William B. Spencer

Born on "Home Plantation," in Catahoula Parish, Louisiana, Spencer received his early education from private tutors. His parents were slaveholders. He was graduated from Centenary College, Jackson, Louisiana, in 1855 and from the law department of the University of Louisiana at New Orleans (now Tulane University) in 1857. He married Henrietta Elam, sister of Joseph Barton Elam, who would later serve in the United States Congress. ==Career==

Spencer was admitted to the bar in 1857 and commenced practice in Harrisonburg, Louisiana. He served in the Confederate States Army, with the rank of captain, until 1863, when he was captured. He was held as a prisoner of war at Johnson's Island, Ohio, until the close of the Civil War. After returning to Louisiana, Spencer resumed the practice of law in Vidalia, in 1866. He successfully contested as a Democrat a special election against Republican Frank Morey. He was elected to the Forty-fourth Congress and served from June 8, 1876, to January 8, 1877, when he resigned to accept a judicial appointment. Spencer was appointed Associate Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court on January 9, 1877, which position he held until his resignation April 3, 1880. He again resumed the practice of law in New Orleans, Louisiana. According to his tombstone, he died in Cordóba, Mexico, April 29, 1882. He was interred in Magnolia Cemetery, Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1882. ==References==