| Notes |
- "Sprague Families in America", by Dr. Warren VincentSprague, page 189. Hon. Seth Sprague was aRevolutionary soldier. An extended account of him isto 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 alad, enlisted as private, 1775, and 1778, served in theartillery to guard the arsenal at Springfield. Heheld through life important civil offices at Duxbury, wherehe 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: apoem recited at a meeting in Duxbury of the descendants andconnections of Hon. Seth Sprague, on the occasion of hiseighty-sixth birthday, July 4th, 1846. With the familygenealogy, and biographical 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 andDeborah lived together 64 years. Seth was Justice of thePeace for 40 years, State Legislator for 27 years, andtwice a member of the Electoral College. As a youngman he engaged in shore fishing, then went to the GrandBanks for a few years. He expanded his enterprisefirst by some small trading, then by building, owning, andselling ships and their cargoes. In this old age hewas an ardent abolitionist.
From Russell W. Sprague, correspondent, note of March 30th,2007 Reminiscences of The Olden Timesin The Old Colony Town of Duxbury, Plymouth Colony,Massachusetts by Hon. Seth Sprague Jotted down by him when past his84th year. 1845 Preface In reading the few interestingpages of Hon. Seth Sprague's diary, one must bear in mindthe very meager opportunities for schooling boys had in hisday and at the time of his father's death, when he was onlya child of fifteen, he was obliged to devote himself to thewhole care of the farm to support his mother andgrandmother. He was sixteen years old on the day ofthe Declaration of Independence, and at nineteen years ofage married Deborah Sampson in 1779. He was a highlyhonored citizen of Duxbury. For forty years Justice of thePeace. For twenty-seven years in sucession a memberof the Massachusetts Legislature, both in the House and theSenate. Several times chosen on of the Counsellers tothe Governor of Massachusetts. Twice honored by beingchosen a member of the Electoral College, which determinethe choice of President and the Vice President of theUnited States. He was active in all the importantmovements for the improvements of his native town. Inhis day the spelling was different than the spelling oftoday. Remininscences of Hon. Seth Sprague I, Seth Sprague, being old andinfirm and lonely, for the double purpose of amusing myselfand informing my children of the fashions of olden timesand of some few things that took place in this town andcounty at the beginning of the American Revolution, I nowsit myself down to write some of them. There weremany things that took place at that time too minute andtrivial to be recorded in general history that may besomewhat interesting to those who did not live at that day. The town of Duxbury was truly aWhig town. There were but two Torys in it. Onewas Gamaliel Bradford, father of the late Col. GamalielBradford, the other was Briggs Alden, father of the lateMaj. Judah Alden. Immediately after the Lexingtonbattles they both made their recantation in writing at the Town Meeting and asked forgiveness. Copies oftheir letters are now on the town records. Marshfield was a Tory town,perhaps the most so of any in this state. In the year1773 and 4, a majority of the people of that town wereTorys, there was at that time a great degree of enmitybetween the Wigs of Duxbury and the Torys ofMarshfield. The Torys applied and obtained from Gen.Gage a company of soldiers. They were stationed atthe house of Ray Thomas, now owned by Daniel Webster. This company of soldiers were at Marshfield about fourmonths chiefly in the winter of 1775. The often traveled about the townof Duxbury much to the terror of the women. Immediately on the news of the battle at Lexington, tworegiments of what was then called Minutemen marched towardsMarshfield in order to take this single company of Britishsoldiers. Had they marched directly to theirquarters, they might have been taken prisoners without adrop of blood being shed,as their captain afterwards washeard to say that he should not thought of making anyresistance to so formidable a force. But the American soldiers insteadof marching directly to the quarters of the enemy, oneregiment quartered on night in Duxbury and the other inMarshfield, two miles from the enemy. This delay gave an opportunity forthe British soldiers to embark on board a vessel that wassent from Boston to receive them. The Torys ofMarshfield who had taken an open and active part in favorof the oppressive acts of the British Government went offto the British at Boston, others that had been less activeremained at home, but the Whigs of Duxbury searched everyhouse in Marshfield that was thought to be inhabited by aTory and took all the fire arms they could find. RayThomas went off with the British, but he left his family atMarshfield. A man by the name of Dunbarbelonging to Bridgewater bought some fat cattle of Mrs.Thomas and drove them to Plymouth, he killed one ofthem. Before it was splitten in two, the people foundout that it came from Ray Thomas' farm; they put it into acart, spread it open in such a manner that Dunbar could sitin the body of the Ox. They then commanded him to getin; they seated him in the body of the Ox and put the Tripeover and on his head and drove him on to Kingston. There another set of men took him to Duxbury, then quite anumber of Duxbury men drove him on to Marshfield. Iwas then a great boy about fourteen years old. I wasamong the rabble of boys that went hooting and hollowingbehind the cart. They drove the cart up within tworods of the front door, told Dunbar to get out, then tippedthe cart and let the Ox slide out. Mrs. Thomas was a well informed,prudent, discreet woman, she opened her front window andaddressed the company in such a manner as I have reason tothink made some of them, at least, very much ashamed. I can now remember but a verysmall part of her speech. She told the company thatthe Collector was calling on her to pay a large tax, whichshe felt very anxious to pay and that Mr. Thomas'screditors were calling on her for their due, which she waswilling to pay as far as she could. Although it wasgood fun for me to follow Dunbar with trip on his head, Igot somewhat frightened before I got home. Some of the men began to talk ofpaying uncle Phineas a visit, meaning my father. Oneof them observed that 'he expected his pot would be splitbefore Spring'. I fully understood what they meant. I think such was the excitement atthe time, that if it had not been night, or nearly so, whenthe rabble got back to Duxbury, my father's beef barrel, atleast, would have been riffled, for it had at that timesome beef in it that came from Ray Thomas' farm. At the time Ray Thomas went awayhe was owing my father about $50.00 on the note of hand andhe was fearful of losing it. He asked Mrs. Thomas ifshe would let him have a fat Ox on account of that note andshe very willingly let him have the Ox. This act was thought by some atthe time to be very criminal in my father, but my father'sfat never split or the Beef poisoned any of thefamily. Previous to the war, there were Liberty Polesraised in every town in the State. We had a very highone in Duxbury; it stood near where the Gershom Bradfordhouse now stands. There was a great gathering ofpeople at the raising of it. It was somewhat of aterror 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 ofLiberty which our Pilgrim fathers brought with them whenthey landed on Plymouth Rock has descended down not only tothe third and fourth generation but to the sixth andseventh. A very great proportion of the people inDuxbury are descendants from the Pilgrims who came toPlymouth Rock in the May Flower or in other vessels soonafter. It may be interesting to know the particularspots of ground on which the first settlers built theirhouses. I need not mention in this narrative whereCaptain Standish, Elder Brewster or John Aldenlocated their houses – that is very generallyknown. 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 MajorJudah Alden own the farm on which John Alden settled. Barker Hunt owns the farm on which Edmont Huntsettled. Seth Sprague owns the farm on which FrancisSprague settled. Francis Sprague's house stood onwhat is commonly called 'Sprague's Neck', a little south ofwhere the stage office now is. Experience Mitchell'shouse stood where the Stage Office now is. Edmund Hunt's house stood not farfrom where Barker Hunt's house now stands. ConstantSouthworth's house stood nigh where the Duxbury clothfactory, now made into a tack factory. A man by the name of Howland,whose Christian name I have forgotten settled nigh wherethe Universal Meeting House now stands. There once was a Quaker MeetingHouse, a little south of where the stage office now is,they, like the other Quakers, were persecuted, but not tothat degree they were in Massachusetts. There is a very ancient BuryingGround on the high ground, a little north of the MethodistMeeting House. I think the ground that was occupiedfor that purpose is about four rods square, it is myopinion, that the Quakers were buried there. Where Iwas, I could see the graves very plainly, it was well knownto the old people, seventy or eighty years now past andgone, that there was a burying place there, I have oftenheard my father speak of it. The manner of living and thefashions have greatly changed since I was young. Ican remember when there was not a four wheeled charrage ofany kind in the town of Duxbury and but one shays, and ifthat was on hand now, as good as it was that day, it wouldnot sell for ten dollars. People of that day roadalmost holly on horseback and a horse that would not carrydouble was considered of little value. By 'carryingdouble' which is a common expression at that day, mentcarrying a man with a woman on a pillion behind him and Imyself have rode many a mile on horseback with my wifebehind me, with a child in her arms. I remember when there was but onefloor in the town of Duxbury that had a carpet on it andthat was of the kind that was at that time call Ragcoverlids; it was thought at that time to be veryextravagant to put a coverlid on the floor to tread on. I remember perfectly well themanner of living eighty years now gone. Very littletea or coffee was then used by the people in the countrytowns. My father was considered to be an independentfarmer and lived as well and in as good fashion as thepeople of the town generally. In the faul of the year, and forsome time after killing their Beef and Pork, for dinnersthey would have fresh meat but seldom any for supper orbreakfast, that was most commonly of milk or broth, as whenmeat was boiled, either fresh or salt, the broath was to bethickened with Indian meal and it was a common saying, that'the person who 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 puddingon to the table and let the meat or foul stand by the fireuntil the company had eaten of the pudding and gravy, thiswas the fashion when I was a boy say of six or seven yearsof age; by degrees it altered which occasioned somedisputes between the old people and the young. I remember this when I was a youngman or rather a great boy. I happened to be at thehouse of Thomas Waterman at Marshfield on business. At dinner time, (the family consisted of his mother andhimself), his mother was not only an old woman, but an oldfashioned woman. They had a piece of rosted beef fordinner; the old woman, according to the old fashion, putthe pudding and gravy, on the table, the son says, 'Mother,put the meat on the table.' The old lady says, 'No,eat the pudding and gravy first.' The son says again,'Mother, do put the meat on the table.' The old ladyagain answers in somewhat of an angry tone, 'You shall nothave the meat until you have eat the pudding andgravy.' The son then arose from the table, took themeat from before the fire, set it on the table, cut a goodslice and put it on my plate, the old lady all the timescolding most vemently, so that I dare not eat the meat,until the son said, 'Young man, eat the meat, don't mindmother.' I remember when I was a boy, inthe winter, my father got up early one morning; aftermaking a large fire, he hung on a pot with bean porrage init and then go to the barn to feed the cattle. Mymother would get up soon and crumb bread and put it intopewter the pewter dishes and by the time my father camefrom the barn, the Bean porridge would be hot. Mymother would then take a wooden ladle dip some of the Beanporridge from the pot and put it into the pewter basons, myfather and mother would eat out of one bason, myself andtwo sisters, out of the other. My mother would thenput the porrage pot away, wash the two basons, then go toweaving or spinning. A short time after I was married,I mounted an old team horse and went four miles to fech mywife home. I took her pillion, for girls at that timealways kept a pillion and fastened it behind my saddle andso we both rode to the house where she spent the remainderof her days, which was sixty four years. It wasnearly supper time when she got to her new home and shemade some milk porrage for supper, we both eat out of onedish. The King on his throne with all the luxurysthat the world could afford could not be happier. Ourfurniture consisted of six second-hand old fashionedchairs, one white pine table, three or four pewter plates,two wooden plates and a small quantity of brown earthenware, made at Charlestown, and a small quantity of hollowware and our house was as well furnished as was those ofyoung beginners at that day, in country towns generally. Not only the fashions of livinghave greatly altered since my first remembrance, but allother fashions. In olden times the Deacon of theChurch, always read the Psalm or Hymn, line by line, forthe singers, on the Sabbath, to sing and they always readwith a tone lengthing out each word as long as the couldblow out their breath and when the choir of singers, firstbegan to sing without the Deacon's assistance, the oldpeople often left the meeting. In the old times of which I amwriting, it was very common to give nick names to both menand women, it was so common that I have known people whodid not know the real name of some of the old people. It was also very fashionable tomake short rhymes on each other. There was a veryhomely man in Duxbury, by the name of Judah West, who usedto work in the ship carpenter's yard and divert the companywith his rymes. One of the young men of the gang ofcarpenters, got married and a few days after, askedUncle Judah to make a verse on him. Uncle Judah said'he was afraid if he did he would be mad,' but he promisedhe would not, so Uncle Judah complied with his request anddelivered his verse right off without 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 manworking with him in the 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 wasmuch more reverence paid to ministers than there is at thistime, so much so the children of that day, many of them, atleast, thought that they were something more thanmen. I remember that when I was a boy, Parson Turnerused to visit my father's house, he wore a very large whitewig, he was a very austere man and I was exceedingly afraidof him. I will now endeavor to write a fewwords on the rise, progress and decline of business in thetown of Duxbury at the close of the American Revolution. The people of Duxbury were verypoor. It ought to be recorded to the credit of four ship carpenters, all poor and without any literaryattainments, Ezra Weston, Nathaniel and Joshua Winsor andSamuel Delano. They were men of good sound commonsense, men of uncommon industry, energy, perseverance andeconomy. The two Mr. Winsors went immediately intoBank Fishing and the humble writer of this narrative wentin their employ to the Grand Banks to hall theCod-line. Ezra Weston and the others followed theexample of the Winsors. The fishing business was thengood, Fish selling from five dollars to five and aquarter. The fishing business and the shipcarpenter's business increased and a little village sprangup like a mushroom and it became necessary that a publickhighway should be laid out to accommodate this new madevillage and petitions were presented to the selectmen,requesting them to lay out a road, which they did, but thetown would not accept of their report. The Court ofSessions 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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