William Sprague (February 23, 1809 – September 19, 1868) was a minister and politician in the U.S. state of

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. From 1849 to 1851, he served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Biography

Sprague was born in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

, a distant cousin of William Sprague, Governor of

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

. He attended the public schools there, moved to Michigan, and settled in

Kalamazoo Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...

, where he studied theology and was ordained as a minister. He was presiding elder of the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...

, Kalamazoo district, 1844–1848. Sprague served as United States Indian Agent in Michigan 1852–1853.

Religious leader

In the early 1830s, Sprague was a circuit minister for many communities in central and southwest Michigan. He delivered the first gospel sermon ever given in

Van Buren County, Michigan Van Buren County is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 75,587. The county seat is Paw Paw. The county was founded in 1829 and organized in 1837. History The county was named for Martin Va ...

, in the first log cabin which was built in spring 1829. He organized the first Methodist class in Niles in 1832 and was pastor there in 1862 when construction began on a historical

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

style church building. In the fall of 1832, Sprague became circuit pastor for Coldwater.

Congress

Sprague defeated incumbent

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Charles E. Stuart to be elected as a Whig, though he is sometimes also identified with the

Free Soil Party The Free Soil Party was a short-lived coalition political party in the United States active from 1848 to 1854, when it merged into the Republican Party. The party was largely focused on the single issue of opposing the expansion of slavery int ...

, from Michigan's 2nd District to the

Thirty-first Congress The 31st United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1849, ...

, serving March 4, 1849–March 3, 1851. He did not run for re-election.

Retirement and death

He retired to his farm in Oshtemo Township,

Kalamazoo County Kalamazoo County is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. , the population was 261,670. The county seat is Kalamazoo. Kalamazoo County is included in the Kalamazoo– Portage, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Kalamazoo Count ...

. He died in Kalamazoo, and was interred in Mountain Home Cemetery.

References

The Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sprague, William 1809 births 1868 deaths Politicians from Providence, Rhode Island Politicians from Kalamazoo, Michigan Michigan Free Soilers Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan Free Soil Party members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century American politicians