Description
Dempsey Spencer enlisted at Atchison, Kansas on August 5, 1863, and was mustered as a Private into the 83rd USCT Infantry, Company F. On December 24, 1866, O. M. Spencer of Buchanan County, Missouri, signed claim for compensation #121 for enlisted slave Dempsey Spencer and swore an oath of allegiance before Buchanan County Notary Public J. C. Robidoux.
Spencer claimed he had acquired title to Dempsey by “…was born and raised in the family from a slave mother."
John N. Smith and James H. Combs of Dekalb, Buchanan County, swore under oath that Spencer had owned Dempsey for “20 years" and also swore oath that Spencer was loyal to the U.S. Government and had defended it against the Confederate States of America. Buchanan County Notary Public J. C. Robidoux certified that Spencer, Smith, and Combs had personally appeared before him and swore an oath to the truth of the claim. Spencer gave power of attorney to the law firm of Chipman, Hosmer & Co. of Washington, DC, to prosecute his claim for compensation. (O. M. Spencer, and numerous Spencers were Platte County enslavers.)Date(s) of Creation
12/24/1866
