Daniel SPENCER

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Daniel Spencer was born in 1805 in Georgia. He appeared on the census in 1850 in Dickson County, Tennessee. He died on 24 Aug 1852. He was buried in Parker-Fowlkes Cemetery, Abiff Road, Dickson County, Tennessee. The Parker's Creek area was settled in 1804 by Moses Parker and his family when he and his uncle, Elder John Parker, received permission from the governor of Georgia to leave Elbert County to visit the "Natchez Indian Territory". Their family eventually established the Turnbull Primitive Baptist Church in 1806 and remains the oldest continuously meeting church in Dickson County. Elder John Parker was a missionary that moved from place to place establishing churches & according to church records Moses' father Daniel Parker was the Turnbull congregation's first minister. Moses received a land grant from James Robertson of Davidson County dated Aug. 27th 1808 in payment for 6 months service in the late regiment. "When he landed at his destination all he had was two horses which bore the household goods, a rifle, chopping axe, hand saw, drawing knife, wife & 4 children. He quickly built a cabin & a mill & cleared a considerable farm in which he cultivated & raised plenty of provisions for home consumption", (Hickman Pioneer 1887). Parker's Creek was named for Moses after he killed a bear & cut his name in a tree in 1808. An early Dickson County land deed dated 1827 & signed by Moses refers to "the waters of Parker's Mill Creek" in its survey. After Moses's death in 1852 his daughter, Indiana Territory Parker & her husband Daniel Spencer, remained here and raised a family. The earliest documentation establishing the operation as Spencer's Mill appear just before the Civil War in 1856. The mill was operated by Daniel & Indiana's son, Samuel Spencer, as a water turbine driven corn & flour mill. In order to grind corn and wheat for local farmers in this area, French burr stones were bought & shipped for $14.14 from overseas and used as ballasts for weight during the passage across the Atlantic. The mill became the center of the community where everything from rifles to coffins were manufactured. Even the first thresher in the county was constructed here. Spencer's Mill boasted a wood & blacksmith shop, two stores, a saw mill and a post office. Mail was received semi-weekly in the community from Jan 18, 1878-April 14, 1906. William A. Lampley was its first postmaster. By 1919 Samuel's son, William Spencer Sr., was forced to dismantle the mill, & move his operation ten miles away next to the tracks on Railroad Street in Burns. The mill was rebuilt as a two story linear structure, & passed down to his son, Sammy , then to his brother William Jr., and finally sold to Jewell J. Richardson. In its new building the mill ran on various power sources, including a steam engine and a diesel generator from the old Burns Electric Department until sometime in 1945. At this time Spencer's Mill ceased operation sitting dormant & in disrepair for almost fifty years. Trish & Tim Miller purchased the mill in 1993 and moved it back to the original mill site on Parker's Creek where a faithful restoration began. In time, the present owners intend to operate the mill once again & preserve this as a local historical area. In the meantime cornmeal is being ground on site by a portable gasoline powered mill & complimentary bags are available. We are located just off the intersection of Abiff & Spencer Mill Road on Old Spencer Mill Road in southeastern Dickson County, Middle Tennessee.

Family/Spouse: Indiana Territory PARKER. Indiana (daughter of Moses PARKER and Hannah JOHNSON) was born in 1811; died on 5 Feb 1882 in Tennessee. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Samuel SPENCER and died.
2. Hiram A. SPENCER and died.
3. Moses SPENCER was born in 1837 in Tennessee; and died.