In Memory of

THE LAST SPENCERS ON THE SPENCER HOMESTEAD ON MIDDLE ROAD

 This web site is in memory of William J.B. and Mary Jane (née Vaughn) Spencer and their children, Edith (“Aunt Edith”)Anna (née Spencer) Evarone, John Edward  (“Uncle Ed”) Spencer and Audrey Mae (née Spencer) MacDonald, the last Spencer children on the Spencer homestead.

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William J.B. & Mary Jane (Vaughn) Spencer’s Wedding Photo (1897)

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Edith Anna, John Edward and Audrey Mae (@1915) in front of shed on Spencer Farm

Even though these Spencer descendants are not buried in the Spencer family historical cemetery,  their emotional and caretaker ties to the cemetery never wavered. In their memory, this web site carries on their goals and aspirations.  Their desire was to have all Spencer descendants know of and take great pride in and feel responsible for their historical Spencer family cemetery. Particularly as they aged, the preservation of this historical cemetery–and also the prior Spencer “over back” (aka Straight Family) cemetery– meant everything to the three children. They were the last Spencers on the Spencer farm, the Spencer homestead as they never ceased referring to this land.   They felt responsible for keeping these cemeteries as a memorial to the brave men and women who came before them.

This web site is the result of work by Audrey Mae (née Spencer) MacDonald who on March 19, 1912 was the last Spencer baby born on the Spencer homestead on Middle Road–south side of road in the current Partridge Run area– in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. This Spencer homestead included the land which now (year 2013) houses the land of two historical Spencer cemeteries in East Greenwich, Rhode Island.

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Auction Sale Poster 1922

William J.B. Spencer sold the land in 1922. With that money, he and his wife, Mary Jane, purchased a large home, with the modern feature of an indoor bathroom, and property– including a small barn and sheds–at the corner of Washington Street and Mapledale Avenue (742 Washington Street) in Anthony,  a 1920s upscale residential section in Coventry, Rhode Island.

With Audrey Mae’s, Edith Anna’s and John Edward’s (“Ed’s”) generation, the Spencer name in their line ended as a surname, but the Spencer name lives on today with male descendants, from California to Rhode Island, carrying on the name Spencer as a first or middle name.

 

 

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