1852 - 1931

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• Suffix	II
  Birth	8 Jul 1852	York State (Livingston County, New York, probably West Sparta)   [1, 2, 3]
  Gender	Male
  Died	20 Mar 1931	Brainerd, Crow Wing County, Minnesota   [1, 2, 3]
  	Cause: Carcinoma of the stomach & liver
  Buried	23 Mar 1931	Finlayson, Pine County, Minnesota   [1, 2, 3]
  Person ID	I58544	Brainard (Brainerd) / Foster / Fish
  Last Modified	11 Sep 2005 00:00:00
  Father	Asa Holmes SPICER, b. 18 Mar 1825, West Sparta, Livingston County, New York
  Mother	Nancy M. CHAPMAN, b. 3 Jun 1832, Nunda, Livingston County, New York
  Family ID	F24965	Group Sheet
  Family	Arina Phylinda DAVIS, b. 11 Mar 1856, Davenport, Scott County, Iowa
  Married	31 Dec 1872	Mazeppa, Wabasha County, Minnesota
  Children	> 1. Valerie SPICER, b. 21 Mar 1875, near Zumbrota, Goodhue County, Minnesota > 2. Claude Urban SPICER, b. 1 Feb 1877, Near Zumbrota, Goodhue County, Minnesota > 3. Geneva Pearl SPICER, b. 2 Jun 1882, Atkinson, Holt County, Nebraska > 4. Lanklyn Sylvester SPICER, b. 15 Aug 1884, Atkinson, Holt County, Nebraska   5. Baby Boy SPICER, b. 16 Jan 1886, Atkinson, Holt County, Nebraska > 6. Morton Cecil SPICER, b. 13 Feb 1889, Atkinson, Holt County, Nebraska   7. Nathan SPICER, b. 27 Apr 1891, Atkinson, Holt County, Nebraska > 8. Zella Enid SPICER, b. 29 Dec 1894, Atkinson, Holt County, Nebraska > 9. Evelena Joy SPICER, b. 10 Jun 1897, Mazeppa, Wabasha County, Minnesota > 10. William Edward SPICER, b. 9 Jan 1899, Mazeppa, Wabasha County, Minnesota > 11. Nannie Bell SPICER
  Family ID	F25431	Group Sheet

• Notes

  William Spicer had cancer in his face which required many surgeries to remove the cancerous tissue and bone. Due to the surgeries, William's face was horribly disfigured and his sinus cavities were exposed which drained constantly and required frequent dressing changes. Despite severe pain from the facial mutilation(s), and the exposure of his open wounds to bacteria and germs, William survived, albeit miserably, in this condition for many years. His son, Lanklyn also suffered from facial cancer, however, his malignancies were diagnosed in the early stages and less extreme measures of treatment was provided, i.e. burning the malignancies. William Harrison Spicer made a blackboard for one of the first schools [in Holt County, Nebraska] which is written in "Before Today" a book about the people who settled Holt County Nebraska The same book states, James Davis and Arina Wyman moved to Minnesota in 1855, a year before Arina Philinda Davis was born. Then moved their family to Holt County, Nebraska in 1878 with 13 children. Yet Arina and William Harrison's daughter, Valerie [Lanklyn's sister] was born in 1875, where I don't know but their 2nd child, Claude was born in 1877 in Atkinson, Nebraska, a year before the book claims Arina Phylinda moved to Holt County, NE with her parents! So it is questionable that Arina Wyman and James Davis moved to Holt County, Nebraska with their 13 children after all. He was named after his uncle William Harrison, I William moved his family back and forth between Minnesota and Nebraska on several occasions by covered wagon. On the family's last trip back to Minnesota, William and Arina's 6 year old son, Nathan, contracted scarlet fever and died near Winnebago City, Minnesota. Heart broken, William and Arina carried their small child away from the train and buried him under a small cherry tree on the prairie. Once the towns people heard that someone on the train had died of the fever they wired to all of the towns and villages ahead to warn them, and the people on the wagon train were shunned and made to stay away from the towns and villages. In later years one of Nathan's brother's went back to Winnebago in search of his brother's small grave in order to place a headstone but was unable to find it.

• Sources

  [S754] William Harrison Spicer.GED. Date of Import: Jul 29, 2001 [S755] William Harrison Spicer.FTW. Date of Import: Jul 29, 2001 [S65] Spicer Family File.FTW. Date of Import: Jul 30, 2001