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Spencer Family Papers, 1860-1979

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Spencer family
Title
Spencer Family Papers
Dates
1860-1979 (inclusive)
Quantity
2.5 linear feet of shelf space
Collection Number
MC 151
Summary
Dwight Spencer and his son James Spencer were Baptist ministers in Montana. Dwight Spencer's papers consist of diaries (1860-1867) concerning his Civil War ministry and later work; an autobiography; and miscellany. James Spencer's papers consist of biographical materials; correspondence (1871-1939); religious writings; a scrapbook; and miscellany. There also are small subgroups of the papers of James' wife Cora Spencer; daughters Marion Spencer and Frances Spencer; son Dwight Spencer; and grandson Spencer Wilson.
Repository
Montana Historical Society, Library & Archives
Montana Historical Society Research Center Archives
225 North Roberts
PO Box 201201
Helena MT
59620-1201
Telephone: 4064442681
Fax: 4064445297
mhslibrary@mt.gov
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Biographical Note

Dwight Spencer was born in Mansfield, Connecticut, on February 27, 1827. In 1851 he moved to Brooklyn, New York, and was employed as a bookkeeper and as a Sunday School worker until he was ordained in 1863. During the Civil War Spencer was a delegate for the United States Christian Commission. After the war he did evangelistic work and in 1869 became pastor at Fair Haven, Vermont. In 1880 Spencer became superintendent of missions for the Rocky Mountain District of the American Baptist Home Mission Society. His territory included Utah, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. During his ten years in this position he started 30 churches and 33 Sunday Schools and built 25 meeting houses. After his tenure in the West, Spencer became secretary for the Wabash District of the Baptist Home Missionary Society for southern Illinois and Indiana and later for the New York District. He held that position until his resignation in 1901. During his stay with the Home Missionary Society he furthered his education earning a Masters of Arts degree in 1882 from Madison University, and in 1896 a Doctor of Divinity degree from Ewing College. In 1901 he became pastor for the Baptist Church in North Sutton, New Hampshire, and in 1906 pastor in Cheshire, Massachusetts. Spencer was married to Martha Hovey of Gorleyville, Connecticut, and the couple had a son, James Hovey Spencer. Martha Hovey Spencer died in 1908. Dwight Spencer died on September 17, 1910. James Hovey Spencer was born February 17, 1860, in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from Brown University in 1882. After a year as principal of Greenwich Academy in New York and four years as an insurance salesman, he went to Rochester Theological Seminary. Staying only a year, he moved to Montana in 1889. In 1890 Spencer became the first Baptist minister ordained in Montana. During his first tenure he was pastor at Boulder, Butte, Helena, and Anaconda. While in Butte he met and married Cora Singleton Wishon. The couple's children included Marion, Frances, and Dwight Spencer. In 1897 James Hovey Spencer left Montana and went to North Adams, Massachusetts, staying there fourteen years. He then served in Colorado, with pastorates at Denver and Colorado Springs. During this time he was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity from Brown University. After 1917 Spencer spent several years working for the national church and held short pastorates in Toledo, Ohio, and New York City. He then served as pastor-at-large for the Montana Baptist Convention, and briefly held pastorates in Ogden and Salt Lake City, Utah. In 1928 he entered semi-retirement until his death in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on August 11, 1940. James H. Spencer was a member of the World Survey Committee for the Northern Baptist Convention, vice president of the American Baptist Home Missionary Society, trustee of Colorado Women's College, vice president of the Colorado Baptist Convention, and president of the Colorado Baptist Assembly. Marion Spencer was born August 1, 1900 in North Adams, Massachusetts. Frances Spencer graduated in the class of 1921 from Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts. Dwight Spencer was a lieutenant in the marine corps during World War I. Spencer Wilson, a grandson of James Hovey Spencer, taught history at a college in New Mexico and wrote several articles about members of his family.

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Content Description

This collection contains subgroups for James Hovey Spencer, Dwight Spencer, Cora Spencer, Marion Spencer, Frances Spencer, Dwight Spencer (son of James Hovey Spencer), and Spencer Wilson. The James Hovey Spencer materials include biographical materials (n.d.) consisting of family genealogical information recorded in a Bible, notes, and obituaries; incoming correspondence (1887-1939); outgoing correspondence (1871-1939, n.d.); miscellaneous correspondence (1905-1912); printed material; photographs; writings (1896, n.d.); and miscellany (1895, n.d.) including university diplomas, a notice of appreciation for Hovey's services, and three scrapbooks. The Dwight Spencer materials include diaries (1860-1867); writings (n.d.); consisting of an autobiography covering the years 1827 to 1890; and miscellany (1861-1908, n.d.) consisting of a biographical sketch, a program for a consecration of the flag,and an obituary of Martha Hovey Spencer. The papers of Cora Spencer consist of general correspondence (1906-1916, 1941-1945), primarily to Frances Spencer, and miscellany (1904-1912), including Woman's Missionary Society certificates, programs, and receipt. The papers of Marion Spencer (1909-1915) include Sunday School lesson books, biographical notes, a notebook, and school transfer cards. The papers of Frances Spencer include outgoing correspondence (1908-1916) to her family, and miscellany (1920) consisting of a photocopy of a college yearbook picture. The papers of Dwight Spencer (son of James Hovey Spencer) include outgoing correspondence (1908-1909) to Cora Spencer, and miscellany (1919, n.d.) consisting of a school grade report and an article about Brussels following World War I. Spencer Wilson's papers include general correspondence (1955-1979); writings (n.d.) including a family history; and miscellany (n.d.) consisting of a school exam paper. Artifacts have been transferred to the Museum. Photographs have been transferred to the Photograph Archives.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

by subgroup and series

Acquisition Information

Acquisition Information:

available upon request

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection

  • James Hovey Spencer

    • Biographical Materials

    • Incoming Correspondence

      • Description: A (correspondents include American Baptist Missionary Union; American Baptist Foreign Mission Society; American Baptist Publication Society)
        Dates: 1897-1934
        Container: Box/Folder 1 / 2
        Location: James Hovey Spencer / Incoming Correspondence
      • Description: B (correspondents include Baptist Church in Brookline; Baptist Education Society of the State of New York; Baptist Missionary Magazine; Baptist Pastors' Conference of New York State; Clarence A. Barbour; L.C. Barnes; Charles. P. Bennett; Bennett-Shellenberger Realty Company; Frederick A. Betts; Edmond W. Billetdoux; M.F. Bixler; J.H. Blackburn; Henry Bond; William H. Breed and Company; The Broadus Central Campaign Committee; Edward T. Broadhurst; E.J. Brockett; Brown University)
        Dates: 1896-1928
        Container: Box/Folder 1 / 3
        Location: James Hovey Spencer / Incoming Correspondence
      • Description: C-E (correspondents include Calvary Baptist Church; Canedy-Clark Shoe Company; Herbert B. Clark; Orville Coats; George W. Coleman; Colorado Baptist State Convention; Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce; Colorado Woman's College; May T. Crawford; E.R. Curry; Charles L. Dealey; J.S. Dickerson; Ewing College)
        Dates: 1898-1936
        Container: Box/Folder 1 / 4
        Location: James Hovey Spencer / Incoming Correspondence
      • Description: F-H (correspondents include Fifth Avenue Baptist Church; First Baptist Church; First Presbyterian Church; Thomas J. Fisher; Franklin College; Fred W. Freeman; S.C. Fulmer; Gates and Rosenberg; Valentine Gideon; Curtis P. Gladding; Gladding Drug Company; William J. Grippin; Howard B. Grose; John Hipp; Charles E. Hughes; M.P. Hunt)
        Dates: 1898-1936
        Container: Box/Folder 1 / 5
        Location: James Hovey Spencer / Incoming Correspondence
      • Description: I-L (correspondents include Asa T. Jones; Bruce Kindy; Julius M. Lamson; Lamson Brothers Company; Herbert W. Lathe; George C. Lee Jr. William B. Lipphard; David M. Lockrow)
        Dates: 1904-1921
        Container: Box/Folder 1 / 6
        Location: James Hovey Spencer / Incoming Correspondence
      • Description: M (correspondents include Henry C. Mabie; Charles P. MacGregor; Massachusetts Baptist Missionary Society; M.A. Maynard; Montana Baptist Convention)
        Dates: 1900-1927
        Container: Box/Folder 1 / 7
        Location: James Hovey Spencer / Incoming Correspondence
      • Description: N-R (correspondents include J.E. Norcuss; H. Allen Nye; National Campaign of Northern Baptist Laymen; George Y. Patten; Harold Pattison; H.C. Puffer Company; Leon Rice; John D. Rockefeller Jr.)
        Dates: 1896-1929
        Container: Box/Folder 1 / 8
        Location: James Hovey Spencer / Incoming Correspondence
      • Description: Dwight Spencer
        Dates: 1887-1910
        Container: Box/Folder 1 / 9
        Location: James Hovey Spencer / Incoming Correspondence
      • Description: Dwight Spencer (son of James Hovey Spencer)
        Dates: 1921-1935
        Container: Box/Folder 1 / 10
        Location: James Hovey Spencer / Incoming Correspondence
      • Description: S (correspondents include William B. Savage Company; W.C. Sawyer; J.F. Schlotter; L.E. Sherman; Linus E. Sherman; Oliver H. Shoup; Simons and Cooper; Stedman and Stedman; John H. Stevens, Rochester Theological Seminary; Joseph S. Swaim)
        Dates: 1897-1919
        Container: Box/Folder 1 / 11
        Location: James Hovey Spencer / Incoming Correspondence
      • Description: T-Z (correspondents includes Henry C. Tarbell; William C. Temple; Herbert E. Thayer; Skillings, Whitneys, and Barnes Lumber Company; Charles B. Timberlake; The Toledo Blade; Homer J. Vosburgh; Charles Henry Watson; J.N. Wheeler; V.A. Whitaker; James Foster Wilcox; E.S. Wilkenson)
        Dates: 1897-1931
        Container: Box/Folder 1 / 12
        Location: James Hovey Spencer / Incoming Correspondence
      • Description: Unidentified
        Dates: 1910
        Container: Box/Folder 1 / 13
        Location: James Hovey Spencer / Incoming Correspondence

    • Outgoing Correspondence

      • Description: Miscellaneous (correspondents include Suffield House; Gifford's; Nesbitt House; The American Baptist Home Mission Society; Dampfer Hohenzollern; The Overland Limited; Don Wilson; First Baptist Church)
        Dates: 1871-1939, n.d.
        Container: Box/Folder 1 / 14
        Location: James Hovey Spencer / Outgoing Correspondence
      • Description: Re James Spencer
        Dates: 1905-1912
        Container: Box/Folder 1 / 15
        Location: James Hovey Spencer / Outgoing Correspondence

    • Photographs and Printed Material

    • Writings

      • Description: Religious writings; "Montana Memories"
        Dates: 1896, n.d.
        Container: Box/Folder 1 / 17
        Location: James Hovey Spencer / Writings

    • Miscellany

  • Dwight Spencer

    • Outgoing Correspondence

    • Diaries

      • Description: Journal
        Dates: 1860-1867
        Container: Box/Folder 3 / 3
        Location: Dwight Spencer / Diaries
      • Description: Journal (U.S. Christian Commission 3 volumes)
        Dates: 1860-1867
        Container: Box/Folder 3 / 4
        Location: Dwight Spencer / Diaries

    • Writings

      • Description: "Rev. Dwight Spencer, D.D. An Autobiography"
        Dates: n.d.
        Container: Box/Folder 4 / 1
        Location: Dwight Spencer / Writings

    • Miscellany

      • Description: Notes; "Consecration of the Flag of the Union, by the Old South Society, Boston, May 1, 1861"; obituary of Martha Hovey Spencer
        Dates: 1861, n.d.
        Container: Box/Folder 4 / 2
        Location: Dwight Spencer / Miscellany
      • Description: Scrapbook
        Dates: 1860-1890
        Container: Box/Folder 4 / 3
        Location: Dwight Spencer / Miscellany

  • Cora Spencer

    • General Correspondence

      • Description: Miscellaneous (correspondents include Lommis Sanatorium; William John Clark; The Ministers and Missionaries Benefit Board)
        Dates: 1906-1916, 1941-1945
        Container: Box/Folder 4 / 4
        Location: Cora Spencer / General Correspondence

    • Miscellany

      • Description: Woman's Missionary Society certificates, programs, and receipt
        Dates: 1904-1912
        Container: Box/Folder 4 / 5
        Location: Cora Spencer / Miscellany

  • Marion Spencer

    • Miscellany

      • Description: Sunday School lesson books, biographical notes, notebook, school transfer cards
        Dates: 1914-1915
        Container: Box/Folder 5 / 1
        Location: Marion Spencer / Miscellany

  • Frances Spencer

    • Outgoing Correspondence

    • Miscellany

      • Description: College yearbook picture (photocopy)
        Dates: 1920
        Container: Box/Folder 5 / 3
        Location: Frances Spencer / Miscellany

  • Dwight Spencer (Son Of James Hovey Spencer)

  • Spencer Wilson

    • General Correspondence

      • Description: Miscellaneous (correspondents include Pat Laughlin; Montana Historical Society; The New-York Historical Society; The Judson Press; The University of New Mexico; Vivian A. Paladin; Civil War History; Vanderbilt University; New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology; Michael S. Kennedy; Southern California Quarterly; Leland D. Case; California History Foundation; The Pacific Historian; Abingdon Press; Westerners International; New Mexico Tech; William L. Lang; Dr. Spencer Wilson)
        Dates: 1955-1979
        Container: Box/Folder 5 / 6
        Location: Spencer Wilson / General Correspondence

    • Writings

      • Description: "Andersonville: a Civil War Legacy in Montana"; "A Look at Santa Monica in 1903"
        Dates: n.d.
        Container: Box/Folder 5 / 7
        Location: Spencer Wilson / Writings
      • Description: "Mission South: the Diary of a Northern Minister during the Civil War," edited by Spencer Wilson
        Dates: n.d.
        Container: Box/Folder 5 / 8
        Location: Spencer Wilson / Writings
      • Description: "Spencer Family History"
        Dates: n.d.
        Container: Box/Folder 5 / 9
        Location: Spencer Wilson / Writings

    • Miscellany


April 21, 2015

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