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William SPENCE (1832-1908) to William Lloyd SPENCE (1908-1963) William SPENCE (1832-1908)William SPENCE Biographical Information As indicated above, William SPENCE is believed to have arrived in New York from Northern Ireland in approximately 1868. He would have been about 36 by that time, but virtually nothing is currently known about his life before his arrival in the United States. There is a suggestion, posed by an advertisement in 1880, discussed below, that he may have been in the military, specifically in the Royal Artillery for five years, but that remains to be verified. If he did have a military background, however, the fact that he found employment with a military officer and his family is not at all surprising. William SPENCE was by profession a coachman. He is believed to have started out as an ostler (stableman) and then was employed by wealthy families to drive private coaches in New York City and in Newport, Rhode Island. There is an indication that he worked for many years in the employ of the Gibbs family of New York and Rhode Island, specifically Major Theodore Kane GIBBS and his wife, Virginia BARRETT, possibly for as long as from 1868 to as late as 1908. If those dates are accurate, it would mean that William SPENCE worked for the Gibbs family for virtually all of the part of his working life following his arrival in the United States. The length and nature of his service, including the fact that he was needed in both New York and Rhode Island, strongly suggest that he advanced to a position of some importance relative to the use and care of the Gibbs horses. The Gibbs family was one of the most prominent and wealthy in Rhode Island. Theodore Gibbs had been a military hero during the Civil War and spent some time in the military after the war as well. He was the son of William Channing Gibbs and his wife, Mary K. Gibbs. William Channing Gibbs was prominent in public affairs and had been governor of Rhode Island from 1820 to 1824. The Gibbs family maintained extensive stables in both New York and Rhode Island and evidently William SPENCE was involved in the operation of both of them and had frequent contact with both generations of the family. There may have come a time when William SPENCE found it necessary to seek other employment, possibly having something to do with the ill health of Major Gibbs, related to earlier war injuries, that forced him to spend time in Pasadena, California where he was when he died at the age of 68 on January 16, 1909. This is only speculation, but it is based upon the fact that there was an advertisement in The New York Times on May 23, 1880 describing a "respectable" coachman seeking work who had "been in the Royal Artillery five years" and had the "best testimonials." Interested persons were asked to call at 130 West 28th Street, the address of the apartment at the Gibbs stables where the SPENCE family lived at the time. See "Where Charming Buildings Housed Horses" by Christopher Gray, The New York Times, January 27, 2008. Regardless of the advertisement, however, it appears that William SPENCE remained employed by the Gibbs family, essentially until his death in 1908. As noted above, William SPENCE's employment by the Gibbs family made it necessary for him to spend time both in New York City and in Newport, Rhode Island, depending upon the needs of his employer. The Rhode Island location may have been open only at certain times of the year since the Gibbs family spent time in New York and also in California. Regarding the New York City location, indications are that Major and Mrs. Gibbs owned an extensive number of buildings on West 18th Street which were used as stables. At least one of the buildings, #130, also had residence facilities and William SPENCE and his family lived there for a period of time. Census records indicate that they were living there in 1880, the year of the advertisement described above. -------------------------------------------------------------- William Frederick SPENCE (1879-1956)Biographical Information William Frederick SPENCE, known to the family as "Will," was a businessman, working primarily in sales, frequently specializing in machinery and metal parts. William Frederick SPENCE was also a musician, specifically a talented violin player. His and his wife's cultural interests and capabilities were passed on to their children including, but not limited to, their first born child, William Lloyd SPENCE, who later attended Juilliard School of Music and became an accomplished organist and pianist. The children of Mary Louise THOMAS and William Frederick SPENCE attended private schools oriented toward the arts and were exposed extensively to the arts. Helen SPENCE and William Lloyd SPENCE both attended the Ethical Culture School in New York City. -------------------------------------------------------------- William Lloyd SPENCE (1908-1963)Biographical Information William Lloyd SPENCE, known to the family as "Lloyd," worked for many years in New York City in the credit and collection field, primarily as a claims adjuster. In his youth, William Lloyd SPENCE attended The Ethical Culture School, a progressive private school now called the Ethical Culture Fieldston School, graduating from their high school in 1926. After graduation from Ethical Culture, he attended the world renowned Juilliard School of Music. He was an excellent musician who, although not pursuing music as a career, was a fine organ and piano player. In addition to his regular job in New York, he served for a number of years as the organist, and, for a time, choir director, at the family's church, the First Presbyterian Church in Caldwell, New Jersey, and later as organist for the Presbyterian Church in Paterson, New Jersey. William Lloyd SPENCE was also a sports enthusiast, especially basketball, and played for the school team at Ethical Culture throughout his four years. After graduation, he played, managed, and coached basketball for other local teams in Manhattan. During World War II, William Lloyd SPENCE was a Staff Sergeant in the Army Air Corps, now the U.S. Air Force, and served in England during the war. William Lloyd SPENCE was active in the church and sang in church choirs throughout his life, initially in the Episcopal Church in New York City which is where he met his wife to be, Dorothy Gertrude TIGHE, and then later at the First Presbyterian Church in Caldwell, New Jersey where he was also organist and choir director as noted above. |
