Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Spencer Family papers, 1834-1891
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Spencer Family
- Title
- Spencer Family papers
- Dates
- 1834-1891 (inclusive)18341891
- Quantity
- .6 cubic feet, (1 document case, 1 oversize folder)
- Collection Number
- Mss 524
- Summary
- Papers of the family of John Spencer, William Valentine Spencer, Cornelia Spencer Greer, Cecilia Spencer Young, and Manlius Spencer, primarily of Yamhill County, Oregon. Includes correspondence; school land documents; military papers; letter book from the U.S. Army infantry divisions in the Montana Territory; and diary of William Valentine Spencer, 1852-1855, including account of his overland journey from Ohio to Oregon in 1852.
- Repository
-
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org - Access Restrictions
-
The collection is open to the public.
- Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Historical NoteReturn to Top
Reverend John Spencer (1802-1884) married Julia Ann Fell (1810-1899) in 1832. They settled at first in Virginia, Ohio, then started for Oregon in April of 1852. They left Wellesville, Ohio by steamer to Sant Joseph, Missouri, thence by ox team to Dallas, Oregon. They arrived via the plains on November 10, 1852, and first settled on a donation claim in Yamhill County (Otterbrook, Oregon). John Spencer was a Methodist minister and member of the Pittsburgh Conference and was appointed Presiding Elder of the Ohio District. He was also a farmer and minister in Oregon and served as the Superintendant of Schools for Yamhill County around 1860.
John and Julia Spencer had seven children. The oldest was William Valentine Spencer (1835-1923) who married Henrietta Gordon in 1869. He was a Methodist minister and accountant and one of the first accountants at the Ladd and Tilton Bank in Portland. He was a Captain of Company E, First Washington Territory Infantry, and served throughout the area. He enlisted in the regular army and was assigned as First Lieutenant in Company K, 13th U.S. Infantry. In 1880 he returned to Oregon and worked for the Portland Savings Bank as cashier. His children included Virginia Spencer Hutchinson, wife of Reno Hutchinson, a well known man in Y.M.C.A. circles.
The other children of John and Julia Spencer were: Cecilia Spencer Young (1839-1889), wife of Stephen Young; Cornelia Jane Spencer Greer (1841-1930), a teacher, whose husband was Reverend George Hamilton Greer (1836-1929), a missionary to the Washington Territory and a farmer; Manlius Fell Spencer (1845-1910), a bookkeeper and salesman who was married to Susan Mary Crockett; Theodore Wells Spencer (b. 1848), dentist and lumberman and husband of Kate Burton Handley; James Orpheus Spencer (1850-1918), an accountant; and John Julius (Jack) Spencer (1852-1904) a lawyer.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The collection consists of family papers of John Spencer, William Valentine Spencer, Cornelia Spencer Greer, Cecelia Spencer Young, and Manlius Spencer. Included is family correspondence, 1850-1871; autobiography (1837), diary (1862), papers concerning school land sale matters, and general letters and papers of John Spencer, Methodist minister and superintendent of Yamhill county schools, 1851-1871; military papers of William V. Spencer, Washington Territory Infantry (volunteer), 1862-1863, including muster rolls of Company F. and general papers of the Oregon infantry. Also included is: the post letter book from the U.S. Army 13th Infantry Division, Company K, Fort Benton, Montana Territory, 1867 July-September, 1867, and Fort Shaw, Montana Territory, October 1867-October 1870, kept by William V. Spencer; and the diary of William V. Spencer, 1852-1855, including account of his overland journey from Ohio to Oregon, 1852.
A re-written holograph copy of William V. Spencer's overland diary is available as Mss Microfilm 524 in the Oregon Historical Society Research Library. The original of this was in family possession when the film was made in 1962. A typed transcript of this re-written diary by Richard L. Rieck is available in hard copy in the collection.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Alternative Forms Available
The diary of William Valentine Spencer, 1852-1855, is also available on Mss 524 Microfilm at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library
Restrictions on Use
The Oregon Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library prior to any use of reproductions. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use of reproductions may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright holders.
Preferred Citation
Spencer Family papers, Mss 524, Oregon Historical Society Research Library
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in 2 series
- Series A: John Spencer materials, 1837-1880
- Manlius Spencer and William V. Spencer materials and general correspondence, 1852-1891
Acquisition Information
Library Accession 8709, April 12, 1960
Related Materials
Photographs of the Spencer family can be found in Self-indexing File #994; and photographs of Cornelia Spencer Greer in Self-indexing File #461, both in the Oregon Historical Society Research Library. A scrapbook of clippings relating to the Civil War, kept by William V. Spencer, is designated Scrapbook 205 in the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
Series A: John Spencer materials, 1837-1880Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Folder | ||
| 1 | John Spencer autobiographical sketch
Primarily concerns Spencer's religious indoctrination as a young
boy, perhaps leading to his decision to be a minister.
|
1837 |
| 2 | Correspondence
Includes letter from John Spencer written to the Reverend James
Kenny in Pennsylvania, with an account of a pioneer's life in the new
territory.
|
1851-1871 |
| 3 | Diary |
1862 January-April |
| 4 | Financial records |
1848-1880 |
| 5 | Yamhill County Superintendent of Schools
correspondence |
1862; 1866-1867 |
Series B: Manlius Spencer and William V. Spencer materials and general correspondence, 1852-1891Return to Top
Unless otherwise noted, all materials are from William V. Spencer
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Folder | ||
| 6 | Manlius Spencer correspondence |
1865 November-December |
William V. Spencer correspondence |
||
| Folder | ||
| 7 | 1856; 1858-1860 | |
| 8 | 1862-1864 | |
| 9 | 1871-1890 | |
| Folder | ||
| 10 | Diary (original on 2 leaves of paper) |
1852 |
| 19 | Diary--Transcript by Richard L. Rieck of the re-written
holograph copy by William V. Spencer (original in family possession as of
1962)
A microfilm facsimile of the re-written diary is available as
Mss Microfilm 524.
|
1852 |
| 11 | Promissory notes |
1875; 1891 |
First Washington Territory Volunteers
records |
||
| Folder | ||
| 12 | Muster rolls |
1862 |
| Oversize | Muster rolls |
1862 |
| 13-15 | General papers |
1862-1864 |
| Oversize | Quarterly returns of ordnance and ordnance stores, and
chart of army organization |
1862-1864 |
| Folder | ||
| 16 | 13th Infantry, Company K--Letter book |
1870 |
| 17 | 13th Infantry, Company K--Sample army forms |
1866-1870 |
| 18 | General family correspondence |
1867; undated |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Overland journeys to the Pacific--Personal narratives.
- Schools--Oregon--Yamhill County.
Personal Names
- Greer, Cornelia Spencer--Archives
- Spencer, John, 1802-1884--Archives
- Spencer, Manlius--Archives
- Spencer, William Valentine--Archives
- Young, Cecilia Spencer
Corporate Names
- Oregon Infantry.
- United States. Army. 13th Infantry Division. Company K.
Family Names
- Spencer Family--Archives (creator)
Geographical Names
- Fort Benton (Mont.)
- Fort Shaw (Mont.)
- Montana--History.
- Washington (State)--History.
- Yamhill County (Or.)--History.
Form or Genre Terms
- Diaries
- Muster rolls
