Researching Robert Spencer
Research the background of Robert Spencer using the links below. We hope you find this information useful!
 | Did you know that in the 1881 UK census there were 27341 people with the Spencer surname? In that year Spencer was ranked number 116 for popularity in the UK. |
The name Robert means "bright fame" and is of English origin.
Records of Robert Spencer on Ancestry
Ancestry is a major source of information if you are filling out the detail of Robert Spencer in your family tree. Many large databases are available to search covering from births, deaths and marriages, military records, census records and immigration records with many other smaller collections too. Free trials are normally available and are a good way to fill out a lot of your tree quickly.
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Ancestry.com Global records search results for Robert Spencer. |
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Ancestry.com US records search results for Robert Spencer. |
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Ancestry.co.uk UK records search results for Robert Spencer. |
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Ancestry.ca Canadian records search results for Robert Spencer. |
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Ancestry.com.au Australian records search results for Robert Spencer. |
DNA
Sometimes you can run into a brick wall in your tree and you just don't have enough evidence to make that next step back in time. If you are lucky then you may find some previously undiscovered Spencer ancestors. Additionally, the modern DNA test can give you a breakdown of your ethnic mix - you may be surprised at the results!
Have you reached a brick wall in your Spencer Tree?
Birth, Death and Marriage Records for Robert Spencer and the Spencer Genealogy
Birth, Death and Marriage records are often the best method of making the links to the Spencer Genealogy that will form part of your family tree. Although records vary from country to country, they are normally the most formal record of a person's relations. From the sources below you will be able to find a birth record and, from that, a birth certificate can be ordered which lists the names of the mother and father, taking you back another generation in your tree. A marriage certificate may also list the names of the respective fathers of the bride and groom which may then help you to find them earlier in life on a census record enabling you to fill out more detail in the Spencer family tree.
Study Parish Records for Robert Spencer at Find My Past.
Explore for the UK registered births, marriages and deaths of Robert Spencer using the FreeBMD database.
Investigate Genealogy Bank for Robert Spencer records.
Check out MyHeritage for Robert Spencer information.
Search the LDS Database for records about Robert Spencer.
Research the Spencer surname using fold3 Military Archives and view images of original Spencer Military records.
| Did you know that there are currently 33799 people with the Spencer surname in the UK? Spencer is now ranked number 137 for popularity in the UK. |
Spencer Family Tree Databases
Another way to build your tree quickly is to use the research other people have already done. This can help to confirm or refute your own deductions - however, be wary of taking this data at face value as other researchers may not have been as meticulous as you. Always try to back up deductions with some definitive sources rather than relying too heavily on others.
Look at the WikiTree database for user contributed records for Robert Spencer.
Study MyTrees for information on the Spencer family and people looking to contact living Spencer relations.
Search One Great Family for Spencer records submitted by people who are already researching the Spencer Family Tree.
Find Robert Spencer from Ireland on findmypast.ie
Spencer Forums
There are a number of forums which are dedicated to rearching particular surnames. These can be good places to share your findings and also to tap into the knowledge that others may already have. These can sometimes be a good way of finding living relations as these tend not to show up on the other sources of information for privacy reasons.
Research the Spencer surname using Genealogy.com forums .
| Did you know that there are currently 173180 people with the Spencer surname in the USA? Spencer is ranked number 100 for popularity in the USA. |
Miscellaneous Spencer Databases
Investigate the Ellis Island Database for information on Robert Spencer. This database contains over 25 million immigration records detailing passengers arriving in the United States of America.
Some Famous People called Robert Spencer
Robert Spencer (doctor)
Dr. Robert Douglas Spencer (1889–1969) was a general practitioner in Ashland, Pennsylvania, best known for his work as an illegal abortion provider in the decades before Roe vs. Wade. He operated his practice from the 1920s until his death and is believed to have performed some 40,000 abortions. He was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, graduating in 1915. He served in the U.S. Army and worked for a few years as a chief pathologist in a miners' hospital. He was known for embracing cutting-edge treatments for black lung disease and became one of the first doctors in the country to use sodium pentathol, radium pellets, and a bronchoscope.
Spencer reportedly performed his first abortion in 1919, 1923 or 1925, for the wife of a coal miner. Word spread through social networks that Spencer was willing to perform abortions, and women seeking abortions traveled from around the country to Ashland. Spencer originally charged $5 for an abortion and, though the expense went up over the decades, he reportedly never charged more than $100.
The local residents were aware of his illegal practice but either tolerated or welcomed it. "The hotel, the restaurant, the dress shop all thrived on the extra business that came from his out-of-town patients. He built facilities at his clinic for Negro patients who weren't allowed to obtain overnight lodgings elsewhere in Ashland."
Spencer was arrested three times but was never convicted. His first arrests led to acquittals, and he died before the third case went to trial.
Spencer reportedly considered performing abortions to be a public service, both on behalf of the women seeking them and as a means of curbing population.
A documentary, Dear Dr. Spencer, features a selection of letters written to Dr. Spencer by women seeking his services. It also features interviews with Spencer's widow, attorney, and friends, as well as with women he'd performed abortions on and a juror who had voted to acquit him at one of his trials though she was opposed to abortion.
Source: Robert Spencer (doctor), Wikipedia, The Free EncyclopediaOther names that sound a bit like Spencer
Family names can get corrupted over time, particularly where literacy was not as good. The following list contains some names that have similar sounds so you may want to also look at one or two of the more likely possibilites.
Sabbins Sabinash Sapienza Sappington Savins Scapens Schapansky Schepenka Schepens Schibinger Schippang Schuffenecker Schweppenheiser Scoffins Seffinga Seifenmacher Sevenoak Sevenoaks Seyfang Shavinsky Shuping Sibbons Sibennist Siebemust Siebeneicher Siebenius Siebens Siebenwist Siebinkist Skeffington Skevington Skiffington Skipping Skippings Skivington Skupinski Skupnick Sobanski Soeffing Spain-Gower Spancake Spancock Spang Spangenberg Spangenburg Spangle Spangler Spanick Spanjer Spankie Spannagel Spannaus Spanswick Spence Spencelayh Spenceley Spencely Spencers Spenclay Spencley Spencock Spencook Spengal Spengall Spengel Spengell Spengil Spengill Spengler Spenkuch Spennock Spenos Spens Spenser Spensley Spensly Spenst Sphinxe Spinage Spinas Spincer Spincke Spincks Spinige Spink Spinke Spinkles Spinks Spinnace Spinozzi Spinser Spinucci Spinuzzi Sponaugle Spones Spong Sponsel Sponseller Sponsler Sponza Spungin Spyncks Spynks Supinger Svang Sveinsson Svensdotter Svenson Svensson Swepenizer Szczepanek Szczepaniak Szczepanski Szczpanski
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