William Buell Sprague
Encyclopedia
William Buell Sprague was an American
Congregational and Presbyterian clergyman and compiler of Annals of the American Pulpit (nine volumes, 1857–1869), a comprehensive biographical dictionary of the leading American
Protestant Christian
ministers who died before 1850.
under Timothy Dwight IV
, graduating in 1815, then studied at Princeton Theological Seminary
under Dr. Archibald Alexander
. He became assistant to Rev. Joseph Lathrop at the West Springfield, Massachusetts
, Congregational church in 1819. The following year, when Lathrop died after sixty years as pastor there, Sprague became senior minister and served there nine more years. Thereafter, he accepted a call to pastor the Second Presbyterian Church, Albany, New York
, where Edward Norris Kirk
had been an assistant, and where Sprague ministered for forty years. Sprague wrote numerous books, including Lives of Rev. Edward Dorr Griffin
, D. D, (1838), Timothy Dwight
(1845), and Rev. Jedidiah Morse
(1874), his greatest contribution to literature being his Annals of the American Pulpit, an invaluable compilation of Trinitarian Congregationalist, Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist, Episcopalian, Unitarian Congregationalist, and other biographies. Although no edition of his collected works ever was published, Sprague's published individual sermons, discourses, and addresses in pamphlet form exceed 150 in number.
Sprague was also a collector of historical documents and pamphlets and became the first person ever to gather a complete set of the autographs of the signers of the United States Declaration of Independence
. He completed this task by February, 1833, according to correspondence with friend Jared Sparks
at about that time. He also gathered a collection of the signatures of all of the members of the Convention which framed the Constitution of the United States in 1787, and a complete set of the autographs of the Presidents of the United States and all the officers of the United States government during the administrations of Presidents Washington, John Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe and John Quincy Adams. This latter collection included signatures of the Presidents, Vice Presidents, all the members of the President’s Cabinet, and all of the Justices of the United States Supreme Court and all of the foreign ministers. Further, he collected the signatures of all the military officers involved in the American revolutionary war, from all nations, during the whole war. He collected signatures of great men of the Reformation and great skeptics. He even owned a copy of the autograph of Saint Augustine. He was America's foremost philographer by the time of his death. His autographs, numbering nearly 100,000, probably the largest private collection in the world at that time, were left to his son.
He was married three times and left a number of children. After his retirement from the Albany pulpit in 1870 he and his wife lived with his son Edward Everett Sprague, a lawyer, in Flushing, New York, where he died in 1876. He was buried in Albany Rural Cemetery
in Menands, New York.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Congregational and Presbyterian clergyman and compiler of Annals of the American Pulpit (nine volumes, 1857–1869), a comprehensive biographical dictionary of the leading American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Protestant Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
ministers who died before 1850.
Biography
He was educated at YaleYale College
Yale College was the official name of Yale University from 1718 to 1887. The name now refers to the undergraduate part of the university. Each undergraduate student is assigned to one of 12 residential colleges.-Residential colleges:...
under Timothy Dwight IV
Timothy Dwight IV
Timothy Dwight was an American academic and educator, a Congregationalist minister, theologian, and author...
, graduating in 1815, then studied at Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary is a theological seminary of the Presbyterian Church located in the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey in the United States...
under Dr. Archibald Alexander
Archibald Alexander
Archibald Alexander was an American Presbyterian theologian and professor at the Princeton Theological Seminary...
. He became assistant to Rev. Joseph Lathrop at the West Springfield, Massachusetts
West Springfield, Massachusetts
The Town of West Springfield is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 28,391 at the 2010 census...
, Congregational church in 1819. The following year, when Lathrop died after sixty years as pastor there, Sprague became senior minister and served there nine more years. Thereafter, he accepted a call to pastor the Second Presbyterian Church, Albany, New York
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
, where Edward Norris Kirk
Edward Norris Kirk
Dr. Edward Norris Kirk - was a Christian missionary, pastor, teacher, evangelist and writer in the Presbyterian, Congregational and revivalist traditions in the USA...
had been an assistant, and where Sprague ministered for forty years. Sprague wrote numerous books, including Lives of Rev. Edward Dorr Griffin
Edward Dorr Griffin
Edward Dorr Griffin was a Christian minister and an American educator who served as President of Williams College from 1821 to 1836 and served as the first pastor of Park Street Church from 1811 to 1815.-Life and career:...
, D. D, (1838), Timothy Dwight
Timothy Dwight
Timothy Dwight may refer to:*Timothy Dwight College, a residential college at Yale University*Timothy Dwight IV , President of Yale University from 1795–1817*Timothy Dwight V , President of Yale University from 1886–1899...
(1845), and Rev. Jedidiah Morse
Jedidiah Morse
Jedidiah Morse was a notable geographer whose textbooks became a staple for students in the United States. He was the father of Samuel F. B. Morse, the man who developed Morse code.-Early life and education:...
(1874), his greatest contribution to literature being his Annals of the American Pulpit, an invaluable compilation of Trinitarian Congregationalist, Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist, Episcopalian, Unitarian Congregationalist, and other biographies. Although no edition of his collected works ever was published, Sprague's published individual sermons, discourses, and addresses in pamphlet form exceed 150 in number.
Sprague was also a collector of historical documents and pamphlets and became the first person ever to gather a complete set of the autographs of the signers of the United States Declaration of Independence
United States Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
. He completed this task by February, 1833, according to correspondence with friend Jared Sparks
Jared Sparks
Jared Sparks was an American historian, educator, and Unitarian minister. He served as President of Harvard University from 1849 to 1853.-Biography:...
at about that time. He also gathered a collection of the signatures of all of the members of the Convention which framed the Constitution of the United States in 1787, and a complete set of the autographs of the Presidents of the United States and all the officers of the United States government during the administrations of Presidents Washington, John Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe and John Quincy Adams. This latter collection included signatures of the Presidents, Vice Presidents, all the members of the President’s Cabinet, and all of the Justices of the United States Supreme Court and all of the foreign ministers. Further, he collected the signatures of all the military officers involved in the American revolutionary war, from all nations, during the whole war. He collected signatures of great men of the Reformation and great skeptics. He even owned a copy of the autograph of Saint Augustine. He was America's foremost philographer by the time of his death. His autographs, numbering nearly 100,000, probably the largest private collection in the world at that time, were left to his son.
He was married three times and left a number of children. After his retirement from the Albany pulpit in 1870 he and his wife lived with his son Edward Everett Sprague, a lawyer, in Flushing, New York, where he died in 1876. He was buried in Albany Rural Cemetery
Albany Rural Cemetery
The Albany Rural Cemetery was established October 7, 1844, in Menands, New York, just outside of the city of Albany, New York. It is renowned as one of the most beautiful, pastoral cemeteries in the United States, at over . Many historical American figures are buried there.-History:On April 2,...
in Menands, New York.
Works
Dr. William Buell Sprague was author of the following publications;- "Letters on Practical Subjects from a Clergyman of New England to His Daughter" (Hartford, 1822)
- "Letters from Europe First Published in the New York Observer" (New York, 1828)
- "Lectures to Young People" (New York, 1830)
- "Lectures on the Revival of Religion" (Albany, 1832)
- "Hints Designed to Regulate the Intercourse of Christians" (Albany, 1834)
- "Lectures Illustrating the Contrast Between True Christianity and Various Other Systems" (New York, 1837)
- "Memoir of Rev. Edward Dorr GriffinEdward Dorr GriffinEdward Dorr Griffin was a Christian minister and an American educator who served as President of Williams College from 1821 to 1836 and served as the first pastor of Park Street Church from 1811 to 1815.-Life and career:...
, D.D." (Albany, 1838) - "Letters to Young Men" (Albany, 1844)
- "Life of Timothy DwightTimothy Dwight IVTimothy Dwight was an American academic and educator, a Congregationalist minister, theologian, and author...
" (Albany, 1845) - "Aids to Early Religion" (New York, 1847)
- "Words to a Young Man's Conscience by a Father" (Albany, 1848)
- "Monitory Letters to Church Members" published anonymously (Philadelphia, 1855)
- "Visits to European Celebrities" (Boston, 1855)
- "Annals of the American Pulpit" (New York, 1857–1869) (9 vols.)
- "Memoirs of Rev. John McDowell, D.D., and the Rev. William A. McDowell" (New York, 1864)
- "The Life of Jedidiah MorseJedidiah MorseJedidiah Morse was a notable geographer whose textbooks became a staple for students in the United States. He was the father of Samuel F. B. Morse, the man who developed Morse code.-Early life and education:...
" (New York, 1874)