Red River Ancestry

Dear Relatives (along with me) of James A Spence,

I can confidently state that the attached picture, said to be of James A. Spence (1753-1795), is most definitely not a photo of him.

Since the first ever attempt to record an image from a 'camera obscura' on a photo sensitive medium in the history of photography occurred in 1800 (by none other than Thomas Wedgwood), having a death date of 1795 puts this as an impossibility.

I could be his son, James 2nd, but I could not speak to that with any accuracy.

Kind regards ... your cousin,

Don Mansfield
Auckland, New Zealand

Thanks for the enlightenment Don. I have to say that I was also skeptical about that photo. The suit he’s wearing just looks too modern for someone in the 1700’s. I have removed it from his Page.
Tell us more about your own SPENCE lineage.

Heather Hamren wrote:My family is descended from James through Margaret Spence, and there's a family story I wonder if anyone else has heard. It goes like this: Nestichio, as a young girl, had been kidnapped by the Blackfeet and her mother asked James to rescue her. Even though many attempts had been made to rescue her, James succeeded by using a relay of horses. She was quite young at the time, so James waited to court her until she became a little older, then married her..

I am also a descendant of James Spence and Margaret Nostichio Batt. However, our family's oral history was that it was their daughter, Margaret "Peggy" Spence who was kidnapped (not James' future wife Margaret "Nostichio"). Peggy was supposedly kidnapped from an HBC inland post. As the story goes, Andrew Setter arrived at the post on one of his trips inland from York Factory and reported seeing a young white girl among the Blackfoot. James and Nostichio asked him to go back to rescue their daughter. He did so supposedly when those in their camp were out berry picking. Given the time period of Andrew Setter's inland travels, Peggy perhaps might have been around 12 years old when she was rescued. Andrew, who was about 18 years older than Peggy, ended up marrying her in "the custom of the country" about 4 years later, when she was about 16.

Hi Janet,
I have the same family background as your husband down to the McDonald family, my great grandmother was Annie McDonald, daughter of Charles McDonald and Mary Ann Whiteway. Would you have any pictures of this family, and be willing to share if so?

Thank you

I have Annie McDONALD married to William ROSS (1862-1933), your great-grandparents?
Which one of the ROSS children is your grandparent (married to who?)?

Hi Heather. My wife is also descended from Margaret Spence and Nestichio. Your post is the third version of the story of Nestichio being taken by Blackfeet I have seen. One version came to us from family, the other was in a history book and was written by William Scott son of Ann Setter and William Scott and contained in a letter to his nephew Osborne Scott. Although some details of these stories vary the overall theme of abduction by Blackfeet and subsequent rescue using a horse relay are consistent.

Just adding to previous, it would seem that William Scotts letter would support the oral tradition of Don Norquay. The letter was written in 1931.

Thomas - I would like to know more about your wife’s more recent ancestry so I can get things in perspective.
Is her name Geraldine ALLEN, and is she a daughter of Avril McDONALD and Maurice Frederick FOX (1915-2003)?
I got that information from the obituary for Maurice FOX.

Hi Gary
Yes that is correct. The story I mentioned above is from Geraldine's auntie Edna's note book. For a time Donald Angus McDonald, Geraldine's Grandfather, was raised in the household of John Norquay who was his uncle. This was after the death of his father Donald who was married to Caroline Setter, the sister of John's wife Elizabeth. That would have been from about 1885 onward. It would not surprise me to know that the source of Don's account is the same as that of Edna's and would have been passed down from the family of George Setter I suppose. Geraldine would love to have some photo's of Caroline and family if they exist.

Thomas

gnstill wrote: ↑Sat Apr 15, 2017 3:38 pm I have Annie McDONALD married to William ROSS (1862-1933), your great-grandparents?
Which one of the ROSS children is your grandparent (married to who?)?

My father's mother was Christabel Ross, she married William James Neal.