Biography of John Spurgeon
John was born in Little Ellingham to parents William (a labourer) and Ann Spurgeon, and baptised on 13 May 1831.
The 1841 census shows John (10) living at Little Ellingham with his parents William (35, agricultural labourer) & Ann (30), brother James (5), & sister Harriet (2), together with step-brother Thomas Gedge (15).
In 1851 John (19, a farm labourer) is still with his parents William (45) & Ann (45), brothers Robert (22, also a farm labourer), James (15, a tailor), & William (9), and sisters Harriet (12) & Eliza (5), living in Church Street, Little Ellingham.
On 6 November 1854 John married Anna Maria Tennant at Little Ellingham, after publishing banns. Their first son, Charles William Spurgeon, was born 5 May 1856. In 1857 John, Anna & Charles emigrated to the USA and settled in Michigan: in the 1860 census John (28, a labourer) is with his wife Ann (25), son Charles (named William, 4), and US born daughter Bertha (2), living in Oxford, Oakland, Michigan.
In 1863 John, age 29, was registered to be drafted to join the Union Army for the Civil War: no record of his service has (yet) been found.
By 1870 the family has grown, with 3 sons: William (14), John (5), & James (3), and 5 daughters: Bertha (12), twins Libbie & Lydia (10), Edith (7), & Eliza (2 months). They are living in Oxford, Oakland, Michigan. A topographic map of Oxford County from 1872 shows John owned a 38 acre plot in Oxford District No.1 (zoomed) - his brother William's plot is a short distance away.
In the 1880 census John (46, farmer) & Annie (43) are living at 103 Stony Creek, Avon, Oakland, Michigan with 8 children: the twins Libbie & Lydia (19), Edith (17), John (15), James (13), Eliza (10), Lettie (8), & Robert (6).
No records found for the 1890 census. By the 1900 census John (66, farmer) & Anna (66) have moved to Elkland, Tuscola, Michigan, living with their sons John (35, recently widowed) & Robert (26), both shown as farm labourers, a servant Nellie Randell (19, married John later the same year), and grand-children Clara (8) and Wally (6), both seem to be Robert's children.
Age 80, John died on 31 May 1912 at Cass City, Tuscola, Michigan.
