This page created May 6, 2007.
Nancy Ann Spencer was the daughter of Wiley G. and Nancy Spencer. My best interpretation of census records (see family page for Wiley and Nancy for more information) leads me to believe that Nancy Ann was probably born in Edgefield District, South Carolina around 1830 and was probably her parents' youngest child, or at least their youngest child to survive to adulthood.
Census records from 1840 in Edgefield, South Carolina suggest that Nancy was a young child between ages 5-10 living at home with her parents at census time. Family tradition tells the story that Nancy Ann's extended Spencer family left Edgefield, South Carolina around 1832 and migrated to Alabama and Mississippi. Nancy Ann' parents stayed in Edgefield at least through 1840 and appear to have left a few years later for Alabama. I have begun to believe that Nancy Ann, several of her sisters and their families, and their mother Nancy (don't know about father Wiley) probably settled in the area of Pickens County, Alabama between 1845-1846.
According to census records, Nancy Ann married a man named James Terry. He was born around 1829, and his birthplace was listed as South Carolina. It appears that James and Nancy Ann married around 1848 because the 1850 census shows a daughter aged 1 in their household. This daughter's birthplace was listed as Mississippi.
In February 1849, Nancy Ann's grandfather Shepherd Spencer gave her a gift deed for a couple of negro slaves. This deed was given in Pickens County, Alabama n February 8, 1849 and received in Winston County, Mississippi on February 21, 1849. I have inferred from these dates that James and Nancy Ann moved from Alabama to Winston County, Mississippi in February 1849. This deed is very informative for a couple of other reasons also. This deed lists her married name, which corresponds with the names listed in the 1850 census of Winston County, Mississippi. Shepherd Spencer did not list Nancy Ann's place of residence, as he did with relatives living out of state. This leads me to believe that she and James may have been living in Pickens County, Alabama in 1849. The deed also comments that "if she were to die without issue, then the negroes shall be divided between Mary Narine, Caroline Whitten, Hannah E. Whitten, James Spencer, and Lucinda Spencer." I believe this indicates that Nancy was still childless as of February 1849, although if the 1850 census is correct, she may have been pregnant at the time. Also, of all of the deeds that Shepherd Spencer, Sr. gave to his grandchildren, the deed to Nancy Ann Terry is the only one that I have found that lists all of her siblings. Or at least that has been my interpretation. This deeds was crucial to my piecing together the story of this family.
James, Nancy Ann, and their 1-year-old daughter Mary are listed on the 1850 census of Winston County, Mississippi, just two houses down from Nancy Ann's brother James Spencer. Also listed in their household is Mary Spencer, age 53, born around 1797 in South Carolina. I believe this Mary Spencer was really Nancy Ann's mother Nancy Spencer. I have estimated a birth date of 1790 for Nancy, and none of Nancy Ann's other siblings have a female of similar age in their household. And I know that mother Nancy would have been living in 1850 because she is also listed on the 1860 census, albeit in the household of daughter Caroline Whitten.
It appears that James Terry died between 1850-1853. The 1853 state census of Winston County, Mississippi lists an Ann Terry as head of household containing 2 females and 1 male. I have inferred that James must have died prior to the census for his wife to be listed as head of household. If we assume that the two females were Nancy Ann and daughter Mary, the question must be asked who the one male is. Perhaps James died in the census year, requiring he be listed anyway? Perhaps James and Nancy Ann had a son between 1850-1853 that I know nothing about? Also, I know nothing else about daughter Mary, born about 1849. Ricky Shingler and Lester Barrentine, both descendants of Nancy Ann, have shared with me their family files, and neither one had any information on Mary, but they did have information about a different daughter, named Nancy Juanita "Nina" Terry. More information about her follows below, but from what I can piece together, Juanita would have been born after the 1850 census but at least by 1853 when her father apparenty died.
I did not capture in my records exactly when the 1853 state census was taken, but Ann Terry's household must have been enumerated early in the year because marriage records of Winston County, Mississippi show that Nancy Ann Terry remarried to George Y. Rowland in April of that year, 1853. Ricky Shingler, a descendant of Nancy Ann and George Rowland, told me that family tradition confirmed that Nancy Ann was widowed before she married George Rowland. However, family files shared with me in 2002 by Ricky and his cousin Lester Barrentine show a marriage year of 1854 for George and Nancy Ann.
Nancy Ann Terry was not George's first wife. He too was widowed. According to Ricky and Lester (per their aunt Betty Stout) George Young Rowland's first wife was Rebecca Stark. Rebecca, like James Terry, also died around 1853. After James' and Rebecca's deaths, George Rowland and Nancy Ann Terry married and combined their respective children Brady-style and moved the family to Warren County, Mississippi near Vicksburg after 1860.
James W. Terry
Born: 1829 in South Carolina
Married: Abt. 1849 in probably Alabama
Died: About 1852 in probably Winston County, Mississippi
Buried: Unknown
Father: Unknown
Mother: Unknown
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Nancy Ann Spencer
Born: 1830 in South Carolina, probably Edgefield District
Died: January 31, 1907 in Vicksburg, Warren County, Mississippi
Buried: Rowland / Hackler Family Cemetery, Flowers Hill Road, Oak Ridge, Vicksburg, Warren County, Mississippi
Father: Wiley G. Spencer
Mother: Nancy (maiden name unknown)
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The Terry household listed three females on the 1850 census of Winston County, Mississippi: Nancy Ann, infant daughter Mary, and an older female, presumably Nancy's mother, listed as Mary Spencer. By the 1853 state census of Winston County, the Terry household showed only 2 females. Knowing that Nancy Ann's mother was present on the 1860 Winston census in the household of Nancy's sister Caroline Whitten, I interpret the females in the Terry household on the the 1853 census in three ways. Perhaps Nancy's mother had already moved in with Caroline by 1853, so the 2 females in 1853 could be Nancy Ann and daughter Mary. If so, what happened to Mary afterwards? Why did Ricky and Lester's family not know anything about her? Another possibility is that daughter Mary may have died between 1850-1853, meaning that the 2 females in the Terry household would have been Nancy and her mother. If this second theory is true, then Nancy's mother may have stayed with Nancy until the Rowlands decided to move south to Warren County. Not wanting to move that far again, Nancy's mother would have then moved in with her other daughter Caroline. And a third theory involves Nancy's other daughter Nancy Juanita. This is the only child of James and Nancy Terry who lived to adulthood. Could Mary and Nancy Juanita perhaps be the same child?
Juanita Terry and S.D. Rowland had four children: Reuben W. Rowland (born 1876), George Y. Rowland (born 1878), Archibald E. Rowland (born 1881), and Juanita G. Rowland (born 1885). Their family lived in the Oak Ridge community near Vicksburg in Warren County, Mississippi. For more on Smith Davis Rowland, see the link below for his parent's web page.
For information on the family of George and Rebecca Rowland, visit "The Family of George Rowland and Rebecca Stark".
For information on George and Nancy Ann's second family together, visit "The Family of George Rowland and Nancy Ann Spencer Terry".
1840 Edgefield District, South Carolina Census, page 99A:
Wylie Spencer:
Census Data | Calculated Birth Range | Probable Family Member |
1 male age under 5 | (born 1835-1840) | Unknown child |
1 male age 10-15 | (born 1825-1830) | Son from 1830 census, James (ca 1823) |
1 male age 40-50 | (born 1790-1800) | Wiley (ca 1794) |
1 female age 5-10 | (born 1830-1835) | Nancy Ann (1830) |
2 females age 10-15 | (born 1825-1830) | Caroline (1820) and Hannah (1828) |
1 female age 30-40 | (born 1800-1810) | Lucinda (1810) |
1 female age 40-50 | (born 1790-1800) | Nancy (ca 1790) |
4 Slaves: 3 males age under 10; 1 female age 10-24 | ||
Total of 11 in household [MKJ note: should be 12]; 2 employed in agriculture, 1 in manufacturing/trade. |
1850 Winston County, Mississippi Census: Microfilm 432 Roll 382, page 329A, Dwelling/Family 193/195
Terry, James W. -- age 21 (1829), male, farmer, real estate value = 180, born S.C.
Terry, Nancy -- age 20 (1830), female, born S.C.
Terry, Mary -- age 1 (1849), female, born Miss.
Spencer, Mary -- age 53 (1797), female, born S.C.
  Note: James and Harriet Spencer were living in Dwelling/Family 195/197. I believe that Mary Spencer was really Nancy Spencer, Nancy Terry's mother.
1853 Mississippi State Census, Index by R.V. Jackson:
Terry, Ann -- Winston -- page 21
1853 Winston County, Mississippi State Census:
Ann Terry -- 1 male, 2 females
  Note: Who is the male in the household? If James had died during the 1853 census year, then he might have been required to be enumerated even if he were deceased. Or did James and Ann perhaps have a son that I don't know about and who did not survive to adulthood? I think this male is probably the deceased James. Also, who are the two females? I would assume that one is Nancy Ann herself. I know that daughter Juanita survived to adulthood. Perhaps daughter Mary, listed on the 1850 census died as a young child? Or could it be possible that Mary from the 1850 and Juanita could be the same child?
1860 Winston County, Mississippi Census: Louisville Post Office, August 1860, page 89 (685), Dwelling/Family 580/580:
Rowland, G.Y. -- age 52 (1808), male, farmer, real estate 1500, personal estate 4000, born SC
Rowland, Nancy -- age 30 (1830), female, born SC
Rowland, P.S. -- age 20 (1840), male, born SC
Rowland, Henry -- age 18 (1842), male, born SC
Rowland, Jas -- age 16 (1844), male, born SC
Rowland, Jno -- age 14 (1846), male, born SC
Rowland, S.D. -- age 10 (1850), male, born MS
Rowland, Geo. -- age 3 (1857), male, born MS
Rowland, S.L. -- age 1 (1859), male, born MS
Land and Property Deeds in Winston County, Mississippi
8 Feb 1849 -- Shepherd Spencer to Nancy Ann Terry: Deed of Gift -- Bk K, Pg 194
Pickens County, Alabama: Shepherd Spencer gave to granddaughter Nancy Ann Terry of Winston County, Mississippi one negro woman Milly and her two children Jerry and Hasselline per these conditions: 1) the negroes must be managed by whom he appoints for the use of his granddaughter, 2) neither they nor their services can be held liable for debts or contracts made by Nancy or the trustees, 3) the negroes’ services may be disposed of at the discretion of the appointed men during Nancy’s life, and if she were to die without issue, then the negroes shall be divided between Mary Narine, Caroline Whitten, Hannah E. Whitten, James Spencer, and Lucinda Spencer. Robert S. Hudson appointed trustee. Given in Pickens County, AL 8 Feb 1849. Received in Winston County, MS 21 Feb 1849 and recorded 14 Mar 1849.
(Note: Robert S. Hudson was first cousin to Nancy Ann, Mary, Caroline, Hannah, James and Lucinda.)
Parents and Siblings of Nancy Ann Spencer | The Family of George Rowland and Rebecca Stark |
| The Family of George Rowland and Nancy Ann Spencer Terry | Main Whitten Page |
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