No. 17 Phebe Ann

no-17-phebe-annAccording to Audrey Mae’s artistic cemetery map diagram and Audrey Mae’s gravestone numbering system, Phebe Ann’s gravestone is Gravestone Number Seventeen. Using her Smith-Corona typewriter in the 1980s, Audrey Mae typed the following mini-biography of Phebe Ann, a seventh-generation Spencer in East Greenwich, Rhode Island.ams-17-phebe-ann

Bruce MacGunnigle – 32

Phebe is the daughter of Captain John (No. 4) and Phebe (née Vaughn) (No. 3) Spencer.  Phebe was obviously named after her mother Phebe (née Vaughn) Spencer. The children (Phebe, Eliza, Harriet, Almira, Matilda, Obediah and Susan) in this Spencer line do not have Spencer historical names. Were these Vaughn names?

Phebe A. Sweet’s Gravestone No. 17 marking show her married name as Phebe A. Sweet.  According to Audrey Mae’s mini-biography, Phebe and her sister Harriet married the Sweet brothers. Therefore, Phebe married the brother of her sister Harriet’s husband Rowland A. Sweet.

According to Audrey Mae’s artistic map diagram, Gravestones 16-22 are the children of Phebe (née Vaughn) and Captain John Spencer.  Captain John (gravestone No.4) is the first son of Revolutionary War Patriot John (gravestone No. 2) and Huldah (neé Johnson) Spencer.  Audrey Mae typed the following mini-biographies of Captain John and Phebe (née Vaughn) Spencer’s children, Eliza, Phebe, Harriet, Almira, Matilda, Obediah and Susan:

ams-16-22-elizaphebealmiramatildaobediah-susan_0

Audrey Mae recorded that Phebe Ann lived to age 68 years which was quite unusual as five of her sisters died at such young ages.  Audrey Mae did not record the causes of their deaths but noted that their Spencer grandparents died at age 70 and age 89 and their own parents died at age 54 and 74.  Of the seven children of Captain John and Phebe buried in the Spencer family cemetery, Phebe Ann is the only one to live past 50 years.  The fact that only Phebe Ann lived to an older age is very unsual as the Spencers had longevity.

Spencer Johnson, Goff, Vaughn and Sweet descendants, if you have any additional information on Phebe Ann (née Spencer) Sweet, please add a comment to this web site and the web site editor will add this to the site. Thanks.”