Lucy J. Sprague (born Earle 1851 – September 29, 1903) was an American

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

from

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

Biography

Sprague was born as Lucy Earle in

, in 1851. Her family were involved in the

African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

and Sprague would remain active throughout her life. She was married to James Alfred Sprague in 1878 and they had one surviving son. In the church, Sprague volunteered in several different roles, including acting as

treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...

and

superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

of the

Sunday School A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...

for infants. She and her husband were both members of the Susan B. Anthony Club for Colored Women and worked towards

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

. Sprague also worked with

Hester C. Jeffrey Hester C. Jeffrey, ''née'' Whitehurst (c. 1842 – January 2, 1934, also known as Jeffreys or Jeffries, or Mrs. R. Jerome Jeffrey, after her husband) was an African-American activist, suffragist, and community organizer in Rochester, N.Y., and ...

in the church and as an activist. Sprague died on September 29, 1903, in her home in Rochester. She was buried in Mount Hope Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sprague, Lucy J. 1851 births 1903 deaths Activists from Rochester, New York African-American suffragists American suffragists 19th-century African-American people 19th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women