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.
