See also
1 Gerrard SPENCER1,2 (1614-1685) [3640]. Born 25 Apr 1614, Stotford, Bedfordshire, England.1,2 Bap 28 Apr 1634.3 Marr Hannah Joannis HILLS c. 1637, Lynn, MA.1 Died 3 Sep 1685, Haddam, Middlesex, CT.1,2
From Commemorative Biographical Record of Middlesex Co., Connecticut, 1903
The Spencer family has a history that runs back as far as Robert de Spenser, who is recorded as a 'dispenser' of the king, William the Conqueror. The first of the line to come to America was Gerrard Spencer, who with his brother, William, Thomas and Michael, located at Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1634. Gerrard Spencer was born in Stotfold, Bedfordshire, England, and was baptized April 28, 1634. He came to New England in 1632 and was admitted a freeman of the Massachusetts Bay Colony March 9, 1637. He was a resident of Cambridge in 1634, and owned land on the south side of the river. Later he moved to Lynn. In 1660 he came to Connecticut, and was probably in Hartford a short time. In 1662 he and his son John, were among the 28 purchasers of the town of Haddam, which was then, and for many years thereafter, a part of Hartford. He was the wealthiest man of the town. Gerrard Spencer died in 1685.
Genealogist note. The connection to William the Conqueror is interesting. He was the duke of Normandy who defeated the English at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and became the first Norman King of England.
SPENCER lineage has been documented in England prior to 1300. See The Spencers of the Great Migration, Vol I 1300 A.D. - 1783 A.D., by Jack Taif Spencer and Edith Woolley Spencer.
2 Michael SPENCER1 ( - ) [3642]. Marr Elizabeth ? aft 1461.1
4 John SPENCER1 ( -c. 1558) [3644]. Born Edworth, Bedfordshire, England.1 Died c. Jun 1558, Edworth, Bedfordshire, England.
5 Anna ?1 ( -c. 1560) [3645]. Died c. Jun 1560, Edworth, Bedfordshire, England.1
3 Elizabeth ?1 ( - ) [3643].
| 1 | "Ancestry.com, Snow/Lyman Ancestors". |
| 2 | "Genealogies of Connecticut Families from the New England Historical and Genealogical Register". |
| 3 | "Commemorative Biographical Record of Middlesex Co., Connecticut, 1903". |