Lydia Spencer

Lydia Bailey

• BIRTH between 1659 and 1661, Hartford, Connecticut
• DEATH between 1701 and 28 Dec 1728 (aged 68–69) Haddam, Middlesex County, Connecticut
• Daughter of John Bailey & Lydia Backus (disputed)
• 1st wife of Nathaniel Spencer (d 1722) (son of Jared Spencer)
• also seen as Lydia Smith - was she first married to Thomas Smith? Evidence needed.

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Marriage to Nathaniel Spencer in 1681, in [Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts.]

Their 1st child, Lydia, was born in Lynn on 10 Aug 1682. By 1684, the family had moved to Haddam, joined the church, and had Lydia baptized there.

Other children of the couple, all born in Haddam:

1. Nathaniel - b. 15 Jul 1684
2. Elizabeth - b. 18 Jan 1686
3. John - b. 30 Mar 1688 - 1773 NY
4. Mary - b. 9 Jun 1692
5. Daniel - b. 20 Aug 1694
6. Susannah - b. 8 Nov 1696
7. Dorothy - b. 8 Mar 1699
8. Phineas - b. 20 Mar 1701 - 1760 NY

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• https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Unknown-551271
• Lydia (Bailey) Spencer's Profile
• Lydia Spencer formerly Bailey aka Smith?, Lester?
• Born about 1661 in Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut Colony
• Daughter of John Bailey Jr. and Lydia (Backus) Bailey [DISPUTED]
• Sister of John Bailey III, Ephraim Bailey, Elizabeth Bailey, Benjamin Bailey, Nathaniel Bailey, Susannah Bailey, Mary Bailey and Mary Bailey
• Wife of Thomas Smith (d 1674)
• Wife of Andrew Lester — married [date unknown] [location unknown] [NO]
• Wife of Nathaniel Spencer — married about 1681 in Haddam, Middlesex, Connecticut
• Mother of Lydia Spencer, Susanna Spencer, Nathaniel Spencer, Elizabeth Spencer, John Spencer, Daniel Spencer, Mary Spencer, Dorothy Spencer, Jonathan Lester, Phineas Spencer and Joel Spencer
• Died after 17 Jun 1696 in Haddam, Middlesex, Connecticut Colony

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In most references it is found that Nathaniel Spencer had two wives: 1/ Lydia (Smith or Bailey) and 2/ Hannah __________. If he has a second wife, then whoever Lydia was had to have predeceased him rather than showing a death six years after Nathaniel who was deceased by 1722.

Conflicting source information

John Bailey of Haddam & Lydia Bailey had a daughter Lydia, named in his Will without a surname. So it is unclear, who, if anyone, that Lydia Bailey married.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Bailey-685

Lydia’s birth is unsourced.

Lydia was married several times. (this is not confirmed by sources)

She was the wife of: Thomas Smith; Nathaniel Spencer, Sr. (These marriages are not confirmed)

There was a Lydia Bailey who married a Nathaniel Spencer by 1682 in Haddam, Connecticut.

17 Jun 1696 Haddam, Middlesex, Connecticut Other possible death dates: 2 Jan 1729

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Spencer-391

In most references it is found that Nathaniel had two wives: 1/ Lydia (Smith or Bailey) and 2/ Hannah __________. If he has a second wife, then whoever Lydia was had to have predeceased him rather than showing a death six years after Nathaniel who was deceased by 1722.

Torrey gives the wife as Lydia [Bailey?] and cites the following: TAG 27:171, 28:50; Ackley-Bosworth 13; Dawes-Gates 2:775; Reg. 61:60; Backus Anc.; Haddam VR 74; MaCDonough-Hackstaff 273; Goodwin: Gen. Notes 203; Spencer (,3) 20; Hartford Prob. 1:700[3]

Dawes-Gates II:775 gives his birthplace as Lynn, Massachusetts and lists wives as 1/ Lydia Smith (Thomas) and 2/ Hannah ___________ citing F F Starr, The Spencer Family, 1896, pp 5-13. Note: suspect typographical error with the footnote as the Starr work does not discuss Nathaniel Spencer.

Dewey (Dewey, Louis Marinus. John Bailey of Haddam, Conn., and Some of His Descendants, The New England Historical & Genealogical Register (NEHGS, Boston, Mass., 1907) Vol. 61, Page 60.) gives Lydia Bailey as marrying Nathaniel Spencer 1681 citing the Will of John Bailey of Haddam which he indicates lists her as Lydia but not with her married name. Citing Early Connecticut Probate Records I:234. < GoogleBooks >

Donald Jacobus in The American Genealogist 27:171 gives the wives of Nathaniel Spencer as "married first, about 1681, Lydia Smith, daughter of Thomas; married second Hannah _________." Notes all children by first wife. Torrey also cites TAG 28:50 but this appears to be in error.

In the Ackley-Bosworth genealogy p 13, edited by Jacobus sometime prior to 1960, we find Nathaniel Spencer as "m (1) abt 1681, Lydia Bailey; m (2) Hannah _________."

References

• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/58383226/lydia-spencer
• Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Oct 20 2017, 2:30:58 UTC

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• Updated from MyHeritage Family Trees via daughter Elizabeth Spencer by SmartCopy: Jul 22 2015, 20:54:19 UTC
• https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Unknown-551271 March 2022 shows her without parents, married to Nathaniel Spenser only, and deceased about 1721 in Haddam, Middlesex, Connecticut Colony
• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/58383226/lydia-spencer
• https://www.genealogy.com/ftm/s/m/i/Lr-Smith-R/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-030...
• http://bobaddleman.com/ketchum/spencer_family.html
• http://dunhamwilcox.net/source_files/spencer.htm “Mention in Will, Inv. or Prob.; 17 Jun 1696; Haddam, Middlesex Co., CT 60. Bequeathed 20 shillings in her father's will.”
• John Bailey of Haddam & Lydia Bailey had a daughter Lydia, named in his 1696 Will without a surname. So it is unclear, who, if anyone, that Lydia Bailey married. However, he names other daughters by married name, so it seems less likely she was the Lydia Spencer who married Nathaniel Spencer in 1681.
• Bailey, John sen., Haddam. Invt. 186-10-06. Taken 29 August 1696, By Daniel Cone, Timothy Spencer & James Welles. Will dated 17 June, 1696. “… To my Daughter Lydia ten shs given her pr ditto (William Backus) to buy her a Bible with (all)”
• The Great Migration Begins,” Jared Spencer sketch, shows Lydia Bailey, daughter of John Bailey, as first wife of Nathaniel Spencer. < image >
• New England Marriages to 1700. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015. < AmericanAncestors >
• CT Nutmegger, vol. 29, p.598: "Lydia Smith, dau. of Thomas Smith. (There was a Thomas Smith at Lynn who was a Freeman 1633 - very early. There was a Thomas Smith at Haddam in 1663, but may have had no wife or children). (Some writers have used the name "Lydia Bailey" for Nathaniel's first wife, but Lydia Smith was identifed in the will of John Spencer as a beneficiary for 20 shillings. Savage also identifies "Lydia Smith". Gerard Spencer had purchased property from Thomas Smith. The IGI, however, shows Nathaniel Spencer md. Lydiaj Bailey in 1681 at Haddam. Thus, we have unresolved identifications.