William Sprague (February 23, 1809 – September 19, 1868) was a minister and politician in the U.S. state of
Michigan. From 1849 to 1851, he served one term in the
U.S. House of Representatives.
Biography
Sprague was born in
Providence, Rhode Island, a distant cousin of
William Sprague, Governor of
Rhode Island. He attended the public schools there, moved to Michigan, and settled in
Kalamazoo, where he studied theology and was ordained as a minister. He was presiding elder of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, 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, 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 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
Charles Edward Stuart (November 25, 1810May 19, 1887) was a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from the state of Michigan.
Biography
Stuart was born in New York, either near Waterloo, New York, or in Columbia County. He studied law, was admi ...
to be elected as a
Whig, though he is sometimes also identified with the
Free Soil Party, from Michigan's 2nd District to the
Thirty-first Congress, 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
Oshtemo Charter Township is a charter township of Kalamazoo County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The 2010 census recorded a population of 21,705, up from 17,003 at the 2000 census. The township was organized in 1839.
Geography
According to the ...
,
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