Corresponding with Gareth Howell in England who reminded me about Nesta who is descendant of Hywel Dda “The Good” King of Deheubarth (Wales). Gareth writes:
Many of the early Cambro-Norman invaders were related, as indicated in the descendant chart of Nesta, a Welsh princess. Nesta was known as one of the most beautiful women in Wales. Her father was Rhys ap Tewdwr Mawr, Prince of South Wales (1081-1093) She had children from (at least) three relationships: Stephen the Castellan (of Cardigan), Gerald FitzWalter (of Windsor) and Henry I (King of England)
We have not (yet) established a connection between our Howell who appear in Virginia in the 1500’s and King Hywel. We have however previously established a connection to Nesta’s husband, Henry I (Beauclerc) via his marriage to Matilda Editha Caenmoor of Scotland. Their descendants are documented in the well researched Clopton genealogy. (Howell -> Heard -> Perrin -> Clopton -> Waldergrave -> Drury -> Calthorpe -> Stapleton -> de la Pole -> Stafford -> de Audley -> de Clare -> Plantagenet -> de Castile -> Plantagenet -> Beauclerc).
Descendancy for Henry I Beauclerc, of England: John and Susan Howell's Family History Pages.
New found Spencer cousin Linda Portwood writes from Australia with the details of her breakthrough information on the Spencer line:
A great deal of our ancestry is on the internet so will point you in the right direction and you can discover it for yourself. I was so amazed when I first found all that I did on the excellent website by John Palmer who's ancestors also came from the area where our family came from. The website is www.wirksworth.org.uk It is free to access, and much acclaimed, I have authenticated all of the information about our family by checking copies of original Parish Registers on microfilm at a local library, and have found everything correct. The site is a goldmine of information.
Within the site you will find a section called "Inces Pedigrees" and explanations about its origins and authenticity etc. An amazing pedigree has been transcribed for our family, amongst many others. An easy access to this is if you enter Timothy Spencer Ince Pedigrees into Google and it is the first Web Link to come up. Click on this and it will take you to the Inces Pedigree pages within the www.wirksworth.org.uk website. Some reference numbers are shown click on Page 083d and the Pedigree is shown, you will find William Spencer emigrated to Canada mentioned as a son of Timothy and Mary. You will also see Thomas Spencer of Hurstfields in Alton Co Derby farmer, who is my ancestor.
The above sources confirm that William Spencer (grandfather of Spencer Stone) was born in Matlock, Derbyshire, England and then moved to Canada. The new (to us) information shows William ancestors to his 3x great grandfather, James Spencer, baptized in the parish of Ashover in 1679 – 4 miles from Matlock.
Many thanks to Linda for authenticating the Spencer information relevant to us, and for passing on this great breakthrough!