Jedediah Sprague

Jedediah was a freeman. In 1759 he served in the Battle of Crown Point, New York, at the side of his brother Samuel Sprague, when the latter was shot & killed. He brought Samuel with his sword from the field. The sword is now in the possession of Mr. William Sprague of Providence and bears the date 1759. He was a farmer. His will, dated Gloucester, Rhode Island, October 17, 1810, mentions his wife, Freelove, and seven children.

He was born in Scituate, Rhode Island. He was christened. Jedediah Sprague and his family lived at Gloucester, Providence County, Rhode Island. He was married to Freelove JENCKES.

Rhode Island Colonial War Servicemen, 1740-62 SPRAGUE Jedediah Old French & Indian War Served in Capt. Jenckes' Co. in 1758, and as Sergeant in campaign of 1759

Robert Brooker of Native Soil found this document for me. The text of the contract:

Know all men by these present that I Isaac Ballard of Killingly county of Windham and State of Connecticut for the consideration of the sum of Two Hundred & sixty two Dollars paid by Hesekiah Cady of Gloucester county of Providence and State of Rhode Island have remised released and quitclaimed and do by these present remise release & quitclaim unto said Cady a certain tract or parcel of land situated in the town of Burrillville in said county of PROVIDENCE, (RI) containing about five Hundred acres and is known by the name of the Wilbur land reference being had to a Sheriffs Deed from JEDEDIAH SPRAGUE to Asael P. Clark and a Sheriffs deed from Samuel P. Tucker to said Clark also a deed from Ira P. Evans to said Clark for a particular description of said land To have and to hold all my right title and interest in an unto the aforesaid premises to him the said Hesekiah Cady his heirs and assigns forever In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand & seal this 19th day of august [mark] 1850

Isaac Ballard

In the presence of

Witness L. R. Williams

Asael P. Clark

Proved So in Gloucester, (Rhode Island), this 19th day of August [mark] 1850 Personally appeared Isaac B Ballard signer to this foregoing installment and acknowledged the same to be his own free act and deed hand & seal before me

Leonard R. Williams Justice of The Peace

[on back] DEED Isaac Ballard To Hezekiah Cady Received for record December 16th 1850 at 10 o'clock A.M. and recorded in the registry of deeds for the Town of Burrillville 9th Book Page 460 by John Walling Jr S. Blk .25 cents

(Anthony68, Anthony13, Anthony2, #04 William1) was born about 1736 in Scituate, Providence Co., RI 264 and died on 29 Dec 1812 in prob. Gloucester, Providence Co., RI 264. Ancestral File Number:Z2VR-T9.

General Notes:

"Sprague Families in America", by Dr. Warren Vincent Sprague, page 171.

Jedediah Sprague of Gloucester, RI was a farmer. 1759, May. Freeman from Gloucester.

1759. He was at the side of his brother Samuel Sprague in the battle of Crown Point when the latter was shot and killed. He brought Samuel's sword from the field; the sword bore the date 1759. 1810, Oct 10. His will, dated at Gloucester, mentions wife Freelove and the seven children.

Noted events in his life were:

1. Military; 1759; Battle Of Crown Point, NY. 264

2. Occupation. 264Famer

3. Will; 17 Oct 1810; Gloucester, Providence Co., RI. 515

Jedediah married Freelove Jenckes, daughter of Obadiah Jenckes and Meribah Hearnden 264. (Freelove Jenckes was born on 15 Nov 1740 in West Greenwich, Kent Co., RI 264 and died after 1812 264.)

Their children were:

+ 838 F i. Meribah (Miraba) Sprague died in DeKalb, St. Lawrence Co, New York .

+ 839 F ii. Alec (Alice) Sprague died in Amboy Center, Oswego Co, New York .

+ 840 M iii. John Sprague was born about 1758 in Gloucester, Providence Co., RI 264, died on 17 Mar 1837 in Gloucester, Providence Co., RI 264,666 and was buried in Sprague Cemetery, Gloucester, Providence Co., RI 264.

+ 841 M iv. Jedediah Sprague settled with his wife Amy , about a mile north of White Store, Norwich, Chenango Co, New York, where he settled in the late about 1796, & lived until his death.

+ 842 M v. Jonas (Jonah) Sprague was born in Scituate, Providence Co., RI and died in 1823 in Cooperstown, Otsego Co., NY 264,668.

  843 M    vi. Jenckes Sprague . 

+ 844 M vii. Anthony Sprague was born on 27 Jan 1778 in Gloucester, Providence Co., RI 264, died on 28 Dec 1818 in Gloucester, Providence Co., RI 264,669 and was buried in Sprague Cemetery, Gloucester, Providence Co., RI 670.

1777 SPRAGUE JEDEDIAH Providence County RI 001 Gloucester RI 1777 Military Census Index RI4787649

1782 SPRAGUE JEDEDIAH Providence County RI Gloucester Tax List RI Early Census Index RI5492255

Early Settlers - Norwich

Early settlers in the Town of Norwich (#15) of Original Twenty Towns taken from "1874 History of Chenango & Madison Counties, NY" by James H Smith; pub. 1880. Tried to use year, where stated, person and where they were from.

Norwich was formed from Jericho (Bainbridge), and Union (Broome County), both then in Tioga county, Jan. 19, 1793, and then embraced the towns of Pharsalia, Plymouth, Preston (then embraced McDonough) which were taken off April 2, 1806, New Berlin and a part of Columbus, which were taken off April 3, 1807, and North Norwich, which was taken off April 7, 1849. A part of Preston was annexed in 1808, and a part of the same town taken off in 1820.

about 1796

Alexander McCULLOUGH, New England states,

Capt. Edward GREEN, R.I. and

Jedediah SPRAGUE, R.I.

Sprague, Frank William, "The Brothers Ralph and William Sprague and some of Their Descendants", (Boston, Mass.: New England Historic and Genealogical Society, 1909). page 12. notes Jedediah Sprague's will was made out Oct 17, 1810, Gloucester, Providence County, Rhode Island.

1. Military 2, 1759, Battle Of Crown Point, NY 2. Occupation Famer

3. Will 3, 17 Oct 1810, Gloucester, Providence Co., RI SPRAGUE Jedediah Old French & Indian War Served in Capt. Jenckes' Co. in 1758, and as Sergeant in campaign of 1759.

Will of father Jedediah Sprague, dated 17 Oct 1810, proved 27 Jan 1813. Abstracted in Lucille B. Beaman, "Abstracts of Gloucester, Rhode Island, Wills," Rhode Island Genealogical Register, Vol. 8, no. 4 (Apr 1986), p. 290. Spells name Alce

!SOURCE: Will of mother, Freelove, dated 24 May 1827, proved 4 Jan 1828. Abstracted in "Abstracts of Gloucester, Rhode Island, Wills," Rhode Island Genealogical Register, Vol. 9, no. 2 (Oct 1986), p. 121. Spells name Elsey, wife of Winslow Whipple.

Sampubco lists this will for Jedediah Sprague:

1791-1819

SPRAGUE, JEDEDIAH GLOCESTER 5-GLO-3-341Providence County, Rhode Island Will Testators

14th December, 1812

In the Name of God Amen, I Jedediah Sprague of Gloucester in the county of Providence and the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations Yeoman, being now advanced in Years, and having a mind to settle my Worldly affairs in the best manner I can, while I am blest with a measurable degree of health and of a sound mind and memory, and know it is appointed for man once to die, do hereby make and ordain this my last will and Testament, in the manner on the form following, and first of all I do commend my soul unto the merciful armes of Almighty God that gave it, and my body to the Earth to be decently buried at the direction of my Executor and surviving friends, and as touching such Worldly Estate as it hath pleased God to bless me with in this life, I hereby give and bequeath, order & dispose of in the following manner and form.

Imprimis: I give unto my loving Wife Freelove Sprague the one third part of my household goods loaned for her use during her natural life and furthermore I give unto my said Wife, the use and privilege of the one third of my dwelling house so long as she remains my Widow, but if she should marry again, then her support from and out of my Estate shall cease. I hereby ordain my said Wife shall have a good riding horse kind found her whenever she may want to ride and a good decent side saddle also, and furthermore, that she shall have a good comfortable and decent support out of my Estate being and suitable to her degree, so long as she remains my Widow.

Item: I hereby order and my will is that my Executor sell one certain lot of land of about two hundred and twenty five acres lying in the Town of Norwich in the State of New York and is in that part commonly called Stephen Steeres (hard to read) Purchase and is the lot number of thirteen in said purchase and deed or deeds by them given shall convey to the purchaser or purchasers a good title thereunto, and that out of the money arising from the sale of the before above described lands that my Executor shall pay unto the children of my Daughter Meriba Whipple, lately the wife of Esek Whipple but is now deceased, the sum of one hundred dollars to be equally divided between them all, but if either of them shall die before they arrive of full age, then the part and share that would have belonged to that or them shall go to and be equally divided between the surviving children of her and to be paid to them in one year after my decease.

Item: I give unto my Daughter Alic Whipple the Wife of Reuben Whipple, the sum of one hundred Dollars , and to her children, her lawful heirs to be paid her or them in one Year after my decease provided the said lot of land is sold and the same to be vouching the Legacies to be paid out this sale of the said lot of land. The remaining part of the Money that shall or doth arise on the sale of the afore named Lands, thereby give and bequeath unto my three sons, namely John Sprague, Jedediah Sprague and Jonah Sprague to be equally divided between them.

Item: I give and bequeath unto my son Jedediah Sprague all my rights and share of in the lands called the Hook (Pharsalia), lying in the Town of Norwich in said Steers purchase to be to him, his heirs, and assigns forever. Then I give and bequeath furthermore unto my two Sons namely Jenks Sprague and Anthony Sprague, all the remaining parts of my lands not disposed of and ordained to be sold or given away, lying in the town of Gloucester, in the State of Rhode Island or close, where if not ordained to be sold, to be equally divided between the said Jenks and Anthony and to be and remain to them and their heirs and assigns forever.

And I further give unto my son Jenks Sprague, the sum of one hundred dollars equal to Silver Money to be paid him in live Stock out of my Estate and my Will is and I hereby order it, that after my legacies and all debts and funeral charges are paid that all the remaining part of my personal or moveable Estate not herein given away be equally divided between my two sons, Jenks Sprague & Anthony Sprague, and also that part of my said Estate that I have given the use of to my Wife to be equally divided between the said Jenks and Anthony after my said wife's decease and to be to them and their heirs forever. And I do nominate and appoint my loving wife Freelove Sprague and my two sons Jencks Sprague and Anthony Sprague to be my sole Executrix and Executors to this my last will and Testament, and I do hereby revoke and make null and void, all former or other Will or Wills by me hereafter made ratifying confirming and allowing this and no other to be my last will and Testament. D. M. Witney Viohinof. I have hereunto set my sign and seal this seventeenth day of October in the year of our Lord 1810.

Jedediah Sprague

Jedediah's will referencing land in Norwich New York, led to research in that area which shows the area was first settled by Jedediah Sprague - his three sons resided there, one until his death in 1828 (Charles), one moved to Pennsylvania (Obediah) & one went west (Arthur). This Jedediah was the son of Seargent Jedediah Sprague, - who mentions property in Norwich, New York in his will. The son Jedediah lived & died here in New York (his sisters also died in New York) Jedediah (son) is given the land called the "Gose", in his father's will, in Norwich, New York, and Seargent Jedediah Sprague orders other lands in Norwich New York to be sold & the proceeds to be divided among his daughters. From this, we know he must have invested in land in NY near where his son Jedediah settled, even though we have no evidence he ever lived there.

Chenango County, New York:

Settlements were made by Hezekiah PELLET and Elisha SMITH about 1794; by Alexander McCULLOUGH, E. GREEN and Jedediah SPRAGUE, about 1796; by John and Daniel SHUTTUCK, Stephen STEERE, Thomas WOOD and Amos BOWEN in 1797; by Joshua BURLINGAME previous to that year; and by Uriah AVERY and the ALDRICHes, Stephen HENRY and the PHILLIPs about 1798.

Judge Stephen STEERE came from Chepachet, R.I., and in company with Capt. Edward GREENE and Jedediah SPRAGUE, from the same State, purchased the south-west quarter of Norwich, on which they settled, STEERE about a quarter of a mile above the White Store, where William T. MORSE now lives, near the railroad bridge which crosses the small brook above White Store, GREENE about a mile below White Store where his great-grandson, Adolphus Greene, now lives; and SPRAGUE, about a mile north of White Store, where Douglas BURLINGAME now lives. They were the first settlers in the locality of White Store. Greene and Sprague continued to reside where they settled till their death. Capt. GREENE died April 22, 1824, aged 67, and Prudence, his wife, Dec. 9, 1814, aged 59, leaving seven children, all of whom are dead. [These were Arthur, who settled on the homestead farm, and afterwards removed to Pennsylvania; Edward, James, Jesse, Hannah, who married Joseph WOOD; Elcy, who married William ARNOLD; and Abigail, who married Arthur BURLINGAME, and died July 13,1866, aged 84, and her husband, June 30, 1833, aged 57.]

SPRAGUE had three sons, all of whom are gone. [Arthur, Charles, and Obediah, the latter of whom died in Pennsylvania. The former two settled here, and Charles died here February 4, 1828, aged 35, but Arthur afterwards went West.]

Judge STEERE soon after removed to Norwich village and located on fifty-six acres of the Silas COLE farm and seventy acres bought of John HARRIS. His first house stood between the residences of John CONKEY and the daughters of Abiel COOK, on East Main street, and about two years after, he removed just north of the south canal bridge where, says Dr. HARRIS, he attempted to erect a frame house, before the mills at Norwich were built. The frame was hewed pine, and the clapboards were rived and planed. This, says the Doctor, though a shanty, was the first frame structure in the town. Soon after the mills were in operation he built anew, about two rods south of the residence of the widow FITCH. [Dr. Harris fixes as the date of Steere's settlement about 1791 or '2. Data in possession of the family, though they do not definitely determine it, refer it to the year 1797. The above incident serves to strengthen Dr. Harris' supposition.]

Jedediah SPRAGUE Household

   Male   

Other Information:
Birth Year <1804>
Birthplace RI
Age 76
Occupation Farming
Marital Status M <Married>
Race W <White>
Head of Household Jedediah SPRAGUE
Relation Self
Father's Birthplace RI
Mother's Birthplace RI
Source Information:
Census Place Gloucester, Providence, Rhode Island
Family History Library Film 1255214
NA Film Number T9-1214
Page Number 288D
The story of Pharsalia Hook and how it came by its name.

Pharsalia was a cross-roads town where the stage coach lines from the North, South, East and West intersected. Where these roads crossed there was a tiny park and in the center of it sat a tall flag pole.

Some of the coaches went through at night and to better see the spot, an iron hook was imbedded in the flag pole about eight feet off the ground and at night a lantern was hung on the hook.

On holidays such as the Fourth of July and on many civic occasions too, a flag was raised on the pole. One day the flag line became entangled in the pulley at the top and a man shinnied up the pole to fix it. On the way down he lost his grip and slid down the pole as far as the hook, which impaled him. He was dead when they took him off.

Ever since that day Pharsalia has been known of as the "Hook".

Source: News article - Chips and Savings by Lee Brown Coye, titled - The Hook located in Otis A. Thompson Local History Room.

1790 census: Gloucester, Providence Co, Rhode Island

Sprague, Boomer 2 * 2 * *

Sprague, Elisha 1 1 4 * *

Sprague, Jedadiah 3 1 2 * *

Sprague, Jedadiah, Junr 2 2 2 * *

Sprague, John 1 3 1 * *

Sprague, Peter 3 * 1 * *

Sprague, Richard 1 1 2 * *

Birth 9 Jun 1738 Providence County, Rhode Island, USA Death 1813 (aged 74–75) Glocester, Providence County, Rhode Island, USA Burial Sprague Farm Cemetery Glocester, Providence County, Rhode Island, USA Plot Chepachet Cedar Swamp near Glocester RI Memorial ID 180283900 · View Source Jedediah Sprague (1738-1813, is the son of Anthony Sprague. He married Freelove Jenckes,(1740-1828), G Grandaughter of RI Governor, Joseph Jenckes, elected in 1727. They had 7 children, Meribah, Alice, (who married brothers Esek & Reuben Whipple, whose Father Benejah Whipple had fought in Col Crary's "Rhode Island Raiders", & also obtained land in Coopersville, NY, where he moved after the war. Jedediah & Freelove also had 5 sons, John, Jedediah, Jonas, Jenckes & Anthony. Jedediah fought in the French & Indiana War at Crown Point where he saw his brother killed. He purchased several hundred acres of land called Chepachet Cedar Swamp, & also acquired considerable acreage near Cooperstown NY, near where many of his children eventually migrated. Jedediah & Freelove are buried on the Sprauge Farm, & a fieldstone gravestone marks their burial site. For a phooto, See http://www.glocesterlandtrust.org/images/PDFs/Sprague_Farm_Tour_han...