Life

He was born in Hartford, Connecticut

Hartford, Connecticut

Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...

, the son of Isaac Spencer who was Connecticut State Treasurer

Connecticut State Treasurer

The Connecticut State Treasurer serves the office of treasurer for the state of Connecticut.-List of State Treasurers:-External links:***...

 from 1818 to 1835.

Joseph Spencer graduated from Yale College

Yale College

Yale College was the official name of Yale University from 1718 to 1887. The name now refers to the undergraduate part of the university. Each undergraduate student is assigned to one of 12 residential colleges.-Residential colleges:...

 in 1811, then studied law, was admitted to the bar, and practiced in Rochester, New York

Rochester, New York

Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...

. On September 24, 1814, he married Elizabeth Selden (b. 1797), a sister of Samuel L. Selden

Samuel L. Selden

Samuel Lee Selden was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals in 1862.-Life:...

 and Henry R. Selden

Henry R. Selden

Henry Rogers Selden was an American lawyer and politician. He was Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1857 to 1858. He defended Susan B. Anthony in her 1873 trial for unlawfully voting as a woman.-Life:He was the son of Calvin Selden and Phebe Selden...

. Their only child was Elizabeth Selden Spencer (b. 1819).

Spencer was a member of the New York State Senate

New York State Senate

The New York State Senate is one of two houses in the New York State Legislature and has members each elected to two-year terms. There are no limits on the number of terms one may serve...

 (8th D.) in 1823

46th New York State Legislature

The 46th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 7 to April 24, 1823, during the first year of Joseph C. Yates's governorship, in Albany.-Background:...

, and died a few days after the end of the regular session of the Legislature in Albany, New York

Albany, New York

Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...

. His widow married Amos B. Eaton

Amos Beebe Eaton

Amos Beebe Eaton was a career officer in the United States Army, serving as a general for the Union during the American Civil War.-Biography:...

 in 1831, and became the grandmother of Elizabeth Selden Rogers

Elizabeth Selden Rogers

Elizabeth Selden White Rogers was a civic reformer working to improve the New York public schools, and to win suffrage for women in the state of New York and the nation.-Biography:...

.

Sources

• Hyde Genealogy by Reuben H. Walworth
  Reuben H. Walworth
  Reuben Hyde Walworth was an American lawyer and politician...
  
   (1863; pg. 584)
• The New York Civil List compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 125 and 145; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)
• Obit in The Washington Quarterly Magazine of Arts, Science and Literature edited by Robert Little (1823; Vol. 1; pg. 88)