22nd Generation

120. JOHN SPENCER (III)^8,18 was born about 1638 in Lynn, Essex Co., MA. He died on 30 Aug 1684 in E. Greenwich, Kent Co., RI. Source: Of the original grantees was John Spencer. He evidently came here directly from Newport, where he had been made a freeman in 1668. His wife was Susannah Griffin. John may have been the son of Michael Spencer who was living in Cambridge, MA, in 1634, and later in Lynn. Among John's possessions was a Spencer coat-of-arms which indicated that he descended from Sir Robert Spencer of Northampton, England. Also in his inventory was a gentleman's small sword or "tucke", suggesting that he might have held rank in England. The inventory also listed five Indian servants, presumably captives after King Philip's War. There is not much doubt that John Spencer was a leader. He was the first to sign the original grant, was the first town clerk in East Greenwich (1677-1683), and was conservator of the peace in 1678. Early town meetings were held at his home. Much credit is due this man for the early town records which he kept, even though his handwriting is like hieroglyphics to the untrained reader. John Spencer's original ninety acre farm granted to him in 1677 was on Kenyon Avenue. He evidently bought up other grants in this vicinity because his land holdings in the are were very extensive. His home stood on the ninety acre section assigned to h im near Payne's Pond. The house, which stood on the site of the one owned by James McMahan today, was torn down in 1914. Tradition has it that Peleg(2), son of John(3) Spencer, built it about 1708, but is is most likely that John(3) Spencer had a home, perhaps a small one resembling the original Clement Weaver house, on that site. Peleg may have added lean-tos and ells to the house, bringing it to much larger proportions. Pictures of the house show it to have been a sturdy two-story home with a large center chimney, almost identical with the pilastered chimney on the Joshua Coggeshall house, built in 1705, on Pierce Road. The fact that Peleg Spencer married Elizabeth, daughter of Joshua Coggeshall in 1708, makes it feasible that the same workmen built both these homes. The last member of the Spencer family to live in the old house was Judith Spencer Payne (1809-1893). Her heirs sold the property to James P. Riley in 1911. He had the house razed in 1914, and so went another fine architectural gem. Family letters and land evidence bear out the fact that John and Susannah (Griffin) Spencer were buried just west of the house and that someone plowed up the area, not realizing that it was a burial place. So old John and his Susannah lie in unmarked graves on the bank of Payne's Pond. It was on the north bank of the pond that Jeremiah(3) Spencer, son of Peleg (2) had a grist mill. In records of the period he is called "Jerimiah Spencer, the miller of Paradise Mill". Many of us today remember when this area was known as Paradise. John and Susannah Spencer had nine children, eight boys and one girl. Every child married, giving the old folks seventy-six grandchildren, so it is no wonder that the name of Spencer is familiar h ere after almost three hundred years. There we many Spencer families still living in and around East Greenwich who can trace their ancestry back to the first John Spencer/

THE HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND The History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations: Biograþhical, by the American Historical Society, Inc., 1920. For an unknown reason there are two coþies of the book with the same title þage, but with different contents. Articles will be added from these books regularly. From þages 142 - 143.

JOHN SPENCER (III) and Susannah GRIFFIN were married about 1665. Susannah GRIFFIN (daughter of Robert (?) GRIFFIN and (?) (?)) was born on 13 May 1644 in Newport, Newport Co., RI. She died on 12 Apr 1719 in E. Greenwich, Kent Co., RI. JOHN SPENCER (III) and Susannah GRIFFIN had the following children:

+195	i.	JOHN SPENCER (IV).
+196	ii.	Michael SPENCER.
+197	iii.	Benjamin SPENCER.
+198	iv.	William SPENCER.
+199	v.	Robert SPENCER Capt..
+200	vi.	Abner SPENCER.
+201	vii.	Dr. Thomas SPENCER.
+202	viii.	Susannah SPENCER.
+203	ix.	Peleg SPENCER.