William Spencer

William Spencer (sometimes shown as William Spenser) was an early Virginia colonist on Jamestown Island, who was an Ancient planter and a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses in Jamestown, Virginia for Mulberry Island in 1632/33.

William Spence distinguished

William Spencer is sometimes erroneously conflated with William Spence, another early Virginia colonist who also lived on Jamestown Island. William Spence came to Virginia in the First Supply mission to Jamestown in 1608. Spence was member of the first assembly of the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1619. William Spence is sometimes distinguished by his military title of Ensign William Spence or Ensign Spence.

William, his wife and his young daughter, Sara, or Sarah, avoided the Indian massacre of 1622, but Spence and his wife were reported "lost" at the census of February 16, 1624.

Arrival at Jamestown

Martha McCartney states, with citations, that Spencer arrived in the "Sarah or Susan Constant." The phrase "Sarah" or "Susan", as stated by McCartney does not require the interpretation that it refers to the Susan Constant since a ship named the Sara(h) arrived at Jamestown in August 1611 with the returning Sir Thomas Gates (governor). Spencer's arrival on the Sarah is consistent with references to Spencer arriving in Jamestown in 1611 on the Sarah, the absence of his name from the Susan Constant passenger list or the list of first settlers and McCartney's further sketch. The Virtual Jamestowne site also shows that William Spencer arrived on the Sarah as shown in the Muster Roll of 1624/5.

Property and family

Because of his early arrival at Jamestown and continued residence there, Spencer was considered an "Ancient planter", which was simply a descriptive term for early Virginia colonists who arrived when the colony was managed by the Virginia Company of London. They received land grants if they stayed in the colony for at least three years. Under the terms of the "Instructions to Governor Yeardley" issued by the London Company in 1618, these colonists received the first land grants in Virginia.

On August 14, 1624, William Spencer of James City, "Yeoman and Ancient Planter" secured a patent for 12 acres of land in James City described as "a narrow ridge towards Goose Hill." Goose Hill was described in a footnote as "at the lower end of Jamestown Island."

At the date of the Muster Roll of January 24, 1625 (census), Spencer was reported as residing on his property on Jamestown Island with his wife Alice and their daughter, also named Alice, who was 4 years old. They had two daughters who lived to adulthood. Anne Spencer married William Cockeram and Elizabeth Spencer married in turn Robert Sheppard, Thomas Warren and John Hunnicut. He also became the overseer of John Rolfe's plantation and servants on the lower side of the James River after Rolfe died in 1622. Also in 1629, Spencer used the headright of his wife Dorothy, who arrived on the Neptune in 1619, to patent 290 acres of land.

Burgess

William Spencer was a member of the House of Burgesses in 1632/33 and later session in 1633 for Mulberry Island. McCartney notes that William Peirce also had an investment in property on Mulberry Island.

More certain sources, land transfer records, show that Spencer died on February 10, 1637 (1638 new style).