Born before in Surry County, Colony of Virginia
Ancestors 
Daughter of William Spencer
and Alice (Lightfoot) Spencer
Wife of
Robert Sheppard
— married
about 1635 (to 1653) [location unknown]
Wife of
Thomas Warren Sr
— married
23 Sep 1654 in Surry, Surry County, Colony of Virginia
Descendants 
Mother of
Anne (Sheppard) Foster, John Sheppard, Robert Sheppard, William Sheppard and Elizabeth (Warren) Hunnicutt
Died about
after about age 30
in Surry County, Colony of Virginia
Profile last modified
| Created 1 Aug 2011
This page has been accessed 9,706 times.
The Birth Date is a rough estimate. See the text for details.
Contents |
Biography
Elizabeth (Spencer) Warren was a Virginia colonist.
Elizabeth, the only one of William's children who left descendants, married twice: Robert Sheppard, Thomas Warren.
- Birth before 1625 Surry, Virginia,[1]
- William Spencer immigrated to Jamestown in 1607 on the Sarah Constant with Christopher Newport.[2]. If Elizabeth was born in Jamestown and not England, her date of birth would be around 1607-1623. If she was born after 1624, then the first 5-7 children credited to her in this bio are probably not hers, but Priscilla's (after immigration) by Robert Sheppard's first marriage. (see Boddie, p. 48, Colonial Surry, amb)
First Marriage
Elizabeth's 1st Marriage c. 1629-1635 Surry, Surry, Virginia.[3]
- Husband: Robert Sheppard[4]
Elizabeth was the second wife of Robert Sheppard. His first wife was Priscilla. He patented 300 acres at the head of Chippoakes Creek, current Surry County, 19 July 1635. He was a Burgess for James City County from 1646 until 1648. In 1652/3 he was referred to as "Robert Sheppard of Lawne's Creek, Gent.", at which time Sheppard deeded 1100 acres at the mouth of the creek to Lt. William Caufield. Sheppard was deceased before 5 July 1654, when Elizabeth asked a Mr. Brewster to represent her in a transaction.
Second Marriage
Elizabeth's 2nd Marriage 23 SEP 1654 Surry, Surry, Virginia
- Husband: Thomas I Warren[5]
- Surry County records: '14 Aug., 1653. Deed from Major Robert Shepard to Henry Medhouse. 'Recorded by me, Thomas Warringe, married the relict of said Shepard, 7 March, 1754.'"[6]
- Note - The marriage could have been September 1654, with the deed recorded in March 1754/5.
- Death 1655 Jamestown, Surry, Virginia
- Death 1659 Surry, Virginia
On 23 September 1654, Articles of Agreement were made between Mr Tho's Warren, Gentleman, of Smith's fort in the County of Surry, and Mrs. Elizabeth Sheapard widow [of Major Robert Sheapard deceased] of Lower Chippoakes in the present County of Surry, before the solemnation of the right of Matrimony between them.[7] They agreed that Elizabeth would have the power to elect, nominate, and appoint persons instructed by her to have the oversight of her children. The agreement names her minor children as:
- Anne Sheapard
- John Sheapard
- Robert Sherpard
- Will' Sheapard
Other children named are:
- Priscilla Sheapard
- Susana Sheapard
Signed: Tho's Warriage. Witnesses: Elder Jarriott, W'm Cockersham. Recorded 9 [month?] 1654.
The names of the sureties: Mr Jn'o Corker, Mr. W'm Cockersham, Mr Jarriott, Mr Caufield. Recorded 8 [month?] 1654.
From Genealogies of Virginia Families, Volume IV, 1981: On September 23, 1654, "Elizabeth (Spencer) Sheppard, widow, and Thomas Warren of Smith's Fort, Surry, Gent., entered into a premarital contract in which Elizabeth was to retain the estate of her deceased husband, Major Robert Sheppard, including one gold seal ring marked D. S., one pair of silver tongs marked R. S., and one silver ink horn marked I. S."
They lived at Smith's Fort Plantation in Surry County, Virginia where Warren had built his house two years prior to their marriage on land which he had purchased from Thomas Rolfe, son of John Rolfe and Pocahontas.
Children
Children of Elizabeth and Robert Sheppard:
- son John
- son Robert[8]
- son William
- daughter Anne Sheppard, m. Thomas Hart
The sons all died without issue. Only their daughter Anne carried the bloodline.
Children of Elizabeth and Thomas Warren:
- Maybe one child, Elizabeth
Sources
- ↑ Boddie, p. 48 Colonial Surry, states one daughter, Alice, was living with William Spencer and his wife in 1624. The other children must have been married or dead at that time. So, Elizabeth was probably born before 1624-5, retrieved 2014-05-16, amb
- ↑ Boddie, Colonial Surry, p. 47-48, retrieved 2014-05-16, amb
- ↑ Boddie, p. 48 Colonial Surry, retrieved 2014-05-16, amb
- ↑ Richard and his first wife Priscilla (born in England— were still married until c. 1635 The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, p. 21. Children from this union:
- ↑ Boddie, Virginia Historical Genealogies p. 245, retrieved 2014-05-16, amb
- ↑ William Armstrong Crozier, "Virginia county records" (pdf, page 157)
- ↑ County Court, Surry County, Virginia, Deeds, wills, inventories, etc., 1645-1686, Records [deeds, etc.], 1645-1672, transcript -- Records [deeds, wills, inventories, etc.], 1671-1684, transcript -- Records [deeds, wills, inventories, etc.], 1684-1686, transcript.; database with images, FamilySearch (image 25, image 26).
- ↑ The Shepard DNA Project has one son, Robert Sheppard IV (b c1650), having at least one son, Samuel Sheppard (b 1695), that had issue. 2014-05-21, amb
See also:
- John Bennett Boddie, Colonial Surry
- John Bennett Boddie, Virginia Historical Genealogies
- Norma Tucker, Colonial Virginians and Their Maryland Relatives: A Genealogy of the Tucker Family and Also the Families of Allen, Blackistone, Chandler, Ford, Gerard, Harmor, Hume, Monroe, Skaggs, Smith, Stevesson, Stone, Sturman, Thompson, Ward, Yowell, and Others (Google eBook)
- McCartney, Martha: Virginia Immigrants and Adventurers", page 663. Thinks she married (3rd) John Hunnicutt, but that is presumably wrong - her 2nd husband survived her and remarried, and her daughter married Hunnicutt.
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Rejected matches › Elizabeth (Spencer) Cowgill (abt.1792-1851) › Elizabeth (Spencer) Hancock (abt.1667-abt.1720) › Elizabeth (Spencer) Eure (1552-1618) › Elizabeth (Spencer) Russell (1579-1632) › Elizabeth J Spencer (1845-1922) › Isabel (Spencer) Strelley (1489-1560) › Elizabeth Esther (Spencer) Worden (1866-abt.1953) › Elizabeth Spencer (abt.1760-abt.1858)
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S > Spencer | W > Warren > Elizabeth (Spencer) Warren
Categories: Estimated Birth Date | Virginia Colonists
Folks, while I am not an expert in these families... at a glance, the birth year we are publishing is wrong. It appears we've disconnected children from her Sheppard husband's profile ("orphaning" them) because of this.
Elizabeth Spencer was not counted in the Muster, so she did not exist on 25 Jan 1625 (the same day as sometimes called "Jan 25th 1624/5" because of old-style dating, when New Years day was in March not on Jan 1st ). This means Elizabeth was born after that, not before. Right?
If you visit her connected father's profile and read carefully, it says that on the day of the Muster (25 Jan 1625) William Spencer was married to Alice and had a four-year old daughter also called Alice. No other children.
That profile also says that by 1629, William had remarried to Dorothy (which means his first wife Alice was dead; or that he is a bigamist, which is unlikely).
If the information above is correct, we can draw some conclusions:
0. Elizabeth existed and was the daughter of William Spencer.
1. Elizabeth was born after the muster on 25 Jan 1625.
2. Her father remarried after 25 Jan 1625, and before 1629.
3. We don't know who her mother is.
Discussion: It could be either Spencer's first wife Alice or second wife Dorothy. (We also don't know much about either of them, but there is circumstantial evidence that the "pressure" to edit Elizabeth's birth year to be early enough to "fit" her previously-connected Sheppard children has also induced a creep or nudge Alice Lightfoot's birth year from 1600 up 20 years to 1580-82. (Not here, but other sites and sources.) That would make Alice aged 40 at birth of her first child, which is unlikely; and up to 48yo before her last child is born (if she died in 1629, and her husband immediately remarried). Having all your kids between 40-48 sounds very unlikely, especially in this time and place. It is much more likely that Alice's birth year is, as we say now, about 1600. Then she'd be in her 20s while having her kids. Regardless of Alice, eventually Elizabeth was born but after Muster. Therefore she was no older than 10 in 1635, and possibly much younger.
4. Elizabeth didn't have Sheppard kids when she was 10 or younger.
5. Therefore, she is not the mother of some of these children, as per 2014 comment below:
Note: that's a copy-and-paste from 2014 comment below, so birth years in parentheses may have been edited since (or may be in future depending when reading this comment). For example 2014's William "1637" has been edited to 1652. (Do we know why? What primary source proves this claim is true?)
6. Hypothetically, no source just logic: if we have ANY primary source evidence proving four Sheppards above are full siblings, sharing same mom... then it logically follows NONE of them is a child of Elizabeth Spencer; and also that ALL of them are children of the other wife. Do we have any such evidence?
Respectfully, I am concerned these issues have been "on the radar" of the extended-William-Spencer-family-group profile managers for many years. But, collectively, we've accidentally (or perhaps on purpose) dodged the issue, by writing the profile only to say they're his children and staying silent about which wife was the mother of which. Which matters as it nails down the birth years for the kids, and binds our connections to the dated evidence.
This is exacerbated by fact we are missing profile for Spencer's second wife Dorothy. Adding that profile will tend to force folks to identify or at least estimate marriage date, and so death year for first wife Alice; and birth years for surviving children have to be reconciled more-accurately. Or left blank.
Some suggestions for discussion & action if approved by profile managers:
a) Restore connection for Sheppard children to their disconnected father, if paternity evidenced. Right? Some are orphaned now. Was that the right thing to do?
b) Remove all connections to Sheppard children to their non-mother Elizabeth Spencer, if maternity timelines are biologically impossible, objectively non-credible or scandalous.
c) Remove/improve death date for Elizabeth Spencer's connected mother, Alice, William Spencer's first wife; which is confusing things (by 50 years). She was dead by 1629 when he was already remarried. Right? "Three wrongs don't make a right."
d) Reduce uncertainty and edit out mere rumors or desirements that Elizabeth Spencer's mother Alice's birth year might be in the 1580s.
Overall, this the actual problem all along has not been the generational timeline on the female lines, rather this one placement: it appears to be a faulty assumption Elizabeth Spencer was mother of Elizabeth Sheppard who m1. Jones m2. Lane. If that is false, I realize it affects many living descendants (including me) and breaks some long pedigrees (including some royal lines via Anglo-Normans, which losing always feels a bummer). But it is what it is. Shame we've had problems here for a decade on WikiTree and not caught the basic issue sooner.
Lastly, noted in passing: Robert Spencer may be connected to wrong father? According to a source given in a comment on his profile, he is the son of Edmund not William. If that's true he should be disconnected.
I expect all of the above will require multiple profile managers to collaborate. If I can help in any way, please let me know.
Respectfully, Your Cousin Somehow
THANKS FOR READING & YOUR WORK HERE
edited by Isaac Taylor
There are some theories that Thomas Warren's first wife was Alice Spencer, sister of Elizabeth Spencer Sheppard Warren but those theories have not been proven.
edited by Anonymous Roach
According to this source, Elizabeth Spencer, widow of Robert Shepard of Lower Chippoakes married Matthias Marriott, Marriott-42 widower of Alice Warren, daughter of Thomas Warren.
As for Anne Sheppard. She is the only daughter of Elizabeth Spencer Sheppard and Robert Sheppard the 3rd. As for the marriage date of Robert Sheppard and Elizabeth, 1635 makes no sense if Elizabeth was born after 1624. That makes her 11 years old. Or the mother of Elizabeth Shepherd Lane at 12 years of age. Then - Elizabeth Sheppard Lane is not the daughter of Robert Sheppard and Eluzabeth Warren per the sources also listed on this profile. No sources that I can find put her there. The Elizabeth that is Elizabeth Spencer Sheppard Warren's daughter is the daughter of she and Thomas Warren. She married John Hunnicutt and was married to him until his death. Her step mother Jane Thomas Warren's 4th wife witnessed this marriage contract. This is sourced on Elizabeth Warren's profile. There are no sources I can find that put Elizabeth Sheppard Lane as a daughter of either Robert Sheppard's first wife or Elizabeth Spencer. Both daughters of Robert Sheppard's first wife and the 4 children of Elizabeth are mentioned in her marriage contract to Thomas Warren. Isaac I hope this has helped. This is a quick run through.
Who is managing this profile, these days?
"the information I obtained while researching Anne is that Elizabeth was born between 1618 - 1626"
Elizabeth had not been born yet as of the muster 25 Jan 1624/5 old-style dating. (We can just say Jan 1625 to keep it simple.) If she had been born at any time before the muster, she would have been counted. She wasn't. Therefore your window just narrowed to 1625-26, or later.
If she were born in the window of 1625-1629 then she could be the daughter of Spencer's first wife Alice or his second wife Dorothy. We don't know when Alice died or he remarried. Do we? William and Dorothy were married in 1629.
One implication is that the profile for this Elizabeth's presently-connected mother Alice, may or may not be her mother but definitely has the wrong death date published today. It's wrong by 50 years (or more).
I realize that the dating of this Elizabeth's birth up a generation, has an impact here and down forever, because we could have surviving children connected to the wrong parents. And large numbers of living descendants researching the wrong people. Ooops.
Anne and Elizabeth are definitely not the same person so definitely should not be merged.
but have found no sources stating such.
This would fit Elizabeth's DoB of c.1624 and also the fact that Richard's first wife was alive until at least 1635.
Why are those kids "orphaned" now? We still know who their father was, dont we?
So, I placed a date guess in her bio. I also moved children Dorothy, Mary, and Priscilla to Robert's first wife. There is documentation that those 3 immigrated to the Colonies with their mother, Priscilla before 1635.