Mary Howard Spencer

Brief Life History of Mary Howard

When Mary Howard Spencer was born on 4 September 1857, in New Hartford, Litchfield, Connecticut, United States, her father, Franklin Augustus Spencer Sr, was 45 and her mother, Elizabeth C. King, was 27. She married Louis Boisot on 13 May 1887, in Lenawee, Michigan, United States. They were the parents of at least 2 daughters. She lived in Syracuse, Onondaga, New York, United States in 1870 and Lyons, Cook, Illinois, United States for about 20 years. She died on 18 December 1948, in La Grange, Cook, Illinois, United States, at the age of 91, and was buried in Rosehill Cemetery and Mausoleum, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States.

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Family Time Line

Louis Boisot
1856–1933
Mary Howard Spencer
1857–1948
Marriage: 13 May 1887
Elisabeth Boisot
1895–1895
Pauline Boisot
1897–1982

Sources (11)

  • Mary Spencer in household of Franklin Spencer, "United States Census, 1870"
  • Mary H. Spencer, "Michigan Marriages, 1868-1925"
  • Mary Spencer Boisot, "Illinois, Cook County Deaths, 1878-1994"

Spouse and Children

World Events (8)

1863

Abraham Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation, declaring slaves in Confederate states to be free.

1867 · The Chicago Water Tower

The Chicago water tower was built out of Lemont limestone by William W. Boyington and was used for firefighting and also drawing clean water from Lake Michigan. The tower gained prominence after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Some believe that the tower was the only building to survive the Great Chicago Fire, but a few other buildings survived alongside the tower. The tower has become a symbol of old Chicago and how the city recovered from the fire. The tower has undergone only two renovations since 1913. 

1881 · The Assassination of James Garfield

Garfield was shot twice by Charles J. Guitea at Railroad Station in Washington, D.C. on July 2, 1881. After eleven weeks of intensive and other care Garfield died in Elberon, New Jersey, the second of four presidents to be assassinated, following Abraham Lincoln.

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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