Searching for more information on Delmer Ocletus Spencer from Tennessee.

Question

My paternal grandfather was Delmer Ocletus Spencer from Tennessee. He was a tall lean man and had one child (Franklin D. Spencer) in 1944 with my grandmother Mary Helen Minton. She moved to Illinois and married Samuel D. Smith around 1946. Delbert then married and had 2 children with Roeaeney Adeline Fields. The Spencer side of my family is a mystery to me. Maybe YOU hold the key to unlocking this mysterious and sparsely completed branch of my family tree.

Answer 1

There are various references to a number of Delbert Spencer’s on familysearch.org

It is a free site.

Answer 2

His name was Delmer O Spencer. He was born 6 Oct 1925 in Enville, Chester Tennesee, United States to James Riley Spencer and Roeaney A (Fields} Spencer. He married Era Frances Quinn in 1949 according to his obituary. They only had 3 children, a son Daniel who died in 2012, and two daughters. He died in Elkhart, Elkhart, Indiana, United States on 23 Dec 2016.

In both the 1930 and 1940 census records, he is listed as a daughter but other records make it clear this is him and the correct family. He is mentioned as a brother in the obituary of his sister Pearl (seen in the 1930 census), for example.

Comments

Delmer D Spenser

United States Census, 1930

Name	Delmer D Spenser
Event Type	Census
Event Date	1930
Event Place	District 13, Chester, Tennessee, United States
Gender	Female
Age	4
Marital Status	Single
Race	White
Race	White
Relationship to Head of Household	Daughter
Relationship to Head of Household	Daughter
Birth Year (Estimated)	1926
Birthplace	Tennessee
Father's Birthplace	Tennessee
Mother's Birthplace	Tennessee
Sheet Letter	B
Sheet Number	1

Household	Role	Sex	Age	Birthplace
Rily J Spencer	Head	M	49	Tennessee
Roena J Spencer	Wife	F	48	Tennessee
Pearl M Spencer	Daughter	F	16	Tennessee
Tunice M Spencer	Daughter	F	13	Tennessee
Jessie O Spencer	Daughter	F	12	Tennessee
James E Spencer	Son	M	10	Tennessee
Velma A Spenser	Daughter	F	8	Tennessee
Delmer D Spenser	Daughter	F	4	Tennessee
James E Spenser	Father	M	80	Tennessee

Citing this Record

"United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SPW4-F5R : accessed 13 February 2019), Delmer D Spenser in household of Rily J Spencer, District 13, Chester, Tennessee, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 15, sheet 1B, line 52, family 13, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 2237; FHL microfilm 2,341,971.

View the original document. The original may contain more information than was indexed.

United States Census, 1930

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Delma Dee Spencer

United States Census, 1940

Name	Delma Dee Spencer
Event Type	Census
Event Date	1940
Event Place	Enville, Civil District 1, Chester, Tennessee, United States
Gender	Female
Age	14
Marital Status	Single
Race	White
Race	White
Relationship to Head of Household	Daughter
Relationship to Head of Household	Daughter
Birthplace	Tennessee
Birth Year (Estimated)	1926
Last Place of Residence	Same House

Household	Role	Sex	Age	Birthplace
James Reley Spencer	Head	M	59	Tennessee
Roaeny Spencer	Wife	F	51	Tennessee
Velma A Spencer	Daughter	F	18	Tennessee
Delma Dee Spencer	Daughter	F	14	Tennessee

Citing this Record

"United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K44D-DNS : 16 March 2018), Delma Dee Spencer in household of James Reley Spencer, Enville, Civil District 1, Chester, Tennessee, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 12-1, sheet 10A, line 15, family 184, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 3879.

View the original document. The original may contain more information than was indexed.

United States Census, 1940

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DELMER O. SPENCER Oct. 6, 1925 - Dec. 23, 2016

DELMER O. SPENCER Oct. 6, 1925 - Dec. 23, 2016

Elkhart Truth, The (IN) - Thursday, December 29, 2016

ELKHART — Delmer O. Spencer, 91 of Elkhart, passed away peacefully of natural causes at the Eastlake Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Elkhart on Friday, Dec. 23, 2016.

He was born in Enville, TN on Oct. 6, 1925, to the late James and Arlene (Fields) Spencer and later married Era "Frances" Qunn in 1949 in Jackson, TN.

She passed in 1998.

Surviving are his daughters Linda (Robert) Hawkins and Brenda Waterson, both of Elkhart; four grand and two great-grandchildren.

Seven sisters, two brothers and a son, Danny Spencer, precede him in death.

Billings Funeral Home is honored to assist the family with cremation arrangements.

A private burial will follow at a later date at Prairie Street Cemetery in Elkhart.

Elkhart Truth, The (IN) - Thursday, December 29, 2016

CITE THIS RECORD

Elkhart Truth, The () , obit for DELMER O. SPENCER Oct. 6, 1925 - Dec. 23, 2016, GenealogyBank.com (https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/obituaries/obit/161950F34B86F550-161950F34B86F550 : accessed 13 February 2019)

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Thank you for your help. I am very new to this and the resources available are all new to me. I am on Ancestry and did the DNA test a month ago.

I notice that Linda Hawkins is listed in this obituary and my dad told me last night that she is the only sister he has contact with. He was certain they had 8 total children, though and he was the only one born to another woman. I have asked both my mom and dad to take the AncestryDNA tests ASAP. I hope they do because it will certainly clear up some questions regarding our family tree.