William Sprague was a minister and politician in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

.

Sprague was born in Providence, Rhode Island

Providence, Rhode Island

Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...

, a distant cousin of William Sprague

William Sprague (1830-1915)

William Sprague IV was the 27th 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.-Early years:...

, Governor of Rhode Island

Rhode Island

The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...

. He attended the public schools there, moved to Michigan, and settled in Kalamazoo

Kalamazoo, Michigan

The area on which the modern city stands was once home to Native Americans of the Hopewell culture, who migrated into the area sometime before the first millennium. Evidence of their early residency remains in the form of a small mound in downtown's Bronson Park. The Hopewell civilization began to...

, where he studied theology and was ordained as a minister. He was presiding elder of the Methodist Episcopal Church

Methodist Episcopal Church

The Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes referred to as the M.E. Church, was a development of the first expression of Methodism in the United States. It officially began at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as the first bishops. Through a series of...

, Kalamazoo district, 1844–1848. Sprague served as United States Indian Agent in Michigan 1852–1853.

In the early 1830s, Sprague was a circuit minister for many communities in central and southwest Michigan. He delivered the first gospel sermon ever given in Van Buren County, Michigan

Van Buren County, Michigan

-Parks, preserves, natural areas:* Dunes Parkway, an 84 acre preserve of dunes in Covert Township* Jeptha Lake Fen Preserve, a 49 acre preserve in Columbia Township...

, in the first log cabin which was built in spring 1829. He organized the first Methodist class in Niles

Niles, Michigan

Niles is a city in Berrien and Cass counties in the U.S. state of Michigan, near South Bend, Indiana. The population was 11,600 at the 2010 census. It is the greater populated of two principal cities of and included in the Niles-Benton Harbor, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a...

 in 1832 and was pastor there in 1862 when construction began on a historical Italianate style church building. In the fall of 1832, Sprague became circuit pastor for Coldwater

Coldwater, Michigan

Coldwater is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 10,945. It is the county seat of Branch County....

.

Sprague defeated incumbent Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 Charles E. Stuart

Charles E. Stuart

Charles Edward Stuart was a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from the state of Michigan.-Biography:Stuart was born in New York, either near Waterloo, New York, or in Columbia County. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1832, and commenced practice in Waterloo...

 to be elected as a Whig, though he is sometimes also identified with the Free Soil Party

Free Soil Party

The Free Soil Party was a short-lived political party in the United States active in the 1848 and 1852 presidential elections, and in some state elections. It was a third party and a single-issue party that largely appealed to and drew its greatest strength from New York State. The party leadership...

, from Michigan's 2nd District to the Thirty-first Congress, serving March 4, 1849–March 3, 1851. He did not run for re-election. He retired to his farm in Oshtemo Township

Oshtemo Township, Michigan

Oshtemo Charter Township is a charter township of Kalamazoo County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 17,003 at the 2000 census...

, Kalamazoo County

Kalamazoo County, Michigan

-Air Service:*The Kalamazoo & Battle Creek Metro Area is served by Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport.-Interstates:* I-94* I-94 Business Loop-US highways:* US-131*  BUS US 131-Michigan State Trunklines:* M-43* M-89* M-96...

. He died in Kalamazoo, and was interred in Mountain Home Cemetery.