John Sprague (doctor)
John Sprague (1718–1797) was an early American physician.
Personal life
[edit]Born in 1718, he was graduated from Harvard College in 1737.[1] Around 1770, he moved to Dedham, Massachusetts.[1]
He married Elizabeth Dalhonde[a] in 1745.[2] After Elizabeth died in 1757, he married Esther Harrison[b] in 1770.[2] He had a son, Lawrence, who was an assistant to William Montague at a school in Dorchester.[3]
Sprague owned two homes in Dedham's Low Plains, both of which burned in 1765.[4] He then built a mansion, 75 by 25 feet (22.9 m × 7.6 m).[4] He died in 1797.[1]
Career
[edit]He lived in Cambridge and studied medicine in Boston with Doctors Louis Dalhonde and William Douglass.[1] He later opened his own practice in Boston.[1] While living in Dedham, he treated Faith Huntington for depression.[5]
He had a reputation as an excellent diagnostician.[1] He was a charter member of the Massachusetts Medical Society.[1]
Politics
[edit]He was active in the patriot cause and was friends with John Adams and Robert Treat Paine.[1] He was a delegate to the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1779–1780.[1] He was a member of the Sons of Liberty.[6]
On January 9, 1777, John Adams stayed at Sprague's home as he rode to Baltimore, Maryland to attend the Second Continental Congress.[7]
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i Ames 1998, p. 113-4.
- ^ a b c d "Sprague, John, Papers, 1713–1815" (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. Retrieved September 12, 2023.
- ^ Slafter 1905, p. 89.
- ^ a b Dedham Historical Society (2001). Images of America: Dedham. Arcadia Publishing. p. 72. ISBN 978-0-7385-0944-0.
- ^ "Faith Trumbull Huntington". National Park Service. March 20, 2023. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
- ^ Hanson 1976, p. 141.
- ^ Adams, John (July 25, 1775). "Letter from John Adams to Abigail Adams, 9 January 1777". Massachusetts Historical Society. Retrieved September 12, 2023.
Works cited
[edit]- Ames, Nathaniel (1998). Hanson, Robert Brand Hanson (ed.). The Diary of Dr. Nathaniel Ames of Dedham, Massachusetts, 1758-1822. Picton Press.
- Hanson, Robert Brand (1976). Dedham, Massachusetts, 1635–1890. Dedham Historical Society.
- Slafter, Carlos (1905). A Record of Education: The Schools and Teachers of Dedham, Massachusetts, 1644–1904. Dedham Transcript Press. Retrieved September 12, 2023.