Hi Gary,
I am sorry to say that there is still uncertainty with regard to which boat Mrs. Spencer and her maid escaped in.
Interviews attributed to Elise Lurette, Mrs. Spencer's maid, in several New York newspapers soon after the sinking, implied that she and her employer were in the same boat as
Molly Brown - therefore they were placed in boat #6 originally.
However, after comparing later interviews, and the testimony given at the American Inquiry, it seems likely that the Spencer party were stragglers to the boat deck. I believe the ladies left in one of the very last boats but wouldn't rule out the possibility of boat #4 altogether as some historians have done. Some researchers believe boat #4 is "overcrowded" with possibilities given the general number of occupants. I personally feel that the Spencer party was detached from the rest, and the ladies may have well entered one of the port-side aft boats....like boats #10 and #14 which contained several first-class passengers and therefore went virtually unnoticed.
According to her family, Mrs. Spencer was ill at the time of the sinking, and suffered from manic depression and anxiety. She had been ill for some time, and the family today relates the tale of how William Spencer was not only travelling to the United States to be present for the reading of his late brother's will, but also to seek medical attention for his wife.
I have heard that Mrs. Spencer continued her decline until her death in October 1913. According to one family report, the disaster was the beginning of the end for Mrs. Spencer, who reportedly stopped eating in the weeks leading up to her death. There is also a report that Marie Spencer suffered from acute nephritis (kidney failure).
I hope this will help.
Michael Findlay