John Spencer Born 1745 - James Matthew Watson's Side Of The Family

JOHN SPENCER (James Matthew Watson's  five-times-great-grandfather) was born on 16 December 1745 to Thomas Spencer and Elizabeth Julia Flournoy. John died in 1828, aged about 82. Note: John served as deputy sheriff of Charlotte County VA 1771-1773. John Spencer was a Lieutenant of a Virginia State Regiment in the Revolution from 1778-1781. He served in Edmonds Command, Artillery. He was ordered to Richmond for instruction Feb. 12, 1781 and was on a supernumerary list 1782. He was awarded 2,666 acres of land. The 1782 Tax List for Charlotte County showed a John Spencer with 6 white titheables and 10 negros. This was probably John, although the number of white titheables is puzzling. John's first wife died in 1786. In that year John sold the property he had inherited from his father to his brother, Thomas Spencer for 300 pounds. In 1788 John married Drucilla Bedford, widow of Col. Thomas Bedford. She was a Methodist and John may have been, or become one, too. In Dec 1788 John & Drusilla became the guardians of Drusilla's children by her first husband Thomas Bedford, namely Jinsey, Peggy, and Charles Wesley Bedford. In 1792 the guardianship for Peggy and Jinsey was transferred to Hillery Moseley. Also it appears in 1792 that there was another child of Thomas & Drusilla Bedford that John had assumed the guardianship for, namely Joseph. In 1789 John and Drucilla Spencer were visited by Methodist Bishop Asbury,who commented in his diaries on his hospitable reception, a continuation of hospitality he had received from Col. Thomas Bedford some twenty years before. Drucilla died in 1807, and we hear nothing more of John Spencer for some 20 years. It appears that at some point he had given all his property to his children, and perhaps he was living with one or another of them. In any event, on April 18, 1827 he made his will, proved in Charlotte County on March 3, 1828. It bequeathed "all my Estate both real and personal given and divided in my lifetime among my children Thomas C. Spencer, Henry Spencer, Frances A. Allen, Jinny Yarbrough and Elizabeth Julia Todd" to "remain as heretofore". It also bequeathed to his son, Thomas C. Spencer, a negro man, "now in his possession, providing he raise as soon as may be convenient after my decease one hundred and fifty dollars to be secured by him and my son Henry to their sister Jane Yarbrough and her children, by her marriage with Tho. Yarbrough." As executor he appointed son Thos. C. Spencer. The witnesses were John James R. Spencer and Matthew L. Spencer, his grandsons. There are some tantalizing mysteries about John's life. There were some slightly unusual gaps between the birthdates of his known children. We are not sure what happened to his Revolutionary War Land Grant, although there is a record of a John Spencer who made several assignments of parts of a large grant. We don't know why he sold all his property to his brother in 1786, nor why he found it necessary to make a contract with Druscilla whereby he would end up owing her 280 pounds. Nor do we know what he was doing from 1807 to 1827, nor why he saw fit to give all his property to his children (perhaps he stayed with some of them who were in Georgia).