Life History

Notes

• [glass jesse sprauge.FTW]     [Brøderbund WFT Vol. 1, Ed. 1, Tree#5059, Date of Import: Aug 6, 2000]     All that is presently knownabout the early life of the originator of this particular branch ofthe Sprague Family in America, is that Francis Sprague was born inEngland about the year 1600, that he was married about 1621, inEngland, to a woman named Anne _____(?) (born about 1602), that theyhad at least one child, a daughter named Mercy, who was born inEngland, and that he, his wife and daughter appear to have beentransient residents in London at the time of their departure, in early1623, from England, to begin a new life in America. Some sources listthe first wife of Francis Sprague as having been named Lydia and havepresented Anne as being their daughter.  However, an examination ofthe passenger list of the ship ANNE (William Pierce, Master), whichbrought them to America in 1623, as well as other public records ofthe Plymouth Colony where they subsequently lived for several yearsafter their arrival, establish the identities of both his wife andfirst daughter as having been as listed in the above paragraph.  Thisdoes not however rule out the possibility that his wife might havebeen named Lydia Anne or that his daughterus name may have been MercyAnne. No records seem to exist presenting the reasons or circumstanceswhich might have prompted Francis Sprague and his family to leaveEngland and embark upon what was to be a new and often perilous lifein the colonies.  Nor will I attempt to make any assumption regardingthose now unknown reasons. It can however be surmised that thosereasons were not purely religious, as were those of many of the otherswho had chosen to become part of the colonial endeavor in New England. This is made evident by a number of subsequent factors.  Oneindication is the fact that Francis Sprague, rather than having beendesignated as one of the SSaintsT or true Puritans by George F. Wilsonin his book SAINTS AND STRANGERS, published 1945 by Reynal andHitchcock of New York, was instead designated as having been among theso-called "Strangers".  These "Strangers" were those who were part ofthe colony but who did not strictly adhere to the Puritan religiousprinciples. For even though he had immigrated and settled with thePuritan or Pilgrim company at Plymouth Colony, Soule's descriptivenarrative of him in Sprague Memorial makes the following descriptivenotation regarding him: "It appears that grave and sober though hewas, he did not wholly escape the displeasure of the scrupulousmagistrates of those days.  The Court records disclose the fact thathe was several times brought before them for what they considereddepartures from the strict line of duty.  A fair interpretation,however, of the evidence, drawn from the Old Colony Records, warrantsthe conclusion that Francis (Sprague) was a person of ardenttemperament and of great independence of mind;  in short, that hissympathies with the principles of the Puritan Fathers did not go tothe length of Passive acquiescence in all the enactments of theircivil code.  We know that he was the head of a most honorable andrespected family of descendants." Regardless of their reasons forhaving done so, Francis Sprague, his wife and daughter left England inearly 1623 and arrived at Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts on or about10 July of that same year, and all three were later designated ashaving been among the 189 settlers who were to be acknowledged as the"Founding Fathers of America". In the fall of 1623, Francis Spragueand his family participated in a harvest feast that also turned into acelebration of the marriage of Governor William Bradford to AliceSouthworth.  This feast, which was attended by the local Indian chiefMassasoit and 120 of his people, was the occasion that has sincebecome noted as the first Thanksgiving. Shortly after arriving atPlymouth Colony, Francis Sprague took part in a division of land amongthe passengers of the ship ANNE in which he was granted a plot of landthat may have been about 100 acres or more. On 5 November 1623,Francis Sprague took part in what may well have been one of the first"volunteer" fire fighting efforts to have taken place in New England.On that evening a fire broke out in one of the settlement houses thatsoon spread to and destroyed two or three other houses and threatenedto engulf the storehouse where the settlement's winter food supply wasbeing kept.  Governor Bradford organized the fire fighting effort andthe food stores were saved.  It was later discovered that the fire hadresulted from a deliberate act of arson. Sometime around May or Juneof 1627 Francis Sprague obtained a number of head of cattle in adivision of livestock among the colonists. In July of that same year,he entered into an agreement with Governor Bradford regarding the furtrade and was thus well on his way to becoming one of the more well todo and respected citizens of Plymouth Colony. On 2 January 1632 he wastaxed 18 shillings on his land and holdings at Plymouth.  Shortlyafter this, apparently seeking larger and more fertile fields, he andhis family moved to the northeast area of what was then known as the"Duxburrow Side" of the bay north of Plymouth Colony. This area hassince become the city of Duxbury, Massachusetts. At Duxburrow theysettled on a large grant of land adjoining that of Elder WilliamBrewster, not far from the town meeting house.  This land, near whatwas known as the "Nook",  lay along a bay with good meadows, saltmarshes and a creek that is still known as Spragueus Creek. On 17 June1637 Francis Sprague was admitted as a Freeman of the MassachusettsColony.  Such status, given only to male members of the colony,required the passing of a rigorous examination of the individualusreligious views and moral character.  There is some indication thatmay have required formal membership in the church.  And finally, itrequired that the applicant own property valued at no less than £20,though this later requirement was not strictly enforce.  That sameyear he was granted a license to sell liquor in New England and on 1October he established what has since been recognized as having beenone of the first taverns and inns to be operated in New England. Atleast four other such establishments are known to have existed in theregion about this same time, some perhaps before that of FrancisSprague.  James Cole operated a tavern just above Plymouth, and othersin the area were either owned or operated by Constant Southworth,Assistant Governor of the colony William Collier and by IsaacRobinson. All of these establishments faced the same problems,problems which appear to have been purposely directed toward them bythe religious minded, colonial authorities.  There were officialsappointed for the sole purpose of following patrons into such tavernsand then monitoring their intake of liquor, individuals who had theauthority to force the tavern operator to stop serving any individualor group of persons if, in that official's mind, such persons werebeyond what they felt to be the "legal" limits of intoxication.  Theofficials have often been noted as having made extreme nuisances ofthemselves.  In addition, no tobacco could be used in the taverns, nocard playing was tolerated nor was dice gaming. Beyond that, officialapproval and permission to operate a tavern that served liquor wasusually granted only to the most respectable persons, and suchapproval was seldom given to anyone known to drink to intoxication.Tavern owners were also held responsible for the sobriety of theirpatrons and could be brought to account equally for the actions of anyof their patrons who, when intoxicated, caused some problem. ThatFrancis Sprague was of such independence of mind as to balk at suchofficial interference with the process of free trade is indicated bythe fact that within next year his liquor license was suspended forhis "...drinking overmuch and tolerating too much jollity" and wasadmonished for purposely and knowing serving guests beyond the legallimit.  That suspension was lifted though by the end of 1638. Sometimearound this same period of time Francis Sprague became a member of theDuxbury Militia under the leadership of Captain Miles Standish. In1640 he obtained more land near Duxbury, along the North River. On 1April 1644 he deeded a 50 acre tract of land along the South River toWilliam Lawrence, husband of his daughter Mary.  This may well havebeen a wedding present. In 1645 Francis Sprague became one of theoriginal proprietors of Bridgewater, Massachusetts and alsoco-purchased, with the Earle family, a large amount of land at thepresent site of Dartmouth, in what is presently Rhode Island,apparently as the first stage toward the establishment of a settlementat that location.  The site was subsequently settled in 1650 andbecame incorporated as the town of Dartmouth in 1664. In 1648 andagain in 1657 he served as Surveyor of Highways for the area and in1649 he served as Constable of Duxbury. On 26 October 1659 he deededland to his son-in-law Ralph Earle of Rhode Island.  This land, givenon the occasion of the marriage of Ralph Earle to Dorcas Sprague,daughter of Francis Sprague and Anne _____(?), was apparently awedding present and may have been some of the land purchased atDartmouth, considering that the newlyweds almost immediately settledat Dartmouth, Rhode Island after their marriage.  Several months afterthis, in 1660, Francis Spragueus wife Anne _____(?) died in Duxbury.On 5 June 1666 Francis Spragueus liquor license was again suspendedbecause of a brawling incident in his tavern.  This suspension wasalso temporary, being lifted a short time later. On 29 October 1669Francis Spragueus son John entered into co-proprietorship of thefamily tavern.  This may have taken place because of the advancing ageof the founder of this family line in America.  Following both theirdeaths in 1676, this inn was owned and operated by John Sprague's sonWilliam, who later passed it on to his son Jethro.  Its fate afterthat time is presently unknown. Francis Sprague is reported to havedied in 1676, sometime after March of that year and after the death ofhis son John.  He is reported as having been one of the 10 wealthiestmen in New England at the time of his death.

Sources

• 1. glass jesse sprauge.FTW
• 2. World Family Tree Vol. 1, Ed. 1
  • Name: Release date: November 29, 1995;
  • Tree #5059