William Spencer (abt. 1440 - abt. 1485)

Born about 1440 in Radbourne, Warwickshire, England [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth Empson — married about 1469 in Towcester, Northamptonshire, England

Descendants

Died about 1485 at about age 45 in Radbourne, Warwickshire, England [uncertain]

Biography

William Spencer was born in about 1440 in Radbourne, Warwickshire, England. He was the son of Henry Spencer and Isabel Lincoln.

Spencer lineage from 1595

This is the 'official' Spencer lineage as created in 1595 and published in the Visitation of Warwickshire in 1619. It has been shown to be bogus, especially before Henry Spencer. There are also too many generations between Henry and Sir John on the bottom line (knighted in the 20th year of Henry VII's reign). The William Spencer de Wormleighton and the William Spencer, son of Henry, are almost certainly the same person. This means the John Spencer who marries Joan Warsted and William are brothers not father & son.

William married Elizabeth Empson in Towcester, Northamptonshire, England. She was the daughter of Sir Peter Empson and sister of Sir Richard Empson. This marrying into gentry is the mark of a family on the rise. His son, Sir John Spencer's tomb incorporates the Empson coat of arms^[1].

William and Elizabeth have two recorded sons, John and Thomas, both recorded in the Visitation of Warwickshire^[2]. (Both brothers petitioned for and received together a coat of arms in 1504).

He died in about 1485. There is a legacy recorded in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1485 from a William Spencer to Richard Stowe, Master of the Guild of the Holy Cross, the Blessed Mary the Virgin, and the Nativity of St. John the Baptist^[3]. This may well be from William.

Sources

1. ↑ Blore, Edward. The Monumental Remains of Noble and Eminent Persons (Harding, Lepard and Co., London, 1826) https://archive.org/details/cu31924105746592/page/n305
2. ↑ https://archive.org/details/visitationcount01britgoog/page/n310
3. ↑ Records of the Guild of the Holy Cross https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/f73870f3-842d-4f8e-ae0b-499dfe7b9d87

• Wikipedia:Spencer_family
• Stott, Clifford L., Ancestry of Agnes Spencer, Wife of Thomas Higginson of Berkeswell, Warwickshire, The New England Historical and Genealogical Register (NEHGS, Boston, Mass., 2020) Vol. 174, Page 207, 213.