John (born 1638–died Aug. 30, 1684)
and
Susannah (née Griffin) (born May, 13, 1644 died April 12, 1719)
Audrey Mae (née Spencer) MacDonald’s (1912-2007) oral tradition begins with this couple, John and Susannah (née Griffin) Spencer.
With John’s marriage to Susannah (aka Susanna), the Griffin ancestry came into the Spencer line. Susannah was the daughter of Robert Griffin. John and Susannah, originally of Newport, Rhode Island, became founders and early settlers of East Greenwich, Rhode Island in 1667.
In 1677 John Spencer was granted land “in His Majesty’s Collony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations” as recorded in the Act for the Incorporation of East Greenwich. John’s name was first on the list of the Act for the Incorporation of East Greenwich and he was the first town clerk in East Greenwich. He was granted land on Kenyon Avenue, between Division Road and First Avenue. He was also the first town clerk in East Greenwich.
The pictured plaque attached to a boulder is located in front “of the former ‘old jail’, at the foot of King Street in East Greenwich, Rhode Island.” (source: internet) The asterisk (*) next to the person’s name means “a founder: Granted a first farm lot as compensation for service in the King Philip War 1675-1678″. (source: internet) John Spencer’s name is among the alphabetical list of names on the plaque attached to the Founders’ Stone. He was granted land by the King of England when East Greenwich was incorporated in 1677.