admin EBEN CARLETON SPRAGUE, son of Noah Paul Sprague and Abiah (Carleton) Sprague, was born in Bath, N. H., November 26, 1822. He was brought by his family to Buffalo in 1826, where he attended the public schools. He was prepared for college at Phillips Exeter Academy, and graduated from Harvard College in 1843. An authoritative description of him at the close of his college career says that “He had a manly beauty, a scholarly bearing and a charm of manner which at once gave him distinction in every circle. He had high ideas of culture and character, and entered upon the study of his profession richly equipped for large success.”
He read law in the offices of Fillmore, Hall and Haven, and in October, 1846, was admitted to the bar. For almost half a century thereafter Mr. Sprague practiced his profession in Buffalo, attaining a high reputation as a lawyer. Among his clients were The Great Western Railway Company, the New York, Lake Erie & Western Railway Company, the Erie County Savings Bank, and the International Bridge Company.
He was successively senior member of the leading law partnerships of Sprague & Fillmore; Sprague & Gorham; Sprague, Gorham & Bacon; Sprague, Milburn & Sprague; Sprague, Morley & Sprague; Sprague, Morley, Sprague & Brownell, and Sprague, Moot, Sprague & Brownell.
Mr. Sprague was repeatedly urged to become a candidate for office, but almost invariably refused. He did, however, consent in 1875 to fill a vacancy in the State Senate for a single session. He also served for a few months as Register in Bankruptcy. Mr. Sprague was to a notable extent identified with professional educational, social and benevolent organizations. He was a member of the American Bar Association, the New York and Erie County Bar Association, Buffalo Historical Society, Fine Arts Academy, Society of Natural Sciences, and was an active member of the Civil Service Reform Association. He was Chancellor of the University of Buffalo, served as President of the Young Men’s Association, Director of the
Children’s Aid Society, Secretary of the Buffalo Orphan Asylum and Vice-President of the American Unitarian Association. He was the founder and President of the Liberal Club, President of the Harvard Club of Western New York, member and at one time President of the Buffalo Club, and a member of the Saturn Club.
In June, 1892, Mr. Sprague received the degree of LL.D., from his alma-mater, Harvard University.
Mr. Sprague delivered a large number of notable public addresses. On July 3, 1882, he delivered a brilliant address at the semi-centennial celebration of the incorporation of the city. Another the same year on “The Functions, Duties and Claims of Political Parties.” At the dedication of the Merchants’ Exchange in 1884, on “The Uses and Abuses of Wealth.” To the Buffalo Humane Society on “Philanthropy as a Force in the Solution of Social Problems.” To the Civil Service Reform Association on “The Benefits of Civil Service Reform to Workingmen.” And to the Buffalo Law League upon “The Constitution of the United States Considered as a Product of Judicial Construction.” His last address, one of the most characteristic of his life, was delivered before the Liberal Club. Its subject was, “Liberalism,” and it was a noble plea for the rights of the individual. Mr. Sprague also wrote a treatise entitled “Lessons from the Life of Benjamin Franklin,” published in 1891.
Notwithstanding his arduous professional pursuits, Mr. Sprague always managed to find time for the cultivation of art, music and literature. He pursued a wide diversity of reading. His alertness of mind was remarkable and equally so the living interest he took both in current literature and the revival of old studies. Shortly before his death he took up the need. All that was most noteworthy in belles-lettres, history, philosophy and religious thought he studied. The writers for all time – St. Paul, Plato, Homer, Virgil, Dante, Goethe, Milton, were the friends of his heart and mind. He was a great lover of Shelley, and the evening before he died was reading aloud from that poet.
On the 25th of June, 1849, Mr. Sprague was married to Elizabeth H. Williams, a daughter of John R. Williams of Buffalo. He is survived by his widow and four children: Henry W. and Carleton of Buffalo, and Mrs. Edward M. Cook and Mrs. Walter Cook, both of New York City.
The death of Mr. Sprague took place on the 14th of February, 1895. The honors paid to his memory were worthy of his ability and character. The press, his brethren of the bar, and the public vied in heartfelt expressions of sorrow and esteem.
SOURCE: Memorial and Family History of Erie County New York; Volume I