George Spencer Sr. was born on June 30, 1845, in New Jersey. He was the youngest of eight children born to James Spencer [B: 1800; D: Apr. 1872] and Johannah "Hannah" (née Hayward) Spencer [B: Sep. 21, 1804; D: Feb. 4, 1860]. In order from oldest to youngest, his brothers were William Z. Spencer [B: Sep. 16, 1823; D: May 7, 1899], John Spencer [B: Jul. 7, 1832; D: Apr. 22, 1885], and Charles P. Spencer [B: Jan. 24, 1841; D: May 2, 1915]. His sisters, in order from oldest to youngest, were Elizabeth (née Spencer) McElroy [B: 1826; D: 1884], Mary R. Spencer [B: c. 1830; D: ?], Sarah Spencer [B: 1836; D: Aft. 1870], and Caroline (née Spencer) Valentine [B: Mar. 4, 1838; D: Apr. 21, 1913]. According to the 1850 U.S. Federal Census, George, aged 5, his parents, and four of his siblings, John, Sarah, Caroline, and Charles, were residing in Newton, Sussex Co., N.J. James' occupation was recorded as "laborer," and it appears the family was living on rented farmland owned by Philip Woolever. Additionally, based on period maps, it is believed the land that the Spencers were living on was most likely located near present-day Andover Township and Green Township. Additionally, the census indicated that John was also working as a laborer while Sarah, Caroline, and Charles, were attending school. It is possible that George was too young to have begun school yet, as no specifics are listed in regard to him. By 1859, it appears the Spencers had relocated to Flanders, Morris Co, N.J.

On February 4, 1860, George's mother, Johannah "Hannah" (née Hayward) Spencer died in Flanders from complications of consumption (tuberculosis) at the age of 55; George was only 14 years old at the time of his mother's passing.

According to the 1860 U.S. Federal Census, George, aged 15, was living on a farm in Roxbury Township, Morris Co., N.J. with his father, James Spencer, his siblings, Sarah and Charles, and his niece, Mary J. McElroy [B: 1848; D: ?], the eldest daughter of his sister, Elizabeth. James' occupation was listed as "farmer," with the value of his personal estate being $200.00. The occupations of both George and his older brother, Charles, were listed as "farm labor." After the outbreak of the Civil War, George's three older brothers, William, John, and Charles, all served in the Union Army at some point. George was the only one of the four Spencer brothers who did not serve in the Civil War, as he was too young.

On September 5, 1863, in Stanhope, Sussex Co., N.J., George Spencer "of Sussex Co., N. Jersey," aged 18, married Margaret Anne Niper [B: Nov. 1845; D: 1905], aged 17, "of Stanhope N.J." [quoted portions regarding George and Margaret's origins are from their marriage record]. The two were most likely married in a Methodist Church. By the beginning of 1865, it appears George and Margaret had moved to Waterloo Village in Byram Township, Sussex Co., N.J. This move may have very well been due to George's employment on the Morris Canal. In January 1865, in Waterloo Village, George and Margaret Spencer welcomed their first child, Adeline Spencer [B: Jan. 1865; D: Apr. 14, 1953]. On September 27, 1866, their second child and first son, William Spencer [B: Sep. 27, 1866; D: Sep. 27, 1971], was born in Mount Olive, Morris Co., N.J. Two more daughters, George and Margaret's third and fourth children respectively, followed soon after, Hannah Spencer [B: Jul. 2, 1868; D: Oct. 3, 1952] on July 2, 1868, and Sarah Spencer [B: Nov. 1870; Feb. 4, 1940] in November 1870. According to the 1870 U.S. Federal Census, taken on June 24, 1870, George, aged 24, Margaret, Adeline, "Willie" (William), and Hannah were living in Succasunna, Morris Co., N.J. George's occupation is listed as "teamster," with his personal estate being valued at $25.00. It is also indicated on the census that both George and Margaret were illiterate, as it was noted that neither could read or write. Additionally, also indicated by this census, George's older brother, Charles, was living in the home next to George's, with his wife and three children. George and his three older brothers, William, John, and Charles were all employed on the Morris Canal at one point. On December 31, 1872, George and Margaret's fifth child, Anne Spencer [B: Dec. 31, 1872; D: Jul. 20, 1936], was born. On April 8, 1876, in Flanders, Morris Co., N.J., they welcomed their sixth child, Emma Jane Spencer [B: Apr. 8, 1876; D: Feb. 1963]. In January 1878, their seventh child and sixth daughter, Arminda Spencer [B: Jan. 1878; D: 1935], was born. On February 7, 1879, in the Bartley area of Mount Olive, Morris Co., N.J., George and Margaret's eighth child and second son, James Spencer [B: Feb. 7, 1879; D: Oct. 1, 1958] was born.

According to the 1880 U.S. Federal Census, George, Margaret, and their eight children were residing in Mount Olive, with George's occupation being listed as "laborer." George's older brother, Charles, was now living two houses away instead of being directly next to George's home as he was in 1870. On June 4, 1882, George Spencer Jr. [B: Jun. 4, 1882; D: Jun. 23, 1960], George and Margaret's ninth child and third son was born in Hackettstown, Warren Co., N.J. On January 10, 1885, their tenth child, a daughter, Ella Spencer [B: Jan. 10, 1885; D: Nov. 1965], was born. According to the 1885 New Jersey State Census, George, Margaret, and their nine children were living in Roxbury Township, Morris Co., N.J. On September 25, 1886, their eleventh child, Charles Spencer [B: Sep. 25, 1886; D: Mar. 13, 1954], was born in the "Roseville" area of Byram, Sussex Co., N.J. Evidently, sometime between when the 1885 N.J. State Census was taken and Charles' birth, the Spencer family had relocated to Byram. Overall, George and Margaret had eleven children: seven daughters and four sons.

Sometime around October 1886, George developed a cough, and when a physician attended to him, it was determined he has "hasty consumption." Additionally, sometime in November 1886, George contracted blood poisoning "due to a cut on the knee," as later recalled by his wife. Unfortunately, on December 14, 1886, George Spencer Sr. died in Byram, Sussex Co., N.J. at the age of 41 from "consumption accompanied by blood poisoning." According to his death certificate, George's cause of death was "pyaemia [blood poisoning] with heart failure." The length of George's illness, specifically the blood poisoning, was noted as being five weeks, and his occupation was recorded as "laborer." Soon after, George's body was transported to Succasunna, under the care of Nelson Youngs, an undertaker, and was buried in Flanders.

Although no obituary for George has yet been found, a notice from the Jan. 8, 1887, issue of 'The Iron Era,' out of Dover, Morris Co., N.J., stated, "Mrs. Geo. Spencer [Margaret] wishes to tender to the people of this community her gratitude for their kindness to her family and herself since her husband's death."

It is almost certain that after his death, George Spencer Sr. was buried in the Methodist Cemetery in Flanders, where his mother is known to have been buried, and likely his father also. Today, next to Johannah Spencer's grave in the cemetery, there are two plots that are without headstones. Since the Spencer family was not particularly wealthy, it is very possible that George and his father, James, are buried beside Johannah in unmarked graves. George's wife, Margaret, did not receive a headstone upon her death in 1904. Unfortunately, the Flanders United Methodist Church has not retained its burial records, only knowing who is interred in the cemetery based on headstones alone.

Additionally, when an addition was built onto the Flanders United Methodist Church in 1893, and later in the mid-1950s when an addition was built onto the church for a Sunday School, numerous tombstones were removed, and their accompanying graves dug up or otherwise disturbed, as a basement was also built for the church. Tragically, no proper records were kept on the graves that were disturbed nor was any attempt made by the church's staff to ensure internees were disinterred and relocated in a respectful manner. Based on records shown to me by the staff of the Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Chester Township, New Jersey, which show of a fairly large "mass grave" at Flanders-Hillside Cemetery in Succasunna, N.J., comprised of around 20 individuals originally buried in Flanders Methodist Cemetery, several of whom are not named. In turn, it is possible that both George's and his father's graves were dug up and moved from the Methodist Cemetery in Flanders to Flanders-Hillside Cemetery in Succasunna, with their stones, if they had any, never being replaced. Apparently, many of the tombstones removed from Flanders Methodist Cemetery during the renovations in 1893 and the mid-1950s were never replaced and are either broken and crumbling in a corner of the cemetery against a stone wall or in the church's basement. Regardless of where George is buried, along with his father, it is almost certain that both of them lie in unmarked graves.

*Bio by Robert Mayer III - George Spencer Sr.'s great-great-grandson.