SAMUEL SPRIGG

There had, over the years, been several amendments to the Maryland Constitution of 1776, such as that of 1838 which initiated popular election of the Governor and eliminated the Governor’s Council. The changes had not been systematic, however, and in 1850, the General Assembly called for a Constitutional Convention to frame a new Constitution and form of government “except in so far as regards the rights and relations existing between master and slave”. Delegates were chosen by the electorate 1 September 1850, and Samuel Sprigg was one of five chosen from Prince George’s County. They convened in Annapolis from November 1850 to May 1851, and presented the new Constitution which proposed changes in election requirements, procedure and terms of office. The new Constitution was ratified in June 1851. You will remember that the principal focus of Samuel Sprigg’s administration was support for internal improvements. He was a strong supporter of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (which was originally planned to link Georgetown with the Ohio at Wheeling) through its difficult history, even after it was clear that the canal system had been superseded by the railroad. He served several terms as president of the C & 0 Canal company. When he was re-elected to this position in 1853, the Planters’ Advocate stated that “this Veteran Whig and whole-souled Maryland gentleman . . . Governor Sprigg, had been for many years intimately connected with the Internal Improvement System of Maryland, and no man is better acquainted with the affairs of the different Internal Improvement Companies of the State, or . . . would more faithfully and honestly discharge the duties of so responsible a position.” Samuel Sprigg died 21 April 1855 at Northampton at the age of 74. Four years earlier he had written a will directing that his body be decently buried without ostentation or parade, and that his just debts be paid with as little delay as possible. He devised his entire estate “to his ever dear and beloved wife, Violetta”, to her and her heirs forever. The Baltimore and Washington newspapers extolled his life: “[He was] worthily esteemed for the purity of his character, his hightoned sentiments, and unbounded liberality.” (Sun) “No gentleman was more esteemed by friends and neighbors, none more exemplary in all domestic and social relations, none more faithful than he in the varied public trusts committed to him by his native State.” (National Intelligencer) But the most personal of the tributes was printed by the Planters’ Advocate in Upper Marlborough, which with regret announced the death of this man “whose name had been long associated with the public affairs of Maryland.” In its account of this “long, useful and honorable life”, the Planters’ Advocate expressed the “general and profound regret which the sudden intelligence of his decease has created in this community. As . . . Governor of the State, as president of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company, and above all as one of the most useful of citizens and one of the best and most upright of men, he has uniformly and throughout possessed the unbounded confidence of the community; and the grave seldom closes over men who can point to a longer record of honorable service and benevolent actions.” Samuel Sprigg was buried in the churchyard at St. Barnabas’ where he had long served as a member of the Vestry. His widow Violetta continued to reside at Northampton, together with her son Osborn and his family. In March 1865, Violetta sold Northampton to John Contee Fairfax, later the Eleventh Lord Fairfax. Violetta died just a few weeks after the sale of Northampton, but her death on 15 April 1865 went largely unremarked, the newspapers being totally swamped with far more momentous and tragic news on that date.

There had, over the years, been several amendments to the Maryland Constitution of 1776, such as that of 1838 which initiated popular election of the Governor and eliminated the Governor’s Council. The changes had not been systematic, however, and in 1850, the General Assembly called for a Constitutional Convention to frame a new Constitution and form of government “except in so far as regards the rights and relations existing between master and slave”. Delegates were chosen by the electorate 1 September 1850, and Samuel Sprigg was one of five chosen from Prince George’s County. They convened in Annapolis from November 1850 to May 1851, and presented the new Constitution which proposed changes in election requirements, procedure and terms of office. The new Constitution was ratified in June 1851.

You will remember that the principal focus of Samuel Sprigg’s administration was support for internal improvements. He was a strong supporter of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (which was originally planned to link Georgetown with the Ohio at Wheeling) through its difficult history, even after it was clear that the canal system had been superseded by the railroad. He served several terms as president of the C & 0 Canal company. When he was re-elected to this position in 1853, the Planters’ Advocate stated that “this Veteran Whig and whole-souled Maryland gentleman . . . Governor Sprigg, had been for many years intimately connected with the Internal Improvement System of Maryland, and no man is better acquainted with the affairs of the different Internal Improvement Companies of the State, or . . . would more faithfully and honestly discharge the duties of so responsible a position.”

Samuel Sprigg died 21 April 1855 at Northampton at the age of 74. Four years earlier he had written a will directing that his body be decently buried without ostentation or parade, and that his just debts be paid with as little delay as possible. He devised his entire estate “to his ever dear and beloved wife, Violetta”, to her and her heirs forever. The Baltimore and Washington newspapers extolled his life: “[He was] worthily esteemed for the purity of his character, his hightoned sentiments, and unbounded liberality.” (Sun) “No gentleman was more esteemed by friends and neighbors, none more exemplary in all domestic and social relations, none more faithful than he in the varied public trusts committed to him by his native State.” (National Intelligencer) But the most personal of the tributes was printed by the Planters’ Advocate in Upper Marlborough, which with regret announced the death of this man “whose name had been long associated with the public affairs of Maryland.” In its account of this “long, useful and honorable life”, the Planters’ Advocate expressed the “general and profound regret which the sudden intelligence of his decease has created in this community. As . . . Governor of the State, as president of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company, and above all as one of the most useful of citizens and one of the best and most upright of men, he has uniformly and throughout possessed the unbounded confidence of the community; and the grave seldom closes over men who can point to a longer record of honorable service and benevolent actions.”

Samuel Sprigg was buried in the churchyard at St. Barnabas’ where he had long served as a member of the Vestry. His widow Violetta continued to reside at Northampton, together with her son Osborn and his family. In March 1865, Violetta sold Northampton to John Contee Fairfax, later the Eleventh Lord Fairfax. Violetta died just a few weeks after the sale of Northampton, but her death on 15 April 1865 went largely unremarked, the newspapers being totally swamped with far more momentous and tragic news on that date.