According to Audrey Mae’s artistic cemetery map diagram and Audrey Mae’s gravestone numbering system, John Anthony’s gravestone is Gravestone Number Thirty-Two. Using her Smith-Corona typewriter in the 1980s, Audrey Mae typed the following mini-biography of John Anthony Spencer, a seventh-generation Spencer in East Greenwich, Rhode Island.

Audrey Mae connects the mini-biographies of John Anthony and Jamima (Maxim) Spencer with the attached line and word “married” to show that both husband and wife (gravestone numbers No.31 and No. 32) are buried in the Spencer Family Cemetery. See below:

Bruce MacGunnigle – 50

John Anthony born in 1813 is the son of Captain John (gravestone No. 4) and Phebe (née Vaughn) Spencer.  Captain John is the first son of Huldah (gravestone No. 1) and Patriot John (No. 2) Spencer.

Audrey Mae’s line and word “children” show that gravestone 33,34,35,36 and 37 are the gravestones of John Anthony and Jamima Maxim’s children, Martha, Ella, Alice, John and Walter.

John Anthony and Jamima’s female children died so young.  Also, how tragic to have their son, John, who was in the Civil War died at age 19. Did he die in battle or sickness as 500,000 other soldiers had?

(There were five John Spencers from this area of East Greenwich who fought in the Civil War.  Two were killed, two returned unscathed–if that were possible in battle–and one (Audrey Mae’s grandfather) had been a prisoner of war and paroled by Abraham Lincoln’s policy.)

Audrey Mae’s grandfather does not descend from Captain John and Phebe’s son John. Audrey Mae, Edith Anna and John Edward descend from Captain John’s brother, Richard Anthony (“Deacon”) and Roby’s Spencer’s son, Richard Anthony Spencer. Richard Anthony’s daughter, Anna Maria (pronounce Mar-eye-ah) is the grandmother of Edith Anna, Audrey Mae, and John Edward (“Ed”).

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

According to Audrey Mae’s artistic cemetery map diagram and Audrey Mae’s gravestone numbering system, Martha A Spencer’s gravestone is Gravestone Number Thirty-Three. Using her Smith-Corona typewriter in the 1980s, Audrey Mae typed the following mini-biography of Martha, a eighth-generation Spencer in East Greenwich, Rhode Island.

Martha born in 1837 is the child of John Anthony (gravestone No. 32) and Jamima Maxim (gravestone No. 31) Spencer.  John Anthony is the son of Captain John (gravestone No. 4) and Phebe (née Vaughn) Spencer.  Captain John is the first son of Huldah (gravestone No. 1) and Patriot John (No. 2) Spencer.

Martha only lived a few months.

Bruce MacGunnigle – 49

Three of John Anthony and Jamina Maxim’s daughters are buried here. Two died in infancy and one as a toddler.  Audrey Mae did not record the causes of their deaths but noted that their Spencer great-grandparents died at age 70 and age 89, their grandparents died at age 54 and 74 and their parents died at age 85 and 78. Apparently at that time in history, if a child did not die in infancy or childhood, they had a good chance of living to old age.

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

According to Audrey Mae’s artistic cemetery map diagram and Audrey Mae’s gravestone numbering system, Ella W. Spencer’s gravestone is Gravestone Number Thirty-Four. Using her Smith-Corona typewriter in the 1980s, Audrey Mae typed the following mini-biography of Ella W. Spencer, a eighth-generation Spencer in East Greenwich, Rhode Island.

Ella W. born in 1860 is the child of John Anthony (gravestone No. 32) and Jamima Maxim (gravestone No. 31) Spencer.  John Anthony is the son of Captain John (gravestone No. 4) and Phebe (née Vaughn) Spencer.  Captain John is the first son of Huldah (gravestone No. 1) and Patriot John (No. 2) Spencer.

Ella W. only lived a few months.

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John Anthony and Jamina Maxim three daughters, Martha, Ella and Alice are buried in the Spencer Family Cemetery. Ella died at six months.  Audrey Mae did not record the causes of their deaths but noted that their Spencer great grandparents died at age 70 and age 89, their grandparents died at age 54 and 74 and their parents died at age 85 and 78. Apparently at that time in history, if a child did not die in infancy or childhood, they had a good chance of living to old age. This goes against the thought that our early colonials all died around age 40.  The average age may have been 40, but that is just because the infancy and childhood deaths averaged with those adults who lived to old age skewed the statistics.

Ella’s siblings in the Spencer Family Cemetery include a brother who most likely died in the Civil War and one brother who actually lived to age fifty-three. One can only hope that John Anthony and Jamima had other children who grew up, married and lived to old age and were either buried in their spouse’s historical cemetery, another Spencer Family Cemetery or their mother’s historical family cemetery.  More research is needed.

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

According to Audrey Mae’s artistic cemetery map diagram and Audrey Mae’s gravestone numbering system, Alice’s gravestone is Gravestone Number Number Thirty-Five. Using her Smith-Corona typewriter in the 1980s, Audrey Mae typed the following mini-biography of Alice Spencer, an eighth-generation Spencer in East Greenwich, Rhode Island.

Alice  born in 1858 is the daughter of John Anthony (gravestone No. 32) and Jamima Maxim Spencer (gravestone No. 31). John Anthony is the son of Captain John (gravestone No. 4) and Phebe (née Vaughn) Spencer.  Captain John is the first son of Huldah (gravestone No. 1) and Patriot John (No. 2) Spencer.

Alice only lived to age one.

Bruce MacGunnigle – 45

John Anthony and Jamima Maxim three daughters, Martha, Ella and Alice are buried here in the Spencer Family Cemetery. They died in infancy and early childhood.  Audrey Mae did not record the causes of their deaths but noted that their Spencer great grandparents died at age 70 and age 89, their grandparents died at age 54 and 74 and their parents died at age 85 and 78. Apparently at that time in history, if a child did not die in infancy or childhood, they had a good chance of living to old age. This goes against the thought that our early colonials all died around age 40.  The average age may have been 40, but that is just because the infancy and childhood deaths averaged with those adults who lived to old age skewed the statistics.

Alice’s siblings in the Spencer Historical Family Cemetery:

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

According to Audrey Mae’s artistic cemetery map diagram and Audrey Mae’s gravestone numbering system, John Spencer’s gravestone is Gravestone Number Thirty-Six. Using her Smith-Corona typewriter in the 1980s, Audrey Mae typed the following mini-biography of John Spencer, a eighth-generation Spencer in East Greenwich, Rhode Island.

Audrey Mae posted a small clipping of an American flag next to John’s gravestone on her artistically designed cemetery map.  The flag denotes the gravestone is a a gravestone of a person who fought in one of the American wars.  This John was in Company A of the 2nd Rhode Island Regiment in the American Civil War.

Bruce MacGunnigle – 44

This John Spencer, the son of John Anthony and Jamima, was in the Civil War and died at age 19. Did he die in battle or sickness as 500,000 other soldiers had? 

John born in 1843 is the son  of John Anthony (gravestone No. 32) and Jamima Maxim Spencer (gravestone No. 31.)  John Anthony is the son of Captain John (gravestone No. 4) and Phebe (née Vaughn) Spencer.  Captain John is the first son of Huldah (gravestone No. 1) and Patriot John (No. 2) Spencer. Continue reading →