Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of Worcester county, Massachusetts, with a history of Worcester society of antiquity, Vol. I, Part 14

Author: Crane, Ellery Bicknell, 1836-1925, ed
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: New York, Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 824

USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of Worcester county, Massachusetts, with a history of Worcester society of antiquity, Vol. I > Part 14

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Ralph Sprague was about twenty-five years of age when he came to this country. He had four sons, John, Richard, Samuel and Phineas, and a daughter Mary, who married Daniel Edmands on September 28, 1630. John and Richard were born in England. Ralph was one of a jury impaneled which seems to have been the first jury in Massachusetts. Ralph Sprague was a lieutenant in the train band. In 1631 Captain Richard Sprague commanded a company of the train band, and on Friday of each week exercised his command at a convenient place near the Indian wigwams. Feb- ruary 10, 1634, the famous order creating a board of selectmen was passed; Richard and William Sprague signed the order. Richard Sprague left no posterity. His sword which is named in his brother William's will was preserved in one of the old Sprague houses in Hingham in 1828.

(1) William Sprague, son of Edward, of Eng- land, was born in England. He married, 1635, Millesaint, daughter of Anthony Eames. She died

February 8, 1696. He remained in Charlestown until 1636. His wife was admitted into the church in Charlestown in 1635, and the eldest son was bap- tized there May, 1636. He came to Hingham in the same year in a boat which landed on the east side of the cove, on a tract afterward granted to him by the town, and became one of the first plant- ers, the name Bare Cove having been changed to Hingham, September 2, 1635. William Sprague's house lot was said to be the pleasantest in Hing- ham. Many parcels of land were granted to him from 1636 to 1647. These gifts show the esteem in which he was held by his fellow townsmen. Jan- uary 30, 1645, he was one of seven men chosen in town meeting to order the prudential affairs of the town. In 1662 he was disbursing officer for the town, and also constable and fence viewer, etc. Feb- ruary 21, 1673, he deeded to his son Anthony cer- tain lands for six and thirty pounds of lawful money of New England, and nine pounds in mer- chantable corn. He died October 26, 1675. The children of William and Millesaint Sprague were: I. Anthony, born September 2, 1635, married Eliza- beth Bartlett, daughter of Robert Bartlett, of Plymouth. He was a large landowner of Hing- ham. His house was burned by Indians, April 19, 1676. He died September 3, 1719. 2. John, baptized April, 1638, married Elizabeth Holbrook, December 13, 1666. Sprague Island was given to him by his father. He died in Mendon, 1690. 3. Samuel, baptized May 24, 1640. He removed to Marshfield, Massachusetts, where he became secre- tary of the colony and register of deeds before 1692. He was the great-grandfather of Hon. Seth Sprague, of Duxbury. 4. Elizabeth, baptized May 2, 1641. 5. Jonathan, baptized March 20, 1642, died July 4. 1647. 6. Perses, baptized November 12, 1643, married John Doggett. 7. Joanna, baptized Decem- ber, 1644, married Caleb Church, December 16, 1667. 8. Jonathan, born May 28, 1648, moved to Providence, Rhode Island. 9. William, born May 7, 1650, married Deborah Lane, daughter of Andrew Lane, December 13, 1674. At a later date he re- moved to Providence, Rhode Island. 10. Mary, bap- tized May 25, 1652, married Thomas King. 11. Han- nah, baptized February 26, 1655, died March 31, 1658.

(II) Jonathan Sprague, born in Hingham, May 28, 1648, son of William (1), married Mehitabel, daughter of William and Elizabeth Holbrook, and in 1672 removed to Mendon, Massachusetts. In 1675, his father died and left to him sixty acres of land in Providence, Rhode Island, where he settled be- fore 1680.' He aided in surveying the eastern line of the colony. His was a strong, manly character. He was a member of the house of deputies for sixteen years between 1695 and 1714; speaker of the house, 1703; and member of the town council eight years from 1705 to 1712; clerk of the assembly in 1707. In 1703, with two others, he was appointed to draw up the methods and proceedings of the court of common pleas. The "Annals of Provi- dence" says he was a decidedly religious man, pro- fessed the Baptist faith, and preached as an ex- horter. He died in 1741. The children of Jonathan and Mehitabel Sprague were: I. Jonathan, a resi- dent of Providence and Smithfield, Rhode Island, married Bethialı Mann, November 28, 1699. She

was born March 12, 1683, and died April 6, 1712. For his second wife he married Hannah Hawkins, widow of Stephen Hawkins. He died April 22, 1764. 2. William, born February 2, 1691, was a resi- dent of Providence, and also of Smithfield, Rhode Island. Smithfield was set off from Providence and organized as a town in 1730. He died in Smith- field, 1768. He bore the rank of captain in the

BOST

PUBLIC LIBRARY

a.B. R. Opraque

WORCESTER COUNTY

second militia regiment of Providence in 1732. The "History of Woonsocket, Rhode Island," says: "For upwards of a century the Spragues were prominent actors in the religious and political history of old Smithfield." He deeded much land to one canse and another, and large tracts to his children. 3. Patience, married William Jenks, and they had ten children. 4. Joanna, married John Teft, who died in 1762. She died in 1757. They had eleven chil- dren. 5. Mary, married Daniel Brown, and they had six children. 6. A daughter whose name is unknown, married Ebenezer Cook.

(III) Captain William Sprague, son of Jon- athan (2), born 1691, married September 16, 1714, Ales Browne, who was born May 31, 1691. Their children were: I. Nehemiah, born January 5, 1717, married, 1738, Mary Brown. 2. Ales, born October 2, 1720. 3. Sarah, born February 10, 1722, married William Sly. 4. Samuel, born September 12, 1724. 5. Jetter, born September 19, 1726. 6. Joshua, born July 3, 1729, married Abigail Wilber.

(IV) Nehemiah Sprague, son of Captain Will- iam Sprague (3), married April 16, 1738, Mary Brown, and had Elias, born in Smithfield, Rhode Island, June 16, 1744; Nehemiah, born January 20, 1750, who died there in June, 1796. These brothers were farmers, and members of the Society of Friends.

(V) Elias Sprague, son of Nehemiah (4), was born in Smithfield, Rhode Island, June 16, 1744, and died in Douglass, Massachusetts, February 15, 1799. He married Mercy, daughter of Joseph Bassett, August 5, 1764; she was sister of Alice, who became the wife of Nehemiah (5). Elias moved to Doug- lass, Massachusetts, not later than 1788, at which date he deeded his homestead in Smithfield, Rhode Island, for three hundred and ninety pounds silver money. The children born to Elias and Mercy Sprague were: I. Jonathan, born December 9, 1765. 2. Theodate, born January 4, 1768. 3. Amy, born October 6, 1769. 4. Benjamin, born April 10, 1771. 5. Lavinia, born August 12, 1773. 6. Stephen, born November 18, 1775, married Olive Seagrave. 7. Preserved, born October 17, 1777, married Joanna Trask. 8. Thankful, born October 19, 1779. 9. William, born June 3, 1782. IO. Alice, born August 29, 1784. II. Elias, born 12. Lucina, born -. I3. Unnamed.

(VI) Jonathan Sprague, son of Elias Sprague (5), born at Smithfield, Rhode Island, December 9, 1765, was twice married. His first wife was Pa- tience, daughter of Robert Pixley (or Pidgeley), of New Grafton, Massachusetts. She was born in 1765. They were married in Smithfield by Peleg Arnold, justice of the peace, August 12, 1785. Their children were: I. Sarah, born in Smithfield, Rhode Island, December 3, 1785. 2. Nehemiah, born

1787. in Smithfield, Rhode Island, Tune 17, 3. Mercy, born in Douglas, Massachusetts, Janu- ary 17, 1789. 1. Federal Constitution, born

Douglas, Massachusetts,

October 16, 1790.

5. Amy, born in Douglas, October 14, 1792. 6. Daniel, born in Douglas, August 4, 1794. 7. Preserved, born in Douglas, April 4, 1796, died in childhood. 8. Lee, born in Douglas, February 7, 1798. 9. Patience, born in Douglas, March 1, 1800. IO. Jonathan, Jr., born in Douglas, October 6, 1801. The father, Jonathan Sprague, died in Thompson, Connecticut, October 29, 1815. Patience, his wife, died December 14, 1801. They were buried in the Friends' burying-ground at South Douglas, Massa- chusetts. Jonathan Sprague married (second) Kezia, daughter of Daniel and Kezia Torrey, of Sutton, Massachusetts. She was born there April 19, 1770, and died in Douglas, Massachusetts, May

10. 1844. Their children were: Almira, Philinda, Elias and Emeline. In all, Jonathan Sprague had ninety-seven grandchildren.

(VII) Lee Sprague, son of Jonathan (6), and Patience Sprague, was born in Douglas, Massa- chusetts, February 7, 1798. He married (first) Olive How Williams, May 21, 1821, who was born in Pomfret, Connecticut, November 27, 1803. She died in Ware, Massachusetts, November 11, 1822. The second wife of Lee Sprague was Lucia Snow, born April 28, 1805, daughter of Deacon Eli Snow and Alice Alden, she being in the sixth generation from John Alden of the "Mayflower." The father of Lucia Snow was in the fifth generation from Nicholas Snow, who came to Plymouth in the ship "Ann," in 1623, and married Constance Hopkins, a "Mayflower" pilgrim. Lucia Snow was married in Ware, Massachusetts, to Lee Sprague, September 8, 1824, and died in Worcester, Massachusetts, December 4, 1864. Lee Sprague married for his third wife Mary A. Bradley, born in 1808, married May 8, 1866, deceased. The children of Lee and Lucia Sprague were: I. Olive Williams, born in Ware, Massachusetts, June 12, 1825; died in East Douglas, Massachusetts, December 23, 1840. 2. Augustus B. R., born in Ware, Massachusetts, March 7, 1827. 3. Caroline Florella, born in Ware, Massa- chusetts, July 1, 1829; died in East Jaffrey, New Hampshire, August 7, 1863. 4. Francis Henry, born in Ware, Massachusetts, June 3, 1833; died April 13, 1834. 5. William Wirt, born in Ware, Massa- chusetts, February 8, 1835; died August 20, 1837, in East Douglas. 6. William Lee, born in East Dong- las, Massachusetts, November 9, 1839; died Jan- mary 23, 1841.

Lee Sprague, the father of these children, died in Worcester, Massachusetts, September 9, 1877.

(VIII) Caroline Florella Sprague, daughter of Lee and Lucia Sprague, born in Ware, Massa- chusetts, July 1, 1829, died in East Jaffrey, New Hampshire, August 7, 1863. She married Rev. Franklin D. Austin, at Worcester, Massachusetts, January, 1853. Their children were: I. Frank Lee, born in Tolland, Massachusetts, March 16, 1855; became a civil engineer, a graduate of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 1877; died in April, 1897. 2. Flora Lucia, born in East Jaffrey, New Hampshire, December 27, 1857; graduated at Mt. Holyoke, Massachusetts ; died in St. Paul, Minnesota, January 5, 1900. 3. Caroline Sprague, born in East Jaffrey, New Hampshire, July 29, 1863; graduated at Smith's College, Massachusetts.

GENERAL AUGUSTUS BROWN REED SPRAGUE was born in Ware, Massachusetts, March 7, 1827, son of Lee and Lucia (Snow) Sprague. He is a lineal descendant in the seventh generation from William Sprague, who came from England in 1628 with Endicott in the interest of the Massachusetts Bay Company to prepare for a new colony. His maternal grandmother, Alice Al- den, was a descendant in the fifth generation from John Alden, and his grandfather, Eli Snow, in the same generation, from Constance Hopkins, another "Mayflower" pilgrim.

General Sprague obtained his education in public and private schools in Ware and East Douglas, and was fitting for college when home circumstances compelled a change of plan, and in 1842 he came to Worcester. At first a clerk, he soon engaged in mercantile business for himself, and was so occupied from 1846 to 1861, when at the outbreak of the re- bellion he gave his services to his country. He was well prepared for the emergency, being already a well drilled soldier. He had joined the Worcester

WORCESTER COUNTY

Guards at the age of seventeen, and liad served as private, non-commissioned and commissioned officer, as adjutant of the Eighth Regiment, and major and inspector on the staff of the commander of the Fifth Brigade, Third Division, Massachusetts Vol- unteer Militia, which latter position he was holding at the time of the attack upon Fort Sumter. Under the call of President Lincoln for the first seventy- five thousand men, Major Sprague was unanimously elected to the captaincy of the Worcester City Guards, designated as Company A, Third Rifle Bat- talion, commanded by Major Charles Devens, Jr. This body left for the seat of war April 20, 1861. Early in July Major Devens was called to the com- mand of the Fifteenth Regiment Massachusetts Vol- unteers, and Captain Sprague, by virtue of seniority, commanded the battalion until its muster-out on Angust 3d, its term of service having expired. Upon his return home he at once identified himself with the organization of the Twenty-fifth Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, in which he was com- missioned lieutenant-colonel. On his solicitation sev- eral who had served with him in the Third Battalion were commissioned in this regiment, among them being Major McCafferty, Adjutant Harkness, and Captains Pickett, Moulton, O'Neil and Atwood. Be- fore the regiment left its rendezvous for the front Colonel Sprague was presented with a magnificent sword and belt by the members of his old company. Later his Worcester friends presented him with a valuable horse and equipments, Hon. Alexander H. Bullock making the presentation address on behalf of the donors. Colonel Sprague served with his regiment until November 11, 1862, taking part in all the skirmishes and battles in which it participated, including the famous "Burnside Expedition," and he was officially commended by his superior officer "for bravery and efficiency in the battles of Roanoke Island and Newberne." He was promoted, on the date which marked his separation from the Twenty- fifth Regiment, to the colonelcy of the Fifty-first Massachusetts Regiment. By special request of Major General John G. Foster, the department commander, Colonel Sprague was ordered with his new regiment back to North Carolina, where he participated in the battles of Kinston, Whitehall and Goldsboro. The names of these engagements were subsequently by order of Major General Foster inscribed upon the regimental colors which had been presented by the ladies of Worcester.

When General Lee led the Confederat army on the campaign which found its disastrous ending at historic Gettysburg, Colonel Sprague's regiment, with others, was ordered from Newberne to rein- force General John A. Dix at White House, on the Pamunky river, after which it returned to Fortress Monroe for transportation to Massachusetts, its term of service having expired. Learning, however, that the rebel army was yet north of the Potomac river, Colonel Sprague telegraphed to Edwin MI. Stanton, Secretary of War, an offer of his regiment for fur- ther service. This patriotic proffer was gladly ac- cepted, and the regiment was ordered to Baltimore, and thence to the Army of the Potomac at Williams- port, Maryland, and only left the field when Lee's army was well out of reach on its retreat into Vir- ginia. The return of the Fifty-first Regiment to Worcester was a notable event in the history of the city, glad hearts, and the sorrowful ones as well, joining in the glad welcome to the returning heroes, and making a day long to be remembered. July 27 the regiment was mustered out of service.

Colonel Sprague, however, was not to remain long inactive. Soon after the disbandment of his regiment he was requested by Governor John A.

Andrew to recruit and command the Fifty-seventh Regiment, but illness in his family constrained hin to decline. Later he again offered his service to liis state, and as there were then no new regiments being raised, he was offered by Governor Andrew a com- mission as lieutenant-colonel in either one of two regiments then in the field-the Fourth Cavalry and the Second Heavy Artillery. His warm personal regard and soldierly admiration for a young man well remembered in Worcester county, Francis Washburn, who had made a brilliant record as a captain in the First Massachusetts Cavalry Regi- ment and was well deserving of promotion, moved him to decline the first of these offers in favor of his friend, and he accepted the latter. He was com- missioned February I, 1864, and at once joined his regiment, with which he served in some of the most momentous campaigns which marked that stir- ring period. He commanded his regiment in its field service in southern Virginia and North Caro- lina, and formed a part of General Schofield's col- umn in its march to open up communication at Goldsboro, North Carolina, with the army of Major General William T. Sherman, which, having come thus far from Savannah after its "March to the Sea," was now moving against the confederate General Joseph E. Johnston. These operations, combined with those of General Ulysses S. Grant against the rebel army under Lee, worked the down- fall of the Confederacy, and soon afterward the regiment was sent to the mouth of Cape Fear river to dismantle Fort Fisher and repair Fort Caswell, and later assembled at Galloupe Island, in Boston Harbor, where it was discharged from service Sep- tember 20, 1865, previous to which he was commis- sioned colonel of the regiment. He was hrevetted brigadier-general to date from March 13, 1865. "for gallant and meritorious services during the war." His entire service covered the long period of three years and nine months, and ever received the warmest commendation of his superior officers.

Returning to civil life, General Sprague was soon called to important civil service, which marked the beginning of a period of more than a quarter of a century of public life. In February, 1867, he was appointed collector of internal revenue of the Eighth Massachusetts District. On the death of Hon. J. S. C. Knowlton, sheriff of the county of Worcester, General Sprague was appointed his successor. in July, 1871, and he acquitted himself with such con- spicuous ability that he was elected to the posi- tion at the next election, and successively re-elected until his tenure of office was extended to six terms of three years each, continuing until January, 1890. Soon after entering upon his duties the Worcester prison was greatly enlarged, and after its comple- tion General Sprague gave to all the details of prison management his close personal attention, entering upon a work which was justly regarded as a public benefit, and a pronounced advance in the improve- ment of modern prisons. He revised the entire system of accounts keeping, and introduced innova- tions which at once conduced to the comfort of the prisoners and awoke in them a sense of gratitude to him and respect for themselves which found ad- ditional fruits in improved morale and more effi- cient discipline. In both prisons under his con- trol (at Fitchburg as well as at Worcester) he did away with the shaving of heads and the wear- ing of parti-colored garments, believing them to be unnecessary indignities imposed upon short-term prisoners. Food of better quality, in greater variety. and prepared under the best hygienic methods, was provided, and at less cost than that of an inferior quality. Better clothing and bedding were provided,

PUBLIC LIBRE RY

WORCESTER COUNTY

and the library was largely increased with carefully selected books. General Sprague's efforts, many of them innovations, were so highly appreciated by the commissioners of prisons that they gave warm ex- pressions to their commendation in their annual re- ports, pronouncing the Worcester county prisons the model prisons of the commonwealth. Addi- tional appreciation was expressed by Governor Long, who urged General Sprague to accept the appoint- ment of warden of the state prison, but he was so interested in his work in the Worcester county prison that he declined.

General Sprague has also rendered useful service in both branches of the municipal government. In December, 1895, he was elected mayor of Worcester, and was re-elected the following year, his term of office being thus extended to January, 1898. His ad- ministration was particularly distinguished as the one during which was erected the new city hall, a building of notable beauty and utility, and from the beginning of the work until it was practically completed, he was an ex-officio member of the building commission, and gave his oversight to the work of construction. At the present time General Sprague is president of the Worcester Electric Light Company, and of the Worcester Mechanics Savings Bank. General Sprague maintains a deep interest in the various military bodies with which he is connected, and in which he is most widely and favorably known. A. B. R. Sprague Post No. 24, G. A. R., of Grafton, was named in his honor. In 1868 he was commander of the Massachusetts Department of that order, and in 1873-74 was quar- termaster-general on the staff of the national com- mander, General Charles Devens. He is a charter member of the Massachusetts Commandery, Mili- tary Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, and in 1868 was its junior vice-commander. He aided in the formation of the Fifty-first Massachu- setts Regiment Association, of which he has been for many years president. In 1889 that body pre- sented to him a beautiful and valuable diamond studded Grand Army badge, and in 1903 it paid him the high compliment of causing his war-time por- trait to be painted and presented to the Worcester County Mechanics Association, which placed it upon the wall of their hall. He is also a member of the Society of Mayflower descendants, of the Masonic fraternity, and of numerous other social and bene- ficial organizations.

General Sprague married, December 23, 1846, Elizabeth Janes, daughter of Samuel and Eliza Shep- ard Rice, who was born January 25, 1826, and died February 20, 1889. Their children, all born in Wor- cester, Massachusetts, were: Samuel Augustus, born June 17, 1847, died May 12, 1848. William Augustus, born May II, 1850, died April 9, 1857. Josephine Elizabeth, born December 19, 1851. married, Octo- ber 16, 1872, Edward H. Knowlton, and died in Worcester. December 7, 1879. She left one son, Howard Sprague Knowlton, born March 4, 1878. He was graduated at the Worcester Polytechnic In- stitute, class of 1898, and married, October 17, 1901, Alice Frances Conant. Carrie Lee, born April 17, 1858, died August 28, 1877. Fred Foster, born Oc- tober 24, 1864, married, April 12, 1892, Adaline Estelle Sprague. He died July 16, 1906. Gen- cral Sprague married (second). October 23, 1890, Mary Jennie, daughter of William C. and Martha Kimball Barbour, of Worcester. She was born September 24. 1857, and was at the time of her marriage assistant librarian of the Free Public Library of Worcester. Their only child, Alice Alden, was born September 11, 1893.

WILLIAM ELLIS RICE, son of William and Emeline (Draper) Rice, was born at Ware, Massa- chusetts, August 6, 1833.

He is from colonial stock, being in the seventh line from his first American ancestor, Deacon Ed- imund Rice, who, born in 1594, came from Berk- hamstead, Hertfordshire, England, and settled in Sudbury, Massachusetts, in 1638. His genealogical descent is through Thomas, born 1611; Ephraim, born 1655; John, born 1704; Peter, born 1755; \Vill- iam, born 1803. His grandfather, Peter Rice, born at Sudbury, Massachusetts, June 25, 1755, moved to Spencer, Massachusetts, and married Olive, daughter of Major Asa Baldwin, of Spencer, an officer in the revolutionary army. Peter Rice was a soldier in the revolutionary war, a member of Cap- tain Seth Washburn's company that marched from Leicester, and was one of those actually in the fight at Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775. William, son of Peter, and the youngest of thirteen children, all born at Spencer, was the father of William Ellis. He died at Worcester, November 18, 1882.

On the maternal side his grandfather, Hon. James Draper, born at Spencer, February 26, 1778, was the sixth of that name in direct descent from James Draper, who, born 1618, came from Halifax, Yorkshire, England, and settled in Roxbury, Massa- chusetts. He was born in Spencer and died there in 1868, in his ninety-first year, having served his native town in many capacities, such as town clerk, chairman board of selectmen, town treasurer, over- seer of the poor, town agent, etc. He was also a county commissioner, a member of the general court for thirteen years, a senator, a magistrate for over fifty years, and the author of Draper's "History of Spencer," published in 1841.

His mother, the eldest daughter of James and Lucy (Watson) Draper, of Spencer, was a woman of unusual dignity of character, intelligent, kind- hearted and sympathetic. She died in 1854. The parents of Mr. Rice were residing at his birth in Ware, where his father with his father's eldest brother were proprietors of the general store of the town; some years later his parents took up their residence in Worcester.

The subject of this sketch was given such edu- cation as was considered necessary to fit for com- mercial business, including a year or so at the high school and about the same time at Leicester Acad- emy. In 1852, at the age of eighteen lie obtained the position of clerk and book-keeper in the counting room of Ichabod Washburn & Co., in Worcester, at that time the principal drawers and finishers of the finer grades of iron wire in this country. He remained with this firm about seven years, acquir- ing a general knowledge of business and of the manufacture of wire, and then relinquished his posi- tion and engaged in similar business in a smaller way on his own account, in partnership with Mr. Dorrance S. Goddard, under the firm name of Wil- liam E. Rice & Co. Business was started in leased premises in Connecticut, and shortly after moved to Holyoke, Massachusetts, where a large modern plant was erected by them, and the venture made success- ful and prosperous.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of Worcester county, Massachusetts, with a history of Worcester society of antiquity, Vol. I, Part 14

Author: Crane, Ellery Bicknell, 1836-1925, ed Publication date: 1907 Publisher: New York, Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company Number of Pages: 824

Author: Crane, Ellery Bicknell, 1836-1925, ed
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: New York, Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 824