Mary Lue Spruce was born in Mississippi in 1843. She was the daughter of Simpson and ____Spruce. The only notice of a Spruce family is in the 1860 DeSoto Country census. "J.A. Spruce 23M, Simpson Spruce 65M, Mary Spruce 17F and S.F. Spruce 14F" There are no other Spruces in Mississippi or Louisiana in 1860.

Records show that they moved from Alabama to Mississippi and then to Tennessee. They later headed to Jonesboro, Ark before moving south to Lake Ouachita in north Louisiana.

Records I have show Virgil "Virgie as he was called" being born near the town of Homer in 1854. He would later marry Rebecca Conner. He was a successful sheep farmer but they had no children that I can find.

Stories I've heard say the Spruce's owned a small farm with a few slaves which they freed around 1863. Mary would later marry Robert English in the 1860s. They had a girl (named Gertrude) about 1864 that died shortly after birth. They then had a son named Robert E. English in 1865.

I've been to Homer, LA and there are lots of black English families there. I talked to one older black lady who told me her family had once been owned by some English's "round these parts".

Robert (Sr) would die in 1878 and Mary would later marry William "Lit" Donaghe.

Any additional information would be great appreciated.

Greg English, Great-Great Grandson of Robert
latraveler@bellsouth.net