Ashbel Asahel Spencer (1737 - 1808)

Born 27 Nov 1737 in Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut Colony

Ancestors

Husband of Mabel (Church) Spencer — married 12 Jul 1761 (to 9 Feb 1780) in Hartford, Connecticut Colony

Descendants

Died 26 Aug 1808 at age 70 in Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut, United States

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Michael Spencer [send private message] and Kelly Fitzgerald [send private message]

Biography

Ashbel/Asahel was the son of Caleb and Sarah (Hopkins) Spencer.

He married first Mabel Church, daughter of Caleb and Sarah (Barnard) Church, on 12 Jul 1761 at Hartford, Connecticut Colony - their children were Huldah and Ann Spencer.

After the death of Mabel, he married Abigail Birdwell, daughter of John and Sarah (Spencer) Birdwell, in 1781 at Hartford, Connecticut, USA - parents of William Spencer.

Parent Candidates for James C. Spencer (b. abt. 1801, Vermont; d. 10 December 1872, Elizabeth, Union Co., New Jersey) Evidence for Huldah Spencer (b. 1768, Hartford, Hartford Co., Connecticut; d. abt. 1836 in Malone, Franklin Co., New York) as mother: 1. A will for Huldah Spencer of Malone submitted to probate in 1836 appoints James C. Spencer of Malone as her executor, and lists her children as James C. Spencer and Mary Ann Williams. 2. Mary Ann Williams is a plausible younger sister for James C. Spencer: a. Census listings suggest that she was born in Vermont in about 1811. b. She was a resident of Malone, the wife of Elias Williams. c. James C. Spencer and “Elias Williams and wife” are the only witnesses called out among the 40 witnesses in Rev. Ashbel Parmalee’s record of the marriage of Sarah E. Spencer and James S. Pallady (http://www.newyorkroots.org/franklin/mar/parm/myers-parmalee.html; thanks, Kelly!) 3. The 1820 census listing for Huldah Spencer in Malone lists 4 males of 10-16 and one female under 10, so both James C. and Mary Ann could have been part of this household. 4. In James C. Spencer’s will, Millie is listed as Huldah A. Spencer. Evidence for Epaphras Spencer (b. 21 November 1762, Hartford, Hartford Co., Connecticut; d. abt. 1814 in Malone, Franklin Co., New York) as husband of Huldah and father of James: 1. A compilation of Spencer research published in volume 28 of The American Genealogist (p. 63 and p. 113) indicates that Epaphras Spencer, the son of Elijah Spencer and Mary Spencer, b. 21 November 1762, and Huldah Spencer, the daughter of Asahel Spencer and Mabel Church, b. bef. 6 March 1768, were married c. 1785 and were resident in Middlebury, Vermont by 1801. There are no citations for the evidence that’s listed, but census listings for the Epaphras Spencer household in 1790 (in Hartford), 1800 (in Middlebury), and 1810 (in Middlebury) are consistent with these claims. 2. In 1815, Huldah Spencer and Henry Waterhouse of Malone petitioned the Franklin County surrogate to be listed as administrators for the estate of Epaphras Spencer of Malone. Questions • Is there any documentary evidence to support the claims in The American Genealogist? • Why are no other children of Epaphras and Huldah Spencer listed in Huldah’s will? Census listings from 1790-1820 all include children and young adults that seem likely to be older siblings of James and Mary Ann, as would be likely for a couple married in about 1785. • Who is Henry Waterhouse? Not only is he co-administrator of Epaphras’ estate, but Huldah petitioned to be named administrator of his estate during the year before her own death as she was one of his creditors, and the money owed to her from that estate forms part of her bequests in her own will. He was married to a Lucinda Spencer; it’s not clear whether she was a relative. Miscellany • There is a Huldah (Oakes) Spencer of a similar age who was the widow of a Revolutionary War vet named Thomas Spencer; they settled in nearby Moira, New York. I determined that this Huldah didn’t have children of the right names and ages to be James and Mary Ann. Thomas, however, seems to have been the brother of Epaphras. • There is a slightly younger James C. Spencer (1826-1902) who was associated with Fort Covington in Franklin County, but he was the son of James B. Spencer and Sally Clark. • Not many Ancestry family trees list either Epaphras or Huldah Spencer. Listings for Epaphras that include children tend to conflate him with a Lewis Spencer, which provides a wholly different list of children. Listings for Huldah that include children generally provide her with a different spouse and different children.

Sources

• Source: S-1417197503 Repository: #R-1577744817 Title: Ancestry Family Trees Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members. Note: This information comes from 1 or more individual Ancestry Family Tree files. This source citation points you to a current version of those files. Note: The owners of these tree files may have removed or changed information since this source citation was created. Page: Ancestry Family Trees Note: Data: Text: http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=36450735&pid=959
• Repository: R-1577744817 Name: Ancestry.com

Acknowledgements

• WikiTree profile Spencer-3819 created through the import of Mock-Faulkenberry (3).ged on Jan 5, 2013 by Peggy Mock. See the Changes page for the details by Peggy and others.