Samuel Sprigg served as the 17th Governor

Governor of Maryland

The Governor of Maryland heads the executive branch of the government of Maryland, and he is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The Governor is the highest-ranking official in the state, and he has a broad range of appointive powers in both the State and local governments,...

 of the state of Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 from 1819 to 1822.

Background

Samuel Sprigg was probably born in Prince George's County, Maryland

Prince George's County, Maryland

Prince George's County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland, immediately north, east, and south of Washington, DC. As of 2010, it has a population of 863,420 and is the wealthiest African-American majority county in the nation....

, although conclusive proof has not been found. His father was Joseph Sprigg and was married several times. He was likely born to his father's third wife, Margaret Elzey Weems between 1781-1783. After his father's death in 1800, he was adopted by his uncle, Osborn Sprigg. He would eventually inherit Osborne's Prince George's County estate of Northampton.

On January 1, 1811, Sprigg married Violetta Lansdale, daughter of Thomas Lancaster and Cornelia Van Horne. They eventually had two children.

Political career

Sprigg joined the Republican Party

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 at time when there was a Republican resurgence in the state against the Federalists

Federalist Party (United States)

The Federalist Party was the first American political party, from the early 1790s to 1816, the era of the First Party System, with remnants lasting into the 1820s. The Federalists controlled the federal government until 1801...

. He was elected Governor by the Maryland General Assembly

Maryland General Assembly

The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is a bicameral body. The upper chamber, the Maryland State Senate, has 47 representatives and the lower chamber, the Maryland House of Delegates, has 141 representatives...

 on December 13, 1819, running against Charles Goldsborough

Charles Goldsborough

Charles Goldsborough served as the 16th Governor of the state of Maryland in the United States in 1819.Goldsborough was born at "Hunting Creek", near Cambridge, Maryland, and pursued an academic course. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia in 1784 and began to study law...

.

His administration was marked by partisan bitterness between the Republicans and Federalists. Specific issues were State constitutional

Maryland Constitution of 1776

The Maryland Constitution of 1778 was the first of four constitutions under which the U.S. state of Maryland has been governed. It was that state's basic law from its adoption in 1776 until the Maryland Constitution of 1851 took effect on July 4th of that year.-Background and drafting:The eighth...

 reform and direct election of the state government (both opposed by the Federalists). Both of these efforts were defeated during Sprigg's administration, but would pass later.

His administration was very concerned with providing infrastructure to the western part of the state, embracing the construction of roads as well as completion of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, abbreviated as the C&O Canal, and occasionally referred to as the "Grand Old Ditch," operated from 1831 until 1924 parallel to the Potomac River in Maryland from Cumberland, Maryland to Washington, D.C. The total length of the canal is about . The elevation change of...

. Under his administration, the charter of the Potomac Company

Potomac Company

The Potomac Company was created in 1785 to make improvements to the Potomac River in order to improve its navigability. The Potomac Company built five skirting canals around the major falls...

 to complete the canal was canceled due to poor performance and given to a new enterprise, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company. He served on the Board of Directors for the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company.

He was re-elected to the Governorship, first in 1820 and again in 1821.

Sprigg retired from the Governor's office and from politics on December 16, 1822.

Death and legacy

Sprigg died on April 25, 1855 and was buried at St. Barnabas Church

St. Barnabas Church, Upper Marlboro, Maryland

St. Barnabas Church, also known as St. Barnabas' Episcopal Church, Leeland, is located in Upper Marlboro, Maryland and was established in 1704 as the parish church of Queen Anne Parish which had been established that same year...

 in Upper Marlboro, Maryland

Upper Marlboro, Maryland

Upper Marlboro is a town in and the county seat of Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The live-in population of the town core proper was only 648 at the 2000 census, although Greater Upper Marlboro is many times larger....

 but was moved to Oak Hill Cemetery in Georgetown

Georgetown, Washington, D.C.

Georgetown is a neighborhood located in northwest Washington, D.C., situated along the Potomac River. Founded in 1751, the port of Georgetown predated the establishment of the federal district and the City of Washington by 40 years...

.