Sprague family explained

The Sprague family is an American business and political family in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The family ran the largest textile firm in the United States and two of its members (William Sprague III and William Sprague IV) held the offices of Governor of Rhode Island and United States Senator.

The family arrived in the United States in 1629 when Ralph, Richard, and William Sprague emigrated from Upwey, Dorset, England to Naumkeag.^[1] The family arrived in Rhode Island in 1709 after William's son, also named William, purchased a house in Providence. In the early 1800s, William Sprague II founded a successful textile business in Cranston, Rhode Island. During the early 1870s, the output of the Sprague family's nine mills was greater than all of the other mills in the United States combined and their profits were around $20 million annually.^[2] Due to bad investments and careless speculation, the company fell into receivership following the Panic of 1873. By 1875, almost all of the Spragues' assets had been sold.^[3]

Francis Sprague, who was unrelated to Ralph, Richard, and William, settled in the Plymouth Colony in 1623.^[4] The two separate Sprague family trees converged with the marriage of Peleg Sprague, great-grandson of William Sprague, and Mercy Chandler, great-great granddaughter of Francis Sprague.^[5]

Notable members

• William Sprague (1609–1675), first family member to settle in America
• Jonathan Sprague (1648–1741), member of the Rhode Island General Assembly from 1695 to 1696, 1699–1700, 1702–1710, 1712, 1714
• William Sprague II (1773–1836), founder of the Sprague's milling business
• Amasa Sprague (1798–1843), senior partner of A & W Sprague and murder victim
• Charles Sprague (1791–1875), poet
• Peleg Sprague (1793–1880), Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, U.S. Senator from Maine, and Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine's 4th district
• William Sprague III (1799–1856), partner of A & W Sprague, Governor of Rhode Island, and U.S. Senator
• John W. Sprague (1817–1893), soldier and railroad executive
• Isaac Sprague (1811–1895), botanical illustrator
• Charles James Sprague (1823–1903), botanist
• William P. Sprague (1827–1899), two-term U.S. Representative from Ohio
• Amasa Sprague Jr. (1828–1902), partner of A & W Sprague and founder of Narragansett Park
• William Sprague IV (1830–1915), partner of A & W Sprague, Governor of Rhode Island, and U.S. Senator
• Charles F. Sprague (1857–1902), Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 11th district
• Frank J. Sprague (1857-1934), Inventor, Entepreuer, Electric Motor Engineer
• Ernest L. Sprague (1876–1944), Secretary of State of Rhode Island
• Robert C. Sprague (1900-1991), Electrical Engineer, founder of Sprague Electric, son of Frank J.

Notes and References

1. "The Cranston-Johnston Spragues of Rhode Island", transcribed from History of Rhode Island by Susan W. Pieroth (American Hist. Soc. 1920). Available at RI USgenweb archive.
2. Book: Cutter . William Richard . New England Families: Genealogical and Memorial . 1914 . Lewis Historical Publishing Company . New York . 816–817 . October 6, 2022.
3. Book: D'Amato . Donald . Warwick A City at the Crossroads . 2001 . Arcadia . 80–81 . 9780738523699 . October 6, 2022.
4. News: History of the Sprague Family . The New York Times . November 4, 1873.
5. Book: Soule . Richard . Memorial of the Sprague Family . 1847 . James Munroe and Company . Boston . 129 . October 6, 2022.