Obadiah Spencer

Obadiah Spencer, son of Thomas, was born in 1639 in Hartford, Hartford, CT. He died in May 1712 in Hartford, Hartford, CT. He married Mary Desborough about 1664 in Hartford, Hartford, CT; she died 1709

Children

1. Obadiah, born 1666; died 22 August 1741; married Ruth (____)
2. Thomas, born 1668; married Esther Andrews
3. Samuel, married Deborah Beckley
4. Ebenezer, married Mary Booth
5. John born 4 October 1673; married Mary Smith
6. Disborough, married Abigail Elmer
7. Mary, married (______) King

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5th great grandfather of JP Morgan

from GREAT MIGRATION:

OBADIAH ("eldest son"), b. say 1635; m. by about 1666 Mary Disborough (estimated b. of first child), daughter of Nicholas Disborough [TAG 27:166, 38:209].

His exact date of birth is uncertain.

In a second list, William Spencer made the following note: Inhabitants granted lots to have only at the towns curtesy with liberty to fetch wood and keep swine or cows by proportion on the common. Nicholas Desborough "had 6" and Nathaniel Bearding "had 6". This record is significant because Nicholas Desborough (Disbrow) was the father of Mary Desborough who married Obidiah2 Spencer (ca. 1639-1712), oldest son of Sgt. Thomas Spencer. Nathaniel Bearing (Berden) was the father of Sarah Bearding second wife of Sgt. Thomas Spencer. The caveat regarding special provisions for Nicholas Desborough and Nathaniel Bearding might indicate that neither man was of sufficient wealth in terms of land ownership to receive automatic grazing privileges.

The discipline and intolerance of the Church leaders can be illustrated by many examples, including some which must have been of real concrn to Thomas Spencer and his near kin folk. For example, Thomas had served in the Pequot War alongside Nicholas Disbrowe (Desborough) and later both of them had a long association as fellow woodworkers. Also, there was an intermarriage between the olderst son of Thomas (Obadiah2) and Mary, a daughter of Nicholas Disbrowe. In 1640, the wife of Nicholas was accused of "wanton dalliance" with three men. One of the men, Nicholas Olmsted, served time in the pillory.

The tradition of producing "Spencer Chairs" appears to have extended far up the Connecticut Valley in the 1700's. Whether Silliam 3 Spencer was a factor in the spread of this style is unknown, but it may have been possible. Peter Miller calls attention to the Spencer chairs on display in the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Connceticut. Miller attributs the chairs in the upper Connecticut vallye to Zadock King (1725-1769), whose grandfather, Thomas King (1662-1711), had married Mary 3 Spencer (ca 1675-1712), daughter of Obadiah 2 Spencer (ca 1639-1712). Obadiah and his descendants had inherited the Spencer woodworking shops in Hartford. Hence, Zadock King may have had the opportunity for an apprenticeship in the original Spencer shops. The Spencer styled chairs were characterized as "fashionable turned chairs with shaped and sometimes carved crest rails" emulating the bannister back and cane back chairs in Boston. A typical Spencer shair from the early 1700's is shown in the accompanying illustration. This might have been similar to the chairs which William 3 Spencer produced in Suffield in the same time period. (

Links

• http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~greenefamily/greene/pafg11...
• http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=park&id=I...
• http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=pjmpjm&id...
• https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Spencer-2438

Sources

1. from TORREY: SPENCER, Obadiah (ca 1639-1712) & Mary [DISBROW?/ DESBOROUGH]; by 1666; Hartford/Wethersfield CT {TAG 27:166; Booth (1952) 117; Hale (1952) 423; Butler (1919); Hartford Prob. 1:298, 2:311; Beckley 8; Wethersfield 2:54, 302; Goodwin: Gen. Notes 205-6; Goodwin-Morgan 2:209; Coe-Ward 95; Kelsey 45; Spencer (#2) 360; Windsor CT 2:234}
2. The Spencers of the great migration. Jack Taif Spencer and Edith Woolley Spencer. Published 1997 by Gateway Press, J.T. Spencer [distributor] in Baltimore, MD, Dekalb, IL . Obadiah-2 (Thomas-), b.c. 1639-1712, of Hartford, Connecticut 55, 96, 138, 157, 167, 172, 173, 176, 182, 184, 186, 262, 289, 303.
3. Families of Early Hartford, Connecticut By Lucius Barnes Barbour Pg.556

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GEDCOM Source

FamilySearch Family Tree (https://www.familysearch.org) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "FamilySearch Family Tree," database, FamilySearch   (https://www.familysearch.org) accessed 25 Jan 2019), entry for Obadiah Spencer, person ID LKTD-SDT. 3

GEDCOM Source

FamilySearch Family Tree (https://www.familysearch.org) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "FamilySearch Family Tree," database, FamilySearch   (https://www.familysearch.org) accessed 25 Jan 2019), entry for Obadiah Spencer, person ID LKTD-SDT. 3

GEDCOM Source

FamilySearch Family Tree (https://www.familysearch.org) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "FamilySearch Family Tree," database, FamilySearch   (https://www.familysearch.org) accessed 25 Jan 2019), entry for Obadiah Spencer, person ID LKTD-SDT. 3

GEDCOM Source

FamilySearch Family Tree (https://www.familysearch.org) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "FamilySearch Family Tree," database, FamilySearch   (https://www.familysearch.org) accessed 25 Jan 2019), entry for Obadiah Spencer, person ID LKTD-SDT. 3