Researching William Spencer

He was the younger son of Lord Charles Spencer and his wife Mary Beauclerk. He was the grandson of Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough on his father's side and Vere Beauclerk, 1st Baron Vere on his mother's. Born in Kensington Palace, Spencer was educated at Harrow School and Christ Church, Oxford, though he left Christ Church without receiving a degree.

Spencer's wit made him a popular member of society. He belonged to the Whig set of Charles James Fox and Richard Brinsley Sheridan and was frequently a guest of the prince of Wales. He did not desire a public life, being content as a writer of "occasional" verse and vers de société. In 1796 he published an English version of Bürger's Leonore, and in 1802 he burlesqued German romance in his Urania, which was produced on the stage at Drury Lane. Among his best-known pieces, which were published in a collection of his poems in 1811, were his well-known ballad "Beth Gelert" and "Too Late I Stayed." His writings were greatly appreciated by his contemporaries, being warmly praised by such figures as Sir Walter Scott, John Wilson, and Lord Byron.

In 1791 he married Susan, daughter of Count Jenison-Walworth, chamberlain to the elector palatine, by whom he had five sons and two daughters. One son, the Rt Revd Aubrey Spencer (1795–1872), became first Bishop of Newfoundland in 1839, being afterwards translated to the See of Jamaica. Another son, the Rt Revd George Spencer (1799–1866), was in 1837 consecrated second Bishop of Madras.

Spencer briefly sat in the House of Commons but gave up his seat in 1797 in order to become a commissioner of stamps so as to support his family. He held the post until 1826, surrendering it after moving to Paris the year before because of his financial difficulties. Spencer spent his remaining years in Paris, dying there in October 1834. His remains were taken back to England and buried in Harrow Church.

Spencer was born in Bath, Somerset, England, to Margaret (née Robinson) and Thomas Henry Spencer. His mother was a granddaughter of Mark Robinson, a rear admiral in the Royal Navy. At the age of 17, Spencer stowed away to Australia on the Trusty, arriving in Bunbury in December 1842. On arrival, he was employed as a shepherd, but initially had his wages docked to pay off his passage. Spencer later worked as a police constable, a court clerk, and a tidewaiter (customs officer). He eventually became involved in the construction trade, and as a contractor helped to build the Bunbury Timber Jetty, the Wellington Hotel, and St Paul's Church (which later became the pro-cathedral for the Anglican Diocese of Bunbury).

A long-serving member of the Bunbury Municipal Council, Spencer served as mayor of Bunbury on four occasions, from 1872 to 1875, from 1877 to 1879, in 1881, and from 1891 to 1893. He was also a chairman of the Wellington Road Board. At the 1896 Legislative Council elections, Spencer was elected to South-West Province, replacing the retiring John Foulkes. Aged 71, he became the oldest MP in Western Australia to be elected for the first time. Only two others (James Franklin and John Church) have since been elected for the first time at an older age. Spencer died in Bunbury in July 1901, aged 76. He had married Hannah Properjohn in March 1855, with whom he had ten children. He was widowed in December 1898, and remarried in March 1901, to Mary Ann Oakley (née Cornish). One of his daughters (Clara Robinson Spencer) by his first wife married James Mitchell, a future state premier.