Hannah Spencer

http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~fesschequy/genealogy/Spencer2.html

in The American Genealogist, vol. 27 (1950), Donald Lines Jacobus noted, "In all my research I have never found a document that names Gerard Spencer's wife." The identification of Gerard's wife as the "Joannis" of Stotfold assumes that "Hannah" was the name of Gerard's wife. Gerard's second daughter was named Hannah, who perhaps was named after her mother -- but Gerard and his first wife also had daughters named Mehitable (the eldest daughter), Alice, Sarah, Elizabeth, Ruth, and Rebecca, any of whom could have been named for their mother. It could be that the oft-repeated statement that their mother's name was Hannah derives from a misinterpretation of a court document from a lawsuit of 6 March 1660/61 (see below) which refers to "Jared & Hannah Spencer" -- such would naturally be taken as a reference to a husband and his wife, but the background and occasion of the lawsuit, and chronological considerations, show that it is a reference to Gerard and his daughter Hannah. In The Great Migration Begins, genealogist Robert Charles Anderson speculates that Gerard's wife may have been named "Grace," noting that two of Gerard's sons named daughters Grace and that Gerard "made a special point of making mention [in his will] these two grandchildren when many other grandchildren were not mentioned." Be all that as it may, Gerard and his first wife had 12 children. In the database of the late George R. Spencer, Gerard's wife "Hannah" is said to have died in Haddam on 22 Oct. 1692. That date, however, is dubious to say the least, and other researchers have noted that Gerard's first wife must have died before her husband made his will in 1683, and perhaps much earlier (See Flora Clark's manuscript "Gerard-1, Thomas-2 SFA").

Hannah Hills married, as his 1st wife, 17 Dec 1636 at Lynn, MA, Ens. Gerard Spencer Jr., son of Gerard Spencer and Alice Whitbred. She "died before her husband made his will in 1683 and perhaps much earlier," says Jacobus.1

• _______________________________
• Hannah Hills
• F, #74443, b. circa 1618, d. 22 October 1692
• Hannah Hills was born circa 1618 at England. She married Gerard Spencer, son of Gerard Spencer and Alice Whitbread, on 17 December 1636 at Lynn, Essex, MA. Hannah Hills died on 22 October 1692 at Haddam, Middlesex, CT.
• Family Gerard Spencer b. 16 Apr 1614, d. 20 Jun 1685
• Child
  • Sarah Spencer+ b. 27 Jul 1644, d. b 16 Apr 1700
• From: http://our-royal-titled-noble-and-commoner-ancestors.com/p2477.htm#...
• __________________
• HILLS, Hannah
• b. ABT 1618 England
• d. 22 OCT 1692 Haddam Neck, Middlesex, CT.
• Family:
• Marriage: 17 DEC 1636 Lynn, Essex, Mass.
• Spouse: SPENCER, Jared
• b. ABT APR 1614 England
• d. 23 JUN 1685 Haddam, Middlesex, CT.
• Children:
  • SPENCER, John
  • SPENCER, Mehitable
  • SPENCER, Hannah
  • SPENCER, Alice
  • SPENCER, Sarah
  • SPENCER, Samuel
  • SPENCER, Elizabeth
  • SPENCER, Thomas
  • SPENCER, Timothy
  • SPENCER, Ruth
  • SPENCER, William
  • SPENCER, Nathaniel
  • SPENCER, Rebecca
• From: http://www.genealogyofnewengland.com/f_9c.htm#93
• ___________________
• New England families, genealogical and memorial; a record of the achievements of her people in the making of commonwealths and the founding of a nation; (1914) Volume 3 edited by William Richard Cutter
• http://archive.org/details/newenglandfamil01cuttgoog
• http://archive.org/stream/newenglandfamil01cuttgoog#page/n298/mode/1up
  • Spencer Pg. 1332 - 1334
• Pg. 1332
• Four brother named Spencer were living in New England in 1648, namely - Michael, Jared, Thomas and William. they were legatees of Sir Richard Spencer, of London, England, evidently their uncle. Michael settled first in Cambridge, then in Lynn, and owned land also on the Connecticut river. William settled in Cambridge and then went to Hartford, Connecticut. Thomas lived in Cambridge and Hartford.
• (I) Ensign Jared Spencer, son of Gerrard or Jerrard Spencer, was born in Stotfold, England, and baptized April 28, 1614. He came to New England in 1632 and was made a freeman of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, . . . . . He died in 1685. His will was dated September 17, 1683, and proved in 1685. He married Hannah ___, Children: John, born at Lynn in 1638; Hannah, 1640; Alice, 1641; Mehitable, 1642; Thomas, about 1650,; Samuel, mentioned below; William; Nathaniel; Rebecca, married (first) John Kennard, and (second) John Tanner; Ruth, married Joseph Clark; Timothy.
• __________________
• Our New England ancestors and their descendants, 1620-1900: historical ... By Henry Whittemore
• http://archive.org/details/ournewenglandanc00whit
• http://archive.org/stream/ournewenglandanc00whit#page/96/mode/1up
  • Spencer and Allied Families
• Pg. 49-84
• http://archive.org/stream/ournewenglandanc00whit#page/112/mode/1up
• Pg.57
• Gerrard or Jerrard Spencer, the founder of the Haddam and Saybrook, Connecticut families of this name, born in Stotfold, England, bap. April 28, 1614, was the son of Gerrard Spencer and nephew of Sir Richard. He came to New England in 1632, and was admitted March 9, 1637, a freeman of the Massachusetts Bay Colony March 9, 1637. He was a resident of Cambridge 1634, and owned land on the south side of the river. He removed to Lynn, and at
• "A .... etc. ... In June, 1656, he was chosen Ensign of the train band of Lynn, and in 1659 Grand Juror. He was in Connecticut the following year, as Simon Lobdell sued him and his daughter Hannah for damages because she refused to marry Lobdell.
• He was probably in Hartford for a short time. In .... He died in 1685, his will bearing date two years earlier.
  • The Last Will and Testament of Jarrard Spencer, of Haddam.
• "In the first place it is my will that all my lawful debts shall be payd concerning my estate that God hath left me. It is my will that my sons have after tbe rate of twenty and my daughters fifteen. I give unto my son William that land which I bought of Stephen Laxford's estate ; how I came by it the Court Records will show, I give unto my son William the third part of forty-eight acres, be it more or less, lying by that which is commonly called Mills his brook ; likewise I give unto my son William an acre of swamp mowing land adjoining to my house meadow lot, which particulars mentioned shall be all his part of my estate.
• I give to my son Nathaniel, and to his heirs, my now dwelling house in the lot with an addition lying by the side of it, granted by the committee : likewise I give my son Nathaniel one-third part of that lot formerly mentioned lying by Wells his brook, likewise I give unto my son Nathaniel an acre of swamp lying at the end of my meadow lott, and joining to his brother William formerly given ; likewise I give unto my son Nathaniel forty acres, which is a third part of six score acres, and this is to be his portion.
• "I give unto my daughter Rebecca that house lot I bought of Thomas Smith ; likewise I
• http://archive.org/stream/ournewenglandanc00whit#page/114/mode/1up
• Pg.58
• give unto my daughter Rebecca one-third part of that lott by Wells his brook, and this is to be her portion if she will accept it; if not to take what falls to her in the distribution.
• I give unto my son Thomas forty acres on Matchamoodus side, being part of that lot whereof his brother Nathaniel hath a share. I give unto my son Thomas his son, Jarrard Spencer, my rapier.
• "I give unto my son Timothy Spencer the remaynder of that six acre lot whereof his two brothers had their shares before, which six acres are those my sons shall choose. The other six acre-lot I dispose of as followeth, to Grace Spencer, the daughter of my son John Spencer, forty acres; to Alice Brooke, the daughter of my daughter Brooke, forty acres; to Grace Spencer, the dauughter of my son Samuel Spencer. I give the other forty acres. I give unto Jarrard Cone, the son of my daughter Cone, my carbine. A pewter flagon and rim bayson I give unto the chuch at Haddam, if there be one within five years after the date hereof. It is my will that my son John, his children, and my son-in law. Daniel Cone, his children, have an equal proportion of my estate with my other children. It is my will that however my estate falls out for portion to my children that my daughter Ruth Clark's portion shall be fifteen pounds, which was my covenant with her father at her marriage, which fifteen pounds she hath received some part of it as my books will testify. One thing I forgot : one feather bed which I give to my son Nathaniel.
• Dated Sept. 17, 1683. JERRARD SPENCER.
• .... etc.
• The children of Gerrard Spencer and Hannah, his wife, were
  • I. John, born at Lynn, Mass., 1638; died Aug. 3, 1682.
  • II. Hannah, born 1640; married Daniel Brainerd.
  • III. Alice, born 1641; married, 1st Thomas Brooks, 2nd Thomas Shailer.
  • IV. Mehitable, born 1642; married Daniel Cone.
  • V. Thomas, married Elizabeth Bates; removed to Westbrook before 1679.
  • VI. Samuel.
  • VII. William.
  • VIII. Nathaniel.
  • IX. Rebecca, married 1st John Kennard, of Haddam, about 1692; he died Feb. 1689; she married 2nd John Tanner, of Lyme, Conn.
  • X. Ruth, married Joseph Clark
  • XI. Timothy.
• ______________________________
• Families of Early Hartford, Connecticut By Lucius Barnes Barbour
• http://books.google.com/books?id=WJ_XiLoXvLkC&pg=PA558&lpg=PA558&dq...
• Pg.555
• Gerald Spencer s of Michael & Elizabeth bp May 26, 1575
• Pg. 556
• (Eng) mar Alice.
• children:
  • William bp Oct 11, 1601 m. Agnes
  • Thomas bp Mch 29, 1607 m/1 ( ) m/2 Sarah Bearding
  • Michael bp May 5, 1611
  • Gerald bp Apl 25, 1614 m. Hannah
• William Spencer s of Gerald & Alice bp Oct 11, 1601 (Eng) died 1640 mar Agnes who m William Edwards. Early member 1 ch. Name on Founders Mounument.
• children:
  • Sarah b. 1636 m. John Case
• _____________________________________

Links

• http://www.tributaries.us/secondsite/founders2-o/p2712.htm#i27117
• Families of Early Hartford, Connecticut By Lucius Barnes Barbour Pg.556
• __________________________

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GEDCOM Note

Ancestral Note

Identity of Wife of Immigrant Gerard Spencer. Is she Hannah Hills? And, if she is, what is her ancestry? I have seen on quite a few web pages that folks are showing Hannah Hills. The1950 series of articles in TAG on this family only identified her as Hannah ________, and even then, the author said he was quoting a previous published work, that he himself, had not seen any indication of where this given name came from. What is the source, or reasoning that this lady is our "mom"? ::The Town of Haddam Web Page shows Hannah Hills as the daughter of William Hills. That name appears on the list of original settlers of Windsor, Conn. However, William Hills was treated by Anderson in The Great Migration Begins and mentions no daughter named Hannah. The Spencers of the Great Migration Begins shows Hannah Hills as the wife, but only cites the IGI as a source. I don't believe this IGI is from a vital record, or researchers would have unearthed it by now, so I don't give it much credibility at this point. :: Conclusion thus far: No evidence she was a Hills. ::Spencer, Sources and Resources, Research Notes, Questions and Errata, Norris Taylor. [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~riss/baldwin/bw/s...]

Source

The Four Spencer Brothers - Their Ancestors and Descendants :: Ensign Gerard(1) Spencer, baptized at Stotfold, Beds, England, 25 Apr1614, died at Haddam, Conn., in 1685 (will 17 Sept 1683, proved 3 Sep 1685); married first, Hannah _____, who died before her husband made his will in 1683 and perhaps much earlier; perhaps married second, after 1677, Rebecca (Porter) Clark, baptized at Felsted, co. Essex, England, 16 Sep 1630, died 9 Jan 1682/3 (recorded at Saybrook), daughter of John and Anne (White) Porter of Windsor, and widow of John Clark of Saybrook. ::Gerard settled in Lynn, Mass., later came to Hartford and thence to Haddam, Conn. There are several good accounts of him and his family in print, but some of them omit the daughter Sarah, proved by an undated deed in Haddam Deeds [1:49] given by "Steuen Backas with my wief Sarah of Norwich" to Daniel Brainerd of Haddam of one acre "that fell to us by portion of the estat of our fther Garrard Spencer." :: The second marriage is suggested for Gerard because there was, byelimination, no other adult Spencer in Connecticut of proper age to bethewidow Clark's husband (and unencumbered with a wife know to be living)execpt his brother Thomas, who was an older man and resident at a greater distance from Saybrook. Nevertheless, she may have been a third wife of Sergt. Thomas Spencer. All that the records disclose is that she died under the name of Spencer, and the loss of the early New Londonprobate records where her estate was settled may leave it forever a matter of conjecture who her Spencer husband was. Gerard's will does not even name all his children, and lack of reference to a wife may be explained in either of two ways. A second wife may have been provided for by prenuptial agreement; or such a marriage may have occurred afterthe will was made. ::Since the publication of Goodwin's Genealogical Notes in 1856, the earlywife of Gerard who was mother of his children has always been named asHannah. ::The present compiler follows these authorities, though confessing thathe has not seen an original or quoted contemporary record so naming her. Still, such a record may exist. The birth dates assigned to the children below are mostly guesses. :: Children: :: :i. John(2), b. ca. 1636; d. 3 Aug 1682.:ii. Mehitabel, b. ca. 1638; d. 1691; m. by 1661, Daniel Cone of Haddam, b. ca. 1627, d. 24 Oct 1706 in 80th yr.; ten children.:iii. Hannah, b. ca. 1640; d. by 1691; m. ca. 1664, Daniel Brainerd ofHaddam, b. ca. 1641, d. 1 Apr 1715 ae. 74. He m. (2) 29 Nov 1698, Hannah (Spencer) Sexton (No. 7, vii).:iv. Marah, b. ca. 1642; d. before 22 Dec 1714; m. (1) in 1662, ThomasBrooks, who d. at Haddam, 18 Oct 1668; four children; m. (2) in 1669,Thomas Shaylor of Haddam, who d. ca. 1692; five children.:v. Sarah, b. ca. 1644; living 1707; m. Dec 1666, Stephen Backus of Nowich, b. ca. 1642, d. at Canterbury, in 1695, son of William; eight children.:vi. Elizabeth, b. ca. 1646; m. ca. 1666, Joseph Stannard of Saybrook,who d. 20 Aug 1688. :vii. Thomas, b. ca. 1648; d. Feb 1698/9. :viii. Samuel, b. ca. 1650; d. 7 Aug 1705. :ix. Timothy, b. ca. 1652; d. 1704.:x. Ruth, b. ca. 1654; d. at Haddam, 28 Nov 1744 ae. 90; m. Joseph Clark, whose will dated 24 Oct 1716 is recorded in Haddam Deeds (2:255), son of William. :xi. William, b. ca. 1656; d. 1731. :xii. Nathaniel, b. ca. 1658; d. before 1722.:xiii. Rebecca, b. ca. 1660; d. before 1706; m. (1) ca. 1682, John Kennard of Haddam, who d. 1688; m. (2) after Feb 1689, John Tanner. ::The Four Spencer Brothers - Their Ancestors and Descendants, Donald Lines Jacobus, M.A., The American Genealogist, Vol 27 (April 1951), page 79.

Sources

<references/>* A Digest of the Early Connecticut Probate Records. Space:Connecticut_Probate_Records|Attached.

• New England marriages prior to1700, Ancestry.com. (Requires $$), U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com OperationsInc, 2012. By Clarence Almon Torrey, Elizabeth Petty Bentley. Original data: Torry, Clarence A. New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2004. (Images Attached.)
• The Macdonough-Hackstaff Ancestry, by Rodney Macdonough, published 1901, at Internet Archive, database online. Image Attached, page 482
• Genealogical gleanings in England, By Henry Fitz-Gilbert Waters. Space:Genealogical_gleanings|Attached.
• New England Ancestors and Their Descendants, Compiled by Henry Whittemore, New England Ancestral Publishing Co., 1900, at InternetArchive, database online. Images Attached, Pages 57 - 58.
• The Four Spencer Brothers - Their Ancestors and Descendants, (requires $$), Donald Lines Jacobus, M.A., The American Genealogist, Vol 27 (April 1951), page79

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GEDCOM Note

Biography ==Hannah was born in 1618. She was the daughter of Hills-2175|Thomas Hills and Clark-45885|Sarah Clark. She passed away in 1692.

Sources

<references />* Source: S658705207 Ancestry Family Trees Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.Ancestry Family Tree 109013261