Ens. William Spence, of Archer's Hope

Please note: WILLIAM SPENCE and WILLIAM SPENCER were two different men.

The two men, both "Ancient Planters," have often been confused with each other. Alas, the spellings were used interchangeably in some of the original records. Even the usually-reliable John Bennett Boddie confuses these two men.

William SPENCE arrived 1607, on the "Susan Constant." He lived at Archer's Hope, and was a member of the first assembly of the House of Burgesses for James City in 1619. By 1619 he bore the rank of Ensign. He and his wife went missing during the second Anglo-Powhatan War (reported by John Smith, 1622, verified by court order, 1626), and were eventually presumed dead. They left behind a three-year-old daughter, Sarah--Susan Bush was appointed her guardian.

William SPENCER arrived 1611, on the "Sarah," along with his wife Alice and his daughter, also Alice (she died young). He was Burgess of Mulberry Island in 1624 and in 1632-33 (please note, William SPENCE died c1623-24).

For more information about the difference between William Spence and William Spencer, see notes here: http://polenpoore.org/getperson.php?personID=I5107&tree=tree2

• Land Grants Track Farm Locations Family History October 01, 1994|By VIRIGINIA H. ROLLINGS Daily Press
  • "The first private land grant was a 12-acre tract at Archers Hope, awarded in 1614 to Ensign William Spence, "an honest, valiant, and industrious man and hath continued from 1607." Ensign Spence, who has been confused by researchers with Yeoman William Spencer and his wife, Alice, were reported among the slain at Archers Hope on James Island in 1622."
• Taken from: WILLIAM SPENCER AND THE WHITING FAMILY OF EARLIEST VIRGINIA By William Thorndale, C. G.. A.G. Salt Lake City, Utah
  • Sarah Spence was three years old when her parents disappeared during the Second Anglo-Powhatan War. By late 1624 the Virginia General Court had named an administrator for the Spence state, providing part of a succession of legal actions that supply important facts about some other early Virginians.
  • Jamestown Island in the early 1620's had a William Spence and a William Spencer, each with a wife and daughter. Despite anoccasional "r" dropped from Spencer or added to Spence, the two men are easily differentiated, since by 1619 Spence bore the rank of ensign. William Spence came in the first supply, was mentioned several times in John Smith's histories, served in the first Assembly, and as Ensign Wm. Spencer received appointment as a tobacco inspector.1 He and "Mrs Spence" appear in the 1624 census as "lost," and a patent of 12 Jan. 1624[/25] says Ensign Wm Spencer is deceased.2 Two days earlier a Susan Bush became guardian of Sarah Spence, orphan. 3
• Virginia Immigrants and Adventurers, 1607-1635: A Biographical Dictionary. By Martha W. McCartney. Page 662 "By April 27, 1627, Sara Spence was dead, and the Rev. George Keith of Elizabeth City was ordered to inventory her estate and pay her debts."