Welcome to my SPENCE-ROSSITER family history.

John SPENCE was a House Painter and a resident of Co Down in Ireland. He married Jane  (possibly TORRINGTON)and their son Thomas was born in approx 1852. Thomas was an  apprentice House Painter before moving to Manchester,Lancs in the early 1870's when in  his early 20's and after finishing his apprenticeship.

In Aug 1876 he married Anne ROBINSON in Hulme. Anne was born in Ashton under  Lyne in 1853 the daughter of Thomas and Margaret ROBINSON of Roscommon,  Ireland. Thomas worked all his life as a journeyman House Painter and died of heart  failure in 1909.

They had 6 children, Jane (1877-1883), Thomas R (1878-1883), Florence (1880- 1883), Charles M (1884-1963), Florence (bc1886) and Margaret (bc1889) all born  in Salford, Lancs. Sadly the three oldest children contracted Scarlatina  Maligna (Scarlet Fever) and all 3 died within days of each other in 1883.

Charles M was born in Salford, Lancs July 1884 and married Jane WEBSTER at St  James the Great, Haydock in Dec 1910.  Jane was born in March 1893 in Hardings  Row, Rainford, Lancs, the daughter of Henry WEBSTER (1847-1927) and Martha  BROADBENT (1852-1936).  Charles was an Electrician and served in the Royal  Engineers in WW1 seeing active serice in the middle east. The family moved to  Bristol, Glos sometime in the 1920's where he died of Broncitus in 1963.

Their three children were Catherine A R (1911-1994) born Warrington Lancs,  Charles (1913-1979) born Wigan, Lancs and Henry (1915-1990) born Haydock, Lancs.

Catherine married David J HOPKINS (1908-1941) in Bristol in 1931 and they had three  children. Elizabeth B (Brenda) b1932, Anita M b1938 & Richard D b1941. Sadly David was  killed by a bomb in 1941 whilst serving as a civilian Report Officer in Bristol during  WW11. Catherine remarried in 1943 in Bristol to Carl (Fred) SMITH (1920-1988) an RAAF  airman. They had no children.

Charles married Lavina M THOMAS (1914-1988) in Bristol in 1939 and they had 4  children. Diane A b1940, Elaine J b1944 and twin boys Stephen C and Terrence M born in  1948.
    
 Henry married Vera Patricia ROSSITER (1916-2007) in Bristol in 1940 and had three  children Ian M b1944, Minerva (Undine) M b1945 and Beverley L b1947.  The family migrated to  Perth Western Australia in 1952.

Vera was the daughter of Oliver Lindon ROSSITER (1887-1923) of Portishead, Somerset  and Alice Beatrice NOBLE (1886-1981)of Westbury on Trym. Oliver was the son of Louisa  J ROSSITER (1864-c1925) and was a steward on the MV Aquitania for many years but died  from Appendicitis in 1923 whilst at sea.  He had married Alice in 1912 in Bristol and  they had three children. Olive B (1913-1996), Vera P (1916-2007) and Alan E (1919- 1983)

Alice was born the daughter of Elizabeth BRANFIELD and her second husband Edward E  NOBLE (1862-1950)of Wedmore, Somerset who married in 1885 and they also had Ernest W  (1889-?), Arthur S (1893-1980) and Bertie F (1895-1965). Elizabeth married her first  husband James A E ENGLAND (1842-1879) in 1877 and they had Ella (1878-?) James A and  Henry C (twins born about 1879) and Edward bc1880.

If you find a link to your family or if you have research information that  varies from mine please email me so that we can exchange details.