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I will look at this later but for now, the name in the smaller clip is:  Tho:

This is a standard way of abbreviating Thomas.

Many thanks horselydown86.  That makes perfect sense and closes some key gaps in the record.

I took a look at Thomas Spencer son of Edward and Sarah Spencer, who was born in December 1774.  He's not the right person because he died and was buried in 1778.  A second son named Thomas was born to Edward and Sarah Spencer in January 1789 but he's too young to have married Elizabeth Pendleton in 1798. 

Back to the drawing board...!

My 3rd Great-Grandfather was Edward Spencer, born in Dallam, Lancashire, in 1812.  His 1841 marriage certificate to his second wife, Alice Looker, gives his father as Thomas Spencer, a potter. 

Thomas Spencer married Elizabeth Pendleton in 1798 in Warrington (Elizabeth was from Prescot).  They had 7 children that I’ve been able to identify: William (1799), Hannah (1801), Eliza (1802), Samuel (1808), Elizabeth (probably 1810 – there’s an unidentified child Christened in this year but later records suggest it was likely Elizabeth), Edward (1812), and Jane (before 1817).  Christening records for all these children, except for Jane, were from Stepney Congregational Chapel in Warrington. 

The 1841 Census shows Thomas and Elizabeth in Dallam Pottery, Burtonwood.  Elizabeth died in 1842 and Thomas remarried a Sarah James, born in Stroud, Gloucestershire, the following year.  The 1843 marriage certificate lists Thomas’ father as named Thomas, also a potter. 

The 1851 Census shows Thomas and Sarah Spencer living in Halton, Runcorn.  Thomas is a shopkeeper while Sarah is a milliner and dressmaker.  Thomas’ birth year is 1774 and he was born in Liverpool.  Thomas dies in 1854 and, again, his age gives a birth year of 1774. 

Finding Parents of Thomas Spencer

The challenge is identifying the parents and siblings of Thomas Spencer.  Assuming the details in Thomas’ 1843 marriage certificate and the 1851 Census are correct, then his father was also a potter named Thomas from Liverpool.  Unfortunately, there aren’t any suitable Christening records in Liverpool that meet these criteria.  The following records could match Thomas Spencer’s father:

•   Marriage of a Thomas Spencer, potter, to Elizabeth Gibson at St.Peter’s Church, Liverpool, on 23 September 1764. 
•   Burial at St.Peter’s Church of Thomas Spencer, a potter of Folly Lane, on 9 May 1782. 

However, the only Christening records in the parish between those dates are for children of a Thomas Spencer, boatbuilder rather than a potter.

Lancashire Online Parish Clerks (LOPC) has a series of Christenings and burials for a potter/mugger named Thomas Spencer and his wife, Elizabeth, who lived in Knowsley/Prescot, which follow on from the 1764 marriage of Thomas Spencer and Elizabeth Gibson, comprising: Ellen (born 1765, died 1767); Thomas (1766); William (1768); John (1770); Roger (1772), and; James (1774). 

There’s also a burial record for a daughter, Ann, who died in 1781.  Finally, there’s a burial record for Elizabeth, wife of Thomas Spencer, potter, in 1774. 

The birth year for the son, Thomas, in 1766 doesn’t tally with the two sources for Thomas Spencer who died in 1854, which gave his birth year as 1774.  There are also other competing records which cast doubt on whether the Thomas Spencer born in 1766 is the same man who married Elizabeth Pendleton in 1798, then married Sarah James in 1843, and ultimately died in 1854. 

Other Thomas Spencers

An additional set of Christenings and burials in LOPC relate to a Thomas Spencer and his wife Elizabeth of Knowsley at the Parochial Chapel of Kirkby: Ellen (1792); William (1794); Elizabeth (1797); Peggy (1799); Thomas (1802); James (1804); Ann (1806); John (1809), and; Joseph (1812).  None of these records provide an occupation for the father, so it’s possible they’re unrelated to the Thomas Spencer line that were potters.  The dates overlap with the children of Thomas Spencer who died in 1854 so, clearly, unrelated but is this Thomas Spencer the same man who was born in 1766? 

There are also 3 burial records of children whose father was Thomas Spencer (Junior), a potter/earthenware dealer in Prescot, comprising: Ellen (died 1800); Thomas (died 1801), and; unnamed twins (died 1804).  There’s also the burial of Elizabeth Spencer, wife of Thomas Spencer (Junior), a pottery manufacturer, in Prescot in 1802.  These also overlap with the children of Thomas Spencer who died in 1854 and so Thomas Spencer (Junior) can’t be that same person.  However, they also don’t align well with the children Christened at the Parochial Chapel of Kirkby.  Could this Thomas Spencer (Junior) be the same man who was born in 1766?

To cap it all, there are additional marriages of men named Thomas Spencer to Elizabeths (or variants thereof), including one to a Betty Rigby at Huyton-by-Roby (1781) and another to Elizabeth Hampson at Walton (1791).  Thomas Spencer (b 1766) was certainly old enough to be the groom for the 1791 event but not the 1781 marriage.  Conversely, the 1781 event could be a second marriage for the Thomas Spencer whose first wife died in 1774…or it could be an entirely different person.

Conclusion

I’ve tried to lay out the above information to make sense of it but without success.  I can believe that Thomas Spencer and Elizabeth Gibson (married Liverpool 1764) may be the parents of the children Christened in Prescot but that would mean their son, Thomas, likely was married prior to the 1798 marriage to Elizabeth Pendleton.  However, there must be one other Thomas Spencer son of Thomas Spencer who was the Thomas Spencer (Junior) mentioned in Prescot records, but there’s no corresponding Christening record.  The lack of comprehensive records probably means it will be impossible to untangle the various Thomas Spencer relationships.  However, any thoughts from the RootsChat experts would be very, VERY welcome. 

One of my 3rd Great Grandfathers was Edward Spencer, a potter, who was born in Dallam but eventually moved to St.Helens.

I have a first marriage of Edward to an Emma Gardner in 1834 per the following Lancs Online Parish Clerks record.  Edward's occupation doesn't match his later career as a potter but I think that's a minor difference.  One original version of this record lists the marriage place as the Parochial Chapel of Farnworth:

Marriage: 23 Mar 1834 St Luke (formerly St Wilfrid), Farnworth (Widnes), Lancashire
Edward Spencer - Wheelwright, this Parish
Emma Gardner - Spinster, this Parish
    Witnesses: Mary Ann Gardner; John Shaw (X)
    Married by Banns by William Jeff, Minister
    Register: Marriages 1832 - 1837, Page 38, Entry 114
    Source: LDS Film 1655235 item 7

The Mary Ann Gardner identified as a witness was Emma Gardner's elder sister.  Both were Christened in St.Elphin's Church, Warrington, daughters of Jesse Gardner, a flour merchant. 

There's also a death of an Emma Spencer in Dallam Lane in 1839:

Burial: 26 Feb 1839 St Elphin, Warrington, Lancashire
Emma Spencer -
    Age: 22
    Abode: Dallam Lane
    Buried By: Geo Richards Curate
    Register: Burials 1836 - 1841, Page 152, Entry 1212
    Source: LDS Film 1562962

The corresponding Death Certificate identifies Emma Spencer as the wife of Edward Spencer, a potter.

Edward Spencer went on to marry a second time, on 25 April 1841, to Alice Looker, my 2nd Great-Grandmother, at Stepney Congregational Chapel, Warrington (Edward was Christened in that Chapel, as were almost all his siblings).  The 1841 Census shows Edward and Alice living in Dallam Lane but there's a 6 year-old daughter, Jane, living with them.  Clearly, Jane was not a daughter of Alice and so must have been a daughter of Emma.  However, I can find no corresponding Christening record in either Warrington or Prescot areas, and Jane doesn't appear in any later Census records.  Neither can I find a suitable burial record for her. 

Now for the really puzzling part.  The following Christenings took place in Stepney Congregational Chapel in 1836.  Both are sons of an Edward Spencer but the spouse's name is Hannah and not Emma.  However, the second child's name is of particular interest because Emma Gardner's father was Jesse Gardner:

Baptism: 27 Apr 1836 Stepney Congregational, Warrington, Lancashire
James Spencer - Son of Edward Spencer & Hannah
    Born: 22 Apr 1836
    Abode: Warrington in the County of Lancaster
    Baptised By: Alfred John Morris, Protestant Dissenting Minister
    Notes: [Double entry on same record as Jesse Gardner Spencer]
    Register: Baptisms 1798 - 1837, Page 21, Entry 170
    Source: LDS Film 560904

Baptism: 27 Apr 1836 Stepney Congregational, Warrington, Lancashire
Jesse Gardner Spencer - Son of Edward Spencer & Hannah
    Born: 22 Apr 1836
    Abode: Warrington in the County of Lancaster
    Baptised By: Alfred John Morris, Protestant Dissenting Minister
    Notes: [Double entry on same record as James Spencer]
    Register: Baptisms 1798 - 1837, Page 21, Entry 170
    Source: LDS Film 560904

There are burial records for a infant children James and Jesse Spencer in June and July 1836, both in Dallam Lane, which likely ties to these twins:

Burial: 19 Jun 1836 St Elphin, Warrington, Lancashire
James Spencer -
    Age: Inf
    Abode: Dallam Lane
    Buried By: Horace Powys
    Register: Burials 1831 - 1836, Page 282, Entry 2249
    Source: LDS Film 1562961

Burial: 24 Jul 1836 St Elphin, Warrington, Lancashire
Jesse Spencer -
    Age: Inft
    Abode: Dallam Lane
    Buried By: T V Bayne
    Register: Burials 1831 - 1836, Page 285, Entry 2279
    Source: LDS Film 1562961

I can find no marriage of an Edward Spencer to a Hannah Gardner, nor can I find a suitable Christening for a Hannah Gardner, and certainly not one that matches the connection to a Jesse Gardner in the same way that Emma Gardner does.

It seems to me that Edward Spencer and Emma Gardner had 3 children, named Jane, James and Jesse, the latter being twins.  This means that we're lacking a Christening record for Jane, and that the Christening records for James and Jesse incorrectly identify their mother as Hannah. 

I know the good folk on RootsChat have an eye for detail and can often find nuances that I miss.  Do any of the cognoscenti out there have a thought on whether this theory is the most reasonable conclusion to be drawn from the available evidence?