Individual Details
Hon. William Spencer
(Bef 11 Oct 1601 - Aft 4 May 1640)
WILLIAM SPENCER was baptised on October 11, 1601, in Stotfold, Bedfordshire, England, the son of Gerald and Alice (Whitbread) Spencer. He and three of his brothers emigrated to the American colonies. The earliest documentation available for William in America is as deputy from Cambridge to the General Court in May, 1632. No ships would have arrived in 1632 by then, showing his arrival by the end of 1631. He was one of the committee appointed May 9, 1632, at a meeting of the whole people to confer with the assistants about raising a common stock which soon led to the formation of a House of Representatives.
He was 30 years old then, and married Agnes Harris. The "Spencers of the Great Migration reports he returned to England to marry her about 1633 and then brought her back. William married Agnes in England sometime before 1633. They were the parents of at least three children, one son and two daughters.
Between 1633 and 1636 they came to America and settled in Hartford, Connecticut.
In 1633 William Spencer returned to England to bring back his wife Agnes. They returned on the ship "Marie and John" which was owned in part by John Alderman, Gent., of Ipswich, England. John Alderman was also part owner in other sea-going vessels which plied the Atlantic.
William served as a representative to the General Court of Massachusetts from 1634 until 1638.
While William was still in Massachusetts he was appointed by Governor Winthrop to serve as judge in Ipswich and Newberry in order that he might hold the courts in those precincts. William Spencer was one of the founders of "The Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Boston," which has continued to be the oldest military organization in America. He was appointed by Governor Winthrop with four others to raise a military company for the protection of the people of the colony.
He was one of the committee on fundamental laws in 1638. William was one of the first settlers of Hartford, Connecticut, moving there in 1638. He was immediately selected as one of the Representatives in that colony. Along with Mr. Wyllis and Mr. Webster, he was selected to prepare the first Code of Laws for Connecticut.
William Spencer's will was probated March 4, 1641. He partitioned his estate as follows: To his son, Samuel, one third; to his widow, Agnes, one third; to his daughters, Sarah and Elizabeth, one third. An inventory of the estate reveals the fact that he had accumulated a large fortune for those times.
He first settled in Cambridge, but was in Hartford, Connecticut by 1639. He was very active in the community and the Great Migration Begins shows many committees and positions he held in the community. He owned at least 11 parcels of land in Cambridge in 1635. He was the first to die, at a relatively young age of only 39, leaving three kids 1-7 years of age.
His widow, Agnes Harris, married, second,William Edwards in 1645, and he became the step-father to the Spencer children. By her second marriage, she became matriarch of the Edwards clan that includes Jonathan Edwards, the noted preacher of the Great Awakening, and Aaron Burr. Thus, descendants of William Spencer are half-cousins of their Edwards kin, by sharing Agnes Harris as their ancestral "mom." Agnes Harris is of royal descent. See Royal Descents of 500 Immigrants, by Roberts.
William and Agnes SPENCER settled at NewTown (Cambridge), MA in 1632, and he took the Freeman's Oath on Mar. 4, 1632/3. He was Deputy to the General Court seven times 1634-1638, Selectman in 1635, Lt. of the Train Band 1632, and charter member of the Ancient and Honourable Artillery Company in 1638/9. The family moved to Hartford, CT in 1639. [1]
Children of William and Agnes: Elizabeth married first William WELLMAN, and second Jacob JAY; Sarah married John CASE; and Samuel, Sr. married Sarah MEAKINS (a 4-great grandson, bibliophile William Augustus SPENCER, perished in the sinking of the Titanic).
5g grandfather of Harriett Beecher Stowe, through daughter Elizabeth and her husband Jacob Joy.
William died in 1640 in Hartford, Connecticut, only about 39 years old.
-------------------- William Spencer one of the original founders of Hartford, Connecticut with his brother Thomas and John Arnold. -------------------- William Spencer, Esq., of Lincoln's Inn, London, England, and of Boston, Massachusetts, 1631, one of the committee to form a body of laws for the government of the colony of Massachusetts, founder of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery. He was in Hartford in 1636 and prepared the first code of laws for the Connecticut colony.
He was 30 years old then, and married Agnes Harris. The "Spencers of the Great Migration reports he returned to England to marry her about 1633 and then brought her back. William married Agnes in England sometime before 1633. They were the parents of at least three children, one son and two daughters.
Between 1633 and 1636 they came to America and settled in Hartford, Connecticut.
In 1633 William Spencer returned to England to bring back his wife Agnes. They returned on the ship "Marie and John" which was owned in part by John Alderman, Gent., of Ipswich, England. John Alderman was also part owner in other sea-going vessels which plied the Atlantic.
William served as a representative to the General Court of Massachusetts from 1634 until 1638.
While William was still in Massachusetts he was appointed by Governor Winthrop to serve as judge in Ipswich and Newberry in order that he might hold the courts in those precincts. William Spencer was one of the founders of "The Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Boston," which has continued to be the oldest military organization in America. He was appointed by Governor Winthrop with four others to raise a military company for the protection of the people of the colony.
He was one of the committee on fundamental laws in 1638. William was one of the first settlers of Hartford, Connecticut, moving there in 1638. He was immediately selected as one of the Representatives in that colony. Along with Mr. Wyllis and Mr. Webster, he was selected to prepare the first Code of Laws for Connecticut.
William Spencer's will was probated March 4, 1641. He partitioned his estate as follows: To his son, Samuel, one third; to his widow, Agnes, one third; to his daughters, Sarah and Elizabeth, one third. An inventory of the estate reveals the fact that he had accumulated a large fortune for those times.
He first settled in Cambridge, but was in Hartford, Connecticut by 1639. He was very active in the community and the Great Migration Begins shows many committees and positions he held in the community. He owned at least 11 parcels of land in Cambridge in 1635. He was the first to die, at a relatively young age of only 39, leaving three kids 1-7 years of age.
His widow, Agnes Harris, married, second,William Edwards in 1645, and he became the step-father to the Spencer children. By her second marriage, she became matriarch of the Edwards clan that includes Jonathan Edwards, the noted preacher of the Great Awakening, and Aaron Burr. Thus, descendants of William Spencer are half-cousins of their Edwards kin, by sharing Agnes Harris as their ancestral "mom." Agnes Harris is of royal descent. See Royal Descents of 500 Immigrants, by Roberts.
William and Agnes SPENCER settled at NewTown (Cambridge), MA in 1632, and he took the Freeman's Oath on Mar. 4, 1632/3. He was Deputy to the General Court seven times 1634-1638, Selectman in 1635, Lt. of the Train Band 1632, and charter member of the Ancient and Honourable Artillery Company in 1638/9. The family moved to Hartford, CT in 1639. [1]
Children of William and Agnes: Elizabeth married first William WELLMAN, and second Jacob JAY; Sarah married John CASE; and Samuel, Sr. married Sarah MEAKINS (a 4-great grandson, bibliophile William Augustus SPENCER, perished in the sinking of the Titanic).
5g grandfather of Harriett Beecher Stowe, through daughter Elizabeth and her husband Jacob Joy.
William died in 1640 in Hartford, Connecticut, only about 39 years old.
-------------------- William Spencer one of the original founders of Hartford, Connecticut with his brother Thomas and John Arnold. -------------------- William Spencer, Esq., of Lincoln's Inn, London, England, and of Boston, Massachusetts, 1631, one of the committee to form a body of laws for the government of the colony of Massachusetts, founder of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery. He was in Hartford in 1636 and prepared the first code of laws for the Connecticut colony.
Events
| Birth | Bef 11 Oct 1601 | Stotfold, Bedfordshire, England, United Kingdom |  | ||
| Baptism | 11 Oct 1601 | Saint Mary's, Stotfold, Bedfordshire, England | | ||
| Marriage | Bef 1633 | England, United Kingdom - Agnes Harris | |||
| Will | Bef 4 May 1640 | Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut, British America |  | | |
| Death | Aft 4 May 1640 | Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut, British America | |
Families
| Spouse | Agnes Harris (1604 - 1680) |
| Child | Elizabeth Spencer (1633 - 1680) |
| Child | Sarah Spencer (1635 - 1691) |
| Child | Samuel Spencer (1639 - 1716) |
| Father | Gerard Spencer (1576 - 1645) |
| Mother | Alice Whitebread ( - ) |
| Sibling | Elizabeth Spencer (1602 - ) |
| Sibling | John Spencer (1603 - ) |
| Sibling | Henry Spencer (1605 - 1607) |
| Sibling | Thomas Spencer (1607 - 1687) |
| Sibling | Richard Spencer (1608 - 1614) |
| Sibling | Michael Spencer (1611 - 1653) |
| Sibling | Gerard Spencer (1614 - 1685) |
Notes
Will
The will has been dated March 4th as well as May 4th, so the month of execution is difficult to discern.Endnotes
1. Whittemore, Henry, Our New England ancestors and their descendants, 1620-1900 : historical, genealogical, biographical (New York: New England Ancestral Pub. Co., 1900, 88 pgs.), p. 54.
2. Jacobus, Donald Lines, The ancestry of Lorenzo Ackley & his wife Emma Arabella Bosworth (Woodstock, Vt.: N.G. Parke, 1960, 361 pgs. ), p. 11.
3. Jacobus, Donald Lines, The ancestry of Lorenzo Ackley & his wife Emma Arabella Bosworth (Woodstock, Vt.: N.G. Parke, 1960, 361 pgs. ), p. 11.
4. Lucius Barnes Barbour, Families of Early Hartford, Connecticut, reprint (Genealogical Publishing Com, 1977), 556; digital images, Google Books (http://books.google.com/books : accessed 26 September 2012.
5. , compiler, Colonial Connecticut Records 1636-1776 (: University of Connecticut, 2000-2001.
6. Anonymous, Welles and allied families : genealogical and biographical (1927, 333 pgs.: The Society, New York), p. 68.