Brief Life History of William H.
When William H. Sprague was born on 29 October 1840, in Brockton, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States, his father, Jackson Sprague, was 29 and his mother, Miranda Catherine Robinson, was 22. He married Ellen Ray Hayden on 14 December 1861, in Bridgewater, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States. They were the parents of at least 2 sons and 1 daughter. He lived in Bridgewater, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States for about 15 years and New York, United States in 1870. He died on 14 August 1872, at the age of 31, and was buried in Bridgewater, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States.
Photos and Memories (1)
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Family Time Line
Sources (19)
- William H Sprague in household of Jackson Sprague, "Massachusetts State Census, 1855"
- William H. Sprague, "Massachusetts, Births and Christenings, 1639-1915"
- William H Sprague, "Massachusetts Marriages, 1841-1915"
Spouse and Children
World Events (5)
1846
U.S. acquires vast tracts of Mexican territory in wake of Mexican War including California and New Mexico.
1863
Abraham Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation, declaring slaves in Confederate states to be free.
1863 · The Battle at Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg involved the largest number of casualties of the entire Civil war and is often described as the war's turning point. Between 46,000 and 51,000 soldiers lost their lives during the three-day Battle. To honor the fallen soldiers, President Abraham Lincoln read his historic Gettysburg Address and helped those listening by redefining the purpose of the war.
Name Meaning
English (Devon): nickname from Middle English sprag ‘brisk, energetic’, a variant of Sprake with voicing of the -k-, which survives in the 19th-century dialect word spragg ‘lively, ingenious’. It was occasionally used in the 12th century as personal name, recorded as Spreg'c. 1177–86.
History: William Sprague came from England to Salem, MA, in 1628 with his brothers Ralph and Richard. He was one of the founders of Charlestown, MA, and later of Hingham, MA. His descendants include Peleg Sprague, a jurist and MA legislator, who was born in 1793 in Duxbury, MA; William Sprague a textile manufacturer born in 1773 in Cranston, RI; and Yale College educator Homer Baxter Sprague, who was born in 1829 in South Sutton, MA, and whose legacy lives on in Yale's Sprague concert hall.
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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