CLAIM DEPARTMENT.
J. J. Hooper, Washington, D. C.
FREIGHT TRAFFIC DEPARTMENT.
F. H. Behring, Louisville, Ky. — Randall Clifton, Atlanta, Ga.
L. L. McClesky, Atlanta, Ga.
PASSENGER TRAFFIC DEPARTMENT.
George B. Allen, Atlanta, Ga. — L. S. Brown, Washington, D, C.
J. C. Beam, St. Louis, Mo. — J. L. Meeks, Atlanta. Ga.
LAW AGENTS’ DEPARTMENT.
W. F. Combs, Macon, Ga. — M. H. Dooley, Washington, D. C.
SPECIAL AGENTS’ DEPARTMENT.
J. W. Connelly, Washington, D. D. — P. G. Cropper, Louisville, Ky.
128
SAMUEL SPENCER
Father of the Southern
Railway System - Continued
RIGHT OF WAY DEPARTMENT.
C. J. Shelverton, Austell, Ga.
TIE AND TIMBER DEPARTMENT.
C. A. Slater. Washington, D. C.
DINING CAR CONDUCTORS
G. L. Best, Charlotte, N. C.
TELEGRAPH OPERATORS.
O. R. Doyle, Calhoun, S. C. — A. L. McDaniel, Forest City, S. C.
C. G. VVhitworth, Bon Air, Va.
TRAIN CONDUCTORS.
C. T. Laughlin, Princeton, Ind. — R. W. Moore, Washington, D. C.
TRAINMEN.
M. V. Hamilton, Knoxville. Tenn.
ENGINEERS.
J. I. Whiddon, Macon, Ga.
FIREMEN.
C. A. Loftin, Atlanta, Ga.
ROADWAY DEPARTMENT.
H. D. Knight, Greensboro, N. C. — C. J. Murphy, Louisville, Ky.
A. P. New, Birmingham, Ala.
CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT.
Thomas Bernard, Greensboro, N. C. W. B. Crenshaw, Knoxville, Tenn.
BRIDGE AND BUILDING DEPARTMENT.
Bernard Herman, Washington, D. C.
MACHINISTS.
A. McGillivray, Birmingham, Ala.
BLACKSMITHS.
A. Gledhill, Birmingham, Ala. George E. Saywell, Sheffield, Ala.
BOILERMAKERS.
T. J. Garvey, Manchester, Va. M. W. Harris, Birmingham, Ala.
CAR REPAIRERS.
Frank A. Jones, Richmond, Va. — S. L. Shaver, Atlanta, Ga.
E. S. Smith, Princeton, Ind.
COPPERSMITHS AND PIPEFITTERS.
129
SAMUEL SPENCER
Father of the Southern
Railway System - Continued
W. L. Allen, Birmingham, Ala. W. F. Bronson, Atlanta, Ga.
STOREKEEPERS.
W. M. Netherland, Washington, D. C.
LAND AND INDUSTRIAL DEPARTMENT.
H. E. Waernicke, Washington, D. C.
AUDITING DEPARTMENT.
F. B. Clements, Washington, D. C. — T. L. Shelton, Washington, D. C.
LAW DEPARTMENT.
Daniel Kelly, Washington, D. C.
SURGEONS.
Dr. W. A. Applegate, Washington, D. C.
PURCHASING DEPARTMENT.
Joseph Angel, Washington, D. C. — J. A. Turner, Washington, D. C.
GENERAL YARD MASTERS.
R. L. Avery, Spencer, N. C. — J. A. McDougle, Birmingham, Ala.
W. W. Barber, Columbia, S. C. — J. J. Patton, Knoxville, Tenn.
J. Fritz, E. St. Louis, Il. — W. W. Waits, Atlanta, Ga.
GENERAL OFFICES.
E. D. Duncan, Atlanta, Ga. — Guy E. Mauldin, Washington, D. C^
J. L. Edwards, Birmingham, Ala. — L. C. Ullrich, Washington, D. C.
This Committee formulated a plan by which each employee, from the President down, was afforded an opportunity to
contribute in proportion to his rate of compensation from the Company. Many employees were anxious to contribute
much larger amounts, but they were not permitted to do so, it having been found that, by reason of the large number
of contributors, a sufficient fund would be provided by strict adherence to the plan adopted and it being desired that
among all the thousands of subscribers each should feel that, in proportion to his earnings, he had contributed as much
to the erection of the monument as any other.
Each employee who wished to contribute sent an order on the Paymaster requesting him to deduct from is pay the
amount he was entitled to give under the plan adopted. All moneys were paid to Mr. H. C. Ansley, Treasurer of the Southern Railway Company, who, at the request of the employees, consented to act as Treasurer of the fund. The names of all
contributors were listed for a permanent record ; two copies of this record being made, one being given to Mr. Spencer’s
family and the other filed in the office of the Chairman of the General Committee. When the base of the monument was
being built the thousands of slips bearing the original signatures of the employees were securely sealed in a metal box
and placed in the corner stone.
After the fund had been collected, Mr. Daniel Chester French, of New York, was commissioned to execute the bronze
statue of Mr. Spencer, and Mr. Henry Bacon was employed to design its pedestal. The beautiful monument as it stands
today bears testimony to the wisdom of the selection of these men as sculptor and architect.
The monument having been completed and placed in position, arrangements were made for unveiling it on May 21,
1910. Invitations in the following form were sent to railway officers and other prominent citizens of the United States:
130
SAMUEL SPENCER
Father of the Southern
Railway System - Continued
The Employees of the Southern Railway Company
request the honor of your presence
at the Unveiling of the
Monument to Samuel Spencer
First President of the Company
at the Terminal Station
Atlanta, Georgia
Saturday afternoon, May twenty-first
nineteen hundred and ten
at two o’clock.
131
SAMUEL SPENCER
Father of the Southern
Railway System - Continued
The following is a transcription of
the New York Times article dated
November 29, 1906. The article reflects the journalism of the period.
SAMUEL SPENCER KILLED IN WRECK
Head of Southern Railway and
Guests Crushed
GEN. SCHUYLER A VICTIM
Eight Dead; Ten Injured, Near
Lynchburg
GHOULS ROB THE DEAD
Bodies of Charles D. Fisher and F. T.
Redwood of Baltimore Burned with
the Others in the Wreckage.
LYNCHBURG, VA., Nov. 29—President Samuel Spencer of the Southern Railway and three guests—
Gen. Philip Schuyler of New York
and Francis T. Redwood and
Charles D. Fisher of Baltimore—
south-bound with him on a hunting trip, were crushed and burned
to death at daybreak this morning in a rear-end collision on the
Southern Railway.
Four others besides the victims in Mr.
Spencer’s hunting party were killed
and ten persons were injured seriously.
The crash came at the crest of one of
the heaviest grades on the road, just
south of the little station at Lawyers,
about ten miles south of Lynchburg.
President Spencer’s party were asleep
in his private car, which was trailing
the Jacksonville express.
Besides
his car the train was made up of two
Pullmans, a day coach, a combination baggage car and coach for Negro
passengers, and a mail car. As day
was breaking and before it was light
enough to see plainly, the train came
to a stop. Something had gone wrong
with the coupling which connected
the forward end of the mail car with
the tender of the engine, and the locomotive shot ahead, leaving the six
cars of the train dead on the track..
Both Trains Were Late.
The Jacksonville express was two
and a half hours late and had been
closely followed out of Lynchburg by
the Washington and Southwestern
Vestibule Limited, bound for Atlanta,
which, too, was late and making up
time. Just north of Lawyers the coupling broke on the Jacksonville train
and the engine shot ahead, running a
mile beyond Lawyers before the engineer noticed what had happened and
stopped. It has not been definitely
settled whether the operator at Lawyers, seeing the engine pass and not
noticing that it drew no train, gave
the clear signal to the operator at
Rangoon, four miles north. It seems
probable that he did, for the operator
at Rangoon let the Atlanta train into
the block where the stalled cars of the
Jacksonville train lay.
The Atlanta train, struggling up
the grade, was making hardly forty
miles an hour, passengers who were
awake say. It could not be stopped
when the engineer saw the stalled
cars ahead, and the big locomotive
plowed through President Spencer’s
car, tearing it into matchwood. Then
it crushed and split wide open the
rear Pullman for nearly half its length.
On all the train no one was awake but
the operating crew and possibly some
of the passengers in the day coaches.
Of those in the private car none escaped except F. A. Merrill, President
Spencer’s private secretary, and a negro porter. Mr. Merrill was tossed clear
as the car burst open, and was picked
up unconscious beside the track. He
will recover.
Wreck Blazed Fiercely.
The wreckage was piled around
and on top of the engine as though
placed there by human hands to be
consumed, and in a moment it was
blazing fiercely. It is thought that
death was mercifully quick to President Spencer and his guests, for the
section of the car where they were
sleeping was crushed so that it seems
certain that all must have been mortally hurt at the first impact.
President Spencer’s body was found
beneath the engine, burned almost
beyond recognition, but so badly
crushed that he at least must have escaped the torture of fire.
Besides the guests of President Spencer, who were going with him to
shoot quail on his preserves at Friendship, N. C., wre the President’s private
dispatcher, D. W. Davis of Alexandria,
Va, and the negro cook and the porter. Though the Pullman ahead of the
private car was badly crushed, no one
of the passengers was seriously hurt.
The car which suffered most after
the private car was the combination
coach, in which seven colored passengers were seriously injured, one of
whom died in the hospital.
The complete list of the dead and injured follows:
The Dead.
PRESIDENT SAMUEL SPENCER.
ALLEN, LUCRETIA, colored, Danville,
Ga.; leg broken and amputated below
the knee, left arm badly broken; died
on the operating table.
DAVIS, D. W., of Alexandria, Va., private
dispatcher to President Spencer.
FISHER, CHARLES D., of Baltimore, Md.
132
SAMUEL SPENCER
Father of the Southern
Railway System - Continued
REDWOOD, FRANCIS T., of Baltimore,
Md.
SCHUYLER, Gen. PHILIP, of New York
City.
SHAW, J. W., colored, Spencer, N. C.,
fireman.
UNKNOWN person, who head and
limbs are burned off, who is believed
to be the cook on the private car,
who is missing; his name cannot be
learned.
The Injured.
BANE, PRESTON, address unknown.
COX, SAM, colored porter on the
private car, of 611 First Street, S. W.,
Washington, D. C.; leg broken.
CRUETT, J. W., Baltimore; the Supreme
Organizer of the Heprasophs; back
badly wrenched.
HOGLAN, “SON,” colored, Charlotte,
N.C.; badly bruised leg.
LOGAN, CORA, colored, Shelby, N. C.;
both legs broken.
MERRILL, E. A., New York City, private
secretary to President Spencer, head
and arms badly burned; will recover.
POLLARD, WILLIAM, Negro porter on
President Spencer’s car.
THOMAS, GARLAND, colored, Greensborough, N. C., leg broken and badly
bruised.
VAULS, P. E., colored, Waynesborough,
Va.; badly broken up and bruised.
WINSTON, WILLIS J., 233 East 127th
Street, New York City; leg broken.
The clearing of the burned wreckage around the locomotive quickly
brought to light the bodies of those
who died in the private car. Mr.
Fisher’s body, was that of President
Spencer, was burned almost beyond
recognition. Gen. Schuyler had been
instantly killed, and his body was
taken from under the train by passengers before it was burned badly.
The Work of Rescue.
When the engine of the Washington
& Southwestern drove into the rear
of the Jacksonville train, the impact
drove the combination car forward,
and the express car lifted up, together
with its trucks, and crushed the combination car for forty feet of its length,
leaving the remainder of the car
strewn with tons of baggage. The colored passengers were pushed back.
The combination car did not leave
the track, and in clearing the track the
express car was hauled to a siding a
mile distant on top and in the debris
of the combination car. How the negro passengers in this compartment,
which is known as the Jim Crow part
of the train, escaped death is beyond
explanation.
The negroes were unable to extricate
themselves from the baggage hurled
upon them and many would probably
have died but for the heroic rescue
work led by one of the passengers, F.
M. Curtis, a merchant of Jamestown,
N. Y. This man proved himself a hero.
He was going South on the Jacksonville train to High Point, N. C., to purchase Colonial furniture, and was one
of the first to recover his senses after
the shock of the collision.
He organized the passengers and
turned them to the work of pulling
the dead and dying from the smashed
cars. One of the first men picked
up was Dispatacher Davis. He was
crushed about the lower part of his
body and was conscious to the end.
He said to his rescuer that he knew he
was dying and the end was not far off.
“Place your finger on my mouth,” he
said, “it feels so cool and good.”
He pleaded with this man, who had
been in one of the forward cars, not
to leave him, and for ten minutes the
man stayed with him until he saw that
nothing more could be done.
Robbed the Dead.
One of the worst phases of the accident was the ghoulish work of a few
passengers and some of the porters
of the Atlanta train, who ransacked
the wrecked cars for plunder from the
dead.
Several cases were reported in which
not only the cars, but the injured lying
beside the track were robbed and a
large amount of valuables and money
scattered about the debris was taken.
Mr. Curtis says he saw a porter go
through a woman’s grip and throw
away those things of no value to
him and appropriate those things he
wanted. Mr. Curtis declared he would
certainly have killed the negro if he
had had a weapon.
In the drawing room in the rear of
the Pullman next to the prvate coach
were an Irish woman, whose name
could not be learned, and her 6-yearold daughter, en route with a party
of six to Aiken, S. C. That the mother
and child were not mangled seems
past human comprehension. When
the rescuers among the passengers
reached them they were covered with
at least two feet of wreckage. They
had been asleep with the crash came
and were thrown out of their berths,
but so far as they knew they were
not injured. The little girl when she
left this afternoon with the party still
clung to a rag doll and toy dog that
had gone through the wreck with her.
Curtis’s story of his own experience
gives a vid picture of the scene after
the crash.
“I was sleeping soundly,” he says,
133
SAMUEL SPENCER
Father of the Southern
Railway System - Continued
“when the impact took place. I awoke
and thought there had been an explosion. I did not dream of a rear-end
collision, despite the fact that I was in
the Pullman just ahead of the car occupied by President Spencer and his
party. I asked a friend, James Baum
of Chicago, who was traveling with
me, if he was all right. Finding that he
was unhurt, I got out of the berth to
ascertain what the trouble was. Getting into my clothes, I went out to find
President Spencer’s car already burning rapidly.
“Going back to the Pullman, I assured
the women and children, who were
frantic from fright, that all danger had
passed and hurried them into their
clothing and saw that they were safely
out. Then I went outside. The passengers were climbing out of the wreckage and I began to look for injured. It
appeared to me that the passengers
were dazed. Trainmen had gone to
protect us from another collsion from
other trains. I gave those around me
some pretty straight talk and we all
fell to work.
Patient Negro Sufferers.
“Men worked like beavers, and it is
impossible to tell how many persons were liberated from positions in
which they would have died. A thing
that struck me forcibly was the heroic
patience of the colored passengers
were were wounded. They were laid
out in the fields adjoining the railway
until he physicians arrived, where
they remained for an hour or more,
and not a complaint was heard from
them.”
Mr. Curtis has a valuable case of jewels
that a woman thrust into his hands in
the early excitement.
Curtis’s hands after his work was over
were torn and swollen. His shirt was
torn almost into shreds by the sharp
end of protruding splinters in portions of the cars through which he
chopped his way with an axe to liberate persons who were in danger of
being consumed by the fire.
the Southern officials, went this afternoon to the scene of the wreck to hold
an inquest, but he found the bodies
had been removed before his arrival.
He returned to his home in the suburbs, and to-night could not say what
steps will be taken to-morrow.
The first outside aid to the passengers
came from Lynchburg, and the last
embers in the burning heap of wreckage around the locomotive were put
out by a fire engine, which had been
rund own on a flat car attached to the
relief train from here.
The Jacksonville express had the right
of way in the block, and the engine
broke away from the train and proceeded two miles, one of which was
beyond Lawyers, before the engineer
noticed he was without his train.
Henry B. Spencer, a song of President
Spencer, and Sixth Vice President
of the Southern Railway, had been
awaiting his father’s party at Greensborough, N. C., and was one of the
first of the railroad officials to get the
news. He started north immediately,
and arrived at Lawyers before his father’s body had been removed.
If it is brought out that the operator
at Lawyers gave the operator at Rangoon a clear track when the engine
passed his station without noticing
that the engine did not carry rear end
markers, then the fault will lie at the
door of the operator at Lawyers.
It was reported at first that Engineer
Kinney of Spencer, N. C., who was in
charge of the engine of the Atlanta
train, was killed, but that proved to be
incorrect. Kinney suffered only a few
slight bruises and cuts, which were
dressed, and he did not go to the hospital.
This is especially true of the limited
approached the Rangoon block from
the north and received a clear track
from the operator before the detached engine could return to Lawyers. If this be true, then it is hard to
understand how the operator at Lawyers, knowing he had given Rangoon
a clear track, permitted to engine to
go back when the other train had a
prior right.
The rear train did not suffer injury and
its passengers escaped with a shaking
up and bruises.
In the absence of an official statement, it is generally thought that the
operator at Rangoon was at fault.
Cause of the Collision.
At 10:30 o’clock to-night it was reported from a reliable source that D.
J. Maddux, the operator at Rangoon,
who was on duty at the time of the
accident, had disappeared. Railway
officials are seeking him.
The lay of the land at Lawyers is such
that, had the Jacksonville train proceeded a mile or two south before
the coupling broke, there might have
been a longer list of killed. Beyond the
crest of the grad at Lawyers the road
drops into the valley at a corresponding grade, and the Atlanta grain, on
this stretch of track, undoubtedly
would have been running at fully sixty
miles an hour in the effort to make up
the two hours it was behind schedule.
Coroner W. J. Davis, at the request of
Vice President H. D. Spencer spent
several hours at the wreck until the
charred remains of his father were
taken from under the locomotive,
and then he came to this city with the
bodies. The car containing the bodies
was side tracked in the yard above the
city. Coffins were procured for them.
134
SAMUEL SPENCER
Father of the Southern
Railway System - Continued
These were placed in the private car
of President Stevens of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, who was passing through the city with his family,
and who surrendered his coach.
This car was attached to a late training going north and the bodies were
transferred to the coffins while the
train was in transit. This method was
adopted to prevent the removal of
the burnd [sic] remains in the presence of the large crowd at the station.
gunned for them exclusively. On the
preserve is a handsome lodge.
It is customary to hunt in parties of
two, and it rarely happened that there
were more than four hunters in the
field at one time.
Fourteen miles south of Greensboro
is Climax, another shooting lodge of
about 20,000 acres, which is owned
by Messrs. J. Swain Frick, Charles
Steele, J. Pierpont Morgan, and Robert Bacon, Assistant Secretary of State.
These preserves are about twenty-five
miles apart.
Relief was organized here as soon as
the news of the wreck came in over
the railroad wire. A special train was
made up carrying Drs. Terrell and Carroll, with assistants and medical supplies.
Another special took Drs. Taliaferro,
Barrow, and Rawlings an hour later.
The fire engine sent to the wreck was
delayed on account of a blaze on
Main Street, and was not dispatched
until 8:30 o’clock.
It did not reach the scene of the accident until an hour and a half later, because the relief train with the injured
passengers had the track between
the wreck and Rangoon, the nearest
telegraph office.
Mr. Spencer’s Preserve.
The game preserve at Friendship, N.
C., to which President Spencer and
his friends were bound, was owned
by Messrs. Spencer, Fisher, and William Johnston of Liverpool, England,
who has the controlling interest in the
fleet of steamers known as the Johnston Line.
he preserve is about nine miles south
of Greensboro, N. C., and contains
about 15,000 acres of land. Partridges
are plentiful there and the sportsmen
A copy of the original New York Times article will be soon available for
download on the SHGS MemWeb, as will a copy of the original “In Memoriam. . .” document.
Both will be .pdf versions of the image on the next page.
—Editor
135
136
BEGINNING WITH A QUERY—AND—ENDING WITH A QUERY
Richard and Rachel Spencer
Viola C. Spencer # 1861
Who are Richard SPENCER and Rachel SPENCER of Trumbull County, Ohio, in the early to mid-nineteenth century?
He was born about 1770 to 1775. She was born in 1778 or
1783. Are they the brother and wife or sister and husband
on your family tree who went West and were seldom, if
ever, heard from again?
Let me tell you what I have learned about my children’s
paternal great-great-great-grandparents.
Trumbull County, Ohio was part of the Connecticut Western Reserve. Most settlers came from Connecticut in the
years following the Revolutionary War. Many other settlers
came from Pennsylvania. One such family was headed by
John KEPNER and wife Elizabeth DUBS KEPNER. They arrived in 1805 from Cumberland County, Penna., and settled on farmland in Hartford Twp., Trumbull Co., Ohio.
In early 1806, the Trustees of neighboring Vienna Township instituted a Registry of Animal Marks. Each owner
devised his own pattern or design and these were recorded by the Town Clerk. One man who did so was Richard
McWILLIAM SPENER, on April 30, 1806 (yes, the Registry
spells the man’s name SPENER); thus proving that this person was a resident of Vienna Twp. on that date. He has not
been found in any census for the County. Was he our Richard SPENCER?
Richard SPENCER appears only in the 1830 Federal Census,
for Hartford Township, Trumbull Co., Ohio. His neighbors
are not known as the census page available is an alphabetized list of persons enumerated. The household includes
one young-adult female and two small girls who may be
her children --in addition to the expected persons. Family
legend has it that there were no daughters born in that
generation. Perhaps either Richard or Rachel were previously married and the young woman is a daughter.
Two other men named Richard SPENCER are found in the
1830 Census. One is in Guernsey Co., Ohio, and the other
is in Greene Co., Penna. Both are proven to be not our ancestor.
Richard SPENCER does not appear in Land Records nor
on Tax Rolls so far in our search efforts. As for Trumbull
County’s voting registers for the focus period, they have
not survived.
Richard and Rachel had two sons: Alexander R. SPENCER,
born in 1813, and James SPENCER, born in 1819. Alexander married Mary KEPNER, daughter of John and Elizabeth
KEPNER, in November 1835. James married Harriet Lovina
HILL, daughter of John W. HILL and Mahala ALDERMAN
HILL, in December 1844.
In October 1846, the Vienna Township Trustees issued a
legal order, a Warning, for Richard and Rachel SPENCER to
leave the community. Suggestions have been found in research that they ad been evicted from land to which they
did not have title. The notes do not indicate where the land
was nor the date of such action. The Constable serving the
order found Richard ill. In consultation with sons Alex and
James SPENCER, the Trustees decided to let him remain
until recovered. Richard’s age was estimated to be 71 to
76 years. He was dead December 9, 1846, and was buried
in Brookfield Township Center Cemetery. Personal effects
sold at public auction on March 1, 1847, fetched $4.51 and
that sum was applied against the funeral expenses. The
rookfield Cemetery Graves’ Decorations Committee recognized Richard SPENCER as a Veteran of the War of 1812, but
as an “Out Of State Enlistee”. Rachel SPENCER then received
a Warning to leave by March 31, 1847.
Rachel SPENCER next appeared in the 1850 Federal Census
for neighboring Hubbard Township, Trumbull Co., Ohio.
She was in the household of Christiana HALL, an 85-yr. old
widow, and a 15-yr. old boy named Charles TRUSDALE. Rachel was 67 years of age. No kinship with either has been
established.
In the 1860 Federal Census, Rachel SPENCER was enumerated in the Vienna Township, Trumbull, Ohio household of Martin COOMBS, the husband of Amelia SPENCER
COOMBS, daughter of Alexander R. SPENCER and Mary
KEPNER SPENCER, and the granddaughter of Rachel SPENCER. Rachel was now 77 years of age.
In 1858, Rachel SPENCER was one of fifty persons who
founded the Payne’s Corners Christian Disciples Church in
Brookfield Township, Trumbull, Ohio. Church records indicate that she was from Carlisle, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, and that she was a weaver by trade. Her maiden
name was not recorded.
Rachel SPENCER died June 9, 1868, in the Brookfield Twp.
home of her son. Alexander R. SPENCER. She was buried in
the Payne’s Corners Church Cemetery. The Trumbull County Probate Court’s Death Record showed her age at 90
137
BEGINNING WITH A QUERY—AND—ENDING
WITH A QUERY
Richard and Rachel Spencer - Continued
years, 3 months, 6 days. That calculates to a birth of February 28, 1778. But by her reporting on censuses, she was 85
years (and 3 months, 6 days), making her birth year 1783.
Nothing is known about Richard SPENCER’s birth date, or
place, or parentage, or siblings, or date and place of marriage, or date of arrival in Trumbull County, Ohio, or from
where he came. Y-DNA research resulted in a closer match
to a John BOOKER born about 1800 in South Carolina than
to a SPENCER who is a member of SHGS.
Nothing is known of Rachel SPENCER’s parentage, with no
confirmation that Carlisle, Cumberland County, Penna. is
her birthplace. Is she related to John KEPNER or to Elizabeth UBS KEPNER?
This long search began with a Query, and ends with the
same Query—but with more information available about
this intriguing couple. I would really appreciate any information which would help with research on these two dear
ancestors.
Viola C. Spencer
13050 N. 100th Avenue
Sun City, AZ 85351-2850
e-mail: [email protected]
SPENCER MILITARY NOTES - Misc.
Submitted byTerri Spencer #1882
Soldiers of the Cherokee War1
Spence, Stephen SGT, Tennessee
Waterhouse’s Co - Lauderdale’s BTN TN MTD INF
Spencer, James
•Recommended Ensign “in Robert Hensley’s old Company”, 2nd Batt., 105th Reg., 19 Nov 1805.
•Commission as Ensign dated 6 Jan 1806, per Officer
Roll, 105th Reg., 1808
•Muster fine, “Ensign”, 105th Reg., 1808, $2.00.
•Resigned; replaced as Ensign by John Warfield, 15 Nov
1808.
Index of Militia Men 1798-1835
Spence, William
•70th Reg., 1822
1812 Militia of Virginia for the Shenandoah
Valley3
Spence, William, Private
Captain Daniel Hoffman’s Company 8th Regiment
Time of Service 25 Days
Spencer, William, Private
Time of Service 1 Month, 11 Days
Pay Roll Record
Of a Company commanded by Ensign Walker Stewart,
of the Eighth Regiment of Virginia Militia, Rockbridge
County, of the “Flying Camp”, commanded by Colonel
James McDowell, From 6th July to 16th August 1813.
Spence, William, Private
Captain Archibald Stuart’s Company—Ninety-third
Regiment
Time of Service 18 Days
Spencer, Edm’d, Private
51st Regiment Virginia Militia
Time of Service 2 Months, 25 Days
Spencer, Isaac
51st Regiment Virginia Militia
Time of Service 2 Months, 25 Days
Spencer, Thomas I. PVT, Georgia
Campbell’s Co - 1 GA MIL - Stokes’
The Militia of Washington County, VA2
Index of Militia Officers 1777-1835
1. “Volunteer Soldiers in the Cherokee War 1836-1839”`
Mountain Press, 1995
2. “The Militia of Washington County, VA”
Gerald H. Clark, Mountain Press, 1979
3. “1812 Militia of Virginia for the Shenandoah Valley”
Mountain Press 2005
138
SPENCER MILITARY NOTES Continued
August 7, 1862—Skirmish at Wolftown, Va.5
Submitted byTerri Spencer #1882
Report of Lieut. Joseph H. Spencer
War of the Rebellion, Union Correspondence4
Thoroughfare Mountain
HEADQUARTERS, SIGNAL STATION,
Thoroughfare Mountain, August 7, 1862—a.m.
August 10, 1862—12.40 p.m.
General POPE or BANKS:
The enemy have moved their train back about 2 miles
on the Orange Court-House road, with a guard of three
regiments of infantry. They have a large park of wagons about 6 miles this side of Orange Court-House.
Their forces are now advancing slowly on our right.
SPENCER (Joseph H.)
Lieutenant and Signal Officer
Received at signal station, Fairfax [Culpeper], Va., 12.40
p.m.
PIERCE,
Lieutenant
Thoroughfare Mountain
Monday, [August —, 1862]—9.15 a.m.
ROWLEY:
The left flank of the enemy is on the Orange CourtHouse road, west of Slaughter Hill. They have a strong
position, the same as two days ago in a.m. Judge by
their camp smokes they have two columns—one on
the Orange Court-House road and the other on the
other side of the ridge next to the Rapidan River.
I cannot see the forces that are engaged; part of
their train was moved toward Orange Court-House
this a.m. Will report any changes.
SPENCER
61 R R —Vol XII, PT III
A skirmish is now going on about 4 miles south of the
mountain. The enemy have artillery and are shelling our
cavalry. Our side are fallingback.
SPENCER
Major-General BANKS.
GENERAL ORDERS
No. 24
HEADQUARTERS OF ARMY OF VIRGINIA
Rappahannock Crossing, VA, August 21, 1862
The major-general commanding takes occasion to acknowledge the very valuable services rendered by the
signal officers of this army, and the parties under their
charge, during the recent operations of this command
against the enemy and the engagement with him at
Cedar Mountain.
Second Lieut. Joseph H. Spencer, Second Minnesota
Volunteers, who during this period was stationed on
Thoroughfare Mountain, overlooking the camp of the
enemy, was at one time driven with his party from that
post by a regiment of rebel cavalry, but returned thereto
at great personal risk and re-established his station within
two hours thereafter. The information furnished by him
from this station was of an important nature, and assisted
materially in the prosecution of operations.
First Lietuentant Brooks, Fourth Vermont Volunteers, and
First Lieutenant Adams, Sixty-sith New York Volunteers,
during the entire action on Cedar Mountain were posted
on the field of battle. First Lieeut. E. C. Pierce, Third Maine
Volunteers, stationed at Culpeper, and First Lieutenant
Wilson, Fifth Pennsylvania Reserve Corps, by their energy
and universal attention to duty during this time in furnishing and receiving signal messages, rendered valuable
service to the major-general commanding the army.
By command of Major-General Pope:
4. War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official
Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Series
I—Volume 12—In Three Parts. Part III. Correspondence,
Etc., Operations in Northern Virginia, West Virginia, and
Maryland, March 27-September 7, 1862. Shenandoah
Campaign, Cedar Run, 2d Bull Run. Washington: Government Printing Office. 1885.
GEO. D. RUGGLES,
Colonel, Assistant Adjutant-General, and Chief of Staff
5. War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official
Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Series I—
Volume 12—In Three Parts. Part II—Reports. Operations
in Northern Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland, March
17-Sept. 2, 1862.
139
William H.H. Spencer: A Civil War Soldier’s
Personal Experiences and Political Manifesto
By Charles S. Spencer, #1022
A friend who regularly volunteers with me at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., has found three remarkable
letters from a Union soldier named Spencer to his parents at home in Illinois. My friend and I are part of the Civil War
Conservation Corps (CWCC), a volunteer group now in its fifteenth year of processing Civil War records to make them
more accessible to researchers across the country and around the world. The Archives has already microfilmed several
large document groups with help from the CWCC, including selected Union Army volunteer regiments’ compiled service records, all the U.S. Colored Troops’ compiled service records, and major parts of the Freedmen’s Bureau records.
Now we are working through more than one million Civil War Pension Applications.1 One thing that keeps us going as
Archives volunteers, year after year, is the occasional “eureka” moment when one of us discovers a hidden treasure such
as these three letters, long forgotten but well preserved and waiting to be rediscovered.
William H.H. Spencer was unmarried, so when he died in the army in 1864, his widowed mother qualified for a pension
of one-half of his soldier’s pay. Most of the information in this article was found in her pension file.2 It is unusual, but
not unheard of, for personal letters from the soldier, or even a photograph of the soldier, to be preserved in the pension
files, along with the legal documents and government forms that proved the survivor was eligible for a pension. As you
will see, the pension files can be a gold mine of family history.
William H.H. Spencer3 was a private in Company C, 16th Illinois Infantry. His father, William Spencer, was born in Massachusetts in 1815, and his mother, Eunice DeLacy, in Vermont in 1816. Their six children -- William, Henry, Joseph,
Caroline, Cyms (male) and Eunice -- all were born in Ohio between 1838 and 1852. But some time before 1860 the family moved to Quincy, Illinois, where the father was employed as a store clerk and auctioneer.4 About 1857 the father’s
health failed and he was unable to work, so at age 17 the oldest son, William, became the sole support of the family. He
continued to be the sole support after he enlisted in the Union Army in May, 1861, for three years.
The 16th Illinois went off to fight Confederates and guerillas in Missouri for most of a year, then was sent to West Tennessee and helped capture Corinth, Mississippi, in May 1862.5 That August William wrote home from an army camp in
Alabama, describing camp life, some surprisingly good meals, his strong opinions about preserving the Union, and his
caustic view of young men who refused to enlist: 6
Camp Near Tuscumbia Ala
Aug 13th /62
Dear Parents Sisters and Brother
yours of the 7th came to hand yesterday & was gladly received by
me. This leaves me well & I hope it may find you all enjoying the same blessing. I was much surprised to hear
of the disposition of the men about Quincy in regard to enlisting. if I had them to deal with their dieing & be1. The Widows’ Pension Application Files are being prepared for digitizing and placement on the World Wide Web. The CWCC opens
each file (some of them for the first time since they were compiled by Pension Office clerks over 100 years ago), arranges the papers in
proper order, and copies out the key information needed for indexing them. Then, after document conservators have stabilized the most
fragile papers in each file, the complete files are scanned into computers by volunteers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints (Mormons), who come to Washington specifically for this project. As the files are digitized, they are being made available to the
public on the website of Footnote.com. (The original paper files will stay in the National Archives.)
2. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Civil War Widows’ Pension Applications, Record Group 15, Widow’s Certificate
33,424 (Eunice Spencer).
3. Neither the census schedule (below) nor the mother’s pension file tell us what William’s middle names were, but it is a safe guess that
he was named William Henry Harrison Spencer. Harrison was a popular war hero and former senator from Ohio who lost a race for
president in 1836, but ran again and was elected in 1840. The family was living in Woodstock, Ohio, when William H.H. Spencer was born
on June 22, 1840. (The date is from the family Bible, quoted in an affidavit in the mother’s pension file.)
4. NARA, 1860 Population Census for Quincy, Illinois (M653, Roll 154, pp. 174 and 290). William H.H. Spencer, the oldest son, told the
census enumerator he was 22, but the date from the family Bible (above) probably is correct. By 1860 he had moved out of his parents’
home, was working as an omnibus driver, and was boarding in the home of the omnibus line proprietor. There may have been a seventh
child in the Spencer family. A David Spencer, 17 in 1860, was also living in the proprietor’s home and working as an omnibus driver.
5. These details of the regimental history, and those below, are from Frederic H. Dyer, A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion, 1979
reprint (first published in 1908), page 1051.
6. These transcriptions by the author preserve the original spelling, capitalization, and punctuation (or lack thereof).
140
William H.H. Spencer: A Civil War Soldier’s
Personal Experiences and Political Manifesto - Continued
By Charles S. Spencer, #1022
ing buried decent would be played out for the hogs and dogs should pick their bones for them. it is a disgrace
to any able bodied young man to set at home at this moment when they are so much needed. I hear that
the plea of a great many for not enlisting is that we are fighting to free the negroes & let them loose amongst
uss. now this will do for a plea but any man of common sense knows better & no one but a fool will talk in
that way. I have no doubt but it will cause all the States to be declared Free States but the Slaves will never be
set free in the States nor has Congress Lincoln or any one else ever hinted at such a Thing except Some Swell
heads that were half Secesh. The army to a man are determined that this shall be the last war on account of
the negro.7 I do not know what a thing (for I cannot call him a man) can think of him self to sit at home now
as unconcerned as if all was at peace. for my part after what I have been through in the last fifteen months
& the abuse I have received (and I think this Regt has had its share) money would not hire me to lay down my
gun at this critical moment. death on the battle field would be far more preferable to me, than to sit at home
as no young able bodied man but a slink will do. I would rather see a relative of mine fall in battle than to see
him skulked away under his Mother’s wing like [a] scared chicken. if I were at Quincy now I think I could tell
some of the slinks whats the matter. if we had the required number of Troops now & made one grand dash
on the several different Strong holds of the South in my opinion the war would soon be at an end. I would
be glad to hear of the young ladies through all the different States doing as they have in Some parts & that is
urging young men to enlist & shameing those that will not. for the tongue of wimen is hard to contend with.
The South acknowledge that this is all that has kept them up this long. one of the 10th Mich[igan] was shot
yesterday by a citizen while guarding his house & property. what will be done with him I do not know. This
is the first of their insolence since we came here. There is a fiew guerillas around here but they keep shy. our
men bring in about forty loads of cotton a day that we have taken from the Rebels. we have good Times now
forageing on the Enemy & get a plenty to eat. yesterday for dinner in my mess we had plum pudding plum
pie corn fixed in Camp Style Soup meat & biscuit &c all of my make. I should have been glad to had you all
here to took dinner with me. There is no end to peaches & apples here. The Troops are improveing in health
& also in Spirits for we now see the Government is going to work right. I have not heard from H for some time
but expect to in a day or two. he is at Iuka about thirty miles from here.8 The Paymaster is here & we will get
our money in a day or two & I will send you what I can spare the first chance.9 I had a letter from Caroline10
some ten days ago. She was well. I was sorry to hear that Caltha was going to get married for my hopes are
all blasted forever.11 I received a letter from Mr Hoskins & also from Minnie a few days ago she was well & in
good Spirits & Clary can tell you how he is give my respects to all true Patriots & my love to the family. I must
halt for want of room. Wm H H Spencer
7. Being from Illinois (Lincoln’s home state), Spencer probably was very familiar with the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858 about
the constitutionality and morality of slavery, and whether or not to extend slavery to the new states in the West. (He could well have
witnessed the debate in Quincy on October 13, 1858, when he was 18.) In this letter, he apparently is reflecting both Lincoln’s moral
abhorrence of slavery and the widespread fear and dislike of black people among the majority of white Northerners. His belief that the
war would eventually make all states “free” (non-slave) was prescient, for Lincoln’s intention to issue the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation later that year was still a well-kept secret in August. Spencer’s confidence that “the slaves will never be set free in the States” is
even more interesting. He seems to be saying that even though the slaves will be legally free after the war, they will either be kept on the
plantations in the South or, perhaps, shipped out of the United States entirely, but not allowed to move north to mingle with the white
populations there. In this also the soldier was prescient, for it was not until the early 20th Century that large numbers of African Americans began their epic migration to Northern cities in search of better employment.
8. “H” may be William’s younger brother Henry, serving in another Illinois regiment. “H.T.” in the third letter may be the same person;
Henry’s middle initial does not appear in the census or the pension file.
9. This sentence is underlined in pencil, probably not by the soldier but by the mother’s attorney, who may have persuaded her to part
with several of her son’s last letters home, to prove to the pension office that she had been financially dependent on his income.
10. Caroline was William’s sister, only 16 in 1862, but apparently already living apart from her parents.
11. Caltha Dalbey and her father, Daniel R. Dalbey, had boarded in the Spencer home in Quincy at one time and had been neighbors
since about 1857. Caltha was seventeen when William enlisted in 1861. 1860 Census and affidavit of Daniel and Caltha Dalbey in Eunice
Spencer’s pension file.
141
William H.H. Spencer: A Civil War Soldier’s
Personal Experiences and Political Manifesto - Continued
By Charles S. Spencer, #1022
Two weeks later, William wrote home again. He was now on the march from Alabama to Tennessee, but again described
camp life in terms of the fat of the land:
Camp near Florence Ala
Aug 30th /62
Dear Parents Sisters & Brother
with much [ ? ] do I sit down this beautifull morning to answer your
letter which came to [ ? ] about an hour ago. This leaves me well & I hope it may find you all the same. we are
agane on the march but our place of destination is not known but it is generaly thought to be in the vicinity of Cumberland Gap Tennessee. one thing is sure we have fifteen days rations in our wagons and it most
likely will take us about that time to make the trip. we started yesterday and have crossed the Tenn River &
are awaiting for the balance of the Troops to cross which will take them until tomorrow or next day & then
we shall again proceed on our journey. The men are in good health & spirits & as to our being on half rations that is not so. we have had full rations besides the privilege of taking anything eatable that we could
get. day before yesterday our Company went out with a team & brought in severel bushel of peaches about
forty turkeys & chickens & four sheep so you may know whether we starve or not. I wish you could see us this
morning for I know it would amuse you. we are in the timber without a tent to the Regt & the men are some
lying some standing some with a peace of meat on a stick broiling it others roasting corn others with a hard
cracker in one hand & a peace of meat in the other gnawing away as busy as a squirel & you may imagine you
see me sitting on the ground with my portfolio on my lap, & the marks will tell the rest, & all seem as happy as
if they were sitting at home in the parlor. but I must close give my respects to all. direct as before. I have sent
35 dollars which I suppose you had not received when you wrote.12
you need not feel uneasy if you do not hear from me again for some time for I will have a poor chance
to write. give my respects to Mr. H & H. nothing more at present but remain
Wm H H Spencer
The 16th Illinois marched to Nashville, not Cumberland Gap, and stayed in Middle Tennessee for almost a year. William
Spencer’s third surviving letter was written from Nashville eight months after the second, and it related a terrifying and
shocking skirmish he had personally witnessed:
Camp Edgefield
April 25th /63
Dear Parents
your kind letter came to hand a few days ago & as I have a
few leasure moments now I will try to answer it. my health is excellent & all is going well with us here. Since I
last wrote you I have been in the worst scrape that ever I got my head into yet. or ever wish to agane. it was
with the Rebs about nine miles from this place on the Chattalooga R R. the guerillas five hundred strong attacked the passenger train while on its way from Murfreesboro to this place (Nashville) captured & burned it &
robbed men wimen & children citizens and Soldiers Sick & wounded of every thing of value about them. Such
as money watches watches over coats blankets boots shoes hats & every thing of the least value. in the fray
they killed two of their men who were prisoners on the train & then set fire to the train and left their men to
burn in it. This was the most horrible sight that I ever beheld. it does not affect me much to see a man shot to
pieces but when I see them burned untill their bones are bare & that too by their own men it makes my blood
run cold & then starts it to boiling. when I looked upon this sight it made me crazy mad & if a Reb had had
the misfortune to have fallen into my hands then his chance would have been slim. & will be now henceforth
& forever more as long as they dare to raise the puny arm of Rebellion against this Government which was
formed by our fore Fathers cemented by their blood & to make it more permanent & lasting it is now being
cemented by ours. This was not only a disgracefull affair to the Rebs but to our men as well for leaveing the
train without makeing any resistance. The Train Guard numbered forty:six & had in their charge forty Confed
12. This sentence was also underlined later, probably for the same reason as in Note 9.
142
William H.H. Spencer: A Civil War Soldier’s
Personal Experiences and Political Manifesto - Continued
By Charles S. Spencer, #1022
prisoners & the mail matter from the Army in front but instead of defending them as long as there was a man
to raise a gun as true & brave Soldiers would have done they run like a pack of Scared [wolves?] their officer in
the lead. & the Confed prisoners as fast the other way. but do not for a moment think the Guard were from
the 16th Ills. our motto is do or die in the attempt. & not to die running either. the runaways were of the
10th Michigan. they lost seven killed & 11 wounded one of the latter has since died. the [ ? ] of the Rebs is not
known but from the blood in the brush it must have been equal to ours. it is supposed that the thieves got
about 150,000 thousand dollars from the mail & those on the train. one man & myself stood by the train until
all the other Guards were nearly out of sight & the Rebs were within fifty yards of us on three [ ? ] & finding it
madness to resist any longer we took leg bail & left until the thieves had done their work & skedaddled when
we returned to the scene of the disaster to assist the sick and wounded. one thing which surprised me when
I agane got cool was how my partner & me escaped the storm of bullets that were hurled after us. I have just
got paid off & will send you 60 dollars enclosed in this & in care of Tony Pinkard who lives in Quincy.13 I have
just received a letter from H T. he is well. the mails are very irregular so you need not expect letters very often.
I have letters that have been due two months & have not yet arrived but I must close. excuse scribbling as
I written in haste. my respects to friends & my love to the family. write soon. nothing more at present but
remain your Son
William Spencer
By December 1863 the men of the 16th Illinois had served two and a half of their three-year enlistments, and were offered a bounty of $100 and a month’s furlough at home, if they would reenlist for another three years. William Spencer
signed the papers in camp at Kelly’s Ferry, Tennessee, and was promptly promoted to corporal.14 His ailing father died
while William was at home on furlough in January 1864. Returning in February to his regiment near Chattanooga, he
soon found himself with Sherman’s army in the slow, brutal campaign to capture Atlanta. William H.H. Spencer was
killed in a skirmish near Marietta, Georgia, on July 4, 1864.
His mother, Eunice Spencer, was granted a pension of $8.00 a month on October 26, 1864, retroactive to the date of her
son’s death. She continued to draw the pension, with statutory increases, until her death in 1888 at age 72. Her second
son, Henry Spencer, apparently also served in the Union Army, survived the war, and married about 1865. Another son,
perhaps Cyms, is also reported to have enlisted near the end of the war (he would have been 17 in 1865), married after
the war, and was living in Indiana in 1878.15
POSTSCRIPT: The author does not believe he is related to the Spencer family in this article. However, he would appreciate hearing from anyone who is descended from them. Please contact the author directly at [email protected].
13. This sentence was also underlined, as in Note 9.
14. NARA, RG 94, Compiled Service Records of Union Volunteer Soldiers, Record of William H.H.Spencer.
15. Report of Special Agent on the circumstances of the Widow Spencer, dated October 12, 1878, in her pension file.
143
SPENCER Discussion List and SPENCER Message Board
They’re Free!
SPENCER Discussion List
Just a reminder - if you are not already a subscriber to the SPENCER List on RootsWeb, you are missing a
great opportunity to be in contact with numerous Spencer cousins who communicate and try to help each
other resolve various lineage dilemmas.
There are literally thousands of surname lists and county lists to which you may subscribe, including the
Spencer List, and it is a free service of RootsWeb.com. When an individual posts a query to the Spencer
List, it is automatically distributed to everyone who is a list subscriber. Queries and answers are sometimes
rather colorful and interesting, and only those who subscribe receive the postings. RootsWeb’s spam filters
and virus protection are first-class so that is not a concern to subscribers.
To subscribe to the Spencer List, send an email to: [email protected] with the single word
“Subscribe” in the message Subject and the body of the email - nothing else.
SPENCER Message Board
The Spencer Message Board is a place to post queries and browse past postings, and it functions much like
the old bulletin board system when the Internet was first gaining popularity. No subscription is required to
participate in a message board, and posting is simple. It is a free service of Ancestry.com, and it provides
the opportunity to exchange information on various surnames and topics.
To view postings on the Spencer Message Board, go to http://boards.rootsweb.com/ and type “Spencer” in
the surname box.
From the Registrar
There are two important items of note from SHGS Registrar, Debbie Diekema #1999:
• Please submit dues by check or money order only. Do not send cash.
• Keep Deb informed of any address changes, including your email address. All notifications regarding
website changes, membership changes, and publication of le Despencer will be done via email, so make
sure you notify Deb as soon as possible. Contact Deb at [email protected].
144
le Despencer Data Submission
Le Despencer disclaims responsibility for errors made by contributors, but does strive for maximum accuracy. Articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the Spencer Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc. or the editor of Le Despencer. Each contributor in the journal is responsible for his/her article not violating existing copyrights. Permission to publish copyright
materials shall be obtained in writing by the contributor giving SHGS rights to use the material.
Submit all journal material to [email protected]. Accepted text and graphics formats
are as follows:
•.doc, .txt
•.htm, .html
•.wpd, .wps
•.pdf
•.rtf
•.xls
•.bmp
•.png
•.eps
•.psd
•.gif
•.raw
•.tif, .tiff
•.jpg, .jpeg, .jpe
While I will always try to preserve the format of submitted items, it is important to keep in
mind that unlike the previous method of compiling the journal, I use a professional publication program and either cut and paste or retype submitted material.
Please note that graphics files (photos, maps, etc.) are best utilized if sent separately from the
text file. Though I can use the file if the graphic is embedded in the text file, I still have to separate the two in order to place properly into the journal pages.
It is my hope that members will submit articles regularly. Do not hesitate to contact me if you
have any questions.
Thank you!
Terri Spencer #1882
Editor, le Despencer
145
Spencer Historical and Genealogical Society
Founded 1978 as the Spencer Family Association
President
M. G. (Jerry) Spencer #1487A
3214 Wintergreen Court
Grapevine, TX 76051-4241
[email protected]
Vice President
Robert L. “Bob” Sanders #1833
3061 Knotty Pine Drive
Pensacola, FL 32505
[email protected]
Editor and Webmaster
Terri Spencer #1882
P. O. Box 150242
Alexandria, VA 22315-0242
[email protected]
Secretary
Diane Rhine #2109A
12455 Eben Road
Industry, TX 78944-5124
[email protected]
Librarian
Mary Spencer Post #2107A
246 CR 2223 N
Cleveland, TX 77327-1301
[email protected]
Treasurer
Patrick Spencer #0019
2598 7-1/4 Avenue
Chetek, WI 54728-6309
[email protected]
Corporate Data Manager
Sharron Spencer #1487B
3214 Wintergreen Court
Grapevine, TX 76051-4241
[email protected]
Registrar
Debbie Diekema # 1999
68281 Birch St.
South Haven, MI 49090-9780
[email protected]
Indiana Corporate Agent
David H. & Beth Spencer #94
123 Vail Street
Michigan City, IN 46360-2543
[email protected]
Staff IT Consultant
James R. Hills, Jr. #1243A
4622 Banning Drive
Houston, TX 77027-4706
[email protected]
Historian
Leon B. Spencer #472
105 Bryan Street
Prattville, AL 36066-5340
[email protected]
SHGS Website
www.spencersociety.org
For more information, contact [email protected]
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Copyright © 2009 Spencer Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc., 123 Vail Street, Michigan City, IN 46360-2543