Spencer, Elisha

Elisha SPENCER and Thankful SMITH

my 4g-grandparents

Harriet SPENCER and Levi SEWARD were my 3g-grandparents. There is one clue to the parentage of Harriet. She married, at age 73, a man named Smith JAMERSON. The marriage record of Harriet (SPENCER) (SEWARD) JAMERSON says her parents were Elisha SPENCER and Thankful SMITH.

Later Census records tell us that Harriet was born about 1809 in NY, and her gravestone has her death on 5 Mar 1885, at age 76Y 2M, which gives her a birth date of 5 Jan 1809. Harriet and her 1st husband, Levi SEWARD, lived in Broome County, NY at least from 1840 to 1846. See the Levi SEWARD page.

So we are looking for Elisha and Thankful in NY about 1809, possibly near Broome County. Of course, Elisha and SPENCER are not uncommon names, but it seems that there were not many Elisha SPENCERs.

There was one Elisha SPENCER, born 24 May 1784 in Unadilla, NY, son of Jonathan SPENCER and Martha KEACH. [LCC, p. 267]

Unadilla became part of Otsego County when that county was formed in 1791. Between 1772 and 1791, Unadilla was in Montgomery County, a large area that was split into several counties. It is about 30 miles east of Chenango, Broome County.

The 1810 US Census has a E. SPENCER family of 7. Elisha would be 25 or 26, so he fits in the 16 thru 25 age group. Harriet would be about 1 year old, and there are 2 females under 10. There are 3 other SPENCER families and one KEECH family listed nearby.

In the 1820 US Census, Elisha SPENCER had a family of 9. Harriet would be about 11, and there are 2 females in the 10 thru 15 age group. Listed consecutively are the households of Jonathan, Elisha and William D. SPENCER.

The 1830 US Census has Elisha SPENCER in Unadilla with a family of 10. Harriet would be 21, so she could be the female in the 20 thru 29 age group. Listed consecutively with William D. SPENCER. Harriet married Levi SEWARD, probably in the early 1830s.

There was a Thankful SPENCER mentioned as a sister in the 1820 will of Lydia POTTER. This seems promising because Lydia has a niece named Harriot SPENCER, who must be a child of Thankful, matching our Harriet SPENCER. Also, Lydia has a nephew named Stephen SMITH, suggesting that her maiden name may have been SMITH.

The Lydia POTTER who died in Apr 1820 was buried with her mother, who had died in 1809. The gravestone is hard to read, but it looks like she was born in 1759, and her mother was Keziah BELL.

DNA Evidence

My close matches on AncestryDNA include 4 distant cousins who trace their ancestry back to Jonathan SPENCER, all through different lineages. This provides some evidence to support the claim that Jonathan is my ancestor, and the father of Orange, Amos, Jonathan L, William D and Elisha SPENCER.

Sources

[LCC] Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens of Chenango County NY (1898)

Updated 28 Apr 2021 by William Haloupek. Contact haloupek at gmail dot com.