| Notes |
- "Sprague Families in America", by Dr. Warren VincentSprague, page 189. Hon. Seth Sprague was a Revolutionary soldier. Anextended account of him is to be found in Winsor's Hist.Dux. and in the Sprague Mem., 1848, Soule.
"The National Society of the Daughters of the AmericanRevolution", Volume 49. Seth Sprague (1760-1847), when a lad, enlisted asprivate, 1775, and 1778, served in the artillery to guardthe arsenal at Springfield. He held through life importantcivil offices at Duxbury, where he died.
"1990 DAR Patriot Index", page 2764.
He served in the Revolutionary War.
"THE AMERICAN GENEALOGIST", Being a Catalogue of FamilyHistories.
GENEALOGIES, page 332 Memorial of the SPRAGUE family: a poem recited at ameeting in Duxbury of the descendants and connections ofHon. Seth Sprague, on the occasion of his eighty-sixthbirthday, July 4th, 1846. With the family genealogy, andbiographical sketches in notes. Boston: James Munroe & Co.,1847. 12mo, 191 pages.
"Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots: Volume 4"
SPRAGUE Seth Mayflower Cem, Duxbury MA 46
From Daniel Wilson Treadway, correspondent. It is reported that Seth and Deborah lived together 64years. Seth was Justice of the Peace for 40 years, StateLegislator for 27 years, and twice a member of theElectoral College. As a young man he engaged in shorefishing, then went to the Grand Banks for a few years. Heexpanded his enterprise first by some small trading, thenby building, owning, and selling ships and their cargoes.In this old age he was an ardent abolitionist.
From Russell W. Sprague, correspondent, note of March 30th,2007 Reminiscences of The Olden Times in The Old ColonyTown of Duxbury, Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts by Hon.Seth Sprague
Jotted down by him when past his 84th year.
1845
Preface In reading the few interesting pages of Hon. SethSprague's diary, one must bear in mind the very meageropportunities for schooling boys had in his day and at thetime of his father's death, when he was only a child offifteen, he was obliged to devote himself to the whole careof the farm to support his mother and grandmother. He wassixteen years old on the day of the Declaration ofIndependence, and at nineteen years of age married DeborahSampson in 1779. He was a highly honored citizen ofDuxbury. For forty years Justice of the Peace. Fortwenty-seven years in sucession a member of theMassachusetts Legislature, both in the House and theSenate. Several times chosen on of the Counsellers to theGovernor of Massachusetts. Twice honored by being chosen amember of the Electoral College, which determine the choiceof President and the Vice President of the United States.He was active in all the important movements for theimprovements of his native town. In his day the spellingwas different than the spelling of today.
Remininscences of Hon. Seth Sprague I, Seth Sprague, being old and infirm and lonely, forthe double purpose of amusing myself and informing mychildren of the fashions of olden times and of some fewthings that took place in this town and county at thebeginning of the American Revolution, I now sit myself downto write some of them. There were many things that tookplace at that time too minute and trivial to be recorded ingeneral history that may be somewhat interesting to thosewho did not live at that day. The town of Duxbury was truly a Whig town. There werebut two Torys in it. One was Gamaliel Bradford, father ofthe late Col. Gamaliel Bradford, the other was BriggsAlden, father of the late Maj. Judah Alden. Immediately after the Lexington battles they both madetheir recantation in writing at the Town Meeting and askedforgiveness. Copies of their letters are now on the townrecords. Marshfield was a Tory town, perhaps the most so of anyin this state. In the year 1773 and 4, a majority of thepeople of that town were Torys, there was at that time agreat degree of enmity between the Wigs of Duxbury and theTorys of Marshfield. The Torys applied and obtained fromGen. Gage a company of soldiers. They were stationed atthe house of Ray Thomas, now owned by Daniel Webster. Thiscompany of soldiers were at Marshfield about four monthschiefly in the winter of 1775. The often traveled about the town of Duxbury much tothe terror of the women. Immediately on the news of thebattle at Lexington, two regiments of what was then calledMinutemen marched towards Marshfield in order to take thissingle company of British soldiers. Had they marcheddirectly to their quarters, they might have been takenprisoners without a drop of blood being shed,as theircaptain afterwards was heard to say that he should notthought of making any resistance to so formidable a force. But the American soldiers instead of marching directlyto the quarters of the enemy, one regiment quartered onnight in Duxbury and the other in Marshfield, two milesfrom the enemy. This delay gave an opportunity for the Britishsoldiers to embark on board a vessel that was sent fromBoston to receive them. The Torys of Marshfield who hadtaken an open and active part in favor of the oppressiveacts of the British Government went off to the British atBoston, others that had been less active remained at home,but the Whigs of Duxbury searched every house in Marshfieldthat was thought to be inhabited by a Tory and took all thefire arms they could find. Ray Thomas went off with theBritish, but he left his family at Marshfield. A man by the name of Dunbar belonging to Bridgewaterbought some fat cattle of Mrs. Thomas and drove them toPlymouth, he killed one of them. Before it was splitten intwo, the people found out that it came from Ray Thomas'farm; they put it into a cart, spread it open in such amanner that Dunbar could sit in the body of the Ox. Theythen commanded him to get in; they seated him in the bodyof the Ox and put the Tripe over and on his head and drovehim on to Kingston. There another set of men took him toDuxbury, then quite a number of Duxbury men drove him on toMarshfield. I was then a great boy about fourteen yearsold. I was among the rabble of boys that went hooting andhollowing behind the cart. They drove the cart up within two rods of the frontdoor, told Dunbar to get out, then tipped the cart and letthe Ox slide out. Mrs. Thomas was a well informed, prudent, discreetwoman, she opened her front window and addressed thecompany in such a manner as I have reason to think madesome of them, at least, very much ashamed. I can now remember but a very small part of herspeech. She told the company that the Collector wascalling on her to pay a large tax, which she felt veryanxious to pay and that Mr. Thomas's creditors were callingon her for their due, which she was willing to pay as faras she could. Although it was good fun for me to followDunbar with trip on his head, I got somewhat frightenedbefore I got home. Some of the men began to talk of paying uncle Phineasa visit, meaning my father. One of them observed that 'heexpected his pot would be split before Spring'. I fullyunderstood what they meant. I think such was the excitement at the time, that ifit had not been night, or nearly so, when the rabble gotback to Duxbury, my father's beef barrel, at least, wouldhave been riffled, for it had at that time some beef in itthat came from Ray Thomas' farm. At the time Ray Thomas went away he was owing myfather about $50.00 on the note of hand and he was fearfulof losing it. He asked Mrs. Thomas if she would let himhave a fat Ox on account of that note and she verywillingly let him have the Ox. This act was thought by some at the time to be verycriminal in my father, but my father's fat never split orthe Beef poisoned any of the family. Previous to the war,there were Liberty Poles raised in every town in the State. We had a very high one in Duxbury; it stood near where theGershom Bradford house now stands. There was a greatgathering of people at the raising of it. It was somewhatof a terror to the evil doers. If anyone was suspsected ofbeing a Tory, he was threatened to be histed up on theLiberty Pole. I have observed that the love of Libertywhich our Pilgrim fathers brought with them when theylanded on Plymouth Rock has descended down not only to thethird and fourth generation but to the sixth and seventh.A very great proportion of the people in Duxbury aredescendants from the Pilgrims who came to Plymouth Rock inthe May Flower or in other vessels soon after. It may beinteresting to know the particular spots of ground on whichthe first settlers built their houses. I need not mentionin this narrative where Captain Standish, Elder Brewsteror John Alden located their houses – that is verygenerally known. I know of but three farms in this town ofDuxbury, at this time owned by men of the same name of themen who first settled on them, I mean those on which ourPilgrim fathers settled. The heirs of the late Major JudahAlden own the farm on which John Alden settled. BarkerHunt owns the farm on which Edmont Hunt settled. SethSprague owns the farm on which Francis Sprague settled. Francis Sprague's house stood on what is commonlycalled 'Sprague's Neck', a little south of where the stageoffice now is. Experience Mitchell's house stood where theStage Office now is. Edmund Hunt's house stood not far from where BarkerHunt's house now stands. Constant Southworth's house stoodnigh where the Duxbury cloth factory, now made into a tackfactory. A man by the name of Howland, whose Christian name Ihave forgotten settled nigh where the Universal MeetingHouse now stands. There once was a Quaker Meeting House, a little southof where the stage office now is, they, like the otherQuakers, were persecuted, but not to that degree they werein Massachusetts. There is a very ancient Burying Ground on the highground, a little north of the Methodist Meeting House. Ithink the ground that was occupied for that purpose isabout four rods square, it is my opinion, that the Quakerswere buried there. Where I was, I could see the gravesvery plainly, it was well known to the old people, seventyor eighty years now past and gone, that there was a buryingplace there, I have often heard my father speak of it. The manner of living and the fashions have greatlychanged since I was young. I can remember when there wasnot a four wheeled charrage of any kind in the town ofDuxbury and but one shays, and if that was on hand now, asgood as it was that day, it would not sell for ten dollars. People of that day road almost holly on horseback and ahorse that would not carry double was considered of littlevalue. By 'carrying double' which is a common expressionat that day, ment carrying a man with a woman on a pillionbehind him and I myself have rode many a mile on horsebackwith my wife behind me, with a child in her arms. I remember when there was but one floor in the town ofDuxbury that had a carpet on it and that was of the kindthat was at that time call Rag coverlids; it was thought atthat time to be very extravagant to put a coverlid on thefloor to tread on. I remember perfectly well the manner of living eightyyears now gone. Very little tea or coffee was then used bythe people in the country towns. My father was consideredto be an independent farmer and lived as well and in asgood fashion as the people of the town generally. In the faul of the year, and for some time afterkilling their Beef and Pork, for dinners they would havefresh meat but seldom any for supper or breakfast, that wasmost commonly of milk or broth, as when meat was boiled,either fresh or salt, the broath was to be thickened withIndian meal and it was a common saying, that 'the personwho would eat no broath ought to have no meat.' When meat or fouls were rosted, the fashion was first,to put the gravy and Indian pudding on to the table and letthe meat or foul stand by the fire until the company hadeaten of the pudding and gravy, this was the fashion when Iwas a boy say of six or seven years of age; by degrees italtered which occasioned some disputes between the oldpeople and the young. I remember this when I was a young man or rather agreat boy. I happened to be at the house of ThomasWaterman at Marshfield on business. At dinner time, (thefamily consisted of his mother and himself), his mother wasnot only an old woman, but an old fashioned woman. Theyhad a piece of rosted beef for dinner; the old woman,according to the old fashion, put the pudding and gravy, onthe table, the son says, 'Mother, put the meat on thetable.' The old lady says, 'No, eat the pudding and gravyfirst.' The son says again, 'Mother, do put the meat onthe table.' The old lady again answers in somewhat of anangry tone, 'You shall not have the meat until you have eatthe pudding and gravy.' The son then arose from the table,took the meat from before the fire, set it on the table,cut a good slice and put it on my plate, the old lady allthe time scolding most vemently, so that I dare not eat themeat, until the son said, 'Young man, eat the meat, don'tmind mother.' I remember when I was a boy, in the winter, my fathergot up early one morning; after making a large fire, hehung on a pot with bean porrage in it and then go to thebarn to feed the cattle. My mother would get up soon andcrumb bread and put it into pewter the pewter dishes and bythe time my father came from the barn, the Bean porridgewould be hot. My mother would then take a wooden ladle dipsome of the Bean porridge from the pot and put it into thepewter basons, my father and mother would eat out of onebason, myself and two sisters, out of the other. My motherwould then put the porrage pot away, wash the two basons,then go to weaving or spinning. A short time after I was married, I mounted an oldteam horse and went four miles to fech my wife home. Itook her pillion, for girls at that time always kept apillion and fastened it behind my saddle and so we bothrode to the house where she spent the remainder of herdays, which was sixty four years. It was nearly suppertime when she got to her new home and she made some milkporrage for supper, we both eat out of one dish. The Kingon his throne with all the luxurys that the world couldafford could not be happier. Our furniture consisted ofsix second-hand old fashioned chairs, one white pine table,three or four pewter plates, two wooden plates and a smallquantity of brown earthen ware, made at Charlestown, and asmall quantity of hollow ware and our house was as wellfurnished as was those of young beginners at that day, incountry towns generally. Not only the fashions of living have greatly alteredsince my first remembrance, but all other fashions. In olden times the Deacon of the Church, always readthe Psalm or Hymn, line by line, for the singers, on theSabbath, to sing and they always read with a tone lengthingout each word as long as the could blow out their breathand when the choir of singers, first began to sing withoutthe Deacon's assistance, the old people often left themeeting. In the old times of which I am writing, it was verycommon to give nick names to both men and women, it was socommon that I have known people who did not know the realname of some of the old people. It was also very fashionable to make short rhymes oneach other. There was a very homely man in Duxbury, by thename of Judah West, who used to work in the shipcarpenter's yard and divert the company with his rymes.One of the young men of the gang of carpenters, gotmarried and a few days after, asked Uncle Judah to make averse on him. Uncle Judah said 'he was afraid if he did hewould be mad,' but he promised he would not, so Uncle Judahcomplied with his request and delivered his verse right offwithout any premeditation –
I pray the Lord
That Thomas Ward
May not increase his seed,
That our town may not abound
With that accursed breed.
For they will steal both meat and meal,
And everything that's good,
Posts and Rails, he never fails
To take for fire wood.
After making a verse on each man working with him inthe ship yard, he made one on himself –
There is old Judah by the drogue
With his auger and his gouge
With his cauter hees and white eyes
He ofttimes glories in telling long stories
Which most people take to be lies.
In those olden times there was much more reverencepaid to ministers than there is at this time, so much sothe children of that day, many of them, at least, thoughtthat they were something more than men. I remember thatwhen I was a boy, Parson Turner used to visit my father'shouse, he wore a very large white wig, he was a veryaustere man and I was exceedingly afraid of him. I will now endeavor to write a few words on the rise,progress and decline of business in the town of Duxbury atthe close of the American Revolution. The people of Duxbury were very poor. It ought to berecorded to the credit of four ship carpenters, all poorand without any literary attainments, Ezra Weston,Nathaniel and Joshua Winsor and Samuel Delano. They weremen of good sound common sense, men of uncommon industry,energy, perseverance and economy. The two Mr. Winsors wentimmediately into Bank Fishing and the humble writer of thisnarrative went in their employ to the Grand Banks to hallthe Cod-line. Ezra Weston and the others followed theexample of the Winsors. The fishing business was then good, Fish selling fromfive dollars to five and a quarter. The fishing businessand the ship carpenter's business increased and a littlevillage sprang up like a mushroom and it became necessarythat a publick highway should be laid out to accommodatethis new made village and petitions were presented to theselectmen, requesting them to lay out a road, which theydid, but the town would not accept of their report. TheCourt of Sessions which had at that time the power to cutroads,"…(the Journal was never finished but ends here.) [8]
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1760 - 1847 (87 years)
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