John Richard Spencer was born on August 16, 1873 in Engelhard (Hyde County), North Carolina. [Note: His birthdate on his headstone reads September 5, 1885, but that would have made him about 11 when his eldest daughter Lena Spencer Jones was born. The date recorded in this biography is from his World War I draft registration card and is thought to be the more reliable source since he himself filled it out.] Spencer was pastor of Disciples Church in Washington, North Carolina, serving that community until his death in Baltimore, Maryland on November 27, 1935.