Warren County IA Archives Biographies.....Spencer, Leonard Seth 1826 - 
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com December 14, 2007, 7:47 pm

Author: Lewis Publishing Co. (1896)

LEONARD SETH SPENCER, one of the well-known and highly-respected citizens of
Warren county, is a descendant of the old Pilgrim  stock of New England, his
ancestors having done noble service in the  Revolutionary and later wars. He was
born in Trumbull county, Ohio, October 17, 1826, one of six children of Jehiel
and Elizabeth (Blackburn) Spencer, four of whom are now living, namely: Leonard
Seth, the subject of this sketch; Mary, wife of John Woodruf, of Marengo,
Illinois; Hannah, widow of Charles St. John, of Perry, Ohio; and Nathan, of
Lyons county, Iowa. Jehiel Spencer, the father, was born in Rutland county,
Vermont, October 16, 1800. He resided there until seventeen years of age, when
the family removed to New York State, remaining there five years. From 1822
until 1845 he resided in Ohio, moved thence to Illinois, and in i860 came to
Iowa, where he spent the remainder of his life, dying in 1863, at the age of
sixty-three years. He was a farmer by occupation, was an earnest and
conscientious man, and was a strong adherent of the Methodist Church: His
father, Seth Spencer, was born in Hartford county, Connecticut, in 1779. The
latter served for two years as a soldier in the war of 1812. Later in life he
moved to Vermont, afterward to New York, and next to Ohio, dying in the latter
State in 1832. His father, John Spencer, was a native of New Hampshire. In early
life he was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, having participated in the
historical battle of Bennington, as well as in many others. Mr. Spencer served
through nearly the entire struggle, and was at the battle and surrender of
General Burgoyne. He departed this life in his native State, at the age of
ninety years.

   The mother of our subject, nee Elizabeth Blackburn, was born in Westmoreland
county, Pennsylvania, in October, 1798. She was a daughter of Leonard Blackburn,
a native also of that State and a descendant of one of the earliest families
there. Mrs. Spencer died in 1838, at the age of forty years.

   Leonard S. Spencer, the subject of this sketch, remained in his native State
until twenty-six years of age, and in 1854 settled in Jefferson township, Warren
county, Iowa, taking up Government land in this then new and wild country, one
among the few settlers of that region. Living in log houses and enduring many
privations, these men laid the foundation for the magnificent development which
to-day makes Iowa the wonder of the world. Surely they builded better than they
knew. During the first six winters of his life here, Mr. Spencer taught school
in the old log school-house. He subsequently engaged extensively in farming and
stock-raising, following that occupation for many years.

   In political matters, Mr. Spencer was formerly an old-time Whig, but has been
an ardent Republican since the formation of that party. He was an active member
in the Legislature of 1863. In local matters, Mr. Spencer has always been on the
side of progress. For eighteen years he was Postmaster of Lynn, and during eight
years of that time his house was a post station, before the days of railroads.
He was raised in the Presbyterian faith, but associated with the Methodist
Church of his neighborhood.

   Mr. Spencer was married in March, 1855, to Clarrinda C. Wheeler, a native of
Morgan county, Ohio, and a daughter of John and Hannah Wheeler, natives of
Maine. They were the parents of eight children. In 1853 the family left Ohio for
Iowa, where they were among the early pioneers. The mother died here in 1877,
and the father in the fall of 1888. Mrs. Spencer departed this life April 8,
1892, leaving three children,-Charles R., of Cass county, Iowa; Paulona A., at
home; and Annie M., wife of H. H. Stoner, of Shelby county, this State. Mr.
Spencer is a close student of affairs, keeping abreast of the advanced thought
of the times. Widely known and highly respected, he is recognized as one of the
landmarks of this region.


Additional Comments:

Extracted from:

A MEMORIAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF IOWA

ILLUSTRATED

"A people that take no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will
never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote
descendants."'—MACAULAY.

"Biography is by nature the must universally profitable, universally pleasant,
of all things."—CARLYLE

"History is only biography on a large scale"—LAMARTINE.

CHICAGO: THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
1896


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