Individual Details
Sir Henry G. SPENCER
(1392 - 1476)
Henry Spencer, was born about 1392 in Badby, Northamptonshire, England, son of Thomas Spencer and Joan, daughter of Richard Pollock, of Kent, lived here.
Henry Spencer of Badby, Esquire, held certain lands and was lessee of the demesne and tithes of Badby under the Abbey of Evesham in the reign of Henry VI, and also during the reign of Edward IV, from 1451 to 1477.
The Spencer Family removed to Everdon. The death of William Spencer of Badby and Everdon on August 17, 1576 is noted in Baker's History. Henry died in 1476.[1][2]
Disputed Parentage
Beginning 1595, it was claimed that Henry Spencer was the son of Thomas Despencer. This, along with a number of other false pedigrees, was refuted by Horace Round in his 1901 Studies in Peerage and Family History.
Round describes the Spencer pedigree as, “a typical case of the Heralds' College providing a family, when it has acquired wealth, with arms to which it is not entitled on the strength of a pedigree concocted for the purpose”.[3]
Citing Round, The Complete Peerage dismissed the false Spencer pedigree as "an elaborate imposture," ... "incapable of deceiving the most credulous."[4]
The November 1902 edition of The Ancestor had some fun with the Spencer family's fake pedigree, describing them as, "that pushful house of shepherd kings" -- referring to the well-known origin of the family's wealth.[5]
In a more gentle tone, the March 1996 edition of Soul Search sadly noted that the forged pedigree, "obscures the real achievement of the Spencers of Althorpe. Alone, perhaps among the English nobility, the Spencers owed their riches and their rise not to the favour of a king or to the spoils of monasteries, nor even to a fortune made in trade, but to successful farming."[6]
Ancestral Note
Beginning with Henry, "de" was said to be omitted from the Spencer surname. But this may not be correct, since the connection between the DeSpencer and Spencer lines was refuted by John Horace Round in Peerage Studies and Allied Families. To demonstrate, note the following book excerpts and sources.
Source: Collin, A. (1785). Peerage of England, Vol.1 with Addenda by Sir Egerton Brydeges, K.J., 1812. NYC: AMS Pres Inc. 1970. pp. 382.
Thomas, the eldest son and heir of Nicholas, was father (g) of HENRY SPENCER, of Badby in com. Northampton, Esq. as appears by a (h) receipt (i), dated 13 Henry VI, for subsidies then paid to the King. Which HENRY took to wife Isabel, daughter and coheir of Henry Lincoln, from whom proceeded four sons, John, Thomas, William and Nicholas; and died about (k) 16 Edward IV, his last will and testament bearing date 1476, wherein he appoints his sons, John and Thomas, executors, and Isabel his wife overseer. The seal affix had the arms the family now bear, viz, quarterly in the first and third, a fret, over all, on a bend, three Escallops (l). He was succeded by his eldest son.
(g) Original proof wanting (h) Visit. com. Northampton praed (i) Query, whether this receipt is cited to prove that Henry was son of Thomas? (k) Visi. comm. Northampton, praed.
(l) If this fact be ascertained, it is a very stong case. In the above, Collins' himself doubts the connection of Henry, son of Thomas, son of Nichols, son of Sir John le Despencer, son of Geffrey le Despencer, son of Geffrey le Despencer, son of Thurstan le Despencer, son of Almaric le Despencer, son of William le Despencer, son of Robert le Despencer, who came with William the Conqueor in 1066.
(My notes: No where else in this Volume, Vol. 5 or Vol. 7 do we seen any mention of this Henry and his wife Isabel.
Source: The Worthies of Warwickshire, who lived between 1500 and 1800, by Frederick Leigh Colville, M.A., printed by Henry T. Cooke and Sons, London: J.R. Smith, Soho Square, prefaced by Lee Wooton, December, 1869.
The history of the SPENCERS' begins on page 706 with Sir John Spencer (d.1522) of Snittenfield, later of Wormleighton and Hodell and Althorp. The lineage in this volume descends to Henry Spencer, 3rd Lord Spencer, and 1st Earl of Sunderland. He succeeded his father, Sir Robert Spencer, 1st Lord Spencer (d.1627 Wormleighton).
Sir Henry succeeded his father in 1637, and died at the Battle of Newbury in 1643 .[7]
In his disertation, Round (n.d.) attempts to disprove the connection between the Le De Spencer and Spencer lines.[8] He mentions where:
"The family of Spencer of Wormleighton and Althorpe recorded in its pedigree at the Hearlds Vistionation of the County of Northampton in 1564 (H.IV in Coll.Arms) beginning with Sir John Spencer of Hodnell (d.1521), in the County of Warwick Kt.
At that time no pretension was made to a descent from the Despencers or of any relationship to the Earls of Winchester and Gloucester, nor was there the least similitude in the arms.
In 1595, Clarencieux Lee made a pedigree for the then Sir John Spencer of Wormleighton and Althorpe. In it, the descent is close to Dugdale's record. He professes to have complied it from diverse records, registers, wills, and other good sufficient proofs which he carefully researched, and in his character of Clarencieux King of Arms he confirms and allows it officially. Whatever proofs he ... examined, I confess that I cannot give implicit credit to his work".
On pps 325 and 326 we find: "One must repeat that Lee's deeds and persons may be genuine, but that he connected and combined them at his own sweet will,[9] and that his wife's name was Isabel; for, although it has been supposed that there is now no evidence for this Henry, I have found Henry Spencer of Badby", with Isabel (Lincoln) his wife, occurring in 1468.[10]
Henry SPENCER (d. 1477/8) of Badby, Northants. m. Isabella LINCOLN.
Son William m. Elizabeth EMPSON and became ancestor of Pres. F. D. ROOSEVELT, Sir Winston SPENCER-CHURCHILL, Lady Diana (SPENCER), Princess of Wales, and her sons Prince William and Prince Harry.
Son Thomas m. Margaret SMITH became ancestor of Pres. WASHINGTON and Pres. F. D. ROOSEVELT.
Son John, as noted below, became ancestor of Pres. COOLIDGE and Pres. BUSH.
BIOGRAPHY: 19th gen. desc. of Alfred 'TheGreat' 21st gen. desc. of Charlemagne
!Henry died in the 16th year of the reign of Edward IV, A D 1477. His last will and testament was dated 1476. He appointed his sons, John and Thomas, as executors of his will. It is about this time that the prefix "De" was omitted from the name and ever since the name has been "Spencer." He was of Badby, Co. Northampton, England.
DESCENDANTS OF HENRY SPENCER TAKEN FROM "ANCESTORS OF AMERICAN PRESIDENTS" BY CARL BOYER, 3RD, 1995.
-- MERGED NOTE ------------
BIOGRAPHY: 19th gen. desc. of Alfred 'The Great' 21st gen. desc. of Charlemagne
Henry died in the 16th year of the reign of Edward IV, A D 1477. His last will and testament was dated 1476. He appointed his sons, John and Thomas, as executors of his will. It is about this time that the prefix "De" was omitted from the name and ever since the name has been "Spencer." !He was of Badby, Co. Northampton, England.
Henry Spencer of Badby, Esquire, held certain lands and was lessee of the demesne and tithes of Badby under the Abbey of Evesham in the reign of Henry VI, and also during the reign of Edward IV, from 1451 to 1477.
The Spencer Family removed to Everdon. The death of William Spencer of Badby and Everdon on August 17, 1576 is noted in Baker's History. Henry died in 1476.[1][2]
Disputed Parentage
Beginning 1595, it was claimed that Henry Spencer was the son of Thomas Despencer. This, along with a number of other false pedigrees, was refuted by Horace Round in his 1901 Studies in Peerage and Family History.
Round describes the Spencer pedigree as, “a typical case of the Heralds' College providing a family, when it has acquired wealth, with arms to which it is not entitled on the strength of a pedigree concocted for the purpose”.[3]
Citing Round, The Complete Peerage dismissed the false Spencer pedigree as "an elaborate imposture," ... "incapable of deceiving the most credulous."[4]
The November 1902 edition of The Ancestor had some fun with the Spencer family's fake pedigree, describing them as, "that pushful house of shepherd kings" -- referring to the well-known origin of the family's wealth.[5]
In a more gentle tone, the March 1996 edition of Soul Search sadly noted that the forged pedigree, "obscures the real achievement of the Spencers of Althorpe. Alone, perhaps among the English nobility, the Spencers owed their riches and their rise not to the favour of a king or to the spoils of monasteries, nor even to a fortune made in trade, but to successful farming."[6]
Ancestral Note
Beginning with Henry, "de" was said to be omitted from the Spencer surname. But this may not be correct, since the connection between the DeSpencer and Spencer lines was refuted by John Horace Round in Peerage Studies and Allied Families. To demonstrate, note the following book excerpts and sources.
Source: Collin, A. (1785). Peerage of England, Vol.1 with Addenda by Sir Egerton Brydeges, K.J., 1812. NYC: AMS Pres Inc. 1970. pp. 382.
Thomas, the eldest son and heir of Nicholas, was father (g) of HENRY SPENCER, of Badby in com. Northampton, Esq. as appears by a (h) receipt (i), dated 13 Henry VI, for subsidies then paid to the King. Which HENRY took to wife Isabel, daughter and coheir of Henry Lincoln, from whom proceeded four sons, John, Thomas, William and Nicholas; and died about (k) 16 Edward IV, his last will and testament bearing date 1476, wherein he appoints his sons, John and Thomas, executors, and Isabel his wife overseer. The seal affix had the arms the family now bear, viz, quarterly in the first and third, a fret, over all, on a bend, three Escallops (l). He was succeded by his eldest son.
(g) Original proof wanting (h) Visit. com. Northampton praed (i) Query, whether this receipt is cited to prove that Henry was son of Thomas? (k) Visi. comm. Northampton, praed.
(l) If this fact be ascertained, it is a very stong case. In the above, Collins' himself doubts the connection of Henry, son of Thomas, son of Nichols, son of Sir John le Despencer, son of Geffrey le Despencer, son of Geffrey le Despencer, son of Thurstan le Despencer, son of Almaric le Despencer, son of William le Despencer, son of Robert le Despencer, who came with William the Conqueor in 1066.
(My notes: No where else in this Volume, Vol. 5 or Vol. 7 do we seen any mention of this Henry and his wife Isabel.
Source: The Worthies of Warwickshire, who lived between 1500 and 1800, by Frederick Leigh Colville, M.A., printed by Henry T. Cooke and Sons, London: J.R. Smith, Soho Square, prefaced by Lee Wooton, December, 1869.
The history of the SPENCERS' begins on page 706 with Sir John Spencer (d.1522) of Snittenfield, later of Wormleighton and Hodell and Althorp. The lineage in this volume descends to Henry Spencer, 3rd Lord Spencer, and 1st Earl of Sunderland. He succeeded his father, Sir Robert Spencer, 1st Lord Spencer (d.1627 Wormleighton).
Sir Henry succeeded his father in 1637, and died at the Battle of Newbury in 1643 .[7]
In his disertation, Round (n.d.) attempts to disprove the connection between the Le De Spencer and Spencer lines.[8] He mentions where:
"The family of Spencer of Wormleighton and Althorpe recorded in its pedigree at the Hearlds Vistionation of the County of Northampton in 1564 (H.IV in Coll.Arms) beginning with Sir John Spencer of Hodnell (d.1521), in the County of Warwick Kt.
At that time no pretension was made to a descent from the Despencers or of any relationship to the Earls of Winchester and Gloucester, nor was there the least similitude in the arms.
In 1595, Clarencieux Lee made a pedigree for the then Sir John Spencer of Wormleighton and Althorpe. In it, the descent is close to Dugdale's record. He professes to have complied it from diverse records, registers, wills, and other good sufficient proofs which he carefully researched, and in his character of Clarencieux King of Arms he confirms and allows it officially. Whatever proofs he ... examined, I confess that I cannot give implicit credit to his work".
On pps 325 and 326 we find: "One must repeat that Lee's deeds and persons may be genuine, but that he connected and combined them at his own sweet will,[9] and that his wife's name was Isabel; for, although it has been supposed that there is now no evidence for this Henry, I have found Henry Spencer of Badby", with Isabel (Lincoln) his wife, occurring in 1468.[10]
Henry SPENCER (d. 1477/8) of Badby, Northants. m. Isabella LINCOLN.
Son William m. Elizabeth EMPSON and became ancestor of Pres. F. D. ROOSEVELT, Sir Winston SPENCER-CHURCHILL, Lady Diana (SPENCER), Princess of Wales, and her sons Prince William and Prince Harry.
Son Thomas m. Margaret SMITH became ancestor of Pres. WASHINGTON and Pres. F. D. ROOSEVELT.
Son John, as noted below, became ancestor of Pres. COOLIDGE and Pres. BUSH.
BIOGRAPHY: 19th gen. desc. of Alfred 'TheGreat' 21st gen. desc. of Charlemagne
!Henry died in the 16th year of the reign of Edward IV, A D 1477. His last will and testament was dated 1476. He appointed his sons, John and Thomas, as executors of his will. It is about this time that the prefix "De" was omitted from the name and ever since the name has been "Spencer." He was of Badby, Co. Northampton, England.
DESCENDANTS OF HENRY SPENCER TAKEN FROM "ANCESTORS OF AMERICAN PRESIDENTS" BY CARL BOYER, 3RD, 1995.
-- MERGED NOTE ------------
BIOGRAPHY: 19th gen. desc. of Alfred 'The Great' 21st gen. desc. of Charlemagne
Henry died in the 16th year of the reign of Edward IV, A D 1477. His last will and testament was dated 1476. He appointed his sons, John and Thomas, as executors of his will. It is about this time that the prefix "De" was omitted from the name and ever since the name has been "Spencer." !He was of Badby, Co. Northampton, England.
Events
| Birth | 1392 | Badby, Northamptonshire, England |  | ||
| Marriage | 1415 | Badby, Northamptonshire, England, United Kingdommap - Isabella LINCOLIN | |||
| Death | 1476 | Badby, Northamptonshire, England | |||
| Alt name | Henry LE DE SPENCER | ||||
| Title (Nobility) | First Earl of Sunderland - Sir Knight |
Families
| Spouse | Isabella LINCOLIN (1394 - 1479) |
| Child | Sir John SPENCER Earl of Sunderland ( - ) |
| Child | Henry SPENCER (1431 - ) |
| Child | Willem SPENCER (1435 - ) |
| Child | Sir Robert SPENCER 1st Baron of Spencercombe (1430 - 1502) |
| Child | Thomas F. SPENCER (1420 - ) |
| Child | William SPENCER (1422 - 1485) |
| Father | Thomas SPENCER (1335 - 1435) |
Endnotes
1. .