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- "Sprague Families in America", by Dr. Warren VincentSprague, page 135.
1690, 1699, 1708. Selectman of Hingham. 1709, Nov. 19. He bought land in Providence where hehad removed.
1711-2, Feb. 19. Recorded his cattle mark.
1712, May 6. Freeman of Providence. 1715-6, March 12. He deeded to son Benjamin half theeasterly end of farm at Rocky Hill, and at the same date toson John the other half. 1721, April 7. Will, proved Nov. 11, 1723, mentionsson William, grandson David (son of David), third sonJonathan, fourth son John, fifth son Benjamin, eldestdaughter Deborah Beale, grandchildren Deborah, William,John and Abiah West (children of William and Abiah SpragueWest), loving wife Mary, and children born of wife Mary,vix: Rowland, Mary, Peter and Judith. 1723, Nov. 11. Mrs. Mary Sprague, widow, hadadministration on estate of her mother Elizabeth Tower, whodied August 9, 1723.
"History of the Early Settlement of Bridgewater", by NahumMitchell. William married Deborah Lane in 1674, and went toProvidence.
"Genealogy (in part) of the Sprague Families in America",by Augustus B. R. Sprague, page 16. William Sprague was a Selectman in Hingham, in 1690,1699, and 1708. He removed to Providence, RI in 1710 anddied there.
"Memorial of the Sprague Family", by Richard Soule, Jr.,page 107. William Sprague was one of the Selectmen of Hingham in1690, and
again in 1699 and 1708. He removed to Providence in 1713.
"Memorial of the Sprague Family", by Richard Soule, Jr.,page 108. Children listed do not include David and the fourchildren by his second wife but adds Silence, William, andJedediah not listed in other sources. The name of hissecond wife is given as "widow Silence Tower". Childrenare:
Silence, b. Sept 7th, 1708. William, b. in 1710. Removed to Abington, and is theancestor of the Spragues in that town.
Jedediah, b. March 18th, 1713.
"The Genealogy of the Sprague's in Hingham", by HoseaSprague, page 32. William Sprague had land given him by his father whichhe sold to Jacob Cushing, "beyond Pages Bridge" about theSaw mill. He lived in the house his father left, in UnionStreet. He was one of the select men chosen in 1690, in1699 and again in 1708. He removed to Bridgewater. Theroad over the river was not laid out till 1735.
"History of Greene" (Maine) William Sprague, Jr., went to Bridgwater and becameprogenitor of a large and prominent race, and Sprague Hill,of that town, honors the name.
"History of Hingham", Volume II, by George Lincoln, page165. William Sprague removed between 1709 and 1711 toProvidence, RI.
1690, 1699, 1708. Selectman of Hingham.
"The Tower Genealogy", by Charlemagne Tower, page 83. Mary (Tower) Sprague was the second wife of WilliamSprague, who removed from Hingham to Providence, RI, wherehe died in 1723. He names several children by his formermarriage, his wife Mary and her children, Rowland, Peter,Mary, and Judah. To his sons Rowland and Peter, he giveshis homestead when they come to the age of twenty-oneyears; and to his daughters Mary and Judah he gives onehundred acres of land without the seven-mile limet whenthey come to the age of eighteen years. The homestead given to Rowland and Peter was situatedmostly in Cranston. Rowland sold his portion to Peter, whoby his will, after making provision for his wife, hisdaughter Amey, and grandson Abner, gives all the rest andresidue of his property to his son William. The inventoryof his personal property, made in 1790, shows the extent ofhis business as a farmer, while the prices of the productsof the farm may be interesting and instructive by way ofcomparison with the prices of the same products at thepresent time. The following are selected for this purpose:
12 bu. of potatoes, 12s.: that is 16 2/3 cents per bu.
630 lbs. of pork, L10 10 s.; about 5 1/2 cents per lb. 55 lbs. of salt beef, 11 s. 6d; about 3 1/2 cents perlb. 80 lbs. of new milk cheese, L1 10s.; about 6 1/4 centsper lb. 61 lbs. of hog's lard, L1 5s. 5d.; about 7 cents perlb.
6 lbs. of butter, 3s. 6d.; nearly 10 cents per lb.
44 bu. of corn, L6 12s.; 50 cents per bu.
7 bu. of barley, 18s 8d.; about 44 cents per bu.
3.5 bu. of rye, 15 s. 9d.; 75 cents per bu.
.5 ton of English hay, 24s.; eight dollars per ton. It will be seen that the price of Indian corn, thenthe great staple for bread, is about the same as at thepresent time; while all the other products of the farm,which then, as now, were necessary for the support of afamily, were held at a greatly reduced rate. William Sprague the son of Peter and the residuarydevisee under his father's will, died April 1, 1795, and byhis will, after making provision for his wife and children,Sarah and Peter, gives all the rest and residue of hisproperty to his sons Abner and William. William Sprague died in Cranston in 1836. In additionto his work as a farmer on the old homestead, he was one ofthe pioneer manufacutrers who have made the State of RhodeIsland as noted and prosperous. He is remembered as a manof great capacity for labor, of indomitable energy andpersevering industry, united iwth business qualificationsin an eminent degree. The result of these valuableequipments is seen in the provisions of his will, whereinhe makes liberal provision for his children andgrandchildren, and gives all the rest and residue of hisestate, "including mills and machinery, bleaching andprinting-works, to his sons William and Amasa". With what success these sons conducted the businesscoming to them by this devise has already become a part ofthe history of Rhode Island, in the great wealthaccumulated, and the high and honorable distinctionattained by the capacity which these brothers evinced inthe management of the great interests committed to them.William was elected to several offices of public trust, andbecame the Governor of the State and a Member of Congress. They were men of large stature and well proportioned.Amasa is remembered as a man of inflexible determination.He had the direct management of the printing-mills inCranston; and being much annoyed by the rumsellers in theneighborhood in the effects of their business upon theoperatives in the mills, he determined to break them up,and followed up this determination so closely asexceedingly to anger the men engaged therein. On his wayhome one night he was waylaid and brutally murdered. Themurderers were arrested and tried. One was executed, andone was sentenced to State prison for life, where he died.The sons of Amasa, Amasa and William, succeeded to thebusiness and wealth of their father, and William followedclosely the career of his uncle in the offices to which hehas been elected. At the commencement of the War of theRebellion he was Governor of Rhode Island. He rendered thegovernment efficient aid by the promptness with which heorganized troops and early sent them forward, going himselfas their commander. It would be pleasant could this brief sketch ofenterprise, industry, and thrift stop here. But the sequelto the story is the old one so often found in the historyof wealth gained in our country. The great fortune of thisfamily, gained by the industry and enterprise of a fewgenerations, and amounting in its accumulations tomillions, has within the last twenty-five years passed fromthe possession of these brothers. Some portions of it probably remain among otherdescendants. One thing worthy of notice is that the realestate coming from Peter Sprague must, from its situation,lie, in part at least, in the very land which his ancestor,John Tower, bought of the Indians.
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