Roger Spencer (abt. 1618 - aft. 1675)

Born about 13 Apr 1618 in England

Husband of Gertrude Spencer — married 1637 in England

Descendants

Died after 14 May 1675 after about age 57 in Charlestown, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony

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Biography

The imported biography I have adapted suggests his birth was in London, England on 13 April 1618. I long thought he was the son of Thomas Spencer and Patience Chadbourne (who were said to be Quakers), but this seems unlikely now. ^[1] However, see Research Notes.

Marriage

Roger married Gertrude Spencer (abt.1623-bef.1681) (Mrs Spencer) ^[2] Gertrude (?) was admitted to the church at Charlestown, 4 October 1652.

Children

1. Margaret Spencer (1642-) (tbc)
2. Mary (Spencer) Sargent (abt.1650-aft.1702) married John Hull a merchant, then secondly, Sir William Phipps, Governor of the Colony and then thirdly Peter Sergent a colony judge.
3. Sarah Spencer (1652-1662)
4. Rebecca (Spencer) Bennett (abt.1653-1712) married Dr David Bennett (abt.1616-abt.1719) as his second wife. ^[3]
5. John Spencer (-abt.1701) - mentioned as Sir William Phipp's brother-in-law in Maine History Article 2. B Charlestown, Ma abt. 1649 died bef 1701 ^[4] m Elizabeth Parsons (1641-1711) abt. 1687.
6. Lydia Spencer (-abt.1701) m Freegrace Norton ^[5]

Life Events

Roger became a wealthy exporter, shipbuilder and mariner.

Roger arrived in Charlestown, Massachusetts in 1649, he had a farm there. ^[6]

Richard Hides, a saddler of London, gave to Roger Spencer two houses at Concord, Massachusetts in 1648, of Robert Cook, house, and a house with 37 acres in 1651 as he had no heirs to leave these to. Roger's widow, Gertrude Spencer was on the tithe list for this property in 1677-8; but not in 1680-1. ^[7]

From 1648-1653, Roger was in Charlestown, Massachusetts. Roger Spencer then moved to Saco, Maine in 1652, On 27 September 1653, Roger had the liberty from the town of Biddeford to put up a sawmill at Arrowsic. ^[8] He mortgaged his share in the sawmill and adjacent land on 28 January 1657.

Roger as operator agreed to pay a contract of 12,000 boards of timber annually to the town as a license and to employ local town-people over others. ^[9] Roger had a contract to sell pine boards to Richard Hutchinson (1598-1670) (this being his granddaughter's paternal grandfather) who was Treasurer of the British Navy in London. ^[10]

In 1654, Roger owned a negro slave, Cate. ^[11]

Roger bought land at Saco, Maine off a Robert Jordan and sold it on 13 August 1658 to Major Bryan Pendleton. Roger sold all of his Saco lands to Thomas Savage and a Thomas Spencer of Boston on 26 May 1669 and removed to Boston. (Thomas Savage said to be a cousin of his granddaughter's husband, Hutchinson)^{[12] [13][14]}

In The History of Maine, it states Roger came from Charlestown to Saco in 1658 and 2 years later, (i.e., 1660) he purchased Arrowsic Island. He joined Major Pendelton in the purchase of Parker's Neck where Roger's home was built. (see research notes) ^[15]

After 1658, he was mainly a Saco-based mariner referred to as Captain Spencer. In 1659, he was listed as a debtor to Martine Stebbins, a victualer. ^[16] In 1672, he was the defendant in an action by Alice Thomas in the Suffolk County Court. ^[17]

When he died in 1675, Roger Spencer's estate had been greatly diminished by mortgages and debts. Cotton Mather states that Spencer had suffered much damage in his Estate, by some unkind and unjust Actions, which he bore with such patience, that for fear of thereby injuring the Publick, he would not seek satisfaction. ^[18]

Death

On 14 May 1675, Roger died in Charlestown, Massachusetts Bay Company. ^[19] His will was probated at Plymouth. ^[20]

His widow, Gertrude apparently died between 1678 and 1681." ^[21]

Research Notes

Birth: It does not seem likely from Thomas Spencer (abt.1596-1681)'s profile that this Roger is his son. He gets no mention in Thomas' will, although he is running a sawmill in a nearby river. That Thomas and his wife Patience were in New England from 1639, Roger appears to have arrived a decade later in Charlestown, Ma. Various other Thomas Spencers are mentioned in that profile. However, where is the evidence his father was called Thomas?

Although, on his profile on Geni, he is attributed to being born in Bermondsey Street, London on 13 April 1618. ^[22] I wonder whether this reference of a christening at St Mary Magdalene, Bermondsey, in London in April 1617 seems a contender; Roger son of Thomas Spencer ? ^[23] He did business with Richard Hutchinson (1598-1670) whose children were all baptised at St Mary Magdalene, which may give a circumstantial link (as their grandchildren married). Richard Hutchinson was owner of a sawmill in Maine too.

Background on places Roger lived/owned: Arrowsic (where Roger's sawmill was) is an island in the Kennebec River, between Woolwich on the eastern shore and Phippsburg and Bath on the western shore.

In the 1650s, Thomas Clark and Roger Spencer bought Robin Hood Island where he built a blockhouse. During the Indian War of 1675, the settlers were all driven from the island and the buildings were laid to ashes. It was resettled in about 1700,

On 6 April 1659, John Parker purchased land for "one beaver skin, and the yearly rent of one bushel of corn and a quart of whiskey to be paid to Robin Hood settlers on or before every Christmas Day at the dwelling house of Parker, (reserving to himself and heirs the right to fish, fowl and hunt and also to set otter traps without molestation)". This property was the principal territory of the present town of Phippsburg. This was done in the presence of Henry Jocelyn, Richard R. Foxwell, and Roger Spencer. ^[24]

Parker's Neck at Winter Harbor was acquired by Roger Spencer from Jordan before 1660. At that early date the place was described as "one fishing stage and house and a Neck of Land whereon the stage standeth, which is commonly knowne and called by the named of Parker's Necke". ^[25]

Was the Thomas Spencer of Boston, whom he sold the sawmill to, a relative?

Sources

1. ↑ The Maine Spencers : a history and genealogy, with mention of many associated families. An Ancestry.co.uk publication Pg 55-57
2. ↑ U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Roger Spencer 1649 New England, US Death Year 1675 Spouse Gertrude Spencer
3. ↑ North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000. Roger Spencer. Book Title: The Plumer Genealogy : Francis Plumer, who settled at Newbury, Massachusetts, & some of his descend...
4. ↑ Baker, Emerson W., and James Kences. Maine, Indian Land Speculation, and the Essex County Witchcraft Outbreak of 1692. Maine History 40, 3 (2001): 158-189. (pg 187)[1]
5. ↑ Ancestry.com. Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire (database on-line). Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. Original data: Libby, Charles Thornton. Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire. Portland, ME, USA: The Southward Press, 1928.
6. ↑ Colket, Meredith B., JR. Founders of Early American Families: Emigrants from Europe, 1607-1657. Cleveland: General Court of the Order of Founders and Patriots of America, 1975. 366p. Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s. Roger Spencer
7. ↑ Charlestown Genealogies and Estates in the county of Middlesex and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1629-1818. published by D. Clopp. 1879
8. ↑ Wikipedia. Biddeford, Maine [2]
9. ↑ Bishop, John Leander, Freedley‎, Edwin Troxell and ‎Young, Edward. 1861 A History of American Manufactures from 1608 to 1860 [3]
10. ↑ Clayton, Woodford W. History of York County, Maine Pg 171 [4]
11. ↑ Charlestown Genealogies and Estates in the County of Middlesex and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1629-1818. published by D. Clopp 1879
12. ↑ Maine Pioneers, 1623-60. Roger Spencer; Charlestown. Ancestry.com. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999. Original data: Pope, Charles Henry. The Pioneers of Maine and New Hampshire, 1623-1660. n.p., 1908.
13. ↑ Folson, George. History of Saco and Biddeford: With Notices of Other Early ... [5] pg 182
14. ↑ Ridlon, Gideon Tibbets. Saco Valley Settlements and Families Historical, Biographical, Genealogical, Traditional, and Legendary · Volume 1 pg 102 [6]
15. ↑ The History of the State of Maine: From Its First Discovery, [7] pg 694
16. ↑ Suffolk County Wills
17. ↑ Records of the Suffolk County Court 1671-1680. Vol XXIX.
18. ↑ Mather, Cotton. 1702 Colonisation 1562-1753 [8]
19. ↑ U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Roger Spencer 1649 New England, US Death Year 1675 Spouse Gertrude Spencer
20. ↑ Massachusetts, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991. Roger Spencer Probate Place Plymouth, Massachusetts, US Inferred Death Place Massachusetts, US Others Listed 1
21. ↑ Baker, Emerson W., Reid, John G.. The New England Knight: Sir William Phips, 1651-1695. Buffalo: University of Toronto Press, 1998.
22. ↑ Geni. Captain Roger Spencer [9]
23. ↑ London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812. for Roger Spencer Southwark. St Mary Magdalene, Bermondsey 1603-1642. April 1617
24. ↑ Sewall, Rufus King. Ancient Dominions of Maine from an original paper in the archives of Maine Historical Society. M.S.S. Files, Me. H. Soc. archives
25. ↑ Spencer, Wilbur Daniel. Pioneers on Maine Rivers, with Lists to 1651 1871 pg 182, pg 271 pdf accessed 30.12.2021 [10]

• Charlestown Genealogies and Estates