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Jane Green Fea and William Spence

Jane Green Fea (b. 31st March 1797) was a daughter of Thomas Fea and Jane Green.

She married William Spence (b. 1782) on 13th April 1815, at Lerwick. William was the son of Gilbert Spence. William's earlier life as a surgeon in the British Army and also family is covered in part of a paper by Graham Simpson, a descendent of William Spence. He retired apparently to Lerwick rather than the Spence family home in Unst, Shetland.

William and Jane had twelve children:

Jane Fea Spence b. 1819 in Lerwick who married her first-cousin, Gilbert Spence

Jessie Hay Spence b. 4th August 1820 who married the Rev William Paterson

Catherine Stafford Spence b. 16th July 1823 in Lerwick and died on North Yell on 21st December 1906. She was unmarried.

Gilbert William Spence b. 10th May 10 1825 in Lerwick who was heir to the Greenfield estate and married Bridget Mullins.

Thomas Fea Spence b. 18th February 1828 in Lerwick. He died there on 22nd November 1848 at the early age of twenty.

Margaret Hay Fea Spence b. 27th January 1830, presumably in Lerwick, and died there later that year. She is the only child with three forenames, no doubt to distinguish her from her older half-sister with the same first two names.

Martha Joan Spence b. 1831 and married the Rev. Robert McLaurin

Edward Hodges Spence b. 29th March 1833 and died 29th March 1834

Philothea Fea Spence (Philly) b. 1834 and died 18th August 1907 in Edinburgh. Pilothea was unmarried and the last surviving daughter. Apparently her sole claim to fame was that due to her efforts the "Auld toon clock" was restored and set up again in the Tolbooth at Lerwick, after a long silence.

William Spence b. 1835 and died young

Ann Spence b. 1837 and died young

Ann Spence b. 1837 and died young

Grant's Zetland history is replete with the genealogy of the Spence family indicating that it was high on the list of landed Scottish families and in the late 1700's the Spence family was named the fourth in terms of size of landholding on Unst. Grant comments about Dr.William Spence in Lerwick, "that Dr. Spence's Park was where the Anderson High School now stands. The house of Greenfield was built in 1822. Dr. Spence was a member of the Parochial Board and attended its inaugural meeting on 3rd Dec. 1845." He was clearly someone of standing in the community.

William died on 19th July 1849, in Lerwick, Shetland. Jane died 18 May 1865 at age 68.

The paper referred to above also mentions his will covering his estate on death.

William and Jane's gravestone reads as follows:

In the Memory of William Spence Esq. of Greenfield, Staff Surgeon in the British Army who died 19th July 1849 aged 67.

Also his mother, Janet Hay who died October 30th 1834,aged 85 and the following of his children.

Thos Fea 22nd Nov.1848 aged 20.

Margaret, Edward, William, Ann and Elizabeth who died in infancy and Elizabeth T. Paterson his grandchild 12 May, 1849, aged 6 months.

The five infant deaths are testimony to the high incidence of mortality in children at that period when bacteria were unknown and hygiene was primitive.