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So, this is Dad and Mom. Ray is the son of Conrad Herrmann and Kate Bundock. He is the step-son of Edith Armstrong and Wally Hewitt. ...

Saturday, May 30, 2015

Ambrose Spencer and Mercy Ann Russell

First, do not confuse my 3rd great-grandfather, Ambrose, for the Ambrose Spencer who was a Politician in New York in the early 1800s. I did this in my early years of genealogy research, and I did a lot of head scratching until I finally realized the two men were separate people.
My Ambrose was born in Washington County, New York. He was the son of John Spencer and Nancy Warriner.
Ambrose married Mercy Ann Russell, daughter of Reuben Russell and Lydia Vaughan, in 1831. By 1850, they had migrated to Rock County, Wisconsin, along with Mercy's parents. 
Ambrose and Mercy had six children - John, William, Alonzo, Rodolph, Calista, and Orra. 
William and Calista died in infancy. 
An initial search on Alonzo led me to believe he may have died in the Civil War. Alonzo had married Marietta (sometimes spelled Mary Etta) Hare and they had one child, Clara. Alonzo served for the Union in the Wisconsin 1st Calvary, Company D. The 1870 Federal Census reports Marietta and Clara living with her father- and mother-in-law. Alonzo is not reported in the household. It had me thinking that, maybe, he died in the War.
Marietta and Clara move to Kenosha County in Wisconsin, as that is where her parents live. However, at the website, findagrave, Alonzo is buried in Green Ridge Cemetery in Kenosha, along with Marietta. Alonzo died in 1878 and Marietta died in 1914. According to various City Directories, Marietta never re-married as all the listings report her as the widow of Alonzo. 
Daughter Clara married Loren T Cox in 1881, Milwaukee. Loren was an engineer by trade, but the marriage only lasted until his death in 1891. I have found no children for them nor have I been able to trace Clara after her husband's death.
John was the oldest of the Spencer children. He married twice - Almeda Wheeler and Mary Spicer. He had two children with Almeda before her death in 1858. Both children - Ward and Delsina - died in infancy. 
His marriage to Mary produced four children - LaRooka, Anna, Alonzo and Weldon. Anna and Alonzo died in infancy. LaRooka married John Benson. It is this branch that holds the Vaughan-Spencer Bible. They had three children including an un-named daughter who died in infancy. 
Weldon married Nelly Clark. Together, they had three children.
John's brother, Orra, was a Circuit Preacher. He married twice. His first marriage to Eva Doolittle lasted until her death in 1917. Together, they had six children - Myrtle, Noble, Mabel, Elton, Walter and Edith. 
Orra's second marriage to Emma Slusser produced two more children - Ellen and Paul.
The three Spencer brothers - John, Rodolph and Orra - all made their homes in different States. John had settled in Kansas and died there in 1911. Rodolph settled in California and died there in 1912. Orra settled in Ohio and died there in 1922. 
Between the three brothers, they had at least 16 children and 46 grandchildren.