According to Audrey Mae’s artisitic cemetery map diagram and gravestone numbering system, Richard Anthony’s gravestone is numbered Gravestone Number Eleven. Using her Smith-Corona typewriter in the 1981s, Audrey Mae typed the following mini-biography of Richard Anthony, an eighth-generation Spencer in East Greenwich, Rhode Island:
Richard Anthony is named after Audrey Mae’s great grandfather, Richard Anthony who died at age 27. Therefore, this Richard Anthony would have special significance to Audrey Mae and she would write this in his mini-biography above.
This Richard Anthony’s father is Joseph Jason Spencer, the fifth child of Richard Anthony (“Deacon”) and Roby (née Tarbox) Spencer. When Joseph Jason’s older brother, Richard Anthony (Deacon and Roby’s first son) died at age twenty-seven, Joseph Jason named his next born son after his older brother. The infant Richard Anthony Spencer was born July 18th and his uncle Richard Anthony Spencer had just died May 27th.
Since this Richard Anthony was named after Audrey Mae’s, John Edward’s and Edith Anna’s great-grandfather, Richard Anthony Spencer (Gravestone No. 7), this gravestone (No. 11) would have special significance for these three last children on the Spencer Homestead, as they referred to the land as last as the 21th Century.
In her artistic cemetery map, Audrey Mae displayed an American flag next to Richard Anthony Spencer’s Gravestone Number Eleven to signify that he was in the Civil War. He was in Co. H 2 Reg’t. He died in February of 1885– the last year of the Civil War–at age nineteen, and therefore in all probability he died in the Civil War. (Was he one of five hundred-thousand Americans who died in the American Civil War?) More research is needed.
According to Audrey Mae, Gravestones Number ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen and fourteen are the children of Joseph Jason (No. 9) and Celinda (née Kettelle) Spencer. Richard Anthony (No. 11), the subject of this page, is the first born of Jason Joseph and Celinda’s five children who are buried in the Spencer Family Cemetery. See below:
According to Audrey Mae, Augustus Burnside (gravestone No. 24) is also a child of Joseph Jason and Celinda and therefore another brother of Richard Anthony. Augustus Burnside died as a child of three years.
Richard Anthony’s mother, Celinda (née Kettelle) Spencer, was a great aunt of Violette Kettelle. (Another spelling of Celinda is on Joseph David’s gravestone. Selinda is spelled with an “S”.) Violet Kettelle (2-22-1912–6-4-2004) was a Spencer historian who carried on the work of Esther Amanda (née Spencer) Briggs (1-21-1835–6-2-1929). Esther Amanda (“Aunt Mandy”) was the first Spencer historian known to descendants.
Cousin Violet, as Audrey Mae called her, was the first woman to enter Penbroke College in Rhode Island. Violet taught school in Vermont for most of her long career (glossary of audreymaespencer.com). On retirement, Violet returned to her family home on the north side of Middle Road in East Greenwich, R.I., to the east of the Spencer family cemetery. Violette spent her retirement years at her family home on Middle Road; and Audrey Mae (3-19-1912–3-11-2007) would often visit Violet on the Kettelle farm. Audrey Mae wanted all her daughters to know cousin Violet, who was also a woman before her time.
Violette had said that she could no longer visit her own family historical cemetery as the brush had grown up and concealed the graveyard, and it was too difficult or impossible for her to any more find it, never mind visit it.
Spencer, Johnson, Tarbox and Kettelle descendants, if you have any additional information on this Richard Anthony born 7-18-1845, please add a comment to this web site and the web site editor will add this to the site. Thanks!