Family History - The First Three Generations of Sprague's family

Part 1: INFORMATION OF SPRAGUE'S FAMILY 1500-1600S

1st Generation:

Johan Sprague
Birth: 1501
Dorset, England
Death: 1556
Dorset, England

Spouse: Marie Sprague
Birth: 1505
Dorset, England
Death: 1556
Dorset, England

2nd Generation:

Enos Sprague
Birth: 1525 
Dorset, England
Death: 1564
St George, Dorset, England

Spouse:  Barbara Sprague
Birth: 1521 
Dorset, England
Death: 1594
Dorset, England

Ava Sprague
Birth: 1527
Dorset, England
Death: 1529
Dorset, England

Mia Sprague
Birth: 1527
Dorset, England
Death: 1556
Dorset, England

3rd Generation:

Tristram Sprague
Birth: 1559 
Dorset, England
Marriage: June 1575 
Fordington, St George, Dorset, England
Death: 1581
Puddletown, Dorset, England

Spouse: Elizabeth Colt
Birth: 1563
Dorset, England
Marriage: June 1575
Fordington, St George, Dorset, England
Death: 1576
Dorset, England

*Some information contained herein is taken from:

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.2.1/3SY2-J7L

PART 2: THE SPRAGUE FAMILY STORY

On a bitter cold day in 1501, Johan Sprague was born in Dorset, England in a Catholic family. From 1512 to 1516, he was studied in a church near his house, but deep down in his heart, he did not believe in Catholicism. By midsummer in 1516, he was married Marie – a pastor's daughter in the church who taught him. Nine years later, in 1525, they was has a first son – named Enos Sprague. In 1527, they had twins girls, Ava and Mia, but Ava died when she was two years old because of influenza. Three years later, when Mia was five years old, many people in their village got and died of smallpox, and she also got it, she survived but sadly it made her blind. In 1534, Henry VIII dissolved England's monasteries because Pope did not allow him to divorces his first wife. “After Henry's death, England tilted toward Calvinist-infused Protestantism during Edward VI's six-year reign”[1]. Many evangelical churches springing up, Johan Sprague and his family left Catholicism and became Protestant, but not much people in the village knew about that. He really found his faith in Protestantism. Unfortunately, after Edward died, Mary I (also known as "Bloody Mary") was crowned, people endured five years of reactionary Catholicism under Mary I, she was beheaded and burned many Protestants, nearly 300 Protestants were burned to death. Governments and Catholics had no evidence of Sprague family were Protestants, therefore they can safe. Unfortunately, in 1556, Sunday morning, Sprague family were be burned at their house, Johan, Marie, Mia and Enos’s children all dead, just Enos and his wife can alive, the neighbors around said it was just an accident, but someone believe that Catholics did.

Protestant Reformation

Go back a little, Enos Sprague was a healthy boy. He did not go to school, he start working and contributing to the family income from the time he was about 8 years old. When he was 17 years old, he worked in a coal mine far 14 miles from home. In 1544, when he was 19 years old, he married Barbara who worked spinning cloth in a cotton mill, that time she was 15 years old. A year later, they had a first baby, but Enos did not happy because she is a girl. The next five years, Enos all had baby girls while he always want a boy. In usual days, all members of Sprague family must present at house on Sunday to pray in the morning. However, when the accident happened induce the dead of people in his family, Enos was took his wife on the way to the mill because his wife’s boss needed her work in the early morning. Grief of his family members dead, in 1557, he left the coal mine, then he and his wife made their living from farming, they milked cows, fed animals and grew herbs and vegetables. In 1559, Tristram Sprague was born, he was a plump child, sadness about the family tragedy was eased on Enos. Also in that year, Elizabeth I took the throne, and she restored Protestantism to England. The point is most of the population accepted the religious settlement of Elizabeth. England actually more peaceful in the reign of her. Their life was easier until in 1564, Enos died because of malaria. In contrast, his wife – Barbara lived until 73 years old, and died just because she got old. 

Elizabeth I of England

About Tristram Sprague, he went to a kind of nursery school called a 'petty school' first then moved onto grammar school when he was about seven. The school day began at 6 am in summer and 7 am in winter, he went to school 6 days a week and there were few holidays. When he was 12, he was kept bees on his family farm, he also helped a lot in farm work. In 1575, when he helped his mother took goods to market in town to sell, he met Elizabeth Colt when she sold foodstuffs in the streets. On June 1575, they married and a year later, they had a first child, his name was Edward Sprague. But sadly, Elizabeth Colt died in childbirth (because the midwives hands were dirty and she became infected). In 1578, Tristram Sprague came to towns in search of work. That town was dirty, smelly and crowded. Rubbish such as rotting vegetables, offal and dirty water were thrown on the ground, rats and other vermin were common. It is not surprising that outbreaks of plague. In 1580, a lot of people in that town died of plague. However, plague cannot kill Tristram Sprague. Therefore in 1581, he came home, but six month later, he died because of dysentery.

Plague cause many to die

[1] (n.d.). Retrieved from History: http://www.history.com/topics/reformation

*Some information contained herein also taken from:

http://www.history.com/topics/reformation

http://www.localhistories.org/tudor.html

wrote by Huynh Mai Quoc Thuy