Audrey Mae SpencerSpencer Historical CemeteryHenry Straight / William Spencer Family Cemetery
Vaughn Historical CemeterySpencers of East Greenwich, RI

1st Generation:

John (c1638– d. 8-30-1684) and Susannah* (nee Griffin) Spencer (b.5-13-1644 – d.4-12-1719) of Newport, R.I. were Founders and Early Settlers of East Greenwich, R.I. in 1667;

Buried:  “just west of the house” (289 Kenyon Avenue, East Greenwich—original house razed in 1914) “on the bank of Payne’s Pond”
*Another spelling for Susannah was Susanna

  • John Edward Spencer (b.8-15-1904—d.4-26-1988) was named after  this first John in East Greenwich, as well as three other ancestor  grandfathers who carried the name of John down through the generations.

2nd Generation:

John (b.4-20-1666–d.1743) and Audrey (nee Green) Spencer (12-27-1667–d.4-17-1733)
Audrey Green’s parents: John and Ann (nee Almy) Green
Buried:

  • Audrey Mae (nee Spencer) MacDonald (3-19-1912—3-11-2007) was  named after her great, great, great, great, great, great, great (7 times)  grandmother, Audrey (nee Green) Spencer, of this generation.

3rd Generation:

William (b.5-5-1695–d.1758) and Elizabeth (nee Rice) Spencer, (b.5-6-1698—d. 1776)
Elizabeth Rice’s parents: John and Elnathion (nee Whipple) Rice
Married 5-10-1716
Buried:

4th Generation:

William (b.4-4-1723—d. Oct. of 1777) and Mary (nee Manchester) (b.12-19-1719—9-8-1784) Spencer, were the first Spencer family on the Spencer homestead on Middle Road.

Buried: on the west end of “Over Back” Cemetery, located 1,383 feet south of Spencer Historical East Greenwich Cemetery #9.  The “Over Back” Cemetery is on the east side of the adjoining stonewall connecting to the Spencer Historical East Greenwich Cemetery #9.

5th Generation:

John (b.2-7-1760—d.9-29-1849) and Huldah (nee Johnson) Spencer (b.6-28-1762—d.8-29-1852)
John was in the American Revolution.
Buried:  Huldah’s gravestone is #1 and John’s gravestone is #2 in AudreyMae (nee Spencer) MacDonald’s diagram of the Spencer East Greenwich Historical Cemetery # 9.

6th Generation:

Richard (b.5-11-1798—d.12-19-1889) and Roby (nee Tarbox) Spencer (b.7-15-1798—d.1876)
Richard was always called Deacon Richard because he was Deacon of the Frenchtown Baptist Church for fifty years.
Buried:  Roby’s gravestone is #5 and Richard’s gravestone is #6 in Audrey Mae (nee Spencer) MacDonald’s diagram of the Spencer East Greenwich Historical Cemetery #9.

7th Generation:

Richard Anthony (b.9-1-1817—d.5-27-1845) and Ann Almy (nee Tarbox) Spencer (b.2-13-1823—d.11-24-1904)
Richard Anthony died at age 27, leaving only one child, Anna Maria.
Buried:  Richard Anthony’s gravestone is #7 in Audrey Mae (nee Spencer) MacDonald’s diagram of the Spencer East Greenwich Historical Cemetery #9.
8th Generation:

Anna Maria (b.5-23-1844—d.9-25-1913) and John Johnson Spencer (b.5-27-1842—d.4-19-1926)

AudreyMae spelled Anna Maria’s name Mirah because everyone pronounced the name Mar-eye-ah at that time in history.  If Anna Maria had not married a Spencer, the Spencer name would have ended in this generation as a surname. John Johnson Spencer was in the Civil War.
Buried:  Anna Maria’s gravestone and also John Johnson’s gravestone is #8 in Audrey Mae (nee Spencer) MacDonald’s diagram of the Spencer East Greenwich Historical Cemetery #9.

  • Edith Anna (b.6-11-1898—d.12-8-1991) was named after this  grandmother, Anna Maria, and, also, her Vaughn grandmother, Lydia Edith Vaughn  (b.7-28-1844—d.4-23-1917), buried in the Vaughn East Greenwich, R.I.  Historical Cemetery #7.

9th Generation:

William J.B. (b.4-11-1878—d.1-12-1969) and Mary Jane (nee Vaughn) Spencer (b.1-14-1877—d.2-11-1955)

Fearful of vandalism in the East Greenwich Historical Cemetery #9, Mary Jane wanted to be buried in a cemetery with perpetual care near their home in Coventry, R.I. She was the first of a number of Spencer (and Vaughn) descendents in Lot 29 and 50, Rathbun Cemetery, corner of Washington Street and Knotty Oak Road, Coventry, R.I.

William’s full name is William Joseph Briggs Spencer. However, William J.B. Spencer and Joseph Briggs are not blood related, as William’s name would suggest. Joseph Briggs was Anna Maria’s stepfather, and he wanted her son to be named after him. He told Anna Maria (pronounced Mar-eye-ah) that if she named her son after him, he would give her fifty dollars ($50.00); in 1878 fifty dollars was a lot of money. She named William after him and she received the money.

Following the tradition of carrying on family names, William J.B. was named after his great, great, great, great (4 times) grandfather, William, and his great, great, great (3 times) grandfather, William.

10th Generation:
William J.B. and Mary Jane (nee Vaughn) Spencer’s three children:

Edith Anna (b.6-11-1898—12-8-1991)

John Edward (b.8-15-1904—4-26-1988)

Audrey Mae (b.3-19-1912—3-11-2007)

Burial Places:

Edith Anna (nee Spencer) Evarone is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California.
John Edward Spencer is buried in Lot 29, and Audrey Mae (Spencer) MacDonald is buried in Lot 50, Rathbun Cemetery, corner of Washington Street and Knotty Oak Road, Coventry, along with their parents, William J.B. and Mary Jane (nee Vaughn) Spencer, and other Spencer (and Vaughn) descendents.