Our Spicer Family

A Bit Of Spicer History: Jesse Spicer

Your great-grandpa Spicer, Jesse, was born in Irvine, Estill County, Kentucky June 7, 1896. We don’t know too much about his earlier days, but we know it must have been some hard living. I believe he was named after his Uncle Jesse Spicer, who was, once upon a time, a deputy sheriff – and then an outlaw. More on that on another page.

Jesse was the son of Granville Spicer and Sarah (Sally) Estes. (a, 3) When he was 5, his family was living in Station Camp, Kentucky.(b) At age 10, the family had moved again – this time to Heidelburg, Kentucky. (c)

Jesse Spicer’s service locations, rank, dates

By 1917, the family had moved to Ohio – and at that time, the United States finally declared war on Germany. World War I began in earnest. Shortly after his 21st birthday, Jesse enlisted in the US Army and went into battle in service of our great country. Jesse served as follows:

“Battery B 15 Field Artillery to 11 Aug 1917; 2 Battery Training Battalion 5 Field Artillery to 3 Dec 1917; Co A 1 Engineers to 9 Aug 1919; Co E 1 Engineers to Discharge Private, first class 5 Nov 1917; Private 31 Dec 1917; Private, first class 10 May 1919. Montdidier-Noyon; Aisne-Marne; St Mihiel; Meuse-Argonne; Defensive Sector. American Expeditionary Forces 12 Nov 1917 to 4 Sept 1919. Honorable discharge 25 Sept 1919. “(1)(2)(3) Almost 2 years in the European theater!

He married Ola Hensley on September 2, 1927, in Indiana. Ola was the daughter of Henry Levi Hensley and over 17 years they had 8 kids, 7 of whom survived to adulthood.

In 1935 and 1939, Jesse and Ola were living at 312 Park Drive in Dayton. Jesse was working as a factory worker for Frigidaire, according to the 1940 US Federal Census.

When the census was taken on April 15, 1940, the family was still complete. Tragically, in September of 1940, their young daughter Carolyn, drowned. She was in kindergarten at Oak Street United Brethren church.

Two years later, son Carl was born. Carl also came to a sad ending, when he died homeless and alone in Texas. His body, as far as I have been able to determine, was never claimed by the family. He was returned to Ohio for interment. I’ll get back to Carl’s story on another page.

In 1952, Les was conscripted (not enlisted) into the US Army and was sent to Korea.

Ola died in Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio in May 26, 1962.

As his family grew, Jesse took care of his family by welding – first for a safe company and later with Frigidaire.

Jesse died in 1972 at age 78. He left behind his second wife, Ethel Cook Spicer (no marriage certificate located as yet) his children, step-children and grandkids. (3)

Footnotes:

(a) US Federal Census, 1900, (b) US Federal Census, 1910

(1) Ohio Military Men, 1917-1918, Vol. 23; (2) Ohio Soldiers in WWI, 1917-1918; (3) The Journal News, Hamilton, Ohio, 27 Jul 1972, Thu • Page 16 – Obituary of Jesse Spicer

What’s Your Spicer Story?

So, here we are, with space for stories, photos, videos and so much more – and no one is sharing. I want to challenge each of you to tell your Spicer story.

Start by talking about what it was like growing up (if you dare). Or talk about how you met your significant other. Maybe you have a special story about your grandparents or your Dad that you think is funny and should go down in the books. Or maybe you’re a kid right now, and you want to tell yourself a story so you can read it in ten, twenty or fifty years.

You may want to talk about the kids – after all, they’re pretty much the reason we do everything we do, right? At least, at this point in their lives that’s the case. Tell us about your critters and share the latest mischief they’re getting into.

We know Jesse will soon have stories about getting a driver license. What is Jossni doing in school? Have they made college plans? What are they doing in their new schools?

How about Owen, Isaac and Jolene? As a family with a whole lot going on, we know how tough it is with all the obligations and trying to keep up. They all have their games, sports, hobbies, art, music and dance.

Last – and far from least – is Effie and Charli. They are so far away – you all are, and it is difficult even on social media to get the best stories. What are their hobbies? What is fun for them to get into on a regular day? We don’t really know Bea’s parents, but they can and should most certainly be included in Family Stories that Charli and Effie share. We are here to help you do that.

In fact, that goes for all of your spouses’ parents. They are extensions of the family, so please include them also, if you wish. That is exactly what this is – a way for you to share your family with the rest of the family.

And guess what? You don’t have to type anything. Do an audio recording right off your phone, then save it to your computer and send us a link or the audio file. We can transcribe it or use the audio with photographs. How much more personal can you get?

We want this to be a website that you feel good about. Maybe even a little excited to come back to and see what everyone has been doing. Get creative.

Share YOU!

Protected: Alice’s Scrapbook

Alice Cunningham History

Alice Mae Cunningham – Mom

We are learning how much Mom loved the outdoors, as both a brownie/girl scout and as a young teen. Maybe her sisters will let me in on some of these stories a bit more!

*Alice in a play about Girl Scout laws. (Courtesy Dayton Herald; originally published 9 Oct 1945)*

Alice (note home address listed!) is entered in the Miss Outdoors contest! What happens next?

Alice is directly in the center – yes, the short one!

Alice moves forward in Miss Miami Valley Outdoors contest. I guess pageant life wasn’t too far off for Spicer ladies!

Alice went to Stivers school, which is interesting, because Connie’s great grandfather, Ed Dexter taught there at that same time.

Adding a “scrapbook page” which will include these same images plus many more. Have a look! (PS-you need a password to view them… Ask us what the password is!)

We will add more information over time. In the meantime, if you have a story you would enjoy sharing about Mom, feel free to send it on or ask how you can post it here.

Love,

Grandpa and Grammy

Les Spicer History

Les Spicer – my Dad

Some of you kids probably don’t know a whole lot about your great-grandpa, Les Spicer, except that he was an artist and was darned good at it. I think most of you have some of his paintings in your homes. But he also made some pretty neat cards. He was also quite a joker, as you’ll see in a minute.

Here are a couple he gave me that I think you’ll like, especially since it’s Christmastime still.

I also still have the last birthday card he made for me.

These simple things are the things we remember when those who love us pass on. It wasn’t just a card – these were his creations, and through them, he took the time to express his love to us. And while he is missed, we can look at his artwork and know that his brilliance and light continue to live on.

This is one reason Grammy and I enjoy it when you guys make us something, rather than buying presents or giving gift cards. We are grateful for all, but it seems the things you did with loving care are the things that always mean the most to us.

Les' watercolor card — Nikki’s 12th birthday card

What will you do to be remembered?

Your great grandfather also served our country in the US Army. He was conscripted into the 25th Infantry Division – a group called the Wolfhounds. Conscripted means that he was drafted, rather than enlisting. I’ll try to remember to go more into detail about it later on, especially when I learn more information about it.

Dad didn’t talk much about his days in the service. He went to Korea during wartime. The Korean War ran from June 25, 1950 – July 27, 1953. I’m proud that he served our country.

This article details Les Spicer’s service details. It also confirms his family and where he was living at the time of his service. The article is dated 2 Sep 1952.

Well, it’s time to get off here, but will return to tell more about Dad “Les” and soon, Mom, “Alice” will get her turn as well. I hope you like this article. If you would like to know more about someone in the family, let me know and I’ll see what we can find.

As always, if you want to tell your own stories, you can do that too. You can write an article, add some pictures, an audio or video file and post it here. If you need help, that’s what we are here for. Don’t be shy to ask for help.

Love to all,

Grandpa and Grammy

Christmas 2019

As the year winds down, the family gathers again for a last holiday get-together – minus a few. David, Bea, Effie and Charli are not here this year and are missed. The big kids headed to New Orleans for a friends’ wedding, while the kids stayed with Bea’s parents.

In the meantime, we had fun visiting, playing games and Jojo’s impromptu show with her new karaoke machine. (See the video! This is an unlisted Youtube video, so don’t share it on social media without asking permission, please.)

There was a lot of joking around and laughing – PS, this video is unedited (and unlisted also), so excuse any loud noises, extreme goofiness and perhaps some not-so-PC moments. It all comes from a place of love.

Fir tree, December 16, 2019. — **We went from a 3 inch snow to over 60 degrees in a week. Christmas may not have been white, but it was pleasant!**

Despite muddy shoes, no snow and the usual crazy drivers on the road, we enjoyed the ongoing activity. Now, on to New Year, 2020.

Be sure to bring your own stories to our website. Tell us what you might like to see or how you want to contribute!

Love to all,

Grandpa and Grammy

Five Generations of Spicers

Here is an abridged 5-generation family tree, starting with ME!

If the image is hard to read, let us know – but it shows the basics of a 5 generation chart we’ve started. Did you know your ol’ Dad had his DNA study done? Guess what? I’m your dad! 🙂 These are my people (and yours too!) So many stories to tell and share.

Welcome Spicer Family!

This is a place that (we hope) you will come to share details of your life (in many different ways) so we can pass on our histories, stories, fun and more family! Oftentimes, we hear secondhand your adventures, job changes, moves and just lose track of what’s been going on.

Being able to have a site like this lets us all participate in different ways, at different skill levels too. Believe me, if we can learn how – you can too!

We wanted to do something a little different this year than the regular gifts that tend to be forgotten about as soon as we have them – and it is our hope that, over time, you will see this as a place of value to you and for your children.

We want to offer YOUR stories, not just ours. Present AND past. To do that, we hope to audio and video record all of you in different ways – and for you to share those that we would never know about except for you to share it. This is a very private site, but we want it to be a site that you will be proud to be a part of. Sign up in the form below (and then keep reading afterward – there’s a little more!)

You can become an author, editor or administrator of the site, you can send us your videos or audio files to upload, you can write stories, upload your own photos, link to your own blog or social media pages and more.

Won’t you please come inside and see what we are just beginning to build together? We hope you’ll want to participate for your family too! If you do, just let us know and we will send you the access information you’ll need.

OK, Connie thinks I look like Jesse – what do you think? (1973 – age 16)

You never know – this might be great fun! (And by the way, if you see something that’s wrong, please tell us! We want to make sure it’s true and correct.)

Love you all.

Dad

PS-If you’d like to take some time to submit a story or join the site and learn more, please take a minute to fill out the form below and click “Submit”. Thanks!