William Alfred Larsen Spencer

Brief Life History of William Alfred Larsen

When William Alfred Larsen Spencer was born on 10 April 1897, in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States, his father, Joseph Lovekin Spencer, was 27 and his mother, Anna Margreta Christine Dockweiler, was 19. He married Olga L. Payne on 26 March 1919, in Bartlett, Cook, Illinois, United States. They were the parents of at least 1 son and 4 daughters. He lived in Elgin, Kane, Illinois, United States for about 20 years and Kane, Illinois, United States in 1950. He died on 24 March 1979, in Sherman Hospital, Elgin Township, Kane, Illinois, United States, at the age of 81, and was buried in Elgin, Kane, Illinois, United States.

Photos and Memories (1)

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Family Time Line

William Alfred Larsen Spencer
1897–1979
Olga L. Payne
1900–1998
Marriage: 26 March 1919
Eleanor Eileen Spencer
1920–2002
Lois Spencer
Ernestine Spencer
1921–1973
Genevieve Spencer
1923–1983
Robert William Spencer
1925–2007

Sources (17)

  • Wm L Spencer, Jr, "United States 1950 Census"
  • William L Spencer, "Illinois, Cook County, Birth Certificates, 1871-1940"
  • William L. Spencer, "Illinois, Cook County Marriages, 1871-1920"

World Events (8)

1898 · War with the Spanish

After the explosion of the USS Maine in the Havana Harbor in Cuba, the United States engaged the Spanish in war. The war was fought on two fronts, one in Cuba, which helped gain their independence, and in the Philippines, which helped the US gain another territory for a time.

1900 · The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal

Historically known as the Chicago Drainage Canal, the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal is a canal system that connects the Chicago River to the Des Plaines River. It reverses the direction of the Chicago River, which now flows out of Lake Michigan rather than into it. It is one of two canals that helps navigation to ships traveling between the Great Lakes Waterway and the Mississippi River system.

1919 · The Eighteenth Amendment

The Eighteenth Amendment established a prohibition on all intoxicating liquors in the United States. As a result of the Amendment, the Prohibition made way for bootlegging and speakeasies becoming popular in many areas. The Eighteenth Amendment was then repealed by the Twenty-first Amendment. Making it the first and only amendment that has been repealed.

Name Meaning

English (Lancashire and Yorkshire): occupational name for someone who dispensed provisions or money, from Middle English spenser(e), spencer(e) ‘household steward, butler, almoner’ (Anglo-Norman French espenser, Old French despensier). Compare Spence and Spender . There is some dispute about the origins of the Spencer family, whose most famous member in recent times was the late Princess of Wales, born Lady Diana Spencer (1961–97). Some sources say that they are descended from William the Conqueror's steward, Robert Despencer. What is clear is that by the 15th century they had become prosperous from sheep farming in Northamptonshire. Robert Spencer (died 1627) was said to be the wealthiest man in England. Their titles have included Earls of Sunderland and Earls Spencer; and through the female line the 5th Earl of Sunderland also became Duke of Marlborough in 1733. This connection was the result of the marriage, in 1700, of the 3rd Duke of Sunderland to the daughter of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough. The youngest son of this union, John Spencer (1708–46), was the father of the 1st Earl Spencer (1734–83).

Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.

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