Lt. John Sprague^[1]

Abt 1656 - 1728  (~ 72 years)

• Name	John Sprague
  Prefix	Lt.
  Born	Abt 1656	Duxbury, Plymouth Co., MA, USA   [2]
  Gender	Male
  Relationship to Family	Illegitimate
  Died	6 Mar 1727/28	Lebanon, New London Co., CT, USA   [3, 4]
  Notes	"Sprague Families in America", by Dr. Warren VincentSprague, page 12.      John Sprague was Constable ofDuxbury in 1692, and held other public  trusts thereat various times from 1684 to 1701.  He was one of theconspicuous members of the Church in Duxbury.      1702-3, January 8.  JohnSprague, "Mariner," and Lydia his wife, of Duxbury, deeded40 acres of upland with dwelling house and barn standingthereon in Duxbury for 125 pounds to Israel Sylvester ofScituate.  His last deed in Duxbury was given January28, 1702-3. 1703.  He removed to Lebanon, CT, probablyin the spring of this year and became the owner of muchland there.      1705, 1710, 1714. Selectman,Lebanon.      1706, May and Oct.; 1708, May andOct.; 1709, May and Oct.; 1711, 1713, in May; 1714, 1716,1718, in Oct.; 1719, May and Oct.; 1720, May. Rep. fromLebanon to General Court.      1706.  He bore the title ofEnsign; and of Lieut. in 1710-20.      1712-3, Jan. 8.  He deeded toson Benjamin Sprague, land in Lebanon.      1713-4, Jan. 19.  He deededto son John Sprague, 120 acres of land.      1714, Sept. 21.  He deeded toGeorge Way, Jr., of Lyme, 100 acres of land.      1715-6, Jan. 18.  He deededto son Samuel Sprague 120 acres of land.      1718, July 14.  John Sprague,Sr., and John Sprague, Jr., agree to liberate Jack, anIndian slave bought by them when he has served faithfully12 years, and give him a colt which they agree to keep freeof charge until Jack sees fit to dispose of him.  Theyalso give him a ewe sheep, which they agree to keep and herincrease for two years.      1726, July 6.  Will mentionsbeloved wife, Mrs. Lois Sprague, granddaughter, Mary Way,and son Ephraim Sprague. From George Sawyer.      Lt. John Sprague was a weaver andlegislator. ===== NOTE from Sprague Project Developer, Richard E. Weber,dated October 7, 2019 The recent issue of "The Mayflower Descendant" (Volume 67,No. 2, Summer 2019) has a very interesting article thatcould effect what you and I have believed to be ourancestry for many years.  The article is entitled "Lt.John Sprague (ca. 1655-1727/8) of Duxbury, Mass., andLebanon, Conn., an illegitimate son of Samuel Fuller(Samuel)?"  I note in the article "The author wishesto thank Richard E. Weber and Albert Arnold Sprague, IV,developer and webmaster, respectively, of the SpragueProject and Database ..."  I don't take any credit forthe findings in the article but am delighted to find ourproject used and useful. The article is too lengthy to transcribe here but I willcopy a brief section: "At the General Court at Plymouth on 6 June 1655, JohnSprague (Francis) and Ruth Bassett (William) of Duxbury,were "present[ed]" for fornication before they weremarried: they were cleared by paying the fine. Generally this charge meant that colonists "did the math,"and realized a couple's first child was born "too soon"after their marriage.   John and Ruth's eldestchild John was followed by six other children. Howevercomparison of Y-DNA results between descendants of theeldest son John, and the younger two sons Samuel andWilliam, along with several other Sprague families as wellas a nearby family in Plymouth, have shown that Lt. JohnSprague was not the biological child of John Sprague, withstrong genetic and geographical considerations leading tohis biological father's identity." Several pages describing DNA analysis of the Sprague andFuller families follows including an analysis of sevenFuller men. Then: "Of the seven Fuller men listed above who lived in NewEngland in 1655 and were old enough to father a child onlySamuel Fuller (Samuel) of Plymouth was living nearDuxbury.  The two sons and three grandsons of EdwardFuller were all living in Barnstable.  Any of themmight have visited Plymouth and could possible be thefather of this Ruth's son (and thus these six candidatesare all of Mayflower descent), Samuel Fuller is the mostlikely, since he is the only one living near Ruth Bassett." Subscriptions to the Mayflower Descendant are available at: https://www.americanancestors.org/browse/publications/mayflower-descendant ===== Comments from Richard E. (Dick) Weber, Sprague ProjectDeveloper, 16 August 2020 Since it was established by the above mentioned study thatLt. John Sprague is not the son of John Sprague, Sr., butrather of a Fuller, I have been asked by his descendants ifthey need to change their name from Sprague to Fuller. In response, it is important to recognize exactly what is aname.  According to Webster's Dictionary a name is "aword or a combination of words by which a person, place, orthing, a body or class, or any object of thought isdesignated, called, or known." A name is not established by genetic inheritance.  Itis established typically by legal records such as birthcertificates or adoption papers.  However, it is oftensimply established simply by assuming the name ofSprague.  In the Sprague Database are significantSprague family groups of African American, Native American,or Immigrant American heritage.  Their native nameswere often lost as was often the case of those enslaved andforced to work in service for master's. Rosetta Douglass,daughter of the famous Frederick W. Douglass, married aNathan Sprague.  Nathan was the son of a RobertHawkins Sprague who had apparently assumed the name from aSprague plantation.  There are several families that immigrated from easternEurope who opted for an American sounding name (Sprague) toreplace their native names.  There is a NativeAmerican Spragge family in Ontario that assumed the name. There are many cases where children born to a mother fromone marriage/relationship are raised by and take the nameof a Sprague who later marries the mother.   Theyare raised as Spragues but are not genetically Spragues. The descendents of Lt. John Sprague have always been andwill continue to be recognized as Spragues.
  Person ID	I115897	Sprague Project
  Last Modified	1 Nov 2020

  
  

  Father	John Sprague, Sr.,   b. Abt 1630, Duxbury, Plymouth Co., MA, USA ,   d. 26 Mar 1676, Pawtucket, Providence Co., RI, USA  (Age ~ 46 years)
  Mother	Ruth Bassett,   b. Abt 1633, Bridgewater, Plymouth Co., MA, USA ,   d. Between 22 Mar 1692/93 and 1 Jan 1699/00  (Age ~ 60 years)
  Married	1655	Duxbury, Plymouth Co., MA, USA   [5, 6, 7]
  	"One Bassett Family in America", by Buell Bursett Bassett,page 10.     Ruth (Bassett) Sprague married______ Thomas of Marshfield as per deed she signed as"Widow Ruth Thomas".
  Family ID	F5820	Family Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Father	Rev. Samuel Fuller,   b. 1625, Plymouth Co., MA, USA ,   d. 17 Aug 1695, Middleboro, Plymouth Co., MA, USA  (Age 70 years)
  Mother	Ruth Bassett,   b. Abt 1633, Bridgewater, Plymouth Co., MA, USA ,   d. Between 22 Mar 1692/93 and 1 Jan 1699/00  (Age ~ 60 years)
  _MARRIED	N
  Family ID	F165132	Family Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family / Spouse 1	Lydia [--?--],   b. Abt 18 Jul 1658, Duxbury, Plymouth Co., MA, USA ,   d. 18 Jul 1725, Lebanon, New London Co., CT, USA  (Age ~ 67 years)
  Married	Bef 6 Nov 1683	Duxbury, Plymouth Co., MA, USA   [4, 8]
  	From Homer Scott, correspondent, note of April 2nd, 2006         FROM: "Records of the Colony of New Plymouth," Shurtlif.6:115. Att the Court att Plymouth the sixth of November1683. John Sprague and his wife for fornication aftercontract, fined fiue pound. [8]
  Children	+ 1. Capt. Ephraim Sprague,   b. 15 Mar 1684/85, Duxbury, Plymouth Co., MA, USA ,   d. Nov 1754, Lebanon, New London Co., CT, USA  (Age 69 years) + 2. Benjamin Sprague,   b. 15 Jul 1686, Duxbury, Plymouth Co., MA, USA ,   d. Abt 7 Jul 1754, Lebanon, New London Co., CT, USA  (Age 67 years) + 3. Samuel Sprague,   b. 31 Dec 1688, Duxbury, Plymouth Co., MA, USA ,   d. 21 May 1725, Lebanon, New London Co., CT, USA  (Age 36 years) + 4. Capt. John Sprague,   b. Abt 1690, Duxbury, Plymouth Co., MA, USA ,   d. 6 Apr 1763, Canaan, Litchfield Co., CT, USA  (Age ~ 73 years) + 5. Lydia Sprague,   b. 1692, Duxbury, Plymouth Co., MA, USA ,   d. 3 Mar 1762, prob. Sharon, Litchfield Co., CT, USA  (Age 70 years) + 6. Irene Sprague,   b. 1697, Duxbury, Plymouth Co., MA, USA ,   d. Yes, date unknown + 7. Ruth Sprague,   b. 5 Sep 1704, Lebanon, New London Co., CT, USA ,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Last Modified	2 Feb 2013
  Family ID	F5497	Family Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family / Spouse 2	Lois Standish,   d. Aft 16 Apr 1731
  Married	21 Mar 1725/26	Lebanon, New London Co., CT, USA   [3, 9]
  Last Modified	2 Feb 2013
  Family ID	F19219	Family Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map		Born - Abt 1656 - Duxbury, Plymouth Co., MA, USA Married - Bef 6 Nov 1683 - Duxbury, Plymouth Co., MA, USA Married - 21 Mar 1725/26 - Lebanon, New London Co., CT, USA Died - 6 Mar 1727/28 - Lebanon, New London Co., CT, USA  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Sources

  [S352] Publication: Sprague Families in America, Sprague, Warren Vincent, (Rutland, Vt: The Tuttle Company, Printer, 1913), page 12. [S403] Connecticut Nutmegger, "b. circa 1659", Volume 20, No. 1, June 1967. [S427] Lebanon Town Records, Volume 1, page 280. [S403] Connecticut Nutmegger, Volume 20, No. 1, June 1967. [S204] Book: Bassett Family in America, Bassett, Buell Bursett, (Springfield, Massachusetts: The F. A. Bassette Company, 1926), page 10. [S432] Book: New England Marriages Prior to 1700, Torrey, Clarence A., (Baltimore, Maryland : Genealogical Pub. Co., c1985), pages 697-698. [S433] Book: New England Marriages, Torrey, Clarence A., (Baltimore, MD, Genealogical Publishing Co., 2004), page 697. [S404] Correspondent: Scott, Homer, note of 2 April 2006. [S1087] Mayflower Families: Myles Standish, Warner, Russell L., (Plymouth, MA: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1992), page 17.