BackGround: London Temple, London, England.
William was born 26 October 1609 in Upwales, Dorsetshire, England and christened 6 June 1614, Upway, Dorsetshire, England. He married 26 May 1635, Charlestown, Suffolk, Massachusetts, Millicent EAMES, the daughter of Anthony EAMES and Margery PIERCE. She was born about 1615 in St. George, Fordington, Dorsetshire, England, and died 8 February, 1695 in Hingham, Plymouth, Massachusetts. William died 26 October 1675, in Hingham. Plymouth, Massachusetts.
ORIGIN: Upway, Dorsetshire
MIGRATION: 1629
FIRST RESIDENCE: Charlestown
REMOVES: Hingham 1636
OCCUPATION: Yeoman.
CHURCH MEMBERSHIP: William Sprague or his wife became a member of Hingham church, based on baptisms of several children there.
EDUCATION: He signed his deed of 1673. His inventory included "his books" valued at 8s.
ESTATE: Held 1½ cow commons in Charlestown in 1635, which was increased to 2½ [ChTR 19, 20].
On 28 March 1651 Thomas Hammond of Hingham, planter, sold to William Sprague of Hingham "my now dwelling house in the town of Hingham with my house lot containing five acres more or less ... with a parcel of fresh meadow ... likewise a great lot containing twenty acres more or less" [SLR 2:255-56].
On 9 [blank] 1673 "William Sprague Senior of Hingham ... yeoman ... in consideration of the fatherly good will, favor and affection which I ... have ... towards my well beloved son William Sprague ... confirm unto the said William Sprague my youngest son ... several lots of land and houses ... all my houselot containing five acres of land ... which I lately purchased of Thomas Hammond ... and another house lot containing four acres of land ... given me by the said town of Hingham ... also a parcel of fresh meadow containing one acre ... and another parcel of fresh meadow containing one acre [granted by the town] ... and half an acre of fresh meadow ... given me by the said town of Hingham and a parcel of salt marsh containing three acres ... and the fifty-ninth lot of the second division and the eleventh lot in the third division ... six shares of ... perpetual common and my great lot containing fourteen acres of land ... given to me by the said town ... that the said William Sprague Senior and Mellesaint his now wife shall stand and be seized of the one half of the said dwelling house wherein they now do dwell ... during the term of their natural lives" and for William Jr. to pay William and Millecent or the longer liver of them £10 per year and fodder for a cow and fire wood [SLR 8:412-16].
In his will, dated 19 October 1675 and proved 10 November 1675, "W[illia]m Sprague Senior of Hingham" bequeathed to "Millisaint Sprague my loving wife the sum of ten pounds in money & one cow and one house," along with ten pounds per annum during her natural life to be paid by "my son W[illia]m Sprague" in accordance with a deed of gift already made to the said William; to "Millisaint my said wife thirty & five pounds which is due from me by my son Anthony Sprague" at the rate of five pounds per annum, and if she die before the full amount is paid, the balance to be divided equally "amongst all my children hereafter named that is to say my son Anthoney Sprage, my son Sam[ue]ll Sprage, my son W[illia]m Sprage, my daughter Persis Dogget the wife of Jno. Dogget, Johanna Church the wife of Caleb Church & Mary King the wife of Tho[mas] King"; to "Millisaint my said wife" a selection of moveables; to "my son W[illia]m Sprage" two steers and a cow and all other cattle not already bequeathed to be divided among children named above; to "Anthony Sprage my eldest son my sword which was my brother Richard Sprague's" and other moveables; to "my son Jno. Sprage a piece of salt marsh lying at Liford's Liking River in Hingham containing two acres & a half ... which was given me by the town of Hingham" and some moveables "which with a neck of upland called Sprague's Island lying by the aforesaid meadow which I formerly gave to him I judge a sufficient portion for him"; to "my son Samuell Sprague my cloth coat which was my brother's & one of my biggest pewter platters"; to "my son Jonathan Sprage threescore acres of land lying in the bounds of the township of Providence in New England which I lately purchased of John Dexter"; wife Millicent to be sole executor [SPR 6:106].
The inventory of the estate of "W[illia]m Sprague Senior who deceased the 26 day of October 1675," taken 3 November 1675, was untotalled and included £47 in real estate: "two acres & a half of salt marsh lying in Hingham by Lyford's Liking River," £35; and "threescore acres of land lying in the township of Providence in New England," £12 [SPR 5:275-77].
BIRTH: By about 1611 based on estimated date of marriage.
DEATH: Hingham 26 October 1675 [NEHGR 121:197].
MARRIAGE: By 1635 Millicent Eames, daughter of Anthony Eames [see COMMENTS below]; on 3 April 1635 Millicent Sprague was admitted to Charlestown church [ChChR 8]; she died at Hingham on 9 February 1695/6 [NEHGR 121:284].
CHILDREN:
i ANTHONY, bp. Charlestown 23 May 1636 [ChChR 46];
m. Plymouth 26 December 1661 Elizabeth Bartlett
[PCR 8:23], daughter of ROBERT BARTLETT
ii JOHN, bp. Hingham [blank] April 1638 [NEHGR 121:10];
m. Hingham 6 December 1666 Elizabeth Holbrook,
daughter of William Holbrook
(Hobart record gives marriage date but not
name of bride [NEHGR 121:119];
in his will of 17 July 1699 William Holbrook
bequeathed to "my daughter Elizabeth Bick"
(she had married James Bick after the death of
John Sprague) [PPR 1:309])
iii SAMUEL, bp. Hingham 24 May 1640 [NEHGR 121:12];
m. by 1666 Sarah Chillingworth
(eldest child b. Marshfield 2 May 1666 [MD 2:111;
MarVR 6]), daughter of Thomas Chillingworth
(so stated in many secondary sources,
but no evidence provided).
iv JONATHAN, bp. Hingham 20 March 1641/2 [NEHGR 121:14];
d. there 4 July 1647 [NEHGR 121:20].
v PERSIS, bp. Hingham 12 November 1643 [NEHGR 121:16];
m. by 1674 John Doggett
(eldest child b. Marshfield 28 June 1674 [MarVR 8]),
son of Thomas Doggett [Doggett Gen 341].
vi JOANNA, bp. Hingham [blank] December 1645 [NEHGR 121:18];
m. Hingham 16 December 1667 Caleb Church [NEHGR 121:121],
son of RICHARD CHURCH.
vii JONATHAN, bp. Hingham 28 May 1648 [NEHGR 121:21];
m. by 1670 Mehitable Holbrook
(in his will of 17 July 1699 William Holbrook
bequeathed to "my daughter Mehetabel Sprague"
a sum of money to be paid to her by "her said
husband Jonathan Sprague" out of money in the
latter's hands which belonged to the testator
[PPR 1:310]).
viii WILLIAM, bp. Hingham 2 July 1650 [NEHGR121:23];
m. (1) Hingham 30 December 1674 Deborah Lane
[NEHGR 121:195];
m. (2) Hingham (int.) 5 November 1709 Mary Tower
[Hingham Hist 3:165].
ix MARY, bp. Hingham 25 April 1652 [NEHGR 121:24];
m. by 1670 Thomas King
(eldest child b. Weymouth 29 August 1670).
x HANNAH, bp. Hingham 25 February 1654/5 [NEHGR 121:105];
d. there 31 March 1658 [NEHGR 121:108].
ASSOCIATIONS: Came to New England in 1629 with brothers RALPH SPRAGUE and RICHARD SPRAGUE
COMMENTS: Admitted as an inhabitant of Charlestown in 1629 [ChTR 2], and included in lists of 9 January 1633/4 and January 1635/6 [ChTR 10, 15]. Signed the agreement creating the office of selectman in Charlestown, 10 February 1634/5 [ChTR 3].
On 4 June 1639 William Sprague of Hingham, planter, was sued by Thomas Clap of Hingham, planter, over a cow [Lechford 80-81].
There is apparently no document which states explicitly the parentage of Millicent, wife of William Sprague, but the identity is supported by much indirect evidence. Alice Sprague, sister of the three immigrant brothers, had married at Fordington St. George a Richard Eames; several children of Anthony Eames (not including Millicent) were baptized at Fordington St. George; Anthony Eames was apparently son of Thomas and Millicent (_____) Eames [Spragues of Malden 34-37]. The marriage of William Sp
rague and Millicent apparently took place in late 1634 or early 1635, not long after Anthony Eames arrived in New England and settled at Charlestown, and Anthony Eames and William Sprague moved from Charlestown to Hingham at about the same time. William and Millicent named their eldest son Anthony. Inasmuch as the marriage of Anthony Eames and the baptism of his presumed eldest child Millicent do not appear in the Fordington St. George records, it may be that these events occurred in the home parish of Anthony's wife.
In some secondary sources, including Pope, the dates for the last six children are presented as births, but they are clearly labelled as baptisms in the Hobart Record.
Savage includes among the children of William Sprague a daughter Elizabeth born in 1641. There is no record of such a daughter, nor is there room for her in the known sequence of children; an Elizabeth Strange was baptized at Hingham on 2 May 1641 [NEHGR 121:13], and this name may have been misread in some way.
Savage also said that he "removed to Marshfield early, but back to Hingham in few years" [Savage 4:156]. The only known connection of William Sprague with Marshfield is a Plymouth court case of 4 March 1672/3 in which the selectmen of Marshfield complained against John Farrow and William Sprague Senior of Hingham for bringing Hannah Bumpas [daughter of WILLIAM BUMPAS], "a distracted person," into town, when she was the responsibility of the town of Hingham, according to an agreement between Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth; the court found for the plaintiffs, fining the defendants £5 and costs [PCR 7:175]. This certainly does not provide evidence of residence in Marshfield.
CHILDREN of William SPRAGUE and Millicent EAMES:
+ 1. ANTHONY chr: 23 May 1636; Charlestown, Suffolk, Massachusetts.
md: 26 Dec 1661; Hingham, Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Elizabeth BARTLETT
d: 3 Sep 1719; Hingham, Plymouth, Massachusetts.
2. JOHN chr: Apr 1638; Hingham, Plymouth, Massachusetts.
md: 6 Dec 1666, Hingham, Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Elizabeth HOLBROOK
d: 26 Oct 1683; Mendon, Worcester, Massachusetts.
3. SAMUEL chr: 24 May 1640; Hingham, Plymouth, Massachusetts.
md: By 1666; , Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Sarah CHILLINGWORTH
d: 1710; Hingham, Plymouth, Massachusetts.
d: Died Young ; Hingham, Plymouth, Massachusetts.
4. JONATHAN chr: 20 Mar 1641; Hingham, Plymouth, Massachusetts.
d: 4 Jul 1747; Hingham, Plymouth, Massachusetts.
5. PERSIS chr: 12 Nov 1643; Hingham, Plymouth, Massachusetts.
md: By 1674; , Plymouth, Massachusetts.
John DOGGETT
d: 1684; , , .
6. JOANNA chr: Dec 1645; Hingham, Plymouth, Massachusetts.
md: 16 Dec 1667; Hingham, Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Caleb CHURCH
d: 11 Jul 1678; Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts.
7. JONATHAN chr: 28 May 1648; Hingham, Plymouth, Massachusetts.
md: By 1670; , Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Mehitable HOLBROOK
d: 10 Apr 1756; Smithfield, Providence, Rhode Island.
8. WILLIAM chr: 3 Jul 1650; Hingham, Plymouth, Massachusetts.
md: 30 Dec 1674; Hingham, Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Deborah LANE
md: 5 Nov 1709; Hingham, Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Mary TOWER
d: 26 Sep 1723; Providence, Providence, Rhode Island.
9. MARY chr: 25 Apr 1652; Hingham, Plymouth, Massachusetts.
md: By 1670; , Plymouth, Massachusett,
Thomas KING
10. HANNAH chr: 25 Feb 1654; Hingham, Plymouth, Massachusetts.
d: 31 Mar 1658; Hingham, Plymouth, Massachusetts.
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