Andrew J. Spence
Andrew J. Spence Family History
Andrew Jackson Spence came to Texas from Thomasville, Georgia sometime in the late 1800s. He had three children by his first wife. Their names were Mose, Andrew and John W. His second wife was Margaret Gandy from Buna, Texas. They had two children: Artie B. and Carey. Margaret Gandy Spence died at an early age and he then married Nancy Elizabeth (Maddie) Meador Boykin. She was a widow with two children: Albert Sidney and Starley N. Boykin. The children of Andrew Jackson and Nancy Elizabeth Spence were Bob and Bee Spence. The family originally lived in Leon County. Andrew Jackson Spence moved to Grapeland about 1878. The oldest son, Mose Spence was a farmer and operated a cotton gin in Grapeland. His gin was first located across from the Baptist Church. He later was in partnership with his brother A.B. Spence. Mose Spence married Martha Haney. Their children were Rena (m. Mr. Dockey), Minnie (m. Knox Miller), Callie (m. A.H. Luker), Jack E. (m. Mary Pennington), Edna nicknamed Dutch (m. Jim Ellis), and Eva (m. Bob Scarborough). Andrew Spence was a farmer and rancher at Post, Texas. John W. Spence was a farmer and owned a cotton gin and saw mill. He married Mary Haney. Their children were Lizzie (m. Steil Sharp), Lula (m. a Carter), Beulah (m. Jim Pennington), Maggie (m. Sam Walker), Andrew J. (m. Gertie Shaw), Amanda (m. Joe Larue), Lottie (m. Woodie Sims), Chester B. (m. Alice Shaw), Norman and Williard. Artie B. Spence was ginner and farmer. He went into the ginning business in 1910 in Grapeland. He also owned the Grapeland Bottling Works and other properties in Grapeland. He married Ida Pennington. Their five children were Lovie Mae (m. Byron Alexander Maxwell), Perlena (rn. 1st Emmett Pierce Mc- Call, 2ndArnold E. Broughton), Carey Artie (Carrie) (m. Homer Jones), Jack (m. Ruth Clinton) and Eva Elizabeth (died in infancy). Bee Spence was killed jumping from the train as a young man. Bob Spence was never married. He was a farmer in the Grapeland area.