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William Sprague IV
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| In office May 29, 1860 – March 3, 1863 |
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| Lieutenant | J. Russell Bullock (1860 - 1861) Samuel G. Arnold (1861 - 1862) Seth Padelford (1862-1863) |
| Preceded by | Thomas G. Turner |
| Succeeded by | William C. Cozzens |
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| In office March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1875 |
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| Born | September 12, 1830 Cranston, Rhode Island, USA |
| Died | September 11, 1915 Paris 16th, France |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Kate Chase Dora Inez Clavert |
| Profession | Politician, Manufacturer |
William Sprague IV (September 12, 1830 – September 11, 1915) was Governor of the U.S. state of Rhode Island from 1860-1863, and U.S. Senator from 1863-1875. He participated in the First Battle of Bull Run during the American Civil War.
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Early years
Sprague was born in the Gov. William Sprague Mansion in Cranston, Rhode Island, the youngest son of Amasa and Fanny Morgan Sprague. His uncle and namesake William Sprague was also a Governor and U.S. Senator as well as U.S. Representative from Rhode Island. William and brother Amasa's education at the Irving Institute in Tarrytown, New York, was cut short when their father was murdered on New Year's Eve in 1843. The murder was a big crime in its day, and the trial was marked by anti-Irish bigotry resulting in the execution of two of the defendants.
Both brothers were called to work in the family business, the A.& W. Sprague Manufacturing Company, which was then under the direction of their uncle William III. When their uncle died in 1856, William and Amasa – along with their cousin Col. Byron Sprague, son of William III, and their mother Fanny Sprague and Aunt Harriet, widow of William III – became partners in the company. The second incorporation of the A. & W. Sprague Company occurred on June 2, 1859. It soon was the largest calico printing textile mill in the world. The company ran five weaving mills in New England. The Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad – of which William III had purchased controlling interest – connected the five mills to the Sprague Print Works in Cranston. The woven cloth was brought to Cranston to be printed.
Politics
Like his uncle, William Sprague IV had an interest in politics and was elected in 1860 as the Rhode Island Union Party candidate for Governor over the Republican Party whose candidate was seen as too radical. He was re-elected in 1861 and 1862. At twenty-nine years old, he was the youngest governor of a state at that time. He was sometimes referred to as the "boy governor," a title he may have given himself while campaigning for election.
As the Civil War approached, Sprague promised U.S. President Abraham Lincoln the support of Rhode Island. Upon Lincoln's call for volunteers in April 1861, troops left Rhode Island, and Sprague himself, believing that the war would last only 48 hours, accompanied a detachment in the First Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861. The Confederate victory made it clear to Sprague that the war would last longer than two days. He was offered a commission as a Brigadier General of Volunteers on August 9, 1861, though he declined the appointment. In 1862, he attended the Loyal War Governors' Conference in Altoona, Pennsylvania, which ultimately backed Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and the Union war effort. Retiring from the governor's office, he was elected to two terms as US Senator from Rhode Island, taking office in 1863 and serving to 1875.
Marriage to Kate Chase
On November 12, 1863, Sprague married Kate Chase, daughter of Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase. She was considered the belle of Washington. Sprague's wedding gift to Kate was a tiara of matched pearls and diamonds that cost more than $50,000.[1] As the bride entered the room, the Marine Band played "The Kate Chase March" which composer Thomas Mark Clark had written for the occasion. Although their marriage began well, quarreling became more common. They had four children: William (b. 1865), Ethel (b. 1869), Catherine (b. 1871) (who was mentally retarded) and Portia (b. 1873).[2]
William's financial and political fortunes rapidly deteriorated in 1873, with the financial panic. His holdings were extensive both in Rhode Island and nationally. The death of his father-in-law, Salmon P. Chase,[3] who had become Chief Justice of the United States, added to his family problems. Severe setbacks occurred to the A. & W. Sprague Company following the Panic of 1873. Likewise, the Spragues' marriage unravelled as William began to drink more and to criticize Kate's spending. Kate allegedly had an affair with New York senator Roscoe Conkling. In 1879 Sprague chased Conkling off his Narragansett estate after catching him with Kate. This ended the affair.
The couple divorced in 1882. William stayed with his father and the daughters lived with Kate Chase, who took back her maiden name after the divorce.[2] After spending some time in Europe, Kate lived with her daughters outside Washington, D.C. at Edgewood, her father's estate. When her only son Willie Sprague took his own life at age 25 in 1890, Kate Chase became a recluse. She died in poverty in 1899.
Marriage to Dora Inez Clavert
Following his divorce, William Sprague married Dora Inez Clavert of West Virginia. He regained his interest in politics to become the first Narragansett, Rhode Island Town Council President in 1900. On October 11, 1909, a fire destroyed the Sprague mansion, including Sprague's diaries and other valuable artifacts. The Spragues moved to Paris. During World War I, they opened their apartment as a convalescent hospital for the wounded of all nationalities.
In 1915, Sprague died of meningitis and old age. Following a simple funeral services in France, his wife arranged for his body to be brought back to Rhode Island draped in an American flag. He received full military honors when laid to rest in the family tomb at Swan Point Cemetery in Providence, Rhode Island. He was the last living senator who had served during the Civil War.[4]
Notes
- ^ Kate Chase Sprague at www.geocities.com
- ^ a b Lori Salotto, "William Sprague Papers", Rhode Island Historical Society, Jun 2000, accessed 2 Sep 2008
- ^ Chief Justice Salmon P Chase at www.geocities.com
- ^ Earliest serving United States Senator
References
- William Sprague of Rhode Island from The History of Battery A, First Regiment Rhode Island Light Artillery. Aldrich, Thomas. Providence, Snow & Farham, Printers 1904.
- SPRAGUE, William at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
Further reading
- William Sprague (politician) at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Dictionary of American Biography
- Belden, Thomas Graham, and Marva Robins Belden. So Fell the Angels. Boston: Little, Brown Co., 1956.
- Hoffman, Charles and Hoffman, Tess. Brotherly Love: Murder and the Politics of Prejudice in Nineteenth-Century Rhode Island. Amherst: The University of Massachusetts Press, 1993
- Jordan, David M. Roscoe Conkling of New York: Voice in the Senate. Ithica and London: Cornell University Press, c.1971.
- Knight, Benjamin. History of the Sprague Families, of Rhode Island. Santa Cruz: H. Coffin, 1881.
- Lamphier, Peg A. Kate Chase and William Sprague: Politics and Gender in a Civil War Marriage. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2003.
- Shoemaker, Henry Wharton. The Last of the War Governors: A Biographical Appreciation of Colonel William Sprague. Altoona, PA: Altoona Publishing Co., 1916
- Sokoloff, Alice. Kate Chase for the Defense. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1971.
- William Sprague Papers Rhode Island Historical Society
External links
- William Sprague (politician) at Find a Grave Find-A-Grave profile for William Sprague
- Death Certificate
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Thomas G. Turner |
Governor of Rhode Island May 29, 1860 – March 3, 1863 |
Succeeded by William C. Cozzens |
| United States Senate | ||
| Preceded by Samuel G. Arnold |
United States Senator (Class 1) from Rhode Island March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1875 Served alongside: Henry B. Anthony |
Succeeded by Ambrose E. Burnside |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by John Henderson |
Most Senior Living U.S. Senator (Sitting or Former) April 12, 1913 – September 11, 1915 |
Succeeded by George Edmunds |
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