According to Audrey Mae’s artistically designed cemetery map and Audrey Mae’s gravestone numbering system in her Spencer Historical Family Cemetery, Alphonse Rathbun’s gravestone is Gravestone Number Forty-Seven. Alphonso is the son of Roby Alice (née Spencer) and George Rathbun. Using her Smith-Corona typewriter in the 1980s, Audrey Mae typed the following mini-biography of Alphonse Rathbun, a ninth-generation Spencer in East Greenwich, Rhode Island through his mother, Roby Alice (née Spencer) Rathbun.

(2013 update:  According to Alphonse’s gravestone inscription and Bruce MacGunnigle’s book, Alphonse lived to age five years and four months.)

Bruce MacGunnigle – 38

Alphonso’s parents are:

Alphonse’s mother, Roby Alice, has the same first name as Roby (née Tarbox) Spencer (Gravestone No. 5), the spouse of Richard Anthony (“Deacon”) Spencer (Gravestone No. 6). Alphonse’s mother, Roby Alice is a descendant of that couple. Audra Eleanor is the first daughter of “Deacon” and Roby Spencer and Marcus’s mother, Roby Alice is a daughter of Audra Eleanor.

Alphonse’ s sister is Lilly Bell (No. 46) and his brother is Marcus (No. 45).

Delightful story re Alphonse’s parents and his aunt and uncle:

The two Rathbun brothers, (George–Gravestone No. 49 and John– Gravestone No. 58) married the two Spencer sisters, (Evelyn –Gravestone No. 57 and Roby Alice–Gravestone No. 48).

Article about the Rathbun brothers who married the Rathbun sisters:

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According to the above article on the Rathbone (sic) genealogy, the Spencer sisters are the daughters of Benjamin (gravestone No. 54) and Audra (gravestone No. 53).

Audrey Mae’s daughter, Crystal, met one of the Rathbun descendants who gave her copies of the above articles.

“Spencer, Johnson, Goff, Tarbox and Rathbun descendants, if you have any additional information on Alphonse Rathbun , please add a comment to this web site and the web site editor will add this to the site. Thanks.”