Legislator Details
Vital Records Information:
Marital Information:
married Frances [Fannie] E. Rich, 12/17/1866; children: 3, Beulah B. (Huff), Fred E. and Bernice; married Lura M. Defendorf, dau. of H. and ??avia (Huntington) Defendorf, 10/8/1891, in Dowagiac, MI; married Mary C. Magin, dau. of Jacob and Elizabeth (Koch) Magin, 2/7/1910 in Dowagiac
Number of Children: 3
Background
Education:
attended high school in Dowagiac and Niles, MI
Biographical Sketch:
Son of Joseph [or James] and Laura (Foster) Spencer. His family came to Cass Co., MI in 1837. He left school to enlist in Co. A, 19th Mich. Infantry, August 9, 1862; was captured at Thompson's Station, TN, March 5, 1863, with most of his regiment, and was for a time confined in Libby Prison. He was with Sherman in his "march to the sea" through the Carolinas and Virginia to Washington. He mustered out with his regiment June 10, 1865. He returned home and attended one term of school at Decatur, MI, under Prof. C. F. R. Bellows, now of the State Normal. He worked in a wholesale house in Kansas City, MO, for 2 years
Notable Facts:
One marriage record gives father's first name as Jms [or James]; death certificate and last marriage record say Joseph.